Toys for Tots

Authorities are concerned that Aussie teens will use the "GBH" toy at schoolies.

(Schoolies Is a giant party on the gold coast after exams.)

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Eek.

Oh and I got that OLPC reminder too, I'm seriously considering it.

You're doing some really good stuff, eoe!

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sozobe wrote:

Sozlet's sleeping now, I'll check some tags later for you though.

OK, I checked. We have a bad habit of taking tags off of stuffed animals (they're cuddlier that way) and so only one of them still has tags. He was made in Indonesia.

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I bought some stuff from OrientalTrading recently...

Good for decorations and stuff, you don't use a lot.

But the toys (I got) where pretty poor quality.

I'd rather go for better quality, even if it means less quantity.

If everybody (or lots of people) makes 25 children happy, that IS a LOT!

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sozobe wrote:

Yeah.

A lot of these stories are about toys being ingested and you'd really hope that parents wouldn't give their kids toys that could be swallowed until they're old enough to self-regulate. But yeah.

Sozlet's sleeping now, I'll check some tags later for you though.

I don't want to derail this thread; but this subject is really important to me and this is the only place it is being discussed. (wish someone would open a thread on it; not good at it myself)

Children remain curious pass the age 3 or 4 which is the age most labels have warnings about small parts. Just check out hospitals where pretty old children swallow marbles and other objects.

I have saved on my computer this site. I find it helpful.

I have always donated around christmas at the toys for tots and coats for kids and other charities through out the year. Usually instead of yard sales; I just donate my items I no longer want to charities institutions. So I am all for what you are talking about. But with all the news concerning unsafe products; I would just a little leary this year about donating toys from wal-mart or other stores who get their products from China.

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Well, that's how we started talking about this, yes. (And why I brought up IKEA.)

I understand what you mean about warnings, I just think some of this is going overboard. Especially when it gets into advising people not to donate toys at all because they might get sued.

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sozobe wrote:

sozobe wrote:
Sozlet's sleeping now, I'll check some tags later for you though.

OK, I checked. We have a bad habit of taking tags off of stuffed animals (they're cuddlier that way) and so only one of them still has tags. He was made in Indonesia.

Thanks for checking, Soz. The threat of a lawsuit against an organization is, unfortunately, quite imaginable but there would be no way to trace a particular toy back to the individual that donated it so, I wouldn't be so concerned about that as much as just the idea of a child getting sick or, God forbid, actually dying because of a toy I 'may' have donated. The headlines alone "Children Die in Georgia from Toys for Tots Donations" would send me into an ugly place of guilt and condemnation. How would you ever know?

It IS just the toys coming out of China that's the threat, right?

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Yeah, seems that way. Plus, have there been any problems with any stuffed animals at all? (China or no...)

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Well, if plastic bibs are coming up contaminated, I wouldn't trust stuffed toys either. Synthetic materials are, if you dare to think about it, suspect already so, add that to coming out of China? In the immortal words of Whitney Houston...'"heeeeellll-to-the-naw". I don't want anything coming out of China at this particular moment. Nothing. Not even a toothpick.

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squinney wrote:

Ta-Tas are for babies.

and the inner child....

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eoe they really do have a night at The Mens Club where you bring toys for admission, lap dances etc. and all the toys are donated to Toys for Tots.
One of the local stations does a remote from there and they get a TREMENDOUS amount of toys for children. It's a hugely successful promotion.

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Something told me that you weren't altogether kidding around about that and it's success is not surprising in the least.
Hey, whatever it takes to get the toys to the tots is alright by me. Smile

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Just got back from Target and found some really cute little wooden toys in the spot section for $1.00. Little wooden cars, planes, trains, and helicopters, jump ropes, tic-tac-toe sets, etc... Probably all made in China, but cute nonetheless.

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All I found at the Target are little stuffed animals. Cute but, I just couldn't bring myself to buy any. I went to IKEA and the toys there are cute. I'll probably buy from there.

I ordered the little computer today. One goes to a child in another country and one will come here to donate personally.

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Re: Toys for Tots

eoe wrote:

Every year, I make a trip to the dollar store and spend several hundreds of dollars on toys to donate for Christmas. My theory is, every child should have a new toy and I try to do my part. The toys are not the caliber of Barbie or the Sesame Street line but my hope has always been that it doesn't matter.
But now, with the scare of unsafe toys out of China, of course going to the dollar store is out. Certainly that's where all of those cheaper toys come from. But going to ToysRUs and purchasing maybe only 25 or 30 toys, opposed to the 100's I could buy before, kind of takes the wind out of my sails. I want to get the most bang for my buck and could use some suggestions. Or some help in getting my head on straight about it.

I 've noticed that children like getting cash,
if there s enuf of it. Sometimes thay r so happy
that thay jump up n down. ( I 've seen that happen )

How about throwing dimes, quarters, half dollars and silver dollars
out into the grass ( like an Easter egg hunt ) for a group of children ?
Maybe help some of them learn how to count cash ( depending on their ages ).
Cash has a certain versatility to it; the child will buy what he likes,
according to his own taste; no trouble with batteries nor assembly.
David

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I liked getting guns for Christmas,
when I was a kid; lots of guns.
David

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I liked getting shoulder guns, or handguns for Christmas.

Before I was 8, I only got imitation guns, as presents.
I liked those too, at the time.
David

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I went to IKEA today and purchased several of the plush toys. About 20-25 for less than 100.00. Some of the toys are so foreign looking that I was afraid that a child wouldn't like it if they didn't know what the heck it was. And there's nothing cute about possums. Rolling Eyes

All of the toys are made in Indonesia and Vietnam.

Thanks again Soz for the suggestion.

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Cool!

Yeah, I know what you mean about really weird-looking ones. Plus, last time I went to Ikea I bought a few of these cute stuffed turtle/ music boxes for babies. Pull the head, the neck stretches out, and it plays music as the neck shrinks again. E.G. had to point out to me what it looked like when the turtle head was pulled all the way out. Oops.

I still have some in my basement.

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One idea may be to spend some time at Goodwills and other re-sale shops.

just 2 days ago, I got 2 double sets of original lincoln logs for 1.99

One set is for Jillian ( well.. ok.. ME.. ) and the other she will give as a christmas present.

If you really dig around in those stores, you find some really awesome deals on slightly used, or even new , toys.

If it is a small local store, I am willing to bet you can talk to a manager and buy a large lot of toys for one general price..

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