December Staff Picks

The object of Schmovie is to come up with funny titles for made-up movies based on a film genre (determined by the roll of a die) combined with an outlandish premise (generated by flipping two cards). Schmovie is all about creativity, humor and laugh-out-loud fun for the whole family. What would you call an action film about a killer sandwich? Rye Hard … Beauty and the Beef … Despicable Meatballs … you get the point. Collect Schquid trophies for winning titles as you laugh yourself silly. Inside each box of Schmovie Family Edition: 85 What cards, 85 Who cards, 19 Schquid trophies, 1 genre die, 5 erasable title boards, 1 rule sheet, 5 erasable markers, 19 trophy bases and unlimited awesomeness.

Create your own lava lamp through chemical reactions. Drop the special fizzy tint tablets in to the beaker and watch as the "Lava" bounces up and down just like a Lava Lamp.

Based on today’s contemporary building techniques, ARCKIT 60 consists of a series of interconnecting modular components permitting you to design, build and modify multiple structures. Ideal for creating smaller structures, student projects, interior designs, home extensions, and for learning the basics. This is also a great gift for budding architects. 220+ pieces, up to 650 sq ft floor area (to scale).

Geeks in space! Explore what it would take to set up an extraterrestrial farm on another planet. Experiment with a nutrient gel to grow garden cress in hydroponic tubes without soil. In the greenhouse dome, grow the alien-like succulent Tiger’s Jaws (Faucaria tigrina). Find out what plants need in order to grow and how those things might be provided on another world. Geekstronaut figures tend to your space farm while it grows.

In Trigger, players answer "True" or "False to various statements using their right hand for "True" and their left hand for "False." The first to answer using the correct hand signal collects a card. An example of one of the statements is "If I am your mother's brother, then I am your aunt." Players collect a card if they are the first to answer correctly, or lose a card if they are the first to answer incorrectly. "Trigger is a fast, fun party game. Your brain has to think quickly so you can answer the statement correctly and answer using the correct hand," Nicole Britton from Blue Orange Games told TDmonthly. Launch date: June 2011.
Awards: TDmonthly Top Toy Award, January 2012; 2011 ASTRA Best Toys for Kids
— Why it won: Super fun, for small or large groups of friend or strangers. Rapidly paced and often hilarious, players learn new facts about their opponents, and about their own abilities to be observant.

Build your dream house from the ground up with Brianna and Sophia in the Home Designer™ Building Set. Sophia loves building, while Brianna helps with the finishing touches of the interior. These best friends are a dynamic duo when it comes to building and decorating houses. Help them build different styles of houses - a colonial, a brownstone, and a ranch. Decorate the houses using the included accessories and make their home, your home with the Home Designer™ Building Set from Mighty Makers®. Most models can be built one at a time. Includes 433 K'NEX parts and pieces.

Bubble gum for days! Includes everything you need to create massive amounts of your own gum! Recommended for children ages 8 years and older. Includes corn syrup, gum base, confectioner’s sugar, citric acid, and watermelon, vanilla, raspberry, extreme mint, blueberry, fruit punch flavor powders, along with silver foil wrappers, recipe cards and activity manual. Make 19 flavors.

This stacking toy also spins. When colorful discs are dropped on the threaded corkscrew pole, they spin all the way down. The base can be used either flat for a steady base, or turned over for a wobbling base that adds an extra challenge (and extra fun).

In Trigger, players answer "True" or "False to various statements using their right hand for "True" and their left hand for "False." The first to answer using the correct hand signal collects a card. An example of one of the statements is "If I am your mother's brother, then I am your aunt." Players collect a card if they are the first to answer correctly, or lose a card if they are the first to answer incorrectly. "Trigger is a fast, fun party game. Your brain has to think quickly so you can answer the statement correctly and answer using the correct hand," Nicole Britton from Blue Orange Games told TDmonthly. Launch date: June 2011.
Awards: TDmonthly Top Toy Award, January 2012; 2011 ASTRA Best Toys for Kids
— Why it won: Super fun, for small or large groups of friend or strangers. Rapidly paced and often hilarious, players learn new facts about their opponents, and about their own abilities to be observant.