Holgate Toys – Made in the USA Toy Review & Giveaway! {CLOSED}



Holgate Express Train

I am so excited to share the first in our series of reviews of Made in the USA Toys!

Holgate Toys has been in business since 1789, and has been making toys since 1929…truly an American company. All of their wooden toys are Made in the USA from sustainable hardwoods and using non-toxic paint. Holgate has been exceeding safety standards for years, long before the CPSIA requirements.



Holgate's early workshop

Holgate is a company rich in American history. In the year 1789, America's Constitution was signed and George Washington became the country's first President. It was also the year Cornelius Holgate established his Pennsylvania woodworking shop! In 1929, the company expanded its product line by making educational pre-school wooden toys. Holgate's early toy designer was Jarvis Rockwell, brother of famous illustrator Norman Rockwell. Jarvis Rockwell's concern for safety, durability and educational play earned him recognition as America's premier toy designer during this period. With the great consumer success of its toys, Holgate began concentrating on this segment of its business. Today Holgate is synonymous with toys... and still making the finest wooden toys in America.



Bingo Bed

My personal and professional experience with Holgate has always been a positive one. Their toys are excellent quality wood toys, at reasonable prices! The toys they offer are educational and geared toward the developmental needs of young children. One of my favorite things about Holgate Toys (besides the fact that they are made in the USA!) is that they require the child to participate in the play, and thus the learning. No batteries needed here! Just imagination!



Hickory Dickory Dock Clock

Holgate has toys for children of all ages. Their infant toys, such as rattles and baby blocks, are perfect for baby’s first toys. Toddlers love pull toys, and Holgate provides a variety of these toys with their My First series: My First Train, My First Boat, and My First Block Wagon. For preschoolers, Holgate has educational toys like their Hickory Dickory Dock Clock, which helps develop motor skills while teaching early concepts such as numbers, shapes, sorting, and more. For details on these products and pricing, see our Holiday Gift Guide (coming soon).



Rocky Color Cone

One of our favorite Holgate Toys is the Rocky Color Cone stacking toy. This stacker is a beautiful, lasting heirloom toy. Both of my children have enjoyed many playtimes with this wonderful toy, and ours is still in excellent condition after several years of use. It is unique from other stackers in its size and quality! The size of the cone is smaller than other stacking cones, but I found that to be one of its advantages. The stacking pieces are the perfect fit for little hands. The smooth, colorful finishes keep the little one’s attention, and the pieces make a wonderful clacking noise when banged together! It is fun to watch the cone rock, roll and fall. As the child develops, the toy helps very young children learn about size, ordering, and the way things fit together. It provides excellent fine motor skill practice. And when the child wants to put it in his mouth, which inevitably happens, there are no worries about the product’s origins or the safety of the finish. The Rocky Color Cone is in our Holiday Gift Guide as an excellent idea for a Holiday gift for a child on your list.

Buy it: This toy retails for $18.00. It can be purchased here. Other Holgate toys we carry can be found here.

Win it: Holgate Toys has generously offered a FREE Rocky Color Cone to one of our customers or followers! What a great way to check off one item on your Holiday shopping list!


1. Mandatory Entry: please visit our website (http://www.all-americanbaby.net/) and return with a comment on one item that you LOVE!


Additional Entries (must complete mandatory entry first):


2. "Liking" us on Facebook,
3. TWO extra entries for following our blog! (Remember to leave two comments for this or it will only count once!)
4. Subscribe via email or RSS
5. Add your networked blog
6. Blog about this giveaway with a link back to All-American Baby Blog, and leave the URL to your blog post in the comment for an additional entry.


Be sure to leave an additional comment for each entry to get credit! And please leave a way to contact you! Comments without contact information will be disqualified. Contest ends 11:59 p.m. EST November 22, 2010.



Please note that all comments are moderated, so your comment will not appear until it has been approved.


Disclosure: This blog is used to promote American-made children's products, and our retail website All-American Baby. Many of the products reviewed here are available for purchase from our online store, http://www.all-americanbaby.net/. I am always on the look-out for only the best products to offer to parents looking for American-made items. I will only promote high quality, safe products that are made in the USA, whether in my store or in my blog. Holgate Toy is providing the gift for the winner of this giveaway. All views and opinions with regard to the products or manufacturer itself are my own and were not influenced, nor reviewed, by the manufacturer prior to posting. Offer Valid US only!

Wordless Wednesday - Oh, did you want some???

Winner - Bamboo Velour Baby Blanket Giveaway

Thank you to everyone who participated in our Bamboo Velour Blanket Giveaway.  We used a True Random Number Generator from random.org to select our winner. 

Our winner is "Laura", comment # 36! Congratulations Laura! Look for our email!

Did you miss this giveaway?  No problem!  We will be having several new All American-made giveaways starting this week!

An American-made Holiday Challenge…Are you up to the Challenge?

Okay, I am the first to admit it; buying American can be difficult sometimes. And not just because it is hard to find American-made products… it can be especially challenging to stick with “made in the USA” when you have a 4-year-old who is very much into the “Princesses” and Little Ponies.  But every time I break down and buy a princess costume or a cheap plastic toy, I end up regretting it.  Not only because the junky toys end up all over my house (that's a whole different post on clutter and over-buying), but because every time she has it in her hands I have the creepy feeling that I want her to go and wash them.  And if her baby brother gets ahold of it…of course it goes right in his mouth, and I end up having to make it “disappear”.  What a waste! 

We are on a tight budget, and sometimes the American-made products can be a little more expensive than their imported counterparts.  But often there is such a huge difference in quality and safety!  I have so much more peace of mind when the kids are playing with toys that I know are safe.  Plus, when is the last time you heard a talking wood toy?  I love the quiet, imaginative play that occurs when the kids are engaged with toys that don’t blink or talk to them, or tell them how to play.  So much more development is going on when they are using their imaginations to create or role play.  Realistically, I know that I will end up purchasing some imported items this Christmas…really, foreign trade is a good thing! However, I saw some numbers that put it into perspective for me:  Last year the United States had $296 billion in imports from China, but only $69 billion in exports to China, according to the US-China Business Council at www.uschina.org.    So, wherever I can make the choice to buy American, I am going to make the effort.  Because it is not only about my own children; it is actually much bigger than that.  It is about supporting the companies, the workers and our nation as well.  Will you take the Challenge with me? 

Beginning today and continuing for several weeks, I will be highlighting some wonderful American-made Holiday gift ideas from American manufacturers, to give you the power of choice!  Many of these products are available on our retail website, All-American Baby, but I also plan to share some products that you might be able to find right on the shelves of your local stores!  Plus look for some great American-made Toy Giveaways in the coming weeks as well! Taking this American-made Holiday Challenge means that you will simply make the effort to buy more American-made products for holiday gifts.  It doesn’t mean you are boycotting imported goods!  So let’s make the effort, make the choice, and take the American-made Holiday Challenge!

Coming Soon!

I am happy to announce our All American Christmas Event with some exciting upcoming Reviews, Giveaways, and an all-inclusive Holiday Gift Guide…with ALL American-made products!  There are many holiday shopping guides out there, but ours is unique in the fact that everything is Made in the USA!  We have some great product reviews and giveaways planned to help you get ready for the holidays with safe, high quality, American-made toys and accessories.  We will be spotlighting some of the many toys available on our retail website, but also sharing our insider tips on how to buy American-made in your local stores and (yes, elsewhere!) on the internet.  If you are tired of poor quality products of questionable safety cluttering your child’s play area, then this is the place to be in November.  Please check back often as we add products and links.

If you have an American-made product that you are interested in having included in our Holiday Gift Guide, or would like us to do a review or host a giveaway for you, please contact me.  Open to Made in the USA products only.

Friday Blog Hops!

Here are some fun blog hops...meet new friends, learn new things!  See you there!

Thank you to our American Veterans

Today is Veteran’s Day. A day of remembrance and appreciation for those who have risked their lives so that we can live freely. Please take a moment to reflect on the freedoms that you enjoy, and explain to your children why it is an important holiday. Simply saying “Thank you” to a veteran or to current military personnel is a great activity you can do with your kids to help them understand the importance of the day.

http://www.letssaythanks.com/

One simple way to say a simple thank you to military personnel stationed overseas is through the Let’s Say Thanks website. According to the website, the mission of Let's Say Thanks is to provide a way for individuals across the country to recognize U.S. troops stationed overseas. By submitting a message through this site you have the opportunity to send a free personalized postcard greeting to deployed servicemen and women.

The postcards, depicting patriotic scenes and hometown images, were selected from a pool of entries from children across the country.

All you have to do is click on your favorite design and either select the message that best expresses your sentiment or draft a personal note. The postcards are then printed on the Xerox iGen3® Digital Production Press and mailed in care packages by military support organization Give2TheTroops®.



http://www.kidsthankavet.com/

Another way to help your children understand Veteran’s Day is to visit the Kids Thank a Vet website. This site has great information for kids on veterans, and how you can say a simple thank you to a veteran in your community or even in your family!  They even have some tips for kids on how to say an appropriate thank you to a veteran.  There are also some great activity pages and other resources.  You can even start a Kids Thank a Vet chapter in your community!

Please take a few minutes today to say your thanks, and at the same time help your children learn about the men and women who worked, and those who are still working, to make our country a safe place.