"toys" news and stories

For years and years, the best thing about eating cold cereal in the morning was the fact that toys came in the boxes. They were tiny and cheap, but they were free and that is all that matters when kids are concerned. As sponsors moved their toys to happy meals and cereal companies began cutting costs, the free cereal toys became fewer and farther between. To delight of kids everywhere, and probably more than a few adults, Ford is reviving the tradition of toys in cereal boxes by putting 600,000 Ford Fusion Hot Wheels into boxes of Kellogg's cereal sold at Target stores. No cutting bar codes or collection box tops necessary.

Ford is, of course, trying to promote its mid-sized Fusion by appealing to families with kids. The cereals that have the cars will be Froot Loops, Apple Jacks, Frosted Flakes and Cocoa Krispies, all likely to be consumed by cartoon-watching children on Saturday morning, but the parents will be the ones reading the boxes and learning more about the car. At least, that's what Ford is hoping. The rest of us are just hoping that other companies follow suit.

I need some new x-ray specs.

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It's fun to check out Topher's Cereal Character Guide, which lists just about every cartoon cereal character you can imagine (and some you can't), but another fun part of the cereal box is the back. The back of the boxes have games, puzzles, promotions and other information. They change frequently, but there is a site that has a cereal box archive, with photos of both the fronts and the backs of hundreds of cereal boxes. Many of the boxes advertise free or discounted products that tie in to the cereal itself. Merchandise includes dartboards, gum and even door knockers - all of which can make us remember why we got up to eat cereal and watch cartoons on weekend mornings: free stuff. 

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Generally, meat is for eating and not to be used as a toy. In this case, however, I think we can make an exception. Sweet Meats sells (vegetarian!) meat plushies, all made from and stuffed with a super-soft fleece. The varieties they sell include ham, t-bone and pork chops, as well as ribs and hot links. Most of the plushies are available in a "family size" for those who like their meat larger, too.

It seems like they would make an amusing gift for vegetarian friends, since no animals were harmed in the making of these meats, or a cute alternative to a teddy bear for a young carnivore-in-training. Can you imagine a little kid carrying around a plush steak instead of a security blanket? Adorable!

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Nick posted about crocheted food a week ago, noting that it was far more popular than he had anticipated. Some of the creations were fantastic, but if you're not very crafty, it's going to be hard to fit in with your cupcake-crocheting friends. The solution is to get some pre-made play foods, like the ones available from Mahar Drygoods. Each of the food items is hand-crafted from soft felt and makes a great starting set for your budding chef because there is no risk of cooking-related injuries. The sets available include pancake and bacon breakfast set, a brown bag lunch (pictured), a dinner set and a pizza. Heck, they're cute for any chef. I know that I want the those pancakes!

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It seems that Giant Food Stores loves to sponsor events that get principals dirty. First, they sponsored an event at a York, Pennsylvania elementary school where the principal became a human burger and now they have a principal dunking her head in a vat of chocolate pudding. To help raise money for the school's Life Skills class, Kristin Herb, the principal of Carlisle High School, went bobbing for objects that were hidden in a huge container of pudding in front of a cheering crowd of students. Though she requested the flavor, after pulling out a plastic action figure, a baby's teething ring, a rubber ball, a squid and a toy dog bone, she probably won't be eating any voluntarily for quite some time.

[Image The Sentinel]

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