The 2011 Best Toys for Kids list is a great tool to use when you’re making your holiday shopping list. It features toys that deliver exceptional value and expand a child’s imagination, toys that invite discovery and exploration, toys that get kids moving, toys that build creativity, toys that fascinate babies, and even toys that delight hard-to-shop-for pre-teens.

This list is created by the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association, ASTRA for short. The group is made up of 500 local and independent toy retailers across the country, including Earth Explorer Toys. We all get together every year and use our collective experience to vote for toys in a variety of categories. It’s an honest impartial evaluation of the toys we truly believe are great!

When you see the Best Toys for Kids seal that means we believe the toys are:

• Engaging: Encourage creativity, invite exploration and spark a child’s interest and imagination anew each and every time he/she plays.
• Unique: Delight children with original concept and ambitious design.
• Open-Ended: Grow with the child as he/she advances from one developmental stage to the next. Introduce and reinforce age-specific skills while opening up limitless possibilities.
• Fun and Safe: Most of all, provide hours of fun play, while meeting or exceeding all current federal safety standards.

Click here to browse all the wonderful toys Earth Explorer Toys carries with the Best Toys for Kids seal.

And here are a few quick examples of toys from the 2011 list that we think rock!

Falcon Knights’ Castle: Activate traps and prepare the knights to guard the Falcon’s Knight Castle from intruders. This Playmobil castle comes with a drawbridge, breakout wall, drop-down ladder, trap door, four Falcon Knights, a horse, functional cannon and many other accessories for hours of entertainment. Age 4 to 10.

Nanoblock Easter Island: Explore world famous architecture with these small-scale models. Nanoblock is a micro-sized building block system with its smallest piece being a mere 1/8″ x 1/8″ x 3/16.” Each kit is a challenge that every generation will enjoy, together or alone. Age 8 to adult.

Shrinky Dinks Fairy Garden: Color and bake these Shrinky Dinks and transform a pop-up garden into a fun fairy hide-away. 50 pre-cut Shrinky Dinks come ready to color and shrink. Decorate the playscape with 3D fairies, flowers, forest friends and sparkling glitter glue accents. Garden measures 14” wide by 11¼” high. Age 7 to 12.

Let us know if you have questions about any of the toys on the list. We’re happy to help!