Pop up toys

[kymama]

I was planning to get my 9 month old DD a pop up toy, the kind where you have knobs or buttons to push, turn, and slide, a door opens, and an animal or something pops up, but I couldn't find one today at Target and the one that I found at TRU.com looked really annoying (Sesame Street characters pop up and sing). Do these toys still exist? Does anyone know of any websites that have "old-fashioned" toys that aren't electronic? TIA!

Dana

[Momof3Labs]

No advice for you - my mom kept the one that I played with almost 30 years ago! Colin is just now starting to get the hang of it - before, he really could only close the pop up doors.

[Karenn]

The only new one that I can find is the sesame street one you describe. It's the one I have, and even with the batteries out, it's annoying. Plus, my DS figured out how to open the doors without even using the little buttons! When he wants to see Elmo, he just pulls the lid up!

There were quite a few older ones on E-bay going for $5-$10 but you're right to stay away from that Sesame Street one! :)

In terms of "old fashion" toys, I just got a catalog in the mail today called "Back To Basics Toys" and it was full of classic toys! I couldn't find a website, but their number is 1-800-356-5360. (It didn't have a pop-up toy though.)

[egoldber]

I have one made by Playskool that I got at my local TRU about 18 months ago. It doesn't make any noises at all. That Sesame Street one is REALLY annoying!!

And in my experience, a lot of places (like TRU, Target, Zany Brainy, Marshalls, TJ Maxx), still have these types of toys, they just aren't advertised or promoted like the fancy, more expensive, electronic ones.

HTH,

[sarasprings]

We got the same one -- the last one on the shelf at our tru. I've seen a bunch at garage sales this summer, too.

[trumansmom]

We found ours at a garage sale for $1.50!

Jeanne
Mom to Truman 11/29/01 and EDD 4/23/04!

[colleenfs]

Keep looking, and ask for a traditional Jack-in-a-box. I've seen them in more specialty toy stores.

Colleen
Mama to Julia 1-10-02

[JLiebCamm]

I was ay TJ Maxx today and saw two different versions of the toy that you describe. I forget who the manufacturer was (Tolo, maybe?) but both were very cute.

[mama2be]

I saw a "Cat in the Hat" one one time on the internet...if I can find it I might grab that one :)...

If you're into Cat in the Hat I'll do a search...

[August Mom]

This one is a little different than what you are describing, but I just saw it in Baby Talk magazine and thought I'd pass it along in case it interests you. At least it won't have annoying sounds. :) It's the Boing Boing Mouse Wood Activity Toy. You push the mice down and then they pop back up. http://www.babyscholars.com/boingboingmice.html

[August Mom]

How about a pop out toy? Someone gave DS the FP Tappy the Turtle and he loves it. http://www.fisher-price.com/us/products/product.asp?id=17869 There's no annoying music. :) And, the shapes can be pushed down by hand, saving the mallet for later. DS is just over 12 months. He can depress all the shapes and make the turtle's head pop out but generally needs assistance to push the turtle's head back in. HTH

[kymama]

Thank your for all of your suggestions! I'm still trying to decide what to get or whether to keep looking for the old pop up toy that I remember. Maybe I'm just being too nostalgic. It's really amazing that they are so hard to find. We don't have TJ Maxx around us, but I'll be around a Marshall's later this week and plan to look there. I'll also give TRU a try. I never imagined that I wouldn't be able to find such thing at Target or Walmart. Who knew?!

Karen, the Back to Basics catalog sounds really interesting. I need to give them a call and order a catalog. I tried finding a website and ended up the Scholastic Store. Don't know if Scholastic owns them or I ended up somewhere unrelated.

Neve, I saw the Cat in the Hat jack-in-the-box on the Baby Scholars website that August Mom gave. Unfortunately, though, it's out of stock. Maybe they'll get it in again.

Sorry, by the way for lumping this all together. These days it's hard to get on the computer, and this was the fastest way to respond. Thanks again!

Dana

[kymama]

Just wanted to say that I found nice, regular, non-annoying pop-up toy at Marshall's. The shelves were a disaster, and it was the only one I saw, so I consider myself lucky. DD seems to like it, so it was worth the hunt. Thanks again for all of the tips.

Dana

[August Mom]

What's it called and who makes it?

[kymama]

It's made by Battat, and I think it's just called Pop Up Friends. It's the same one that's in the Baby Bach video, I just realized this morning. It was $9.99 at Marshall's. A quick Google search returned some sites that carry Battat toys, but I didn't have time to see which carries this one.

[Mom2Miri]

The website is http://www.scholastic.com/backtobasics/ but the toys are only available through the catalog right now.

Helen
Mom to Mirielle 2/25/03