BEST SELLERS

Shoot one of these little plastic arrow-helicopter-rotor gismos straight up with the included rubber band launcher and watch it soar as far as 300 feet! A fun outdoor toy that grows in sophistication as you learn how to adjust the arrowcopter for wind conditions and flight patterns: distance, return, circular descent etc. Our "each" contains a package of two (2). Recommended for kids over the age of 9.

Newtonian demonstrator for science teachers. Mindless play for the rest of us. These are shiny, nicely balanced, high-performance examples of the classic Newton's Cradle - a ball on one end of a row of (5) suspended, barely touching balls swings into the others, and the ball at the opposite end reacts to the collision. The 11/16" dia balls in the small version (all-metal frame 6-1/2" high x 4" x 4-1/4") will collide about 30 times. The 7/8" dia balls in the large version (metal frame 5-1/4" high x 4" x 6", with a wooden base) will collide about 100 times. Awesome. Even more awesome that we paid someone to count the bounces just for you! (Unpacking note: Less awesome if you just yank it out by the suspension lines and pull a couple of balls loose. Be gentle.)

Introducing the Aeromax 2000. This update of the classic parachute toy has mesh under the canopy instead of lines, so it's tangle-free. Big 20" chute floats the little 3-1/2" tall trooper gently to the ground. In assorted colors, which we'll pick because we have really good color sense.

Interesting wire contraption that we played with as a child. A series of (4) tiers of overlapping and intertwined brass wire semicircular hoops are anchored at the open end to a pair of full circles. The whole can be shaped into a tube, double balls, a flower petal, etc, depending upon what areas are opened, which closed. A variety of colored beads on the hoops add a decorative touch. Fun, intriguing and decorative all at the same time.

The draw-it-yourself jigsaw puzzle, just begging to have an invitation written on it, and then be mailed to potential guests as a handful of pieces. But this 28-piece cardboard puzzle also measures a desktop or car-friendly 6-3/4" x 4-3/4" in plain white, so it's also begging to have kids add a picture for the fun of it. It's even suggesting that you mix the 336 blank pieces in a pile, explain it's a dozen pictures of an albino moose in a snowstorm puzzle, which it might very well be for all we know, and award a prize for the first finished puzzle. Note the classroom and party-friendly bulk price.

Start them out right with this (profusely) hand-illustrated, 96-page book: The Story of Inventions. Includes toasters, toilets, television, computers, cars, chocolate bars, dishwashers, pianos, flying machines, bicycles and blue jeans among many others. Includes a timeline, glossary and index. No age recommendations, but we like it for pretty much anyone.

Just like our famous cow popper, but this guy is a 5-1/4” tall rubber axolotl with a mouth big enough to take a 1-1/8” dia foam ball and spit it 20 feet when you squeeze it, as you will want to do. And if you’re axolotl-ignorant, they’re neotenic salamanders, the world’s cutest amphibians, and they also answer to “Mexican walking fish.” Ours come with (6) foam balls for your axolotl-squeezing convenience. For ages 4+.

Go fly a kite. We highly recommend this rainbow-colored nylon parafoil version, measures 20" x 23" at its widest with a 14-foot tail (over three times longer than a tiger's) on a spindle with a couple hundred feet of string. Includes a carrying pouch, too, making it a very practical, portable parafoil.

We don't know the folks at TSA, but we're hoping they won't let you on the plane with this remote-controlled rattler, for everyone's sake. Measures approx 16" long with (22) segments and creeps along quite quickly when you push the forward, left or right buttons on the snake-eggish infrared remote. Remote runs on (3) button-cell batteries, included, and the snake is rechargeable via the included USB charge cord. Range is about 20 feet. We'll pick a snake in serpauthentic speckled gray, speckeld white, or green or orange, all with a nice retractable tongue. Ages 8+.

You never know when you might find yourself in a ramen noodle gang fight. This switchblade spork is 6-1/2" long and snaps open to 11". Has a pushbutton trigger switch and a sliding safety so you don't spork yourself by mistake. If Russ Tamblyn had had one of these, he might still be a Jet.

Naked squirrels always trouble us. For your instagrammatic pleasure, this 7-3/4" tall laminated squirrel cut-out stands on a folding easel and comes with (39) assorted, reusable vinyl clothing stickers, including tighty whities, pearls, a propeller beanie, sneakers, an argyle sweater and a whole bunch of holiday costumes. Easter bunny with a chain saw, anyone?

Can’t get to the gym? Need something to take your frustrations out on? Herewith, the desktop suction-cup speed bag. Measures 6-1/2" dia on a 5-1/2" spring with a 7" suction cup on the other end. Comes with an air pump to inflate it and the inflation needle stored in the pump's staft.. Works fine and takes a licking on a desktop, and might just hang on from a tile ceiling in a shower--for added fight-gym verisimilitude--but we don’t have an office shower to test it on.

It’s a proven stress reliever, banana knotting, and you can participate with our mega-squishy stress banana. Measures 6” long but will stretch to a couple feet. Filled with stress-relieving gel beads, and will take a good long time to return to its original banana shape, which just adds to your relief.

These little 2” pullback race cars are quick and extra-zippy--great for kids and foodies of all ages, as they’re all food-related. Come in a bunch of different styles, including a milk carton, corncob, BBQ chip bag, peanut butter jar, hunk of cheese, ketchup bottle, juice box, watermelon, egg, lemon and more. We’ll pick (4) different ones guaranteed to be cute. Or you can buy (28) at once and save lots of money that you can spend on trophies--or dinner. Ages 4+.

Very Mad Men-ish, these fuzzy stick-on mustaches, with models on the package so you can see exactly how you'd have looked in 1963. You get (7) 'staches, including the Hollywood, Hero, Bruiser and Weasel in black, the Square and Sheriff in brown, and the gray, handlebar Grampa. Great disguises. Great costumes.

Well, if you had a crystal ball, you'd be able to see that there's a crystal ball in your future, and you'd know not to pass up this very, very nice glass gazing ball. It's 4-1/4" dia (and heavy) and comes with a footed dark-wood stand that spins smoothly. The stand is just over 3" dia. Together, the ball and stand are 6-1/4" tall. Comes in a presentation and storage box. The perfect accessory for your next fortune-telling gig.

Yes, your desktop is made of atoms (you, too) but this is a 7" dia chrome and black model of an atomic structure (Boronish, Paul says) that keeps on turning via the magic of electromagnetics, at least until the 9V battery you put in it wears out. Stands approx 9" tall on its base.  Ignore that "perpetual motion" on the box, unless you have a perpetual battery. Minimal assembly required, but a maximum person like you won't have a problem with it.

A "Beam-Bending logic game," The Laser Maze™ is from the same madmen who created laser chess. You get a 25-position game-board with (5) target mirrors, (2) beam splitters, a double mirror and a cell blocker. Includes (60) challenge cards with puzzle solutions and a symbols key card, plus instructions. Fosters strategic thinking, problem-solving and logic. For ages 8 to adult--basically anyone who likes to watch beams bounce around trying to hit a target. Runs on (2) button-cell batteries, included.