Last year, we gave away a Playmobil Pyramid at the end of the 31 Days of Giveaways, and that item went on to be one of the most in-demand products of the 2009 holiday season. We’re curious if history will repeat itself with the Furnished School Building. Playmobil has certainly upped their game with this beautifully detailed play set. The ... Read More »

We’re big cupcake fans here at Magic Beans. But then who isn’t? Earlier this month Treat Cupcake Bar opened in Needham, right down the road from our Wellesley location. We welcomed them with open arms. On our birthday they made beautiful cupcake creations that were almost too pretty to eat – almost. David LaLiberte, the owner of Treat, lives in ... Read More »

I haven't done a blog post about the Taga Bike & Stroller yet, mostly because I've been waiting until we actually had some to sell. Every shipment has sold out before it even came in. It's a good problem to have. I first heard about the Taga in July of 2008, right before they showed their product for the first ... Read More »

This is the time of year when parents start to get nervous about mosquitoes. The media starts talking about scary, mosquito-borne illnesses, and suddenly every time you hear that high-pitched whine in your ear, it’s a life-or-death mission to find and eviscerate the perpetrator. Despite the hype, most mosquito bites are harmless. But they’re itchy and annoying no matter what, ... Read More »

This past May, during my whirlwind, hours-long visit to the ABC Spring Conference in Louisville, I found myself traveling back to Boston with Lauren Monahan, one of the founders of UPPAbaby. There are no direct flights from Louisville to Boston, and we were going to be changing planes in Detroit. Our layover was quick – under 50 minutes – and ... Read More »

The Massachusetts state senate will be voting this week on whether to approve a Tax Free Holiday for the weekend of August 14-15 2010. Except for 2009, Massachusetts has had a Tax Free Holiday every August since our first store opened in 2004. It’s a great gift from the Commonwealth to the people and businesses in this state, and we’re ... Read More »

My personal experience with swings amounts to this: you get a swing, you spend half a day assembling it, and then your baby refuses to sit in it. Most of the time I tell expectant parents not to register for one – some babies like them and some don’t. If you’ve got a baby who needs a swing, you’ll know ... Read More »

To be honest, I’m still bitter about the disappearance of Brio, the company that became a household name with their simple wooden trains. The beginning of the end happened when Brio decided to turn computer innards into the next big metaphor in wooden trains. But there was one big problem – the little email-delivery techie thingies weren’t trains. Not too ... Read More »

At the end of August, Britax is preparing to launch their most significant overhaul of their car seat line in… well… maybe forever. Britax is a company that is totally obsessed with car seat safety. A few years ago, research started coming out that revealed head injury to be the leading cause of death for children in automobile accidents. Britax ... Read More »

Maclaren is currently rolling out (haha) a “next generation” stroller frame with a redesigned hinge mechanism. The new design features a circular pivoting hinge and totally eliminates any risk of pinching during folding and unfolding. My sources at Maclaren USA tell me this new hinge has been in the works for several years and is a logical design evolution, not ... Read More »