Melissa & Doug Toys

Melissa & Doug are an amazing success story, and it's hard to believe that in the relatively short time they started their business from a garage of Doug's parents in 1988 till now, they've become one of the popular toy makers in the world.

In an age where kids are being dumbed down and the need for helping them build up their creativity and thinking skills, the types of toys offered by Melissa and Doug meet a great to niche demand that has helped propel them to their success.

There are so many varieties of toys from Melissa & Doug out there now, you can't even keep up with them. To help you in that regard, I thought I'd put together some of their more popular toys to give you some gift ideas for your children or grandchildren.

Toys from Melissa & Doug have received an endless array of awards from producing a "best toy" to parenting, while receiving enormous exposure in the various media outlets.

Anyway, with all of that, let's take  a look at some of the popular toys offered by Melissa and Doug and why they generate so much positive feedback from those buying them for the little ones in their lives.

As with most of Melissa & Doug toys, this is a very simple but effective toy made for those children who enjoy copying adults in their activities. Some may be surprised that this is one of the more popular Melissa & Doug toy sold, and is called the Slice and Bake Cookie Set.

Included with the cute set are 12 wooden, sliceable cookies, sturdy dough tube to store the cookies in, and a play knife. With the cookies connected by velcro, the children can pretend they're cutting the cookies before they make them from the dough tube. Lot's of fun!

This 'Easel Companion Set' from Melissa & Doug has received rave reviews from those buying it for the little ones in their lives,

Not only does it encourage creativity in children, but it also is designed well so they can do it with minimum mess. Users confirm the cups are spill proof, and the trays are able to easily catch the dust from chalk or drips from paint to keep their play time mess manageable.

A stamp set is always compelling to children, and add the many colors and nine scenes a child can color in, and you have a fantastic and creative toy children can use over and over again to design an endless array of colorful scenes.

The ink from the pads are washable, so there's no need to be concerned if the art of your children or grandchildren will be permanently displayed in your home.

This wooden easel from Melissa & Doug is really popular, and the adjustable height, which also has a place to lock in the paper is great for when the little ones start to create their art. The height adjustment also allows the wooden easel to grow with the children, so it can have a long and relevant use for them.

I personally think it's far more instructive when using a great educational toy like Melissa and Doug's 'See & Spell' to learn with. The need to interact through placing the letters where they need to adds an extra dimension to me that is no only a great learning tool, but fun for the child. Most people using this learning toy have loved it for their children or grandchildren.

This group of fantastic wood piece in a variety of shapes is among my favorite toys for children, and whether it's a girl or a boy, they seem to really gravitate toward these wonderfully creative toys, which teach them so many aspects of life, including being a great "tool for teaching math concepts, organizational skills, sequential skills, and spatial relations."
Describe the learning as you want, they're also just a lot of fun to work with.

As the great educational and creative toys above show you, Melissa & Doug have created a wonderful group of toys that have helped parents have options for toys which can be a major part of helping their children develop while at play.  This is just a small sampling of their more popular ones.