Hanukkah Harry's Hip & Happenin' Gift Guide: I see London, I see France...

I know that I'm not the only parent who has vowed not to purchase toys made of brightly colored plastic this holiday season.  I can only imagine that there are plenty of you out there who are desperate to find toys that do not play annoying jingles or require batteries (seriously, they should give you a jumbo-pack of batteries after giving birth because everything for children requires the stupid things).  Rest assured, parents in search of creative toys, that I've got your back.  

I've discovered an incredible line of Japanese wooden toys that are not only beautifully crafted but also designed to expand your child's imagination through play.  Japanese design studio Kiko+ has created The Machi Town series which features magnetized wooden pieces and chalk boards so that your child can create the cities of his or her imagination.  Made of eco-friendly beechwood and safely embedded with two magnets for use with the magnetized chalk boards, the Machi Town: Paris comes with a wooden Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and a Metro train.  Your little one can have a blast drawing his own street map with the enclosed pieces of chalk.  Who knows?  Maybe your daughter's reimagining of Paris will rival that of Baron Haussman's and lead to a lucrative career as a city planner!  After all, the French really should do something about that roundabout of death at the base of the Arc de Triomphe.  

If you're more of a "Freedom Fries" type, there's also a Machi Town: London, complete with Big Ben, the British Museum, the London Eye and a double-decker bus.  Just be sure that your kid knows they drive on the wrong side of the road, as we wouldn't want any wooden-people fatalities.  Each set costs $37.00, so you can certainly afford to get one for all the kiddos on your gift list.  

If you live in LA, you can pick up these and many other fantastic gifts at A + R.  They have wonderful kid stuff as well as goodies for pretty much all of your gift recipients.  They have locations on both the Eastside and the Westside, so you really can't complain too much about having to drive a long distance in holiday traffic.  You can also order on their website, and if you buy enough (which I'm sure you will when you see the selection) shipping is free over $100.00.  Go ahead and grab one of these fantastic sets while they're still in stock, because every child should have the chance to redesign the confusing streets of a major European city.