HearthSong Toys Inspire Creative Play

Creative play is an essential part of childhood. The open-ended nature of creative play encourages children to use their imagination to the fullest. Creative toys also foster a sense of independence that helps children learn about themselves and their world. Hence, some of the best children's toys are those that inspire creative play. While there are many companies that sell high-quality creative toys, HearthSong is one of my favorites.

HearthSong was founded in 1983 by Barbara Kane, whose goal was to provide parents with age-appropriate educational toys, and wholesome toys that promoted creative play. The name HearthSong was chosen to reflect core family values: the Hearth as a traditional symbol of the home, coupled with Song to represent family spirit and playfulness.

The first HearthSong catalog was printed in black and white with pencil drawings of carefully chosen children's toys and books, and mailed from Barbara's home. The company has grown considerably over the last 25 years and today, HearthSong is nationally known for its quality selection of creative toys, fun games and crafts, educational toys, and unique playthings you won't find anywhere else.

Now, their beautiful photographed, full-color catalog offers 60 to 90 pages of "Toys You'll Feel Good About Giving" (the HearthSong slogan), and their comprehensive website is professionally done and easy to shop. One of the coolest things about the HearthSong website is that you can browse the entire print catalog online - every single page! I still love getting their print catalog in the mail, but I enjoy looking at it online as well.

Major categories on the website include: Shop by Age, Toys & Games, Arts & Crafts, At Home, Gift Ideas and On Sale. You can also shop online by featured collections: HearthSong Exclusives, Made in the USA, Award Winners, Web Exclusives, and What's New. They have an Outdoor Fun section that includes tons of active toys, as well as fun gardening products and outdoor sports.

HearthSong has their own product development team, and offers hundreds of unique toys and games, seasonal decorations, and unusual crafts that kids and parents can make together. Additionally, HearthSong carries children's toys from renowned companies like Melissa & Doug, Alex, and Webkinz; eco-friendly, battery free playthings from Green Toys and Sprig Toys; and a great selection of educational toys for kids of all ages. HearthSong also offers many "made in Germany" products, including Haba games, Steiff stuffed animals and Kathe Kruse handmade dolls.

You can sign up for email marketing from Hearthsong to receive special offers, sale notices and free or reduced shipping, especially around the major holidays. They don't email you excessively (typically about twice a week) but if you find that too intrusive you can request to receive emails from them just a few times a month.

Although HearthSong children's toys are now only sold by catalog and online, they previously had a retail store in Sebastopol, California for many years. It was always overrun with kids because it wasn't your typical sterile "do not touch anything" toy store. They actually had a space in the back of the store with tons of their toys that kids could sit down and play with.

If you want creative toys for creative play time, or educational toys for learning fun, check out HearthSong children's toys today.

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