If you want a pre-selected collection of baby toys to give to a mom-to-be at your next baby shower, I found just the thing. The Sassy Baby 9 Piece Developmental Toy Gift Set is sold for $27.99 at Amazon.com. With teethers, rattles, and links, it’s the answer to the lazy (or just really busy) shopper’s prayers.  There’s a less expensive Sassy Baby’s First Rattle and Teether 5 Piece Gift Set for $14.99 as well.

These Brightlings Matchers by Leap Frog will reward your child by twirling, chiming, and shining whenever he correctly matches the halves of the toy. Your child will be responding to colors and motion and learning about matching and sequencing all at the same time. Of course, he’ll think he’s just having fun playing with these Brightlings Matchers.

You can view this item at babyearth.com, where they are priced at $7.95 each. It would be a great gift idea for baby’s shower. The baby who receives these Brightlings Matchers will be getting a real head start.

These Brightling Dancers by LeapFrog will help teach your baby the principal of cause and effect. Each time your baby bats or pushes one of these Brightlings, it responds with a wobble, a whirl, and a spin & shine movements. These are so bright and colorful, they’d be a pretty addition to a baby shower gift.

Visit babyearth.com to view these little Brightlings by Leap Frog, where they are priced at$7.95 each.

One of the best gifts my son received the year of his first Christmas was this Learn & Groove Musical Table from Leap Frog. He was 9 months old, the perfect age for this developmental toy (the recommended age range for the Learn & Groove Musical Table is 6 months to 3 years). This toy stimulated my son’s musical interests, with over 40 learning songs. There are plenty of lights, sounds, buttons to push, levers to slide, and things to open and close. It also teaches children the numbers from 1 to 10, colors, and opposites, in both English and Spanish. The table’s legs are removable so that it can travel and be stored easily.

My son played with this toy nonstop until he was about 3 years old, so it was well worth the price. It’s currently on sale for $32.99 at LeapFrog.com.

Since my little man turned two months, he’s been more active and more interested in the world around him. I like the Ladybug Playmat made by Pintsize Productions because it has “stations” you can place your baby on during tummy time. With all kinds of things to touch and see, he’s bound to enjoy it. It’s colorful, stimulating, and cute. I think it would fit in fine in any nursery and even in your living room, as it’s not done in unattractive or dated colors or in too many patterns and colors.

The Ladybug Playmat is available online only for $49.99 at ToysRUs.com.

Why is it that once a toddler has filled a container, he wants to dump it? I remember the Halloween when my son was 2, he went out trick-or-treating for the first time with his pumpkin container. When he got home, his favorite activity was to dump all of the candy he’d collected onto the floor, then put it back into the pumpkin, then dump it again. He didn’t even care about eating any candy, he was just having a ball dumping and re-filling the container.

That’s the beauty behind this Candy Jar Fill & Spill by Melissa & Doug. The candy jar is made of safe phalate-free plastic, and the “candy” consists of four soft, multi-textured toys that rattle, squeak, and jingle. Besides being fun for your child, this activity hones hand-eye coordination and helps to develop motor skills.

Recommended for ages 6 months to 3 years, this unique toy sells for $19.99 at HunkyDoryOnline.com. It would make a great holiday gift for your little one to find (and dump) under the tree.

The Build a World See-Thru Stories consist of a series of transparent stacking boxes. Scenes inside the boxes include animals, buildings, farm, ocean, backyard, and jungle. Children can stack them together to practice stacking skills, but also to encourage stories. It’s a toy designed to spark your child’s imagination as she puts together various combinations to create her own stories.

This innovative toy by Alex would make a great Christmas gift for children ages 2 and up. You can purchase it at PeppyParents.com, where it sells for $14.95.

One of the items we received when my son was an infant was an activity mat. I wondered exactly how beneficial it would be, until I put my baby on it and he absolutely loved it. He could bat at the toys on the hanging bar while he laid on his back, and then get up and move when he was old enough. He learned to roll, crawl, and sit up while on his activity mat.

The Shangri-La Activity Mat and Portico looks like a top-of-the-line activity mat. First of all, it’s reversible, so your baby is exposed to bright colors  and soft, smooth, fuzzy fabric on one side and stimulated by black and white on the other. It has a pop-up, fold-down leg so it’s easy to set up and to store. It also comes with 8 removable clip-on Kushies Zolo toys that are compatible with other toys of the same brand. The manufacturer says it also includes a “pressure activated sound pod,” which would stimulate the auditory part of your baby’s brain.

These activity mats are great for developing motor skills, sensory stimulation, and all-around fun for your baby. You can view this activity mat at babygeared.com, where it retails for $120. It would make a great Christmas gift.

Now this is something different. The Dress Up Animals from Plan Toys are made from natural, chemical free rubber wood and finished with non-toxic and child friendly colors. So these toys are safe for your child to chew on (and she will). But what is really different are the two adaptable animal suits to turn the figures into all sorts of animals. Your child can mix and match heads and bodies to create her own animal kingdom. Another feature is that one suit secures with a rope lace and the other with a button. You child can play, create and develop her fine motor skills that she can use when she learn to dress herself.

You can purchase this item at oompa.com for $21.99. It would make a great Christmas gift.

This is a fun toy to surprise your baby with. Just pull the little red nose and the Motor Ball from Kathe Kruse will begin wiggling, jiggling, and shaking. Your baby will be anxious to get his little hands on this soft cotton and cotton terry ball.

Designed and made in Germany, you can purchase the Motor Ball at oompa.com for just $12.99. The bright colors and friendly smile are an eye catcher and invites a child to play. And while he is playing he is also developing his fine motor skills as he reaches out to manipulate the nose, which leads to recognizing cause and effect - pull the nose and the ball wiggles.

These Wheely Bugs by Prince Lionheart are designed for indoor play. They’re not only made with safety and fun in mind, they’re made to run quietly. Each Wheely Bug is padded with a layer of soft sponge, has an inner body core of non-compressible foam, is entirely non-toxic, contains no PVC, and weighs 4 lbs.

Select your choice of Bee or Bug at BabyAnt.com where the Wheely Bug is priced at $64.99.

The Parents Busy Zoo toy is a great option for moms and dads who want to find high-quality, educational toys this holiday season.  I bought one of these for my toddler when she was about 18 months old, and it has really been very well-received at our house.  My daughter still plays with it, and other children who have come over to our house have been drawn to it as well.

Designed for children ages 12 months and up, this wooden toy features a bead maze, cute animal alphabet spinners , peek-a-boo doors (a favorite in my experience), and much more.  The colors are attractive and appealing and the toy adds a bit of cheer to any child’s bedroom or play room.  With so much play value, it does not surprise me that the toy has received a Parents’ Choice Award (2006).

You can purchase one of these fun toys for $49.95 at Target.com.

This Travel Wall Panel by educo is a different way for your youngster to find his way through a maze puzzle. Usually these types of mazes are set on a wooden platform or table. Place this Wall Panel at a child’s height and he’ll naturally gravitate to the colorful print and moving parts.

This would also be helpful if you’re a little tight for space. It eliminates the need for a table or floor space. And it makes a bright and cheery wall mural also.

The Travel Wall Panel is designed for ages 2 and up. It is made of wood and wire and encourages imaginative play and cooperative play. There are no removable parts. The toy measures 33.5″ H x 1.375″ W x 40″ D and costs $159.00 at allchildrensfurniture.com.

The Wood Fun Stacker by Plan Toys has fun shapes that allow hundreds of different combinations. This is not the usual stacker toy that we’re used to seeing, where the plastic rings go from larger to smaller rings to be placed in descending order on the plastic peg. With these unique shapes your child will always create a new design.

This toy measures  7.3″ x 4″ x 6.7″ and is for ages 2 and up. You can purchase it for $17.95 at sensoryedge.com.

The Dashboard Driving Activity Wall Panel by Anatex has a key and ignition, steering wheel and horn, gearshift, speedometer and a pretend window with an open road ahead. All you have to do is pull up a comfortable chair and your child is on his way.

All children want to get a hold of the steering wheel. One day I drew a picture much like the one for the Dashboard Driving Activity Wall Panel on poster board and taped it to the wall. It didn’t have working instruments but I improvised. I used a cardboard roll from a Christmas wrap and taped it to the chair as a gear shift. I think I cut out a steering wheel from cardboard also and attached it to something my kids could pretend to steer. My three children took turns being the driver. We set up more chairs for a passenger seat and back seat, and whomever was driving pretended to be a taxi driver. We placed a stereo radio by the steering wheel and played music. It was fun!

With all the extras and sounds, I’m sure this Dashboard Driving Activity Wall Panel will really help your child to imagine he is behind the wheel. If you get in the “car” with him you’ll really enjoy listening to his imagination.

This toy is designed for ages 3 and up, and measures 23.5″ x 27″ x 2.” Purchase one for $149.87 at 1888toys.com.