I love our local Mastermind Toys store! I come here year round, but especially with the holidays on the way, this is one of my favourite places to shop. They carry a huge selection of thousands of quality toys and books, and every single one is selected with an eye to engage and inspire kids.
Another reason I love shopping at Mastermind Toys is the friendly and knowledgeable staff there. They’re fantastic at suggesting gift ideas for everyone on my list, even when I haven’t the foggiest clue. But if you can’t get into the store in person, then Mastermind Toys has you covered with their annual Holiday Toys Gift Guide. Parents, grandparents, aunties and uncles, gift givers everywhere, rejoice! It’s the next best thing to having your very own toy consultant.
When I’m shopping for kids’ toys, I look for toys that will encourage creativity, imaginative play, and problem-solving; in other words, engage and inspire! That’s why Magformers are one of my top choices every year.
Instead of physically locking together like other building sets, these BPA-free HQABS plastic construction shapes contain rare-earth neodymium magnets that attach all around, not just top and bottom. Neodymium magnets are the strongest type of permanent magnet commercially available, and they allow us to build pretty much anything we want with them. The magnets are securely enclosed in small channels that allow them to freely rotate inside so they always connect and never reject. (These are pieces from another set, but I wanted you to be able to see the magnets inside.)
My girls already have some Magformers which they play with all the time, and I love to add new sets with new kinds of pieces to help them create more intricate builds. All the pieces are compatible with every other set so you don’t need to worry about the pieces not playing well together (unlike my kids, that is).
This Magformers Sweet House 64 Piece Set comes with a selection of specialty pieces designed to let my kids build their dream house. It includes double-sided (pink and white) basic building pieces, faux brick/shingle tiles, columns, single and double arched windows/doors, hinged windows that really open, 2 balconies, a set of stairs, 2 (non-magnetic) trees, and a colour-changing LED box for light-up effects.
The set also comes with a booklet with step-by-step instructions for building 10 different houses and shops to get the kids started on their engineering careers. This is The Vacation Home, just one of a virtually unlimited range of designs that kids can create. I love that little balcony!
Magformers are a fun and creative way to introduce mathematical and scientific reasoning, creativity, deductive reasoning, and spatial awareness. This year, we’re also wrapping up this Magformers My First 30 Piece Set for my 3-year-old nephew. He finds our Magformers fascinating whenever he comes over to our house, and he’s just the right age for his own set!
Tie on Some Goodness
One of the things that I appreciate most about Mastermind Toys is how they give back. Mastermind Toys has partnered with Me to We for the Tie on Some Goodness initiative. A portion of the proceeds from the purchase of select toys featured in the 2016 Mastermind Toys Gift Guide will be directed to local and global initiatives for children’s education through Me to We Charity.
Alternatively, you can buy a Me to We Rafiki or Minga bracelet and/or add a $2.00 donation to your purchase when you check out. Your gift to a kid you know and love will double as a gift of education to kids in your community and around the world!
Connect
Canadian owned and operated, Mastermind Toys is Canada’s largest specialty toy and children’s book retailer. They’ve been operating for over 30 years in the Greater Toronto area and have recently expanded to 48 stores in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia – and still growing!
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Gift It
The Magformers Sweet House 64 Piece Set retails for $99.99, and the Magformers My First 30 Piece Set for $59.99. When you purchase either of these sets, Mastermind Toys will donate $2 to Me to We.
Find the perfect holiday gift at a Mastermind Toys near you or go shopping online anytime day or night. Mastermind Toys offers free gift wrapping in store and free shipping in Canada with the purchase of $60 or more!
Win a $100 Gift Card!
Mastermind Toys is generously giving a $100 gift card to one lucky winner to do some holiday shopping! The gift card may be used towards shipping costs too. This giveaway is open to residents of Canada, 18+. All entries will be verified.
Click here to check out my other open giveaways and be sure to follow me on Facebook!
Disclosure: I received sample items for review. All opinions expressed are completely honest and my own, based on my personal experience. Your experience may differ.
My son would LOVE the Playmobil NHL hockey arena!
I love the LEGO Juniors Batman & Superman vs. Lex Luthor for my son and an our generation doll for my daughter.
I would love to get the 3-in-1 Tent and Tunnel Set as i know that the kids would so love it
I would probably get some Lego or some books for my daughter. I love visiting Mastermind toys.
I would pick up some lego for my niece. Her big X-Mas gift. . Thank you for the awesomeness, the contest, and generosity. 🙂
I would get the Minecraft™ Card Game.
I loved Lego as a kid (and still do!). I would get my elder child the LEGO® Classic Creative Brick Box – Medium. I think my baby would love the Melissa & Doug® Giant Turtle Zip-Up Ball Pit with 60 Balls.
I would like the our generation dolls for my granddaughter, or the little printer that prints off pictures for me.
I too would buy magnaformers.
I would love to gift this to my daughter and let her shop for my grandson. The Hape Country Critters Play Cube looks awesome!
I’d like the Our Generation® Ice Cream Truck with Accessories. It’s so stinkin cute.
I would love the 3-in-1 Tent and Tunnel Set and the LEGO Classic Creative Brick Box – Medium.
I would get the PAW Patroller Transforming Truck Playset for my daughter, she loves Paw Patrol!
I’d love to win the Gift Card to Mastermind Toys and use it for a really nice Corolle Doll for my 3 year old daughter ?? Thanks for the chance!! ?
I think my son would love the classic Legos. What a awesome prize! Thanks for the chance.
I would pick the Our Generation® Lorelei Deluxe 18″ Doll for my daughter. Thank you for the wonderful giveaway, good luck everyone!
I would definitely get the Magformers. I had those in my classroom and the kids absolutely loved playing with them. I would love them for my son as well.
I’d love to get my boys a Jumpstart Trampoline!
The
3-in-1 Tent and Tunnel Set would be so much fun for the step grandkids!
I think I would choose the following items if I were lucky enough to win:
Lego Classic Creative Brick Box-medium,
Gruffalo Crumbles and other Recipes,
Mielle Vaccum Cleaner and
Mix ‘N’ Match Resources 72 Piece Building Set.
As you may see, all of these would be for my great grandchildren.
Thank you for the chance to win.
I would get the Senso’ Discovery Car 3-in-1 Walker for my daughter
I have my eye on a marble run for my kiddo! Of course we could always add more Magformers to our collection!
I would pick up the Minecraft card game for my eldest son and the ScienceWiz™ Inventions Experiment Kit for my great nephew. My sons always loved the Quercetti Vortex Marble Run so I would get that for my other great nephew.
If I am lucky enough to win the gift card I will put it towards the Playmobil® Furnished Children’s Hospital. My daughter is having surgery soon and I think this would be an excellent gift to let her play with a pretend hospital before she goes to the real hospital 🙂
My daughter has a set of Magformers but I’m planning on purchasing at least one other set as she is building more complex projects.
Love the 3 in 1 Tent and Tunnel Set. My niece and nephews will have so much fun.
l Little Tessa would love the Melissa & Doug Let’s Play House Dust, Sweep & Mop Set as she really is into helping around the house
If I win I’d get the 3-in-1 tent and tunnel set for my nieces. They’d love it.
My daughter has informed us that she wants a hatchimal, so I might consider it if I were to win this giftcard. I just can’t justify the expense for something I think she will lose interest in otherwise.
I would pick the our generation ice cream truck for my daughter.
My godson would love the 3-in-1 Tent and Tunnel; he loves to explore and crawl through things. Thanks!
My son loves Stickbotz from Mastermind, my daughter loves the Mickey Mouse game they love
I would get the hatchimal for my kids once they are back in stock. 🙂
I’d pick up the Our Generation Ice Cream Truck my girls have been asking for!
I would get the Lego friends horse vet trailer for my daughter.
Love the wooden ride on dog! It’s adorable. Mastermind is a great toy shop.
I would likely pick up a board game for the family, like Codenames maybe!
I love the Mastermind store near us even though my kids are older. I would probably get something like the NHL® All-Star Hockey Pinball Game.
I’d probably splurge and get my daughter the STIGA Snow Kick STX Scooter. She saw it in a catalogue and was in love.
Easy answer, since we just left our local Mastermind this past weekend with bags and bags of toys! First off, the MagnaTiles are great! We’ve had them for years, and keep adding to the stock because it allows the kids to be creative and build whatever strikes their moods at that moment. After that, anything Shopkins, because my daughter LOVES them, For there, anything Minecraft, for my middle child because he loves the mystery boxes and figures. For the family, games! Settlers of Catan is a great and fun family game, and we’re due for an upgrade on either the Game of Life or Monopoly, so those work. We did, pick up and etch-a-sketch, lol. I hated that toy as a kid. My kids, however, love it.
I would purchase the K’nex or Magformers. My kids love building things.
My kids would love the Inflatable Donut Snow Tube – Chocolate to cute
The Our Generation Dolls are lovely.
I would get the Magformers Sweet House 64-piece building set.
This is a great prize and I think I would choose Hatchimals-Penuala.
I would get some of the Klutz craft kits for my daughter. She really likes the mini eraser one!
Everytime a Mastermind gift card is offered in a giveaway, my answer has been the same – MAGFORMERS! This is the first time the post was actually about Magformers though!
I would get the Paw Patrol Roll Patrol Launch ‘n’ Roll Lookout Tower. This would keep my grandsons busy and they’d have such fun with it. Thanks and Merry Christmas
My boys still love Star Wars Lego. A classic
With 10 Children – and Lots of Energy, I would use my Gift card towards the JumpSmart Fold-Away Electronic Trampoline to help burn off that Energy and maybe they will also stop jumping on my bed Lol =)