Holiday Toys & Games - gift-buying guide - Buyers Guide

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Nov, 1999

Woodstock Percussion, Inc., West Hurley, N.Y., leans more toward the fun aspects of some of its instruments, though they can produce tuneful music as well. The Calypso Steel Drum ($100) is genuine, even in its modified size, with the wooden mallets able to invoke sounds that are pure Caribbean once mastered. Woodstock's kazoos ($2.50-10) are a blast from the past, a sound that rarely is heard today. Once the owner learns to hum into the mouthpiece, rather than blow, it is just a short step to producing recognizable tunes. Besides the traditional torpedo-like kazoo, there are models shaped like a race car, an airplane, and even a slide trombone. Another almost lost art is the harmonica, one that is re-created in the miniature four-hole Hohner Harmonica Necklace ($5). Less than an inch and a half long, it is hung from a 30" cord-and-bead necklace and can play simple tunes ("Happy Birthday," "When the Saints Go Marching In") using the follow-the-numbers instructions on each package. (It is important to note that, because of their tiny size, these harmonicas should be kept out of the hands of tots who might put them into their mouths and swallow them, a potential choking hazard.) For the sheer joy of musical noise, Jingle-Bands ($5.50) are hard to beat. A quartet of sleighbells attached to a 9 1/2" web strap with a Velcro fastener comes in eight bright colors and can be attached to wrists and/ or ankles and produce a melodic jingle bell sound that will make it seem like Christmas all year round.

Look for these various musical instruments in music and toy stores.

FANTASY LAND

* For turning a youngster's imagination loose, few companies do the job as well as Playmobile USA, Inc., Dayton, N.J. Their play settings are not only elaborately conceived and well-detailed, they are populated by numerous characters and cleverly coordinated accessories that provide myriad situations. Without trying to sound chauvinistic and nonpolitically correct, two sets seem designed specifically to appeal to what have been regarded as traditionally gender-specific roles.

The Fairy Tale Castle ($199.99) may be the ultimate royal dollhouse, a three-tiered confection with lacework windows and balconies, topped by four towering spires, with a sweeping staircase leading from the ground to the regal bedroom. The king, queen, and a guard in a plumed helmet await furnishings, though the castle does come with an elaborately designed Persian rug, a peacock throne, and an assortment of plants. Add the Royal Bed Chamber ($18.49) with its pink canopied bed, mirrored dresser, standing candelabras, and area rugs, and it is an ideal setting for the princess and her treasure chest. Ruling is hungry and thirsty work, making welcome the Royal Banquet Hall ($20.99) and its gold-and-white dining table, a half-dozen gilt chairs, goblets, gold serving plates, a variety of food, and a quintet of dukes and duchesses. All in all, it's a little girl's dream come true.

For breathtaking adventure, Jungle Expedition would be hard to beat. Redolent of Indiana Jones and "Raiders of the Lost Ark," it has an eerie Jungle Ruin ($69.99) fortress with a tomb, portcullis that raises and lowers at the push of a button, and secret hideaway with an assortment of treasure guarded by a mummy and a skull with conquistador-like armor. Throw in a trio of spear-carrying natives and a handful of snakes (including a rearing cobra) to confront the rugged hero and his anthropologist girlfriend, and it's enough to start the monkeys chattering and parrots squawking. To add to the adventure, equip the intrepid pair with rifle, bush knife, binoculars, canteen, and camera and send them off in their Dune Buggy ($19.99) to the Treasure Cave ($18.49) to wrest priceless relics away from a glow-in-the-dark skeleton or have them traverse a treacherous suspension bridge over the reptile-infested Alligator Swamp ($26.99). Despite the plucky heroine, these exploits seem earmarked for boys who regard Bruce Willis, Harrison Ford, and their ilk as ultra-cool.