Hello!  I've got some more toys this week, makes me feel a bit like Santa...if I had a chimney, and gained a few pounds, and wore a red suit, and wasn't lactose intolerant.  Okay, so I don't feel all that much like Santa, but I do like toys, and I like dogs, so I'm still in a pretty good place.  On that note, though, my first toy is Christmas themed!  In both appearance and spirit.

I learned about OoMaLoo this week.  For those of you who don't know, OoMaLoo is a company devoted to making hand-knit dog toys.  Now, that's already pretty neat, and the covers on their balls and this toy look super soft and fluffy, but they really go the extra mile.  The toys are hand-knit by women living in the poor neighborhoods of Istanbul, and working with OoMaLoo helps provide them full-time employment so they can help support their families.  It also keeps the often unappreciated art of hand-knitting alive in an increasingly modern age.  This toy is shaped like a peppermint candy, and peppermint is my favorite.  Peppermint coffee, candy, and I'll even make peppermint whipped cream at home.  So maybe I'm biased in making it one of my favorite toys this week, but its my list and the holiday season is fast approaching so it doesn't feel all that out of place.

Second, I have a sweet tooth, so anything that looks like sweet food is going to stand out to me.  Plus, durability is a consistent issue I see pop up with toys.  It was a surprise to me to find out there were so many strong chewers in the world, since our husky practically coddled a toy if she bothered to pick it up at all-couldn't even really get her to play tug-of-war half the time.  But alas, it seems to be an issue dooming a lot of toys to the day-long bin.  Lulubelles Power Plush toys have fusible mesh liner and strong stitching so they can really take a hit, and these cupcakes are just adorable.  On a little bit of a downside, even though there's three colors, you don't necessarily get to pick it for yourself-but I try and think of that as a little bonus surprise for myself if I were to buy it.

Last, and finally off the food theme, lest I make you all hungry-we have Loopies Bright Bag O Balls.  I'm always a fan of things being more than what they seem, and I like a good brain-teaser.  They're good for us, and they're good for our furry friends, too.  The Bag O Balls is a bag shaped like a ball that contains ten smaller balls.  Half the balls squeak, and half don't, and there seems to be mixed opinions on that.  Most people realize that their dogs prefer the ones that squeak, so it makes sense to have them all squeak so the dog likes all the toys better.  I don't know about that, though.  Loopies states that only half squeak so its actually more of a puzzle and a challenge for the pup as they dig each of the balls out of the larger pouch.  It presents more of a puzzle for them, since they have to wonder whether or not the ball they are grabbing, but can't really see, is going to be one of the ones that squeaks.  Seems like a cool idea to me.  I guess I like it as is, but I can see the other side too.

Well, all toys and all done.  I'll be working with a lot of new Christmas stuff over the week of Thanksgiving, so I'm guessing my next post will be full of jolly holiday spirit.