It’s August! Rather than being dismayed at the end of summer fun, it’s time to take advantage of the hot deals available this month. As everyone prepares for the crisp fall season, retailers are anxious to unload outdoor gear and there are screaming good deals to be had. If you want to save some cash (and make sure you’re well-outfitted next spring), take advantage of deep discounts on the following:

Patio Furniture: The entire 7-Piece Country Living Seneca Patio Set (above) is available for $374.99 after discounts–more than 50% off the original price of $799.99. Shop for more deals on patio furniture.

Camping Equipment: Save 20% on the Wenzel 9×7 4-Person Tent (currently $39.97, was $49.99). Shop sale tents and camping gear.

Water Toys and Swimming Pools: For inflatable backyard fun, snag something like the Intex Rainbow Ring Playcenter at 30% off (currently $31.48 was $44.99–click the Target store to see the sale).

And finally… don’t forget to check out sales on swimsuits, shorts and tank tops for the whole family!

To see the great sale items every day, follow us on Twitter!

–Becky Ellis

I’m not always up on the latest in children’s literature but, since it was released last week, I’ve been reading about Queen Raina of Jordan’s book, The Sandwich Swap, all over the web. In it, two best friends–Lily and Salma–disagree over whose sandwich tastes better; Lily prefers peanut butter, while Salma likes humus. Tensions escalate when each girl insists that her sandwich is tasty while the other’s is yucky, until together they find a way to make peace with each other (and the lunchroom).

Inspired by one of Queen Raina’s own memories, this beautifully illustrated book is a great way to introduce preschoolers and early grade schoolers to ideas of open-mindedness, communication and the value of peace and friendship.

I never know what to buy for baby showers. I always want to bring something truly original, but ultimately end up in a huge store staring at a wall of pink and blue merchandise. Adding to my confusion, it’s always surprising that the items for such tiny people can come with such huge price tags! But I just found miYim, an organic toy company that makes items that fit all my criteria (original, affordable, adorable), and, because it’s never too early to start teaching wee ones to care for the environment, it’s eco-friendly, too.

In addition to producing cute baby goods, miYim practices what they preach. Their plush toys are crafted from organic cotton (check out my post here for more info on why that’s so important) and colored with the PureWaterWash™ process, where untreated cotton thread is woven into fabric and brightened with nature’s own plants and minerals.  The fabric is then hand dyed repeatedly in soy-water to set the color. They’re also committed to fair labor practices and low-impact manufacturing, so you can be sure that each toy you buy will not only enrich the life of a child, but the lives of the people in the community where it’s made.

Check out a host of miYim toys here, or go directly to some of my favorites: miYim’s Organic Monkey Ring Stacker (above); the miYim Organic Monkey Lovie Blankee (below); and the miYim Organic Gift Set (bottom).

Infants and Toddlers: The Potty Caddy, by Rachel Gordon

Add a little fun to the most basic of human functions! According to NAPPA, this kit contains “a funny little book for kids teaches “The Potty Song” and answers questions like, “How do I know when I have to pee?” and “My poop looks like clay. Is it OK if I play with it?” The kit also includes an informative pamphlet, written by a professor of pediatricians, that offers practical tips for parents, such as throwing a “good-bye diapers!” party to help your child transition to the toilet. A helpful chart with stickers that cheer “hurray for poop” and “yippee for pee,” accompanied by a pack of 100 “toilet targets,” add motivation, positive reinforcement and fun to the process.”

Preschoolers & Up: Make Your Own Animal Puppets

Some toys are classics for a reason! In this sock-puppet kit, three soft socks get reincarnated as cows, elephants, pigs or your own wacky creation with felt shapes, googly eyes and fun fur, just peel and stick (careful! They can’t be repositioned once adhered). From NAPPA: “Parents will appreciate that his art kit leaves little mess to clean up and sparks imaginative play even after the activity of creating is done.”

Ages 6 & Up: Crayola Art Studio

Leave it to Crayola to create a PC program to nurture creativity and tech savvy all at once. NAPPA says: “This powerful creativity application for the PC invites kids to learn to create, edit and transform digital images with fun-to-use digital tools, such as Crayola Pencils, Paints, Markers and Crayons. The easy-to-learn interface provides a perfect introduction to the standard layout of tools, features and functions found across computer applications that kids will encounter as they grow older.”

Ages 9 & Up: Quelf

Kids (and parents) get goofy in this hilarious board game combining stunts, quiz questions, wacky rules and kooky topics. From NAPPA: “In this game, the word “random” takes on new meaning… Hundreds of hilarious game cards cover everything from barnyard sing-alongs to dancing prison guards; origami dinosaurs to spooky ghost stories; presidents to chickens; bellydancing to thumb wrestling … and more. Whether you win or lose, the non-stop laughter is what keeps everybody playing. Quelf is simultaneously bizarre, perplexing, occasionally embarrassing, generally silly, and never the same game twice.”

Ages 12 & Up: It’s All Too Much, So Get It Together: Less Junk, Cleaner Mind, Better Life, by Peter Walsh

Best known for his role on TLC’S Clean Sweep, Peter Walsh helps teens clear the mental and physical clutter they accumulate from their moving-at-the-speed-of-Twitter lives. NAPPA says that “this book has so many great suggestions that parents may want to sneak it out of their teen’s room for their own reading. The good news is that the entire family will quickly start applying Walsh’s organizational secrets to create calmer surroundings and increase peace of mind.”

For more great products, check out all of the NAPPA winners.

Neopets Series Camoflauge Poogle

If you’re frantically trying to find a Zhu Zhu pet somewhere, don’t worry. There are alternatives. Who who, you say? Zhu Zhu (Zhu Zhu is Chinese for “little pig” and is pronounced “joo joo”) pets are probably the hottest holiday toy gift right now — and are nearly impossible to find at regular price due to demand. They are plush robotic hamsters that coo, purr, sleep, and do other cute animal-like things. Once available at Toys R Us, Zhu Zhu pets have flown off the shelves and are now only to be found for exorbitant prices at eBay and Amazon.com.

But there’s another pet/toy that starting to get some buzz — Neopets. Neopets have been around for about 12 years, starting as a virtual site that allowed to own, well, a virtual pet. You can create a pet, play games with other Neopets in Neopia, and use Neocash to get around. Neopets branched out with its own merchandise too, so now you can purchase a Neopet and get a unique code that gives you access to certain features on the site.

Neopets Puzzle Adventure for Wii

You can also play games on your Wii or purchase Neopets collectors’ figurines and use them to play on Neopets playsets too! See, there are alternatives to Zhu Zhu — and the best part is, most Neopets figures and merchandise is less than $20!

Neopets Figures

Neopets Playset on sale for $9.98

Shop Neopets now
Shop Zhu Zhu pets now