Armchair Traveler: Holiday Shopping at KIOSK

A tiny flock of sheep from Columbia, available at KIOSK

One of the fun things about traveling is shopping - and there are so many ways to shop!  You can shop for beautiful clothes, or antiques, or fabulous textiles...  Or (and this is my favorite, as a budget traveller) you can shop for little things - unfamiliar drugstore or candy items with intriguing packaging, little toys (a given with us), or other little bits and bobs that are easy to justify hauling back home.

My favorite souvenirs from Denmark include a handful of miniature (and cheap) comic books featuring Rasmus Klump, and a gorgeous (and rather hefty) 1950s book of nature photographs entitled Geheimnisvolles Leben Am Wasser - Mysterious Life on the Water. These sorts of unexpected finds from far-flung lands make great Christmas presents - they always feel special somehow.  But if you haven't managed an overseas shopping trip this year, have no fear - I have a solution!

Kiosk is a wonderful online shop (they also have a bricks-and-mortar shop in New York City, which also a delight). They describe themselves thusly:

"KIOSK is a travel story depicted through objects, a collection of interesting things from around the world, a study of material culture, a shop, several people's efforts to preserve unique and indigenous objects, an installation, maybe just something other than what we are used to."


The shop proprietors travel the world (Finland, Japan, India, Columbia, and more, including the U.S.A.) and sell what they discover. Chances are good that you'll find something you like too - something you won't find anywhere else.  Like these tiny terra cotta bricks from Columbia:

Or these funny cards from Portugal:

I love the look of this dartboard from Finland (it isn't for children, but I still love it):

Kraul in Germany makes wonderful toys (Walter Kraul was a teacher at the Rudolf Steiner School in Germany), but they're difficult to find in the U.S..  Kiosk offers this one:

Colorful chalk from Germany:

And from the good old US of A (specifically, Vermont), this beautiful wooden sled:

The product selection at Kiosk is always changing, and you just never know what will turn up. You can shop all of their children's items here.  

New York City: Century of the Child

Series of personifications of childhood misdeeds, 1930

This new exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City looks like lots of fun: Century of the Child surveys the period from the turn of the last century, when the concept of childhood as a special time apart from the world of adults really took hold. The exhibit takes inspiration from Swedish "design reformer and social theorist" Ellen Key's 1900 book Century of the Child.

Lego building bricks, 1954-58

One of Them Had Polio, Skilled Teamwork Brought Recovery, 1949-50

Crosby Chair, 1998

The book "...presaged the 20th century as a period of intensified focus and progressive thinking regarding the rights, development, and well-being of children as interests of utmost importance to all society." The exhibit features historical toys, games, furniture, posters, and other fascinating artifacts.

Child's Wheelbarrow, 1923

Optical Color-Mixer, 1924

War is Not Healthy for Children and Other Living Things, 

by Lorraine Schneider, 1966

My son was particularly taken with a photograph of a set of over-sized furniture, made so that adults can experience what it's like to be small.

"Maxi" set including Tripp Trapp chair, by Peter Opsvik

The show includes special art programs for families; see the calendar for details and dates. You can also explore the exhibit online here. 

Low-tech Travel Toys

Portable DVD players and other electronic devices have their place - but sometimes something simple and decidedly low-tech will do the trick just as well, or better.  Here's a few easy toys that travel well and stimulate the imagination...

Pipe Cleaners!

I love these beautifully-colored, variously-sized pipe cleaners by Eeboo – so many possibilities!  They are a perfect way to “make stuff” on a long car trip (or a plane trip, although I haven’t tested these with security).  They don’t make a real mess, they’re easy to pick up, and easy to share. 

Auto Bingo!

I’ve noticed these Auto Bingo games popping up all over the place.  There are four themes: Traffic Safety, Interstate, and plain old Auto Bingo.  They may look old-fashioned, but they still work for car trips!  I found them locally for $2 a card, so look around where you live.  It’s nice to have several on hand.

Sticker Activity Book!

I like to keep a few sticker books around at all times, wherever we are.  My seven-year old still likes them, and of course they also work well for younger kids.  This Richard Scarry book is great because it has all kinds of sticker activities and games inside.  I also always bring a sketchpad, so O can make “sticker stories” in that too.

Eeboo Travel Games!

These compact little games are not for the car - but for an airport layover? Perfect! There are three varieties of matching games - I Never Forget a Face (featuring illustrations of children from around the world), Life on Earth (animals), and Bugs and Butterflies (yep - bugs, butterflies). I can imagine these little cards inspiring other sorts of imaginative play as well - at least enough to kill some time while you wait.