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For The Holidays & Beyond—The Perfect Apps (& Toys) For The 2+ Set

Written by Katie Hintz-Zambrano

Photography by PHOTOGRAPHED BY KARA BRODGESELL

The importance of play—and specifically open-ended, unstructured play—is something we have covered time and time again at Mother. And it’s something we—and legions of modern parents like us—truly believe in. Which is why the toy and app company Sago Mini is one we have truly loved since the first day we discovered it.

“Research has shown over and over again that children learn through play,” explains Jason Krogh, Sago Mini’s CEO and founder. “It’s how they test, experiment, and act out ideas as they are taking on new information. Open-ended play gets kids to exercise their creative thinking skills—something that will help them throughout their education.”

A sister company of Toca Boca, the Toronto-based Sago Mini won’t release a product unless the answer is a resounding YES to the following questions: 1. Does it encourage kids to explore, imagine, and discover? 2. Is it intuitive, beautiful, and fun to play? and 3. Does it meet the company’s high standards of quality and safety?

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If you are the parent of a toddler or preschooler (or even an elementary-aged kid), Sago Mini’s 25+ apps are the perfect entry point for screen time that you can totally get behind—whether during upcoming holiday travel or at home. None of the apps have any “rules” or are competition based, instead they follow the open-ended play principles and allow kids to act intuitively and creatively, doodling at their leisure, playing dress-up with a bevy of adorable, gender-fluid characters, digging and dumping piles of snow, building snow men, and so, so much more.

Families who download Sago Mini World ($4.49/month) get access to all of Sago Mini’s top games (which can be downloaded and played without WiFi or internet), exclusive content that is updated monthly, availability of the apps on multiple devices at once, free and permanent access to the company’s three most popular games (Friends, Forest Flyer, and Babies Dress Up), and plenty of other perks. Bonus points: There’s a 7-day free trial for folks who want to try out the service before committing to a subscription.

PHOTOGRAPHED BY KARA BRODGESELL

And to take the Sago Mini experience even further (and completely unplugged), the company now has a range of toys perfect for the 2-and-up set! From Jinja’s House and Jack’s Diner to Harvey’s Spaceship and the brand-new “Road Trip” collection of charming vehicles (an ice-cream truck, fire truck, and veggie dog car!) all paired with a favorite character and accessories, these toys continue the unstructured play philosophy and will keep little ones entertained and exploring for hours. (Yes, hours. We’ve tested ’em!)

“Our designers did an incredible job to pack a lot of play into a small package,” says Krogh. “The playsets have all the art and play pieces you need to act out a wide variety of stories all in a neat little package.” Plus, they are all compact and super portable, which makes them ideal for travel and simple to clean up. “They’re so easy to pack away, even a 3-year-old can manage it,” says Krogh.

PHOTOGRAPHED BY KARA BRODGESELL

Take a look at a variety of the Sago Mini playsets in our slideshow below (plus the brand-new Easy Clean Bath Squirters)—especially as you’re checking off those holiday wish lists.

This post is brought to you by Mother + Sago Mini.

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