The Bay Area isn’t just home to innovation in tech, it’s also one of the nation’s leaders in independent toys. From Kickstarter darlings to organic baby toys, cooperative games to old-school puppets, the Bay Area is producing some of the highest quality educational toys around. Many of them are prototyped and tested with local kids and are grounded firmly in the social and environmental values that the Bay Area is known for. So when it’s time to check off that holiday shopping list, check out some of these hometown favorites! Click through to see them all.

Create Your Own Adventure: Build & Imagine

Founder Laurie Peterson drew heavily on local community knowledge when coming up with the award-winning Build & Imagine playset, which reinvents the dollhouse as a building toy. The prototypes were designed with local kids, the first set was based on Peterson’s own Oakland home, and the company was incubated through UC Berkeley.

Our pick? Get your little builder a Marine Rescue Center then head over to Marin to see the real rescue center that served as its inspiration.

Want more toy recommendations? Bookmark Berkeley-based expert Stevanne Auerbach, or “Dr. Toy” for ratings and recs on this year’s best toys nationwide.

Do you have a favorite Bay Area brand that we missed? Tell us about it in the comments below! 

–Margaret Swink

All images courtesy of the companies

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