Welcome to the 2008 Z Recommends Mostly Green, Pretty Cheap Holiday Gift Guide! This guide includes our favorite items we have evaluated in our home and/or published reviews of in the last year. Most of our favorite products over the past year fall into the green toys and cheap holiday categories, so if you're looking for a selection of mostly-green, mostly cheap, hand-tested gifts for the kids in your life, you've found it! We'll be reviewing a few of the yet-unreviewed items from this list in the weeks to come, but know now that everything that made the cut here is recommended without reservation - including that new set of feeding gear we teased a couple of weeks ago. Find out who makes it below, and look for a more detailed preview later this week.

There are links to more recommendations at the foot of this post. We'll be collecting reader recommendations soon in conjunction with a gift guide giveaway!

Ages 1 and up

Peekaboo Ball: Wonderworld's roughly 2" wooden ball is studded with little wooden heads that prefer to peek out but can be easily pushed down, and do so when the ball is rolled. Made with ecologically-harvested woods and painted using non-toxic paints, this ball is a delight to roll (even for older children) and blends the natural look of wood with bright colors for a classic but natural look. $10 | Buy here

Crayon Rocks: Made of soy wax rather than (petroleum-based) paraffin, glide smoothly over the paper and leave behind brilliant, bright colors that can be blended and smudged in much the same manner as pastels. Their "rock" shape encourages the use of the tripod grip which helps early scribblers train the muscles they need for fine motor skills, as well as encouraging an exploration of different techniques of marking the paper - using a flat side to make a wide swath of color or using a tip to make a thin line - more than a paper-wrapped crayon. $5-$25 | Review | Buy here

Preserve Jr. Toothbrush: Do you remember being a kid and actually getting excited about a fun new toothbrush? Start the newly-toothed off right with a recycled and recyclable toothbrush from Preserve - it's a habit parents and kids can be happy about. Now available in animal themes. $3 | Review | Buy here

WOW Toys: British-based WOW's BPA-, phthalate-, and PVC-free plastic toys are engaging and well-designed, with friction-powered movement and sound (battery-free!), solid and chunky forms, and bright colors. Public service (EMS, fire, police, recycling truck), adventure (horses, camping), and city themes make this line of interoperable toys - a more environmentally-conscious and higher quality option than similar products by American manufacturers - something you and your children can all love. $20-$50 | Review | Buy here

Anamalz: The bodies, heads, and feet of Anamalz are made out of organic maple, with printed-on faces and string tails and bits of felt for manes and ears as needed. Ears are attached by drilling tiny holes into the creature's head, curling up the edge of the ear, and hammering in (and presumably gluing) a little wooden plug to hold it in tight. What's brilliant about these toys is that their legs (and in some cases, necks) are flexible, and hold poses, and the rest of the toy's design enhances this function. Unlike the rubbery "bendy" toys we may remember from our own childhoods, twisting the limbs of Animalz is actually quite engaging, because thanks to their wide, flat, clunky feet, you can balance Animalz on three, two, or even a single leg. This is fun for adults who like to fiddle idly with toys as well as for kids. $6-$7 | Buy here

Thinkbaby Feeding Set: Thinkbaby has hit the reset button on kids' tableware with its soon-to-be-released six-piece feeding set, which combines polypropylene cladding with stainless-steel food contact surfaces in its two (lidded) bowls, rectangular food storage container, and drinking mug. We've seen a lot of tableware to love over the last year, but this one's a game-changer - and the only tableware to make our holiday list. The food storage container alone, shown here without its snap-locking lid, is highly covetable. $42 | Buy here

Dancing Alligator Pull Toy: Plan Toys' alligator pull toy has a smooth but clattering gait; the company did a great job here thinking about what wood can do in a compact pull toy, making the curving of the alligator's body a source of warm and engaging sound. $20 | Review and video | Buy here

Wheely Bug: Prince Lionhart's Wheely Bug ride-on has a total maximum capacity of over 264 pounds, so it will stand up to the toughest rolling and bouncing. It is constructed out of wood and topped with a polyurethane "leather" cover for easy clean-up. The foam padding under the cover ensures kids enjoy a comfortable and safe ride. The Wheely Bug comes in small and large versions, with the small being recommended for children 18 months and up and the large being recommended for ages 3+. You can choose from a Bee, Lady Bug, Cow, Mouse, Lion, or Tiger. $60-$70 | Buy here

HABA 12" dolls: These all-fabric dolls have friendly embroidered faces, chenille hair, and come with with full outfits. Machine-washable on the "delicates" cycle, these dolls are a great choice for baby's first dress-up dolly and come in a wide variety of ethnic styles and outfits. Start browsing and we're pretty sure you'll find one for your child to love. $35 | Buy here

OXO Candela Tooli Night Lights: A pair of gently glowing LED night lights with a recharging base; lights turn off automatically when set on the base, and on when lifted from it; each light also has its own on/off button on the bottom for more control. With a single charge, they will stay illuminated for eight hours and are always cool to the touch, making them safe for little hands and a great nightlight for a child or baby's room. $40 | Buy here

Ages 3 and up

Les Dollies:The downmarket line of fabric-and-plastic dolls from Corolle are fun and well-made, with brightly-colored hair that can be brushed, washed, blow dried on low heat, curled or straightened on low heat, and styled. Like Corolle's more expensive dolls, these dolls are phthalate-free; their fabric bodies also use less PVC than traditional Corolle and many other dolls. $20-$25 | Buy here

Play ice cream: Two double-sided scoops of play ice cream with two fabric-covered cones. Polyester and beads have rarely been this cute in the world of play food. $12 | Review | Buy here

School Zone Animal Families Go Fish Game: An engaging, educational and attractive version of Go Fish that teaches capital and lowercase letter recognition using the unbeatable lure of animal babies and their mothers. One of the best card-based games for kids we've seen all year, and super-cheap. $2 | Review | Buy here

Lilly Bean Play Food: Handcrafted, beautiful felt play food in both sweet and savory at a wide range of sensible prices. Many options and clever ideas from a home crafter who has learned how to scale up without sacrificing quality. Our favorites include the pita sandwich and potato chips - browse around and you'll find your own. Prices vary | Review | Buy here

Flipper toothbrush holder: Cute, fun, and genuinely useful, the Flipper is BPA-, phthalate- and PVC-free and can help you and your little one keep track of their toothbrush. We use ours both at home and when we travel, and it gives Z a measure of independence over her routines as well as storing it hygienically. Available in a wide variety of animals and in more "adult" styles too, we think the Flipper is the best thing to happen to kids' toothbrushes since, well, Preserve (see above). $7 | Review | Buy here

Natural Stuffed Stegasaurus: Constructed from homespun wool and hand-knitted by women's collective in Kenya. All-wool body makes this softie safe for babies or toddlers who are still mouthing objects (no button eyes or other trinkets to pose choking hazards). Purchases of this toy benefit the women's collective that created it as well as Chicago's Field Museum. $38 | Review | Buy here

Bilibo: Bilibo is basically a colorful plastic shell. Really. That's all there is to it, but kids go nuts for them! They can be used in virtually any environment (water, snow, sand, indoors, etc.) so the possibilities for play are endless. Children will enjoy sitting in them, spinning in them, standing on them, crawling under them, and a variety of things only your child can show you. $28 | Buy here

Beddy-Bye Baby Game: A fun progress-around-the-board game for early game players. Watch in mock horror as your little girl's wildest baby-pampering dreams are realized in board game form. Players walk through steps of putting baby to bed (includes bottle feeding, which might not be relevant for all circumstances). $9 | Review | Buy here

Ages 4 and up

EcoZoo backpacks: Sturdily crafted with 100% organically-grown cotton canvas & rope materials, non-toxic dyes, recycled plastic components and sustainable wood accents, EcoGear's EcoZoo line comes in blue elephant, pink pig, tan dog, and black-and-white panda varieties; the drawstring closure is secured by a canvas clasp that is surprisingly secure yet easy for little hands to loosen. $30 | Buy here

HABA Pocket Games: This series of excellent, tiny games are packaged in storage tins that fit easily into an pocket and take up next to no room in a carry-on bag. Short in duration but as playable as any kid-friendly classics, HABA's littlest toy line makes it easy to stash something fun to do for all kinds of occasions. $6-$9 | Review | Buy here

Beleduc puzzles: Belgian educational toy company Beleduc (get it? Bel-educ?) has a series of cleverly-designed multi-layered puzzles, by which we mean they are actually a sequence of puzzles completed from the bottom up, with pieces fitting only in their layer. Our favorite is their human body puzzle, which comes in anatomically-correct boy and girl versions; the company also makes layered puzzles demonstrating concepts such as life stages (polliwog to frog, caterpillar to butterfly) and seasons. These puzzles are beautiful, educational, built to last, and highly engaging for young children. $15-$20 | Buy here

Murmelspiele (Marbles Games): Four fun marble games, complete with a cardboard "target" prop designed to look like an Arabian bazaar. A fun way to introduce young children to playing with marbles. $10 | Buy here

Keep it Steady Game: This is one of those games that is equally fun regardless of your skill level - one essential kind of game to enjoy with young children. It also feels like something of quality that you can hand down to the next generation, which is saying a lot for a $15 game. Compact and travels well - a cloth bag or cigar box (yes, we are cigar box fiends) can give it a personal touch that will make this game so cozy it will be shortly purchased by all you play it with. $15 | Review | Buy here

Signature Stamps: The Little Stamp Company's self-inking, dotted-line name stamps turn the allure of stamps to a satisfying and productive educational end. $25 | Review | Buy here

Sevi Memory Game: Reminiscent of a flower press, Sevi's Memory game has six printed sheets with memory picture pairs at varying levels of difficulty. Children can work their way from the simplest of the picture sheets (those with a variety of objects) to the more complex (finding two houses that are the same color and one the same color background), making this memory game challenging for many years of play, and of course the sheets can be rotated to any of four orientations, so there's really no memorizing where items are in relation to one another except for savants. Fun for group or solo play. $50 | Review | Buy here

HABA Jewelry: HABA's children's jewelry combines wood, felt, and beadwork in designs that feel young and natural. Necklaces, bracelets, hair clips, and rings are complemented by adorable, unique, fabric-based jewelry holders that think outside the jewelry box. $6-$12 | Buy here

HISSS! Game: Like dominoes, but with color-shifting snake segments, heads and tails on high-quality card stock. $10 | Review | Buy here

HexBugs: These small, inexpensive robots can sense objects in its path by touch and avoid them, and respond to vibration as well. Available in five distinctive shapes and colors,and loads of fun for four-year-olds with a delicate touch or your average five-year-old. A great first step for showing young kids the fun of robotics - with a slightly older child you could follow this up with a DIY project that achieved the same ends. $10 | Review | Buy here

Ages 6 and up

Chico Bicalho Robots: These small mechanical toys designed by Brazilian artist and activist Chico Bicalho are surprisingly cheap fun, and although they're marketed as "desk sculptures," kids won't be able to keep their hands off them. They're also a little delicate, so best reserved for kids with the dexterity and care to handle them properly. $10-$15 | Buy here

Code Crackers game: This pattern-recognition game by HABA is a great game for kids and parents to play together. Players must learn to balance speed and attention to detail as they decide whether to "settle" for a shorter pattern match or aim for the longest sequence. Asterik-shaped board pieces combine in a vast array of configurations to ensure that the board never gets memorized, and their two sides offer patterns in image or numerical form. Challenging and fun. $19 | Buy here

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Don't miss our 2008 Polliwogged and Gardenaut gift guides, and the upcoming Tranquil Parent and Punnybop gift guides. Our recommendations for baby items went in Polliwogged's, there are some great gardening and nature-themed toys in Gardenaut's, and we'll run Z Recommends' book, music and DVD recommendations in Punnybop's.

If you're looking for even more recommendations, take a peek at our 2007 Z Recommends Gift Guide. It includes many toys that are still favorites in our household (Geotrax, Zoobie Pets, the Cranium Super Fort, the Sansa Shaker, the Polaroid Pixie Digital Video Camera, the list goes on and on!), but which we didn't consider eligible a second time around.