Pirate Ship & UFO and Uberstix Scavenger Series Landshark & Dragster, Uberstix, $14.99 each; www.uberstix.com; for ages 7 and up.

These ingeniously designed sets of building pieces require children to incorporate recyclable household products – such as plastic water bottles, Popsicle sticks, straws and paper clips – into their structures to build a pirate ship or UFO. The Uberstix work well not only with many recyclables, but with other major building systems, such as LEGO, K’NEX and Zoobs. Children get to unleash their imaginations, see beyond the instructions, experiment and explore ways to play with more than one toy or brand at a time.