People have been asking me for suggestions of gifts for my children, and I admit to being a bit at a loss this year. We have some perennial favorites, but although we could use an influx of new toys and games, I don’t really know what is out there. I thought I might offer some of our favorites, and perhaps you can help me out with ideas that will be our future favorites.
In the past, we have talked about clutter free gifts such as museum and zoo memberships, and I am still a big fan of those. Here is a list of gifts, brainstormed with my children:
–Magazine subscriptions (American Girl and the Cricket magazines have been hits here, as well as Magnifikid, Which Way USA and Top Secret from Highlights)
– duplos: I didn’t have them for my older four, but Leo and Jimmy play with these everyday, and the big kids are often happy to build with them too!
– brio wooden trains: a classic for generations, and a great gift is a random piece of track in a new shape or a small extension set
–kid k’nex: large building set with unusually shaped pieces, we build everything from microphones to lawn mowers with these
–quadrilla marble run, great fun for the older builder, you can follow a guide or make your own design
–Legos, of course, we started with two big bins of colorful bricks, but now the boys prefer the Star Wars and Harry Potter sets
–American Girl dolls and their accessories, doll tea sets
–charm bracelets, with charms that just clip on, these are hot in the 7-10 year old girl set right now
–deck of cards: we play a lot of cards, and we are always losing them!
–art supplies: I just opened a set of dried out paints and wished I had a better stockpile! Special items like oil pastels or nicer watercolor sets would be nice gifts, and especially watercolor paper
–costumes and dress ups
–matchbox cars
–knock hockey board
–balls of all types – something else that we are always losing, breaking, etc, are baseballs, basketballs, soccer balls, stuffed ones to use inside as well
–sleds
–beads and string to make necklaces
–audio books, Glory Stories and Jim Weiss stories on CD
What toys are most popular in your playroom?
My MIL is buying the four oldest kids sleeping bags for Christmas. I think that this is a fabulous idea that will keep on giving and provide for an awesome Christmas break of easy sleepovers in the living room.
Great idea!u00a0 My kids are also getting swim flippers and swim team towels for next summer.
Sleeping Bags are also on our list this year! For me too! Besides for camping which is why we need them I think the kids will just be thrilled to open them and play around in them.n
K’Nex, Playmobil, and a big box of wood scraps (w/hammer and nails) are our best bets at the moment. Origami paper, too.u00a0nnWe’re giving a FLIP video camera with tripod this year. My kids can make movies for days on end (stop-motion animation, videos of homemade plays, etc.)
Where do you find Brio? u00a0The only big set I found (for a decent price) was on Craigslist. u00a0My parents have tons of it from my brother and I wanted to create a collection for my boys!
I just called my local toy store, and they told me that Brio are hard to get right now, but they are selling the Thomas train tracks, which are close to comparable in quality.u00a0 You can visit http://www.jazams.com to purchase great toys and support a great community store!!
My niece and nephew received custom letter capes this year as an early Christmas present from me.u00a0 These are hit (and absolutely adorable)!nhttp://www.etsy.com/shop/pipandbean