I have braved Target one too many times with my three (almost four) year old in the past few weeks and have resorted to taking photos of toys to send to Santa just to escape the dreaded meltdown about not taking any toys home with us.
We started shopping early this season just to get it crossed off our list and I wanted to share what we were going to get our 1 and a half year old and almost four year old for Christmas. We are very into open-ended toys at our house. It encourages their independent play, their imagination, and when Mom and Dad get to play with them, it makes it fun for everyone.
We try to stick to the “something they need, something to wear, something to read, something to play with” guidelines for their gifts. I used to sell (on temporary hiatus) Usborne Books & More, and I still swear by their entire book collection. Now that Jack is learning how to write and his letters/numbers, there are infinite choices to add to his library and activity book collection. Lucy is getting into books, she will sit on your lap and flip through the pages even if you aren’t done reading a particular page. We are trying to stay away from any large toys or ride-on toys, we just don’t have the room. So smaller, interactive toys, like these mini play silks are perfect and don’t take up any additional space.
We love the Lovevery subscription service for Lucy and Jack. I ordered the next age range kit for Lucy and plan to wrap up those toys individually. She freaks out every time she sees a puppy so I also got her the pull-toy dog for her to play with too. Lucy is very into carrying around bags and boxes so I think finding her a little bag or purse to put her ‘treasures’ is something she would enjoy. She will be getting her first baby dolls and a push stroller too (she recently played at a friend’s house and was very into the baby).
Jack loves everything Lego, so we plan to get him a few LEGO sets. I’m debating about getting his own Lovevery kit too (we have the block set and he incorporates those with his action figures)! I love that they offer toddler kits in addition to the baby kits. He also has proclaimed that any pair of pants that aren’t sweatpants with NO TIES simply, “aren’t cool.” It sure makes getting ready in the mornings super fun when all of his pants have ties on them. We will be investing in some no-tie joggers this holiday season. I love these flexible roads and we have a huge bucket of Hot Wheels cars so this could be a fun investment.
Also, in addition to the items I’ve talked about, we are looking into gifting experiences, to our local Zoo and even into other subscription services like KiwiCo that we can enjoy together as a family. I’ve looked into Tonies for Jack – a screen free device that he can easily interact with. I saw it at a holiday market a few weeks ago and it seemed like such a good gift for toddlers!
Last year, Jack asked Santa for a, “Big Red Robot,” two days away from Christmas. So Santa stayed up super late crafting a robot out of old Amazon boxes, construction paper, and duck tape. Hoping he can get in front of any major creations prior to Christmas Eve this year, just to make it a little easier on Santa and Mrs. Claus. :)
Shop the Post:
- Lovevery Play Kit
- Tonies Starter Set
- Sarah Silks – Set of Mini Scarves
- Lovevery Pull Toy
- The Modern Cloth Company – Washable Coloring Mat
- LEGO – Harry Potter 4 Pivot Drive
- KiwiCo – Koloa Kit
- Olli Ella Dozy Dinkum Baby Doll – Moppet
- Usborne Books & More – Wipe Clean Book
- Usborne Books & More – First Magic Painting
