It’s safe to say that I have Christmas shopping on the brain these days. I don’t consider myself to be a great gift-giver… in fact, it’s my lowest ranked love language.
However, as a mom who has been buying gifts for my kids for over 7 years now, I have learned to be a pretty good kids gift buyer. So maybe don’t come to me for ideas for your father-in-law, but I do have some ideas to help you buy for the littles in your life.
I’m not a fan of toys that are loud and require a lot of batteries; instead I think both of my kids (Jona, 7 and Violet, 4) have more fun when they play with toys that they can be creative and use their imaginations with. Here is a round-up of some of our favorite toys that spark imagination.
Animal figurines – Jona received a big bucket of plastic animals when he turned two, and the collection has grown over the years. Even now, that giant bin full of plastic animals (jungle animals, dinosaurs, farm animals) still gets played with all the time. The kids make zoos, have “battles,” and Violet loves when I get a bucket of soapy water and let her wash the animals.
Art supplies – We always give the kids some kind of art supplies for Christmas, and they always love them. We have a big stand-up easel, which takes up a lot of room but they use it almost every day. The Color Wonder paper and markers are great and mess-free, and if your child wants to paint but you are horrified at the thought, try Qwik Stix paint pens–they look like paint on the paper but without the mess. This year we’re getting Violet these stamp markers, which I know she’ll love.
Legos – Of course I had to mention those! Both kids loved the larger size Duplo Legos when they were younger (and will still play with them now when I get them out), and now we are definitely that house where you have to watch your step because we have Legos everywhere. Legos are expensive, but for us they are money well spent, because Jona plays with them for hours upon hours. If you don’t want to constantly buy new sets, there are so many resources for building with the bricks you have, like these Lego books.
Lincoln Logs – Jona asked for these one year at Christmas, and I thought for sure they would get overlooked in favor of all the other toys and Legos. However, both kids love these and continue to play with them all the time!
Magnatiles – Building things is a theme around here I guess. This is another toy we have had for years, and the kids still play with them a ton! We have the Magformer brand, and while they’re expensive at full price, they are always on sale somewhere.
Dress up clothes – We don’t have much of a collection of these yet, but both kids have fun putting on their old Halloween costumes. These don’t have to be anything fancy either–we bought some cheap felt “superhero” masks for Violet’s birthday party a few years ago and the kids had a great time playing with those.
Action figures/Barbies/Little People/Dolls – Jona doesn’t play with them as much anymore, but he used to love setting up elaborate “battles” with all his action figures. Violet loves pretending with her baby dolls, and now she’s really getting into Barbies. I think all of these are great because it lets them be creative and act out stories that are in their minds. I love listening in when they don’t know I’m there, it’s so entertaining!
What is your child’s favorite thing to play with? Do you remember your favorite toy as a child? (Mine were dress up clothes and Barbies!)
