With both of the girls' birthdays and Christmas falling in the 63 days between October 23rd and December 25th, prime gift buying season is fast closing in on me. For anyone who is so inclined, I thought I might share some of the things the girls are into right now to give birthday/Christmas ideas. This are just ideas - many of Alexa's favorite toys are things that didn't even cross my mind to suggest. I am certain this post would be frowned upon by Miss Manners and Emily Post, but please don't take this as a solicitation of gifts in any way, just trying to give some good ideas if you are so inclined. :)
Alexa is currently very into anything Tinkerbell, clothes, shoes, stickers, toothpaste - anything. She also, like nearly any preschool girl, loves Disney Princesses, but Tinkerbell is where it is at for her. I am certain that now I have written that, tomorrow she will scorn all things green and fairy like... If you just can't get into Tinkerbell, Dora the Explorer was her back-up choice for a Halloween costume, in fact she thought that Kaya should be Dora since she had decided on Tinkerbell. I was rooting for Dora because that would be a much easier costume to assemble, not to mention most of it would be reusable. :)
Alexa has also started really enjoying playing dress up, so her main Birthday present from us this year is going to be a dress-up trunk - so any fun additions to the trunk, new or "vintage", child or adult size, would be wonderful. Floppy hats, scarves, costume jewelry, purses and dress up shoes would all be excellent additions to the trunk. Fun headbands or barrettes could be used for dress up or for daily wear - Alexa loves wearing barrettes and clips, but they are always disappearing!
Alexa also loves stickers and coloring/preschool books of any sort. In addition to these more general ideas, I have added a couple specific items to her "wish list" on Amazon. These are just things I think look like fun toys
Being just about one year old, Kaya will probably like the packaging more than anything else, but if you ask me what her favorite things are, I would have to say refrigerator magnets, anything that crinkles (like paper being crumpled) and anything her sister thinks she shouldn't have. We have been blessed with many wonderful toys for Alexa and most survived Alexa's toddler years so Kaya does have lots of toys to choose from already. On the other hand, Alexa was tougher on clothes, largely due to her aversion to bibs, so a more practical choice may a cute shirt, dress or outfit. I did add a few suggestions to Kaya's Amazon wish list as well.
If these ideas haven't sparked any interest, but you want a little guidance, I would suggest almost anything from Melissa & Doug (M&D) (mostly puzzles and other wooden toys), Parents or Leap Frog. We do have a number of M&D puzzles but none of the other M&D toys and the only Leap Frog item we have is a Tag Jr. reader and some books. Additional Bristle Block (think Lego but softer and with more ways to attach blocks to each other) or Fisher Price "Little People" sets would be sure to be a hit as well.
Finally, our children's DVD library is pathetically small, consisting of Robots and Wall-E, so another good idea would be a copy of your favorite children's movie, perhaps with a story about why you love it?
I think this is a FABULOUS idea! So going to copy you and post things for family! I'm very into giving things that people can and will actually use so why not help others know what we could and would actually use?
ReplyDeleteHope to see you guys soon!