Can you believe there are only 87 days until Christmas? I was reminded of this today when I was reading 100 days to Christmas! I've been thinking about gifts lately, with Bianca's birthday coming up, plus Christmas. We just collected a big box of toys to give away, and we still have plenty of those! So what do kids who already have lots of toys want for Christmas? Well, Bella is already making her list, so let's explore that:
A White horsey (real, I believe, and yes, I told her right away that she will probably not get that!)
A puppy
A big guitar (this girl plays an awesome air guitar, and Daddy is quite proud!)
Mommy would add that she is growing, and will be needing all new clothes for fall and winter this year, though I'm hoping to hit some garage sales in the coming weeks. We are also crazy for books around here (we have a few memorized!), so those are also always good. A good list is this preschooler's list of books, along with this list for Bianca. Here is another that I've found. I've discovered already that toys that require imagination are a hit with my girls (well, at least the oldest!). So if I'm considering toys, I have begun to ask myself, "Is this something that could be in a preschool?" That's a pretty good indicator as to whether it requires imagination, or just pressing a button. I also lean more towards wooden toys rather than plastic. I know, they are pricey, but they last longer!
Bianca hasn't given us a list... yet. She is pretty good at letting us know what she wants nowadays, though, so I'm sure it won't be long. Usually, it is whatever sister loves at the moment. Right now, Bella likes to play with her kitchen, so Bianca is enthralled with the dishes. Not to mention that she also loves to eat, maybe that has something to do with it! Anyhow, she is growing like a weed, and already wearing some 18 month clothes! The cloth diapers help a bit, too.
I hope to read about your Christmas planning success! Thanks for participating in 100 Days to Christmas!!
ReplyDeleteJen
http://www.100DaystoChristmas.com
Christmas already!!!????!!?? Ugh!
ReplyDeleteYes, I usually dive into Christmas shopping in a big way throughout the month of October. My goal is to have it complete by December 1st.
ReplyDeleteI had two younger brothers (and one older brother) when I was growing up, so I always enlisted them to play with me - if we played house, I was the mother. If we played school, I was the teacher (you see a pattern here?) but those were wonderful times of imagination. I also made my own store using empty cartons and cans from my Mom's kitchen and my brothers would "shop" while I rang up their purchases on a toy cash register.
An old Sears catalog became my source for endless paper dolls (I would create their homes with the furniture section of the catty).
See - there are so many inexpensive ways to spark your child's imagination without bogging them down with lots of toys.
I could go on and on.
Glad to see your girls enjoy playing together.
I like to get my kids educational toys. Or, at least something that sparks their imagination. Mamie loves music, so anything that makes sound is great for her, lol. Timmy is still young enough that a piece of paper is entertaining to him (seriously!), but he loves to play with the musical stand-up toys that we had for Mamie. They both play with a caterpillar that is interactive. I think it's a LeapFrog toy. Anyway, that's what we'll probably stick with.
ReplyDeleteBoth kids are growing, but we have been blessed with donations from church for Mamie. Just need some boy clothes (or at least something that could pass as unisex, lol).
Cloth diapers... Man, I wish we could afford that. I did the math about a month or so ago and it would actually end up costing us a small fortune to switch from disposables to cloth. $21/week in laundry! And that would just be the diapers. That's not going into all the other millions of loads we have needing to be done, lol.