I decided it was time to dust off the old blog, mostly because this post was too long for Instagram, but also because I kind of miss posting here. Not that it will probably happen again for awhile because life is full, but I digress.
Here are a few suggestions of gift ideas for kids!
I love reading other gift guides and getting ideas for Christmas and Birthday gifts that others recommend, to I decided to share just a few things that have been favorites at our house...because there are a lot of kids around here and we've had a lot of toys. I am not a professional blogger, so these are plain old links without photos because I don't have time for that, but I've also included other few links at the end of other peoples' lists that might be of interest that are more aesthetically pleasing then mine, so there's that. :) These are simple things that our kids keep coming back to, that are moderately priced, plus can be enjoyed by all ages and are good for both boys and girls.
We actually have two of these sets and they are so fun! Since they are large, they are good for all ages and the options of building things is endless. They are heavy and sturdy and come in a nice wooden box so they add less "plastic toy" clutter to your home, which is always good. :)
2. Lego Duplos and Standard Lego Sets
I can't even begin to say how many legos we have in our house, but honestly all of our kids have loved them, and it's not uncommon that the big kids will help the younger boys build a town or zoo or whatever and then proceed to play with it together for a very long time together. The duplos are of course better for younger kids and the standard sets are smaller and more challenging. Usually after they've followed the directions in putting a set together, the pieces go into the giant lego bin and are used to build all manner of other things as well, so they build on one another and when you end up having a lot, there is no limit to the things they can build using their imagination (I think Luke actually built every farm machine ever created this fall and I have no idea how he came up with the features he did, but I loved it!) The downside is that you end up with legos all over the place and though we've tried all kinds of organizational systems, the thing that has worked best, with varying levels of success, is just trying to keep them all in one general area. :)
3. HAPE Kitchen and Accessories
I saw this first at a friends' house and loved how cute and functional it was, so we ended up buying it on sale for our younger boys a few years back for Christmas and they have played with it so much. Ours has seen better days (read: one of the doors has been yanked off and there have been some marker incidents, but overall it has held up well to some rowdy chefs and is still so cute. And there are so many fun accessory sets that go with it as well...some of my favorites are the toaster and the mixer, and are nice things to give/request for later gifts to add to the kitchen fun.
4. MagnaTiles
I have never actually purchased these myself, but our kids have been gifted several sets and they love to build things with them. I love that as they get more, they all go in the same place and just add to that toy collection, rather than being another category of "things"... are you sensing a pattern here? :) From what I've seen, the actual MagnaTile brand structures hold together and last longer than the knock-off versions, so they are worth the extra cost.
A friend from instagram recommended the Pattern Play set and my kids have really enjoyed it...and it's so pretty! And, though it looks fairly simple, the blocks' edges are different, so it takes some thinking and there are varying levels of difficulty in the patterns, so all of my kids enjoy it. The pattern blocks (as most Melissa & Doug toys) are fun too, and are simple enough for the younger boys to do mostly independently.
Typically we give four gifts for each child and follow the "something to read, something to wear, something you want, something you need" categories and that has worked well for us.
I have tons of book ideas, but that will have to wait for another day, I suppose...or maybe I'll edit this list eventually, but here's a few other lists I've enjoyed browsing that may give you more ideas:
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