Tuesday, November 18, 2008

It's that time again!

Well, believe it or not, it's Christmas time again. I know!

Want to know how I figured that out?

I've gotten two, count 'em two, emails this week asking what the kids want or what size clothes they wear.

I can relate; it's hard to shop for other people's kids, so I try to help out with suggestions. But that feels kind of weird too. Do I just tell people what to get my kids? It feels like a wedding registry. Does anyone else have this problem?

So, to solve the awkwardness, I created a registry.


~~~~~~~~~~~(((((crickets)))))~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Does that make it worse?

Not really a registry, but an amazon.com wish list for both kids. It's under my name, since my kids don't yet have their own email addresses (what with the lack of reading and all). Family members who are so inclined can find my helpful hints there. *******No pressure******* (hopefully that goes without saying? no one is obligated to buy anything!). But some did ask for suggestions, so there you go. I'll probably get most of our gifts for them from the same list.

{On a side note: This is one small issue, set against the backdrop of the bigger issue of remembering that Christmas is a celebration of the Incarnation. That's a much bigger discussion. Kids don't do well when they get overwhelmed with a gazillion presents. It's actually less enjoyable for them, not to mention distracting from the greater purpose of the holiday. But I want to get them toys, they will get toys, and that's great. I even enjoy a little bit of the Santa nonsense. More to come on that another day. Here's a teaser.}

Back to toys. So here's my question for you.

What do your kids love? What have been their favorite toys, books, gifts, games, whatever? What are you hoping to get for them? What needs to be on my amazon list?

I'll go first with our favorites.

I've already mentioned the trampoline. I still wholeheartedly endorse it.

Jonas loves his VTech camera.

A little shopping cart. Although ours doesn't have the baby seat; how cute is that??? This has gotten constant use since Jonas was first learning to walk. Both kids at every age have found a use for it.

Anything for dress-up. Hats, capes, props.

Books: Brown Bear. Monkey Boy. Bear Hunt. Nightmare in my Closet. Who Stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar? (Jonas learned to count from this). When they were babies the Roger Priddy books were great. Goodnight Moon. Goodnight Gorilla. Sam who Never Forgets. Runaway Bunny. The little Elmo puppet book.

I'm being lazy and doing this from memory. If you want authors' names just ask.

OK, now it's your turn.

...

6 comments:

Unknown said...

First, I don't know what to recommend, but I am loving the recommendations you posted since mine is younger than yours!:)
As far as a registry, I was going to create one too, but I like to send different lists to each side of the family so there isn't any overlap of presents. I think anything to make it easier for you and easier for the family is a good thing. Besides, it isn't like your kids are old enough to write their own Christmas list for Grandma!

Hendrick Family said...

My kids are older, and I only have boys...but these are the things that are ALWAYS a hit:

I'm singing favorite things in my head.

All the "ologies" books. (Pirateology, Dragonology, Egyptology). These are amazing and my kids love them.

Ashton and Hayden love Playmobile sets. Their favorite is the pirate one, with the pirate ship and the big treasure box that opens up into an island scene.

Legos are something we invest in every single year. They love the lego guys the best.

One of the best toys in my opinion for younger boys is from a brand called Speedstars. You can google it. They are race tracks where you crank up the cars and they race around the track (and even crash into each other). NO BATTERIES! Gotta love that.

I also think the Letter Factory DVD set that includes phonic and math stuff is a MUST have for preschoolers. It makes a great gift that kids love and their parents love. Ashton totally learned to read from those things...seriously.

What else?

Oh!

My kids also LOVE the Geotrax system (only the ones with the remote control trains). We add to those every year.

Hope that helps!

As far as other Christmas thoughts...we too send a list to grandparents, because they ask. But, we don't really let the kids make the list. That seems to really encourage greed, and totally takes their focus off of the true meaning of Christmas.

I think the lists are helpful because for instance...we don't really let our kids play videogames or watch TV much, so sometimes they get gifts that are super cool, but completely go against the ideas we're trying to teach them.

Another thing we try to think through each year (especially since all of our kids are the same sex) is trying to buy toys that encourage them to play TOGETHER.

Those are some random thoughts!

Heather

Anonymous said...

Good Night, Monkey Boy? Amazon lists two Monkey Boy books?

Mommy, M.D. said...

yes, mary, that's right. by jarrett krosos-whatchamacallit. he's a friend of a friend, and i love all his books. bubble bath pirates and giddy up cowgirl are also great.

Mommy, M.D. said...

oh, and punk farm! how could i forget punk farm!!!! also by jarrett krosoczka (i looked it up).

Erin said...

I took your Amazon wishlist idea! How great is that! Then I saw that you could make a "universal" wish list button. So NOW I can add ANYTHING from ANY website onto that list - with notes!
AND - it works like a registry in that once that item is purchased by anyone it can be removed from the list so no one doubles up! Perfection!
Thanks!