Top Christmas Gifts for Young Kids
In this age of consumerism, buying gifts for young kids can be a painful and often expensive experience. With the Christmas season approaching, this can only get worse… or does it have to? If you’re looking for gifts for the young child/niece/nephew/classmate on your list, and don’t know what to get, then read on to find out what toys our young children love and what they’re hoping to find under the tree. Also, see a hilarious video of the best Christmas morning reaction ever!
Fun gifts (i.e. not clothes) can fall into three main categories; Toys, Books and Other. Again, using our exhaustive and diligent research methods (looking in our cupboards to see what toys are still being played with and what our Toddlers are whining.. I mean asking… for), here are our top picks for each category that you may not have thought about for the young child on your list:
Toys
There are WAY too many toys available out there so I’ll focus on the two main toys they’re really enjoying right now and the two that they’re asking for.
Any toy that keeps the toddlers away from TV/handheld games is great in my books so that makes Crazy Forts a great toy. We still talk about the time that Clean Mom went out for a GNO (girls night out) and the kids and I built a fort then slept in it for the night… fun times… but sore back!
Blankets not included...
Another toy that has survived the test of time has been the Fisher Price Digital Arts & Crafts Studio. With the ability to make cards, pictures and crafts with the virtually indestructible console (trust me, it’s been through the ringer…), Book Boy and Ballet Girl keep coming back to it to make anything creative.
Crown for Royalty
A perennial request on Book Boy’s Christmas list is wonderful Lego, the overpriced toy that gets assembled once, taken apart, then never to be reassembled again … (yes an exaggeration but not far from the truth). He’s currently into the City and Agents series and truth be told, the Agents Robo Attack toy has actually gotten a lot of play!
Something we’ve put on Ballet Girl’s Christmas List is the Fancy Nancy doll. We first saw this at FAO Schwartz on our trip to New York but now have seen it online at Chapters, Scholars Choice and other stores… she’ll absolutely love waking up to find Fancy Nancy under the tree!
Fancy Nancy Doll
Books
Book Boy (who is 6 years old) is currently into the following Chapter Book Series in order of reading difficulty – Magic Tree House (Jack and Annie go through time and space to explore), Geronimo Stilton (journalist mouse who goes on adventures) and Encyclopedia Brown (throwback to my days as a kid… love leading Book Boy with questions to help him solve the cases himself… except the ones I couldn’t solve…).
As a bonus tip, he is absolutely loving his new Marvel Encyclopedia (as in Comics) that he got from Karate Dad (his uncle) … summaries are a touch violent at times (and edited on the fly when Daddy’s reading it) but it’s answering every question he’s ever had about any superhero or supervillain!
Ballet Girl’s (who is 4 years old) current favourite book is, by far, Fancy Nancy (girl who loves dressing fancy and using words such as ’splendiferous’). There’s a new Fancy Nancy book out for Christmas so catch this one as a gift. The other books she’s interested in are the Barbie books which match her interest in the musical movies by the same blonde star, and the Rainbow Magic Petal Fairies Series.
Splendiferous Christmas
Other
Okay, I lied. One gift that our kids have absolutely loved has been the personalized t-shirts of their favourite characters. Yes you can probably go to your local flea market and get an unlicensed version but how much fun would that be compared to the original pricey version… ahem… So check out:
1) Zazzle and pick up tees of almost any character (Star Wars, Disney, Muppets) out there! Beware, it ain’t cheap… but for Book Boy who loves Fozzie, the only place to get a kids shirt with the funny bear’s face!
"Wokka Wokka"
2) Hatley for toddler clothes that are not only outdoor-sy and funny, but you can also get the matching adult sized version! Locations all over Canada.
"Bear Naked"... hehe
3) Threadless for the indie parents out there who are tired of the same ol’ stores in the mega malls. I can’t name the specific mega-mall stores as I don’t want to jeopardize any future multi-billion dollar sponsorship contracts that may be just a few weeks away…
"Homework Evidence"
Best Christmas Morning Reaction Ever
In Summary
As you can see, a plethora of toys (and clothes) to choose from. I hope you were able to find at least ONE gift that the toddler on your list doesn’t currently have so that you can be one step closer to being Incredible when they open their gifts.
Don’t forget to let us know, via the comments below, what other toys YOU think should be on this list!
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I just made a list of Christmas gifts for babies 6 months +. You’ll find my thoughts here: http://happychristmasgifts.blogspot.com/2009/11/cool-kids-toys-babies-6-months.html
Thanks Lian… there are so many lists out there but hopefully we’re doing our part to make shopping easier for Busy parents out there!
ID
Thanks Incredible Dad for these gift ideas! I’m Wonderful Mom (lol) and discovered that my son wants two things for Christmas. He either wants an old fashioned car model of a vintage vehicle or Planet Earth DVD set. Not kidding. He can’t get enough of that show.
Thought I’d pass it along.