Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Gift Guide 2012

So since moving to Provo, I've been blessed with two wonderful friends who happen to be just as obsessed with kids toys as I am.  I love seeing the fun toys at their homes so when Meta and Merrilee invited me to join them in putting together some holiday gift guides, I was happy to join in.  So to start off, here are a few things I know Ollie would love to find under our Christmas tree (and maybe a few of them are being shipped to us right now. Shhh! Don't tell)


1. Fox & Hat by Maileg  2.  Let's go for a Drive by Mo Willems- We're big fans of Elephant and Piggie around here, and I know this will be a particular favorite of car-obsessed Ollie  3.  Skip Hop Soapster Foaming Soap Dispenser- I might love this more than Ollie because he hates having his hair washed and this would free up one of my hands to help with his squirming  4.  Mini Speedy Le Mans  5.  London Bus with Driver  6. Lucy the Crocodile by David Weeks- We have Hano the Gorilla because I found one on clearance and we love it.  These are fairly indestructable and so fun to pose all over the place  7. Nutty the Squirrel balancing toy  8. Cascading Marble Tree- I love the musical sounds this toy makes  9. Stackable Panda Puzzle  10.  Magnetic Bulldozer- What toddler doesn't love to take things apart and this is actually meant to come apart and snap back together via its magnetic pieces  11. What Animals Really Like by Fiona Robinson - This book was hard for Ollie to part with when it was time to return it to the library   12. Modern Phante Chair- as much as I'd love the real deal, this knock-off is more inline with our budget.  It comes in many colors and oh, does Ollie love elephants!


Creed is starting to get a little more difficult to buy for.  He'd love an armful of video games, and while I wouldn't mind getting him one or two, I'd much rather have him off using his imagination and still enjoying being little.  Here are a few things that I think might walk the fine line of cool enough to interest him without being too grown-up.



1.  Penguin Kubix Domino Set- Creed loves setting up dominos to knock down, but it's still a little tricky for him to not knock them down while he's building.  These look slightly more stable and the moving parts would be so fun to mix in with the rest of our dominos  2. Fox Mibo tee   3. Kipp Klapper Bahn- This is just one of many cool pieces that you can add to the Haba marble sets. I love adding something new to renew interest in a toy that we already have   4.  The Book with a Hole by Herve Tullet- Many people know Tullet for his amazing picture book, Press Here, but his activity books are equally creative.  Creed isn't usually interested in coloring, but he was begging for this book once he browsed through it   5.  Secret Message Writing Set- we had a similar set that was a huge hit with Creed   6.  I Duck- this waterproof duck plays music in the bathtub.  You can plug your ipod into the egg transmitter and keep it somewhere dry or even listen to fm radio   7.  Aluminum Triceratops- Truth be told, Creed is not ready for this one yet, but it might be a fun project to do together and the price is so reasonable, I'd be willing to try   8. Lester's Dreadful Sweaters by KG Campbell - I dare you to read the excerpt on Amazon.  You're going to want it too   9. Cable Car Kit- We have a two story entry with openings on both sides, just begging for things to be sent from one side of the house to the other   10. Magical Crystal Growing Kit   11. Delux Magic Set- We have the basic set made by the same company and Creed loves to put on magic shows (over and over and over again).  I'm ready to see some new tricks so maybe this one is more for me   12. This Way to the Moon by Miroslav Sasek   13. Kikkerland Windup- Creed collects little Kikkerland windup robots and this one is high up on his wishlist   14. Robot Bank   15. Crank Music Box- We own one of these and it is the number one item my boys fight over.  I'd say it's time they each got their own, and I love that they have so many different songs to choose from

Don't forget to check out Meta's Gift Guide over at One More Mushroom and Merrilee's Gift Guide over at Mer Mag.  Later this week we'll all be sharing toys that we already own and love.

1 comment:

Danielle said...

YES! I too am obsessed with kid toys. Not sure if my kids love them more or me! ;) There's no 'go to target and buy whatever's on sale' for me. Thanks so much for sharing your great finds....i've also bought the kikkerland robots and the magic set and am excited to check some of these out.