Christmas List 2014

Does anyone else love to know what other people are getting their kiddos for Christmas? It’s like the equivalent of the “What’s in your fridge?” amusement. I thought I’d share our gift break down for this year. As always, we stick to three gifts (If it was good enough for Jesus…) We’ll start with the baby:

Cohen will turn one just a couple weeks before Christmas. He loves music, shaking/throwing things, and cause/effect toys. Because he’s the youngest of three, I’ve seen with the others how some “baby” toys are discarded quickly. One of the keys to a good gift for the youngest kiddo is something interesting enough for his older sibs to play with him. With that in mind, we bought him this set of Citiblocs.

Wood toys are almost always a win, but the fact that this will extend the play of the wood blocks we already own certainly helps. Better still for the music-loving babe, they rattle and come in a bucket.

This chomp and count dino is a pretty obvious choice for the young toddler set this holiday. I mean you get to feed him. He sings songs and has a wheel you turn. AND he has a string so you can pull him along.

We have a bunch of the different Green Toys vehicles. They are a great size and have held up to some rough play. Cohen’s going to love pushing this tractor around, especially since it has a bucket in the back for hauling “stuff”.

Landon’s next! He’s three-and-a-half. It’s the first time we’ve given him gifts since he was diagnosed with autism. Which you might think changes things, but I think what makes this holiday the most different from previous ones is the fact that he knows what he likes this year and asked for some things specifically. One thing he was adamant about was that he would like some bridges to go along with his wooden train tracks. Thanks to Mimi and Aunt K, he’s got two bridges coming his way.

If you’re the mama of a preschool-aged boy, you probably have a few monster trucks laying around. Landon is a proprioceptive-seeker, so he loves the feel of the big rubber tires. I found this set over the summer on super clearance, so I’m glad the wait is almost over to see how much he loves it.

After more than a few mom recommendations and an extended play session at the children’s museum, I knew Magformers needed to be on this year’s Christmas list. Unfortunately, they are super expensive. I jumped at a deal I saw a couple months ago and am so excited these are wrapped under the tree!

Because they’re so expensive, it does seem like the kind of toy we’ll have to build onto with time, but I hope the 30 piece set is enough to get him excited about playing with them!

This last toy goes against pretty much every toy rule I have: it’s big, it only does one thing, it’s pieces are fixed and non-customizable, it’s plastic. But, he’s going to LOVE it. And sometimes (sometimes) that’s worth breaking all the rules for.

Lastly, Lucy. She’s turning five in a couple weeks. And she knows exactly what she wants. Oh boy…

We bought her a toy kitchen for her first Christmas and I must say that was the best investment. (This is the kitchen that has stood the test of time. And kids.)

She asked for some food this year so we got this wedding cake and ice cream set. I know that’s technically two things, but by shopping early I found them for a steal and could fit both into the budget.

Lovies and stuffed friends are adored around here so I know this Cinderella pillow is going to be a hit. Since she saw a commercial for Disney World that featured Cinderella’s castle, she’s become a favorite princess. I mean she’s no Elsa, but pretty high up there. ;)

Lastly, she asked for a calendar. The passage of time is so interesting to her and she wants to know what we’re doing every day so I thought this would be perfect. There’s one for older kids that has a month view so we could always upgrade to that one later.

Budget-wise, starting early definitely helped keep us on track. We started out with a budget of $50 per kid. Cohen came in $10 under budget, Landon was exactly on budget, and Lucy was $6 under budget. I used the extra money to add some books to their stockings!

So many stockings!