A warm welcome to everyone coming from Moms Favorite Stuff! I hope you’re enjoying the festivities leading up to Toy Tuesday, December 8th.
If you’re just now joining us, we’re having virtual play time (or a blog hop) and sharing our favorite toys, toy trends, and places to buy them for the best bargains of the year.
After my tips on making Christmas Day more fun for everyone,
learn how to enter to win a $250 gift card
AND a $500 in products to your favorite charity or school!
I have 3 boys, two of which are only 22 months apart. There can be some serious competition and disappointment on Christmas morning if I neglect to keep a few things in mind while toy shopping. Therefore, I thought I’d share with you my philosophy on Christmas toy buying which makes Christmas morning more fun for everyone.
The Tip Junkie’s Christmas Toy Philosophy: Limit your gifts to 4-8 (depending on cost) for each child. Make sure there are a variety of good quality toys so nothing breaks and there’s plenty to do throughout Christmas day. This ensures no one is disappointed or is bored an hour after opening presents.
1. First, know what your child wants. I take into consideration my boys’ wish list and their likes and dislikes. You can have the best variety of toys imaginable but if it doesn’t cater to their special interests then it’s still a no-go.
2. Next, I like to make sure my boys each get:
- Something to build
- A video game to play
- A toy for their imagination
- An item to build on whatever they are collecting
- Something to play with outside
- A board game
- A big gift from Santa
Any of these qualities can be combined for one toy. For instance my boys’ favorite Christmas gifts have combined “something to build” with “a toy for their imagination”. Having a wide range of toys expands their uses, creativity, play time, and excitement throughout the day.
Things to Build:Â Marble Run, K-nex, Bionicles
Favorite Video Games: My Sims Agents, Star Wars Legos, Mario Kart
My Favorite Toys We’ve Collected:Â Anything Star Wars, Imaginext, Legos
From Santa: Santa gifts are usually large and go for the shock value. I don’t go overboard on price but I do try to make it fun and unique.
Other options to consider:
- Art supplies: to paint, draw, or create. Play-Doh, Pixo’s, and craft kits
- Electronics:Â MP3 player, DS, radio, spy gear, watch, Funkeys, computer game
Entertaining Toys:
- Zoom-o (surprisingly fun for $10)
- Anything Nerf
- Air Hogs (the new ones are more durable)
5. I try to keep things fair:
- The same number of gifts or price range for each child.
- Size matters with boys! So I make sure each kiddo has the same number of “large” wrapped gifts. Even if I have to put a toy inside a larger box. {{evil laugh}}
- Same number of items in stocking and I try to have larger items next to stocking for shock value when the boys come down the stairs.
So what’s your toy buying philosophy?
Feel free to leave a comment which automatically enters you to win a $250 gift card. Details below.
Huge thanks to Bill Me Later for organizing such an informative and fun play time. Feel free to check out all the blogs participating and their favorite toys and money saving deals. They’re worth the read.
What is Toy Tuesday?
Toy Tuesday will occur on December 8th and is a one day sale event held over on Bill Me Later’s website. You’ll find all kinds of amazing deals to wrap up all your holiday shopping from these stores:
| Toys R Us | Walmart.com |
| eToys | Mercantila (trampolines) |
| FAO Schwarz | Drugstore.com |
| Little Tikes | HP.com |
| Overstock.com | MacMall |
| Step 2 | and moreÂ… |
Bill Me Later wants to get YOUR attention and to do so they’ve not only come up with a really fun campaign that introduces you to some new bloggers and new toys, but they are putting up some serious CASH and discounts!
Bill Me Later has made it really easy to enter to win a $250 gift card AND $500 in products to the winners favorite charity or school. They aren’t messing around and are taking good care of everyone involved. They’re buying some toys from Wal-Mart for my boys AND they’re paying YOU some hard core cash to get your attention.
A $250 gift certificate to FAO Schwarz and a
$500 product donation to the school or charity of winners choice.
Share what toys you are most excited about giving this year
or your toy buying philosophy in the comments.
This giveaway will only last until midnight Saturday (CST).
P.S. Toy Junkie’s, tomorrow head on over to Bargain Briana for her toy tips and another $750 in giveaways.
I am most excited about giving my son the new electronic Rubik’s Cube – total surprise! Oh, and juggling props of course 🙂
I’m really excited to be giving my boys, who are 22 months apart some Bakugans. They love them and only have a couple. They are getting the Bakugan battle packs, tins and the game board and also the Wii game. I’m getting them each different ones so they will both have them but not the same since they tend to love to play with each others toys. So its nice to have “the same but different”. It’s going to be a Bakugan Christmas for us. They both love pretty much everything the same but they like to have their own so its nice for me to be able to buy different colors and different characters so they have more to play with.
I try to be fair with the number/large presents as well, I only have two boys so it is a little easier. I also try to buy stuff for the older boy that the younger one can at least be around and/or play with too so I’m not isolating them from each other just because of the toys; Duplos instead of tiny Legos, Imaginext, blocks, etc. I try to buy the large or expensive toy that belongs to a collection (like the Imaginext sets) and tell all the family and friends who ask what to get the boys to buy the smaller ones, that way no one is out a ton of money but my son get all the pieces he wanted.
Our philosophy is: want, need, wear, read.
Each child receives something he wants, something he needs, something he will wear, and something he can read. What more could you ask for!
This year the kids want wii, they need new sheets for their beds, they will wear new Pjs and will get some new reader books!
I think a lot like you when it comes to gift giving. I have a son and a daughter. I try to make sure I have the same amount of gifts for each because they count them. I also try to make sure I spend the same amount. My mother taught this to me. She did the same think with my sister and I. It was always about being fair. She still does it to this day and we are 40 and 36. Merry Christmas everyone.
Carol