I find shopping for my kids has been kind of difficult this year, trying to find them cool stuff to buy at the age of 4 and 6. Well close enough to 4 as my current youngest son turns 4 in early January. After a month or two of thinking, looking on the web, and talking to some people I have finished most of my shopping for them. It is a mix of new toys and classics and I hope that it might help some people out. Please remember though, I have not yet Dad tested these toys, I can write a follow up after Christmas, but that will only help you for next year. Also all toys were bought by me for my family, they were not review toys.
- Land of Nod
Mini Golf – My boys love playing mini golf in the summer at Hilton Head, so I wanted something I could play on the hardwood floors that did not seem like it would take up a ton of room and was easy to clean up.
Labyrinth Game – If you have small kids in the house this is not for you. That being said, my 6 year old is going to love this I think. I saw them other places, but I heard that the quality is not the same as the good ole classic ones. This will be seen on Christmas though.
- Toys R Us
Imaginarium Medieval Castle – I just happened to get this on sale one day, I think it is awesome. This may be one of those gifts that I really wanted, but my 6 year old should love it. I am also sure that they will both play together with it, which was something I am hoping for.
Wii Sports Resort with 2 MotionPlus Remotes- My kids love the Wii, nothing more really needs to be said. Well, it seems they do not have the one with 2 MotionPlus Remotes anymore.
- Walmart
KidKraft Young Explorers Rocket Ship Set – Do not happen to see it anymore at Walmart, but my youngest son wants to grow up to be an astronaut so this seemed fitting.
- Amazon
ThinkFun Rush Hour Jr – I had a game like this with castles when I was younger and loved it, hopefully it plays somewhat the same. We have instituted family game night on Thursdays so we needed some new stuff which is why you see so many games on this list.
What’s in Ned’s Head? – My wife wanted to get them this last year, seems eh to me.
Melissa & Doug Deluxe Fuzzy Make-Your-Own Monster Puppet – For the 4 year old, I think he will get a huge kick out of this. He is a play by himself sort of kid sometimes. Plus I was having a hard time finding stuff specifically for him.
Scoot n Shoot Soccer – Another wife idea, if it works, should be interesting as we have a big living room and dining room that are hardwood floors.
Alex Toys Monster Clompers – I thought my 4 year old would get a kick out of these, now I do not know how often they will actually be used.
Mario Kart Wii with Wii Wheel – We currently play Mario Kart on the Wii, but the Gamecube version. We all have a blast so I thought it was time to upgrade. Plus this way I do not have to worry about us getting the wires all tangled up while we play.
Alex Toys Little Hands, My Rub Art – I think I wanted the sticker art one, but alas I got this instead. Still seems cool
Crayola Beginnings Color Me A Song – My kids love to draw and color and I thought this was really cool. I already tried out the demo mode, seems fun.
Wild Planet Hyper Dash – My kids will have fun with this, should be interesting when one of them bonks into something while running around though.
Ideal Spiral Ball – When we went to Hershey Park we played skee-ball for a long time, the kids did not want to stop. I figured since I don’t have the room for a full blown skee-ball system just yet this might be the next best thing. Plus since it is self contained you can actually move it around.
Feed The Kitty by Gamewright – For game night
CHOMP – For game night
Snap Card Game – For game night
Cranium Cariboo – Discover hidden treasure and unlock secret doors – just sounds cool
Maui Toys Skyball 2 Pack-Colors May Vary – Have you seen the video? I mean really they are just awesome, I may be going into neighbors yards and on my roof all summer to get them, but it will be worth it.
Bushnell Powerview 8×21 Compact Folding Roof Prism Binocular (Black) – They have kids binoculars and thought it would be a good idea to upgrade them for late night raids into the kitchen fridge, or to spy on the dogs.
Franklin Sports Future Champs Youth Football Goal Post Set No. 14266 – My six year old has really been into football lately so I thought this would be something fun to have in the backyard come summer time.
- Costco
Crayola Crayon Maker – Yes, I know it is for older children, but since my kids love to color so much I figured I could oversee the making of the crayons and they could just use them.
- International Playthings
– I am probably one of the lucky ones because a few times a year they open up the warehouse and have a crazy sale. You ever see those television shows where a mad rush of people running to bargain items? Yeah it is like that, but no one gets run over. They really do a good job at managing the sale and some real bargains are had. I know we got some things 70% off retail this year.
So that is most of what I got the boys for the Christmas Holiday. It is tough with a December and January birthday, but we get around that by taking them to the toy store and letting them pick out one big gift on their birthday since we take the day off of work. Just seems a lot easier than trying to coordinate the birthday and holiday presents. Spread the word with this list and help out other parents!