Gift Ideas

I agree with the other, the Leap Frog fridge mangets are great. Also, my almost 2 1/2 yr old loves letter flash cards. She knows all her letters and still associates certain animals, words, etc, with the letters because of flashcards. She REALLY started getting into her lettters once she got Dr Seuss's ABC book. She's a bit of a book worm (yes, already) so that is what jump started her learning letters.

I ws just at a ECFE class, and some were talking about kitchens, with their boys...yes boys. The tool benches as mentioned below are nice, but even boys like to help in the kitchen. Kids model what parents do, so if he sees you or his dad in the kitchen cooking supper, they like to play in their kitchen too. So, don't totally disregard unisex toys! Especially if you want to have well rounded boys.

L.,

My kids are a bit older so I've had 15 years of toys for Christmas and I've had to work to get rid of that many toys! I have three kids so you can imagine.

Here's my advice, don't ask for toys. Ask for money or gift certificates to all those extra activities your kids are or will be doing soon like swimming lessons or gymnastics. If Grandma really wants something for them to open, how about a new swimsuit for the classes or a new piece of equipment for their favorite sport.

The toys are fun for a short period of time but they become a problem to store and pick up. As your kids get older the fees for all the activities will become expensive and budget worthy for sure. Get Grandma in the habbit of buying the swimming lessons every year and be sure to send her a ton of pictures of the kids in the pool! "Grandma paid for all of your swimming lesson while you were growing up" sure sounds nice when they are older and they can keep that skill longer than a Leap pad learning system.

Best of luck!
T. in EP

I have to agree that toys with lots of parts=evil. I love memberships..the children's museum and the MN zoo are both great. Another idea is a magazine subscription. Highlights has a new mag for preschoolers called "High Five." The Cricket magazine group has Babybug and Ladybug. There's also Animal Baby and a little kid version of Ranger Rick (can't remember the name right now). They can buy a newstand copy of the mag if they want the kids to have something to unwrap and then the kiddos get mail all year long. My girls LOVE that.

Another mail idea is the toddler craft of the month club. Basically you get a bunch of little crafts once a month, usually with some sort of theme. These definitely are ones you do WITH your kids at that age, but are things that my 2.5 yr old can do with just a little direction/help from me (like helping peel the stickers off the page). Again they get something in the mail once a month and my girls just love it. Grandma could always package it up with some basic supplies (glue sticks, washable crayons, etc) for something to open. The ones we get are from here: http://www.mommiesmart.com/KidsCraftsToddlers.html.

I was just going to say that my kids love(d) their My First Leappad! We've got a bunch of the books (Thomas, Bob the Builder, Cars). My 6-year-old doesn't really use it anymore but my 3-year-old loves it!

What about a membership to the Children's Museum or the Minnesota Zoo. My 2 1/2 year old son is going to swimming lessons that were a gift from Grandma and he is having a lot of fun.

My 2 1/2 year old loves his matchbox cars too. We also have a bunch of Thomas stuff that he really likes as well.

I also have a 9 month old that I am having a hard time figuring out gift ideas since we already have so many toys for his older brother.

My son also received a small hockey set with small sticks and goals. He loves that.

I have always taken my daughter to toysrus to browse. And paid attention or took notes on what toys she got the most excited to see.

Or

I give her a toy catalog from JcPenny's, Fleet Farm or Toys R Us and look at it with her or let her circle what she wants.

As far as educational toys puzzles, books, leapfrog etc..

Instead of a playkitchen they have builder shops for boys where it comes with tools and stuff that would be fun.

How about stuff for the backyard like a picnic table, sandbox, bikes, teeter totter etc. I know they wouldn't get much play out of it in Dec. but usually get's get to many toys anyways.

Clothing

New Bedspreads

Lego Table

One of the best gifts my son got for his 2nd birthday was the LeapFrog Fridge Phonics. It's the one thing that he plays with all the time. He's 3 now and he still loves it. Unfortunately for me I had to suffer through him pushing the alphabet button over and over and over again - but he'd only let the alphabet get to B before he'd push it again - I'm soo glad he grew out of that!

I love the idea of the lessons or something like that~
Maybe even a pass or gift card to a community center or in door play center. (Eagle's nest, adventure park, etc.)

My son who is 1 1/2 loves the leapfrog fridge magnets. And it is helping him learn his letters. My son also has the leapfrog pad he likes it ok right now.

I am getting kids in my life library book bags made up with their names on them etc... To encourage trips to the library and books.

We love Baby Enstein dvd's also. Especially the farm animals one!

good luck-

I have 3 boys (ages 5,3,1) and have so many boys toys its crazy!! Its always nice when family asks for gift ideas.

I second the Leap Frog fridge magnet set, and also the Leapfrog learning table (it was given to my oldest and has handed down and is a HUGE favorite).
Also, Thomas trains are huge at our home. I recommend buying store brand wooden tracks (from Target, toys r us- much cheaper ) and then buying the Thomas character wooden trains. For a larger gift, a train table is awesome! And they can play with all sorts of things on it too, not just trains.
Nor sure if you do DVD's, but there is a Leapfrog Alphabet DVD (the Letter Factory) that is great! We got it as a gift a couple yrs ago, and my boys learned what the letters say in a day... it was crazy!!
Hope this helps!
K.

I got my daughter 2 1/2, a fisher price learn thru music system for christmas. it has rave reviews on line. also planning on getting candy land castle game...another toy with good reviews. they have new little people sets out this year, the one for boys looks awesome!

i also take my kids to fleet farm, target and toys r us and watch to see what they grab or what catches their eye...be ready to take note.

As the mother of 4 year old and 2 year old boys, I just have to jump in and make a suggestion on toys. I have more toys in my house than I can believe. They are everywhere. In fact, I just found a box of toys in the closet that I put away months ago and completely forgot about.

So here's what I wish I had done in the beginning, before the toys were out of control:

Don't buy toys with lots of pieces. Believe me, no matter how hard you try, you're going to lose them. And then no one wants a hand-me-down toy that is missing parts. Bigger toys, with less parts, are eaiser to give away and keep track of. And even more simple, don't buy a lot of toys.

Now on to your question. I think Beth's idea is great. If you take your 2 year old to a toy store you'll see what he's the most interested in. However, at this age, he's not going to remember what his grandparents got him but you're going to be stuck with the toy parts. Have them bring the kids a gift they can share or some books.

And a little personal warning on the fridge phonics... I got that for my son when he was 2 and he loved it. He would take the letters and through them across the room and just laugh. He always found it more fun to throw the letters on the floor, than to put them back on the fridge. I finally put it away... after losing some of the letters of course.

Of course, I'm a little biased, since I am an Usborne consultant, but I always ask my in-laws for BOOKS for my kids! They can just never have enough, and they are so helpful for learning to read in the future. Getting them to love and enjoy books now is essential to future learning! We have some great ones, all educational, at my website www.ubah.com/g2687, and you can even make a wishlist for your in-laws to purchase from! Also, check out the product "Your Baby Can Read" - this is a set of 5 DVDs and flashcards that my kids have really enjoyed. Kids should not watch a lot of TV at their ages, but these DVDs were designed to create brain connections, not destroy them. Check it out - happy holidays!