Toy Recommendations

Get the 20 month old a MagnaDoodle, TravelDoodle, or AquaDoodle. They will quicky be the kid's most-used and favorite toys.

For the 8 month old: a set of nesting blocks.

My 16 month old son LOVES his bounce & spin zebra that we got him for his birthday. And most of the kids who come over love to play with it as well. The other popular toys in my house are the ball popper & the shape sorter from Tupperware. Good luck!

Hello J.. When my now 5yo was little she got the 'peek a boo' blocks. Now all three of my girls play with them (Ages 9, 5, and 2) they build castles for the princesses and balance them on the 'ark'. And at 8 months old they are fun to knock down when someone else builds them up. Hope that helps.

I am a consultant with Discovery Toys. All of our toys have a 100% lifetime guarantee and have gone through a 5-point safety inspection. Please feel free to visit www.discoverytoyslink.com/jhood to see some of the products.
I also have some items at my home that I am looking to clearance out. I can send you a list of those that are age appropriate for your children.

J.

My kids just recently got a giant beach ball (well to them it is giant, about 18inches) My 4 year old and 18mo old absolutely love it.. even my younger son carries it around and has been trying to throw it and catch it.. Just remember sometimes the least expensive things can be the most fun. Also my son LOVES to play with the remote and cell phone... he walks around completely content w/ both in hand and hates to give it up, I am actually thinking of getting a remote and cell phone (not activated) for him. He really likes the tent we had.. he would take his toys in there and play (downside its kind of bulky for the family room but if you have room for it, its fun.. I even got him a push light (easier than the flashlight for him) to have in there. And my kids love the matchbox race cars.

I know I am jumping in a little late but our daughter who is now nearly 5 still plays with ALL her Melissa and Doug toys. Target used to sell some of their toys, I am not so sure anymore but you can go to www.melissaanddoug.com. They have wonderful wooden toys like dress up magnetic dolls which are still one of my daughters favorites. They also sell large floor puzzles with big pieces for little hands, everything you would need for a puppet show, just lots of fun toys.I highly recommend their toys. Also, Little People have always been popular for our kids and how far they have come since I was a kid!

You might want to check out the fisher price web site, they have wonderful toys that are lead free and my nieces and nephews love them.The little people come in many nationalities also.Toys are small enough for little hands and help with the childrens imaginations.But not small enough to get in thier mouths.The web site has age appropreite toys from infant, toddler and up.

Hi J. -

My kids absolutely love the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Playhouse. I have an 11 mo. old and an almost 3 year old and they play in it together. I actually got the idea to purchase it from another mom, this playhouse is so neat!

E-toys is an awesome site. You can go to your childs age and gender, price range, parents choice awards, oppenheimer awards, and they pretty much do the work for you. I have used this site for several years now. My 3 children are 10 years apart and E-toys really knows what kids like.

Plus the prices are comparable to Walmart if not better, and usually if you spend over a certain amount the shipping is free around the holidays. I have never had a problem with them. The items have always come before Christmas, to my front door, in great shape. All I do is wrap them as they arrive.

Good luck!

R.

As soon as my son could run he loved the hobby horse he got for Christmas (old fashioned stick with soft horse head on top). He ran around whooping like a cowboy for about three years. Great exercise and not very expensive!

Hi J.!

I sell Discovery Toys and there are items for those ages that kids just love! One of the favorites is called "Castle Marbleworks." My 1 1/2 yr old loves it as well as my 4 yr. old. Some other favorites in the correct age range include "Toddler Talk", "Tangiball", Rainfall Rattle", and the "Shiny, Touchy, Smelly" books. Check out the website at www.discoverytoysinc.com and look at all we have to offer. All toys come with a lifetime guarantee! They're colorful, fun, durable, and educational! I love them for my own kids, and reccomend them highly!

If you see something you want, you can contact me the following ways:

e-mail: ____@____.com
Hm phone: ###-###-####
Cell phone: ###-###-####

I will place your order and deliver the toys to you or meet you somewhere, whichever is most convenient for you. Another benefit to this is that you can save your time and gas!

Thanks!

C. Morris

Hi again! I didn't see other responses before I sent my reccomemdation. I see now that another DT consultant has already responded. Since she responded first, please contact her if you decide order something. I still highly advise you to check it out!

My kids, girls and boys, loved the Fisher Price, door!It's an actual door that has a light switch and mailbox and weather dial. It makes door sounds and the doorbell really rings. They can crawl through it too!

That was a few years ago. I see now that they have the door with the kitchen, ect. It's a large toy, but not too large to have in the living room or playroom.

J.,

There are some soft rubber-like cars that Target always has in stock made by Parents First (I think) and they're always a hit. Perfect size for little ones, they pull back a few times to gear them up, then release to go shooting across the floor. Didn't take my 15mo. old long to figure them out. My sister and her kids, my brother and his kids, now my kids love them. Cute faces on the cars, too. I think they are under $15.

Hope this helps,
J.

I can't remember back to 8 months old :-), but my daughters were 22 months last Christmas. They got items such as the grow-with-me kitchen, shopping cards, sit and spins, puzzles, coloring books and crayons,vanity, table and chairs and baby doll strollers.

Okay, here I come.
The building block things like Mega Blocks etc. Good for both children. In fact I am getting rid of ours because we are 10 so don't need the wagon and two additional sets taking up room anymore!
Large piece wooden puzzles. We even have a set that is a wooden Teddy Bear that came with different outfits you could put him together with.
A farm set. We had one by Fisher Price, barn, people, machinery and animals. Daughter loved it and son used it afterwards. Was great!
Picture books, always good.
A good baby doll. I had a Gerber and Betsy Wetsy, my daughter had a complete cloth Cabbage Patch, but any one of the better dolls will do. Just make sure it is one that can be completely washed.
I like the soft stacking toys for the littler ones. Maybe one of the soft trucks.
I got my 8 month old grandson a Winnie the Pooh that had a light up honey pot in it's lap for in his crib. I found a toy board that stretched across the crib bars or the stroller bars. He used it for a long time. Your son is harder because he isn't quite ready for a lot of things now but will be in a couple more months. A jack in the box, we had a large ball with a clear top and something in the bottom that when pushed would make musical sounds while it moved and the things in the top moved around too. He really liked that ball! I know he got the big Tonka dump trunk for his first Christmas and a wagon for his toys.
I hope this helps some.

Hi J.,

My son is the same age as your daughter and here are some things from his Amazon.com list. He already got a kitchen (early-long story), so I put a ton of accessories for it on there. Also puzzles, books, anything Melissa and Doug, a Parents Magazine doctor kit, lacing cards, and beads. You could also do dress up or one of hte fisher price little people toys. We have the house, barn and plane. They are not as cute as wehen we were little, but still fun.

My daughter is now 20 months old. She is our third daughter. This is our favorite Christmas. She'll get Little People everything and a kitchen set. She has a stroller and high chair for her babies already. Maybe she'll get a nice soft baby also. This is the Christmas of Fun Toys! After this things will have to be Princesses or Dora and everything will require batteries and "do something." This is a great time for blocks and true imagination toys. That's why we like the Little People so well. They can play with them for hours and just keep the imagination going. There are animals and pirates, boys and girls, grown ups and children. Jacey has had some for about 6 months, and our older girls played with them for years. The ones they had when we were children got chewed on and old and yucky, the ones they make now are almost indestructable. So if you want to you can buy them second hand and just clean them up. Our oldest daughter even named our dog, Sarah Lynn, after one of them. Have fun, this will be a great Christmas for you! (me too LOL)