katiefleck's Unofficial Guide to Surviving 3 or more children under the age of 6
Volume 7: Gift Giving
Ah, Christmas time. The time where we drive ourselves insane by hanging Christmas lights outside in freezing weather and drinking too much spiked eggnog. The time when the famous man in red visits. No, not the Devil, silly. Santa Claus!
**Are the kids gone yet?**
Whew! I mean the time when you have to buy presents for all the kiddos in your life and you haven't a clue where to begin. My first rule: when in doubt check with the parents. They may have some odd rules like no Barbies ("distorted view of plastic perfection" Huh? I never once wanted to have pointy tip toe feet) or no guns ("violence!" Never mind their 4 year old substitutes a banana and shoots you every time you walk in the door). Now if you are the parent, these ideas may make playing Santa Claus and dealing with the toy opening morning after hangover a bit easier.
My handy guide to shopping for a household with 3 or more children under the age of 6:
- Buy for the lowest common demonator. This is my husband's rule and a very good one. In other words, buy the oldest child a toy that is safe to be around the youngest child. This isn't as hard as you think. If there's a baby in the house, do not buy Kerplunk with hundreds of marbles and pointy sticks. Buy Twister instead. Which ties into my next rule:
- Less is More. Sure the 100 piece Farm Set sounds like a fabulous deal for only $9.99 but who really needs a herd of 75 miniature cows and 25 tractors? Would you enjoy picking all those up every night? Yeah, neither will the gift recipient's parents. The fewer the pieces the better. It means less pieces to get lost, stepped on, picked up, taken out of the baby's mouth, etc.
- No Noise or at least Volume Control. I wouldn't go as far as to suggest you can never buy a toy with sound but use a little common sense. Is the toy extremely annoying all by itself? Odds are that in a household of 3 or more, the toy will be joined by several more noise making toys into an ear drum breaking, mirgrane inducing cacophony of sound. I don't know how many times my husband and I haved look at each other after one of the kids opened an annoying noisy toy and said "yeah, the batteries are disappearing out of that one after bedtime." Volume control is a must. Or if you already have a toy room full of noisy toys without volume control and you're not cruel enough to take out the batteries (remember you have to be dead to be a saint), try this trick a friend suggested: a piece of duct tape over the speaker. Instant noise control.
- Quality is Important. If it looks cheap, then it will break by the end of the day and you'll have a busted toy and unhappy child. Spurge a little and buy a good name brand toy for the child. You can't go wrong with Fisher Price, Little Tykes, Lego, etc. The dollar store stuff? Just remember you get what you pay for. I think most parents agree a few quality toys that will last through children's play are better than dozens of cheap junk gifts that quickly break.
- Books: You can never ever go wrong with age appropriate books. I suggest cardboard or cloth books for those under age 2, simple readers or pictures books for preschoolers, and the Classics for school aged children. Amazon.com does an amazing job of breaking down book categories.
- Board Games: Watch the number of small pieces but an excellent gift for the whole family. Look for your favorites in a Jr. edition.
- Videos and DVD's: Ask the parents if they have started a Disney collection or own the latest Pixar movie. And hey, if you want to be educational, many PBS shows can be bought on video as well.
- Dress Up Clothes (but no feather boas!): Imaginative play at its best! The after Halloween sales are awesome for this but you can still find a decent selection of princess attire and the occaional cowboy or fireman outfit at this time of year. Why no feather boas? My darling brother in law bought Emily and Ally purple and pink ones for their 4th birthday. The boas themselves only lasted a month but their 6th birthday is right around the corner and I still find purple and pink feathers around the house. Argh!
- Building Blocks: Lincoln Logs, Duplo Legos (don't go with the regular small Legos yet), plain wooden blocks, etc. Sure they make get thrown around a bit and hurt when stepped on but Duplo Legos are the one constant toy with which my children never quit playing.
- Stuffed Animals and Dolls: Washable is a bonus here. And boys can have stuffed animals. Teddy Bears are uni-sex, not to mention that many cartoon favorites come in plush form: SpongeBob, Pokemon, etc.
- Vehicles: I'm not talking the drivable adult kind but Barbie cars, Little Tykes dump trunks, trains, Fisher Price Little People Airplanes and Buses are huge hits with little kids. Be careful of sharp metal edges and flimsy pieces that might break off. Hot Wheels and Micro Machines are still too small and dangerous for this age group, hold off on those unless the parents give you the go ahead.
- Art Supplies: This is also another idea to run by the parents first, they may treat crayons as deadly weapons or abhor the scent of Play-Doh in the morning. Personally I don't mind either of the above, instead I hate markers and fingerpaint.
- Restaurant Gift Certificates, Movie Passes, Museum/Zoo Tickets: Not the most exciting gift to receive as a child ("a piece of paper?") but these are great stockings stuffers. They create another memorable experience beyond the present opening moment.
- Clothing: Hey, clothing can be a good gift! Buy something a little out of the ordinary: funny socks, a colorful bathrobe, logo tee's, character slippers.
Happy Holidays to you and yours!
All Content at katiefleck.com is Copyright 2003-2008 by Katie Fleck, All Rights Reserved.
