Our Christmas List Year 2

November 21, 2019 /
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We’re officially entering our second Christmas with three toddlers as opposed to three babies now and all I can says is WHOA. Their play skills have changed so much over the past year, but that’s okay because we like to choose toys that can keep up! Here’s our list of favorites that we’re looking forward to playing with for the next few years to come.

Frozen Sleigh

Of course everything Frozen or Disney is big right now as we’ve been enjoying acting out the story of a few of our family movie nights. Mostly the kids like to listen to the soundtracks and somehow the Frozen 2 teasers got into the mix so they are so unbelievably excited for “new elsa” – we’re actually considering it as their first movie theater experience! While we’ve got a few of the dress-up outfits on pretty much all the time we think they’ll also start getting some use out of pretend play and this sled. It is a perfect toy to interchange – it works with some of our other little people so they can all go for a ride and vehicles lead to lots of imaginative play. Vehicles allow both imitating what they’ve seen in the movie, and outside of the film ideas, into their own lives – taking a ride to school, the beach, the zoo etc. There are so many places they can go – all the pun intended.

Poke-A-Dot Book

My kids have been spending a lot of time on farms this summer and fall doing everything from apple picking to veggie picking, visiting several different farms and petting/feeding the animals. Like most toddlers my middle daughter is really loving everything animals, plants and farming. This Old MacDonald book is something we’ll continue to enjoy and talk about whenever we go to see the animals. That being said all kids seem to LOVE these dot books. They are engaging for kids who want to sit down and read, but capture even the shortest attention span with super fun bubbles you can pop on each page. Think how much kids enjoy bubble wrap – its like that but quieter/easier for toddler hands to do themselves.

Toddler Friendly Knife Set

I know they are only toddlers, but our oldest two LOVE to cook with Mom & Dad and we are always struggling to find tasks they can help with that won’t result in them using sharp knives (loosing fingers) or getting burned. They’ve gotten excellent at measuring and cleaning fruits/vegetables, but they really want something more. This set is awesome because it allows them to actually cut up some of our real food and practice some nice life skills without hurting themselves! Plus it gives us a chance to get them involved and spend time together instead of just trying to keep them away while we do dinner.

Minnie Puzzle

Our youngest is just obsessed with Minnie Mouse – and I mean anything and everything Minnie Mouse! While the kids are starting to outgrow the chunky puzzles this is a good in-between to jig-saw puzzles as well as one that will grow with them as they enjoy dress up games, learning about emotions, and begin creating outfits to dress themselves! I love that it’s slightly more advanced putting pieces together, but without some of the frustration of having to match in so many different places – it’s a puzzle my toddlers can easily play by themselves.

Gruffalo Dragon Chase Game

Recently we’ve started playing some pretty basic games with the kids to help them work on turn taking, color/number/picture matching and some self-regulation skills. If you haven’t tried any with your toddler yet board games can be so good for them if you choose something simple and start slow. We’ve been loving candy land, chutes and ladders and homemade matching games, but when I saw this one I knew it would be perfect for them! They really enjoy the Gruffalo books they got last year and Room on the Broom was our Halloween favorite this year so this should relate perfectly. Plus it’s designed with their age group in mind, but something we’ll be able to play as a family for many years to come.

Princess Matching Game

Another game my three year olds can get behind and even play together on their own is this princess matching game. Its really a simple matching game but with lots of their favorite disney characters so no guessing if two random dinosaurs are the same or not! This is a great one to practice their memory and logic skills as well as turn taking! Each kids turn is quick and easy so it helps them practice without too much patience. I also am starting to love playing board games as a way to spend some one on one time with each of my kids and if this fun game can get them to take off the dress-up long enough for me to wash it I’m all in!

Beauty and The Beast Dolls

While we see Belle everywhere it’s much harder to find the Beast and when my kids want to play they really look for him. If one is pretending to be Belle they’ll search the whole house for “my beast” or want to check on him. This is also one of those toys I feel like they will grow with as dolls and pretend play become more and more part of our lives. Plus the fact that this one is interchangeable to become a prince really adds to the fun of the toy.

Farm Duplos

This is a simple but kind of timeless add-on to our already excellent duplo set. The farm animals as I said have been a popular theme and this is one of those simple ways to reorganize their play with a favorite toy, building interest in something they already have and expanding the play themes. Life on the farm is so expansive and there is so much to be done – as we add this to our other duplo set we can start building a barn, farm store and pasture before feeding and caring for all the animals!

Mickey Skill Puzzle

I don’t know if you’re toddlers are like mine but they want to do EVERYTHING themselves – no matter how long it takes them or how long we have to get out of the house. While it’s great they want to be more independent we need some practice before we start trying these skills 5 minutes before we need to be at school. That’s where this awesome puzzle comes in. It is something they are so interested in playing with, trying and figuring out with the added bonus of life skills being mastered. With three kids in the house I also love that the pieces can be separated so they can each work on one skill (and then trade) without crowding around one board. Less fighting = one happy Mom.

Maybe it’s because we have a new baby in our lives, but we are VERY interested in taking care of babies. My middle daughter even sleeps with a soft baby that she was given last Christmas. This tub set fits right in – a little bath, bathrobe and some soap and she is in pretend play heaven doing everything her baby needs! Now if we could only figure out its name….

Frozen Music Player Storybook

All my kids want to do the past few weeks is dress up and listen to their favorite songs – whether it’s for dancing or pretend play they are constantly making song requests! This would be a perfect little book to let them choose and play their favorite songs. We’ve been pretty obsessed with some of the Frozen books they have at the library, plus with the new Frozen movie coming out I feel like this will be a popular theme for quite some time.

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