Christmas Toys For Toddlers
Choosing Christmas toys for toddlers takes a little skill when first starting out. For some parents, it’s extremely frustrating because some of the coolest looking toys don’t even interest their child. And what may appear to be boring excites the same child beyond belief. Let’s try not to over analyze the task of buying a toy for that special toddler. I suggest using the path of least resistance. Yes, you heard me correctly-the path of least resistance. Simply put, your child will show you exactly what he or she wants. Trust me, you will know when you made the right choice!
Have you ever noticed how toddlers learn to play with their toys? It’s usually by seeing, touching, or tasting them. As a parent, you probably don’t want to hear that. Although I don’t encourage tasting toys, it’s going to happen. Toy manufacturers purposely make the toys large enough so that they cannot go in a toddlers mouth and choke them. Roll with this and you will learn what type of gift your toddler wants.
I have often heard parents explain that it is so difficult because young children often do not verbally express themselves. The good news is that most our communication between people is through body. Toddlers will always show you what they want.
I have found bringing my kids to Target, Walmart, or the local mall is the best way to test this method. Most kids will end up pulling toys off the shelves and start playing with them. Toddlers don’t have the sense of ownership, so be careful with this method-if you break it you buy it! Often, a child will choose a toy that is for another gender or different age. Don’t be too concerned with as long as their is no safety issue. My 2 boys play with dolls and doll houses.
A method that worked particularly good was to observe what our toddlers were playing with when they attended social functions like birthday parties and Sunday School. If other kids were excited about a toy, it usually rubbed off on our boys. Sometimes to our dismay, the toys ended up in our kids pockets or stroller! While we are not thieves, we sure learned what our boys wanted for gifts. More often than not, we left more toys than we brought home. I guess this another version of recycling!
Now let’s get down to the nitty gritty. You have done all your hands on research and you still are a little unsure. Being a parent, I can relate. What I found far more convenient than letting my toddlers go “hands on” for Christmas toy selection, is to go online to Amazon.com and read the consumer reviews. Customers at Amazon are not allowed to write a product review unless they have purchased the product they are writing about. Amazon has both good and poor reviews. I think they only censor reviews that are “G” rated to read. The reviews are powerful and real.
Another major benefit to purchasing Christmas gifts for toddlers online at a major retailer like Amazon, Target, or Walmart is that most offer shipping for free once you reach a certain dollar limit. This is usually around $25.
Having a 100% satisfaction guarantee sure helped me make buying decisions for my kids. I have actually returned products that I purchased online with free pre-paid mailers. But this is the rare exception. Getting items delivered in the mail brings back child hood memories from the old Sears Roebucks catalog. It’s just so convenient.
By the way, don’t forget the classics like wooden toys for your toddlers. We purchased a Thomas The Train wood train set for our son when he was about 3 years old. At age 9 he is still playing with it! His younger brother who was just 2 at the time had the time of his life knocking down everything that his older brother built. Some of the best toys have also been around for hundreds of years. These toys have lasting power because they have universal appeal and will help introduce you kid to some foundational ideas. As a young toddler, I always enjoyed building blocks are a great gift for any kid that’s at least one and a half years old.
For toddlers, I suggest the following wood toys:
Colored wood stacking rings. An old classic. 6 colored rings are stacked down a cone.
Magnetic Stacking Train. Have the kids build the train and take it apart over and over again! Toddlers just go crazy over magnets. It’s a real treat for them. Mix the blocks around and stack them in imaginative ways – kids love to feel the repelling and attracting magnets.
I often wish that I was talking with you the reader in person. Parenting is very rewarding and it’s fun to share experiences and stories. Time is the most important gift that you will ever give to your child. A boring gift that comes with a interested parent is more of a winner than the most exciting gift given by an uninterested parent.
James Perris lives in Northern California with wife Heidi and 2 children. He is a very active father and can be seen inline skating next to his children as they ride their bicycles. He has had plenty of experience in purchasing Christmas toys for toddlers. While he has graduated from that phase in his life, the memories of having 2 toddlers is life long.
