*Above, mini enjoys her Maileg dollhouse last Christmas morning. Micro’s Baghera ride-on car is at her left. Both fabulous big ticket items for littles!
The number one most-requested gift guide for this year was gifts for young children. I will be publishing a separate guide on gifts for babies next week, but this one is more oriented towards children aged 2-6.
I am going to try to buy my children’s gifts within the next two weeks because of all this gloom and doom around shipping times and supply chain issues. (There was an interesting article along these lines in the WSJ.) We usually aim to give each of our children a big toy, something artsy/musical, something STEM/building-oriented, something sporty/outdoorsy, and something they can play with together. The collage below is a mix of some favorites, but I’ve organized these and many more by category below…
BATTERY-POWERED RIDE-ON CAR // CREATOR CAMERA // ANIMAL BOOK // IIMO BALANCE BIKE // MAGNA TAB // MAGNATILES // SHADOW THEATRE SET // DOMINOES // STEIFF TEDDY // PAPER DOLLS SET // MAILEG MICE SET // DINO PIGGY BANK // COLOR CHANGING UMBRELLA // BUG STAMPS // RATTAN WAGON
Big Ticket Items.
My top picks for “big toys” this year are:
BATTERY-POWERED RIDE-ON CAR (OMG I WANTED ONE OF THESE SO BADLY GROWING UP)
NOD CHAIR (TEMPTED TO BUY ONE FOR EACH OF MY CHILDREN TO CREATE A READING NOOK IN OUR PLAY ROOM, OR ALSO A SPOT FOR THEM TO SIT WHILE WATCHING MOVIES)
RATTAN WAGON (SO SWEET FOR A GIRL) OR CLASSIC RADIO FLYER WAGON
SCHLEICH SAFARI SET — MY SON IS OBSESSED WITH LITTLE ANIMAL FIGURINES AND HAS A BUNCH BY THIS BRAND; THEY ARE SO DETAILED AND ACCURATE! HE WILL FLIP OVER A SET LIKE THIS
A few other “big ticket item” thoughts:
+Mini and micro received bikes this summer from their grandparents, or those would be top of mind. Micro received an Iimo balance bike, which is just the most stylish bike I’ve ever seen, and my parents-in-law originally ordered mini a Banwood but it was backordered for months at the time (but is now available, though in low stock!), so they instead canceled that order and bought her a Retrospec, which sadly appears to be currently backordered. Banwoods are super similar and super cute. A bike deserves a good helmet — micro got this Banwood one with the racer stripes down the top and mini got a ladybug style, at her request. Also love this classic red Radio Flyer one!
+Another option in this vein would be a Baghera trike. I just adore the styling. Radio Flyer has a similar (beautiful!) one for about half the price.
+Related, we gave micro a Baghera ride-on car for his first birthday, and it’s the most beautiful toy. I just love to see it out! The children do ride on it and play with it frequently, though I will say it’s not a fast-moving toy. It takes a lot of leg effort to keep it in motion!
+My MIL bought the children (for this year, already purchased!) a pop-up playhouse. This is why I’m leaning towards the play kitchen — my children LOVE to play restaurant, house, etc., and are constantly playing with imaginary food. (Go figure — Mr. Magpie and I are always cooking!). I think it will be fun to put the kitchen behind the play cafe. I will supplement with some play food!
+Liewood rocking horse. I regret not buying a rocking horse when my children were younger — I think they might be a tiny bit past the ideal age range now. These wood ones are just so gorgeous! This Etsy shop also has some beautiful ones.
+We gave mini the Maileg dollhouse last year and continue to give her new Maileg accessories/mice at each birthday/Christmas. The house is so beautifully made and has the sweetest details.
+This tent has also been a hit for awhile now. Fun for the kids to play inside of and so adorable in a playroom.
+Dragon stuffed animal. We want to buy micro some new stuffed animals — mini has stolen nearly all of his. I love the oversized dragon, but this smaller dragon or this adorable sheep or even just a classic Steiff teddy might get more cuddles.
Art/Musical Gifts.
THIS SING-A-LONG TOY HAS BEEN SUCH A LONG-LIVED HIT AT HOME — MINI LOVES RECORDING HER VOICE! — BUT THIS FISHER PRICE HEARKENS BACK TO THE ONE I HAD AS A CHILD
ALTERNATELY, THIS MODERN ONE COMPLETELY DISPENSES OF THE VESTIGE OF “TAPE RECORDING”
OOLY ART PORTFOLIO AND MARKERS
A KIDKRAFT DOUBLE SIDED EASEL (MENTIONED ABOVE)
STEM/Building Gifts.
THESE ANIMAL AND/OR DINOSAUR BOOKS* ARE SO GORGEOUS — I THINK I’M GOING TO GIVE THEM TO MY NEPHEWS ALONG WITH THESE COOL STAMPS IN SEALIFE OR BUG PATTERNS
VTECH KIDDIE ZOOM CREATOR CAMERA OR DIGITAL CAMERA
RAVELL MODEL CAR KITS (MR. MAGPIE LOVED DOING THESE WITH HIS DAD — HAVE GIVEN TO A FEW BOYS AROUND THE AGE OF 6 AND ALWAYS A BIG HIT)
*My sister gave my children an animal encyclopedia for Christmas last year and it was SUCH A FANTASTIC GIFT. We got into a habit where I’d read mini 2-3 pages each night before bed in lieu of a bedtime story. We went through the book at least twice! My son would love to point out all the animals, too. So — this could be a good gift for children as young as two!
Sport/Play/Outdoor Gifts.
Gifts for Playing Together.
Several of the gifts in the big ticket item and sport categories scratch this itch, but a few other items for multiple children:
ROLLING CART (EXACT ONE WE USE FOR THIS PURPOSE) FILLED WITH DUPLOS OR BLOCKS
Under-$30 Gifts.
TRANSFORMER (DEFINITELY BUYING ONE OR TWO OF THESE FOR MICRO)
SPELLBOUND PLAYBOX (MY DAUGHTER WOULD LOVE THIS)
OOLY ART PORTFOLIO AND MARKERS
P.S. More great toys here and here.
P.P.S. Some great children’s books (even more here) that would make lovely gifts — I always supplement my children’s gifts with a few new books!
P.P.P.S. More holiday ideas here.
If I may recommend a better easel that is Made in the USA, we got my 4yo this one from Beka Toys. You can also customize which sides you want (chalkboard, whiteboard, etc):
https://www.etsy.com/listing/524853559/bekas-ultimate-childs-easel?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=kids+easel&ref=sr_gallery-1-1&organic_search_click=1&pop=1
The price is reasonable and shipping is only $5
Wow! Thank you so much for this rec!!
xx
Hello there Jen. Jeff here who hooked you on Maileg —sorry it is an addiction, right? Those darn bunnies and mice!! Loving your blogs and you are an extremely talented writer with heart. Xo, Jeff
Hi Jeff! So good to hear from you — yes! You started the addiction, and Pat and I can’t get enough of them for Emory. Thank you 🙂
And thank you for the tremendous compliments! I was so surprised to see this note and so flattered by it. Thank you!
xx
Thank you
I always look forward to reading your post every morning, it is part of my morning routine: coffee with magpie. Your post on children’s gift was spot on for this grandparent of a two year old little girl and a long time educator of elementary kiddos. Thank you, Carol
Hi Carol! Thank you so much! I am so flattered you invite me into your morning routine and glad that these toy picks resonated 🙂
xx
What a fantastic post! Thanks for taking so much time to assemble it! I’m excited for the baby post as I have a 5 month old
granddaughter!
Yay!! Baby selections coming soon!!