Soliciting your ideas
3Mar2007 Filed under: Parenting Author: DawnMiz Madison will be three at the end of the month and I don’t have any present ideas. See, the problem is that all the usual suspects are toys we already have: wooden blocks, train set, duplos, kitchen set, etc. We got all those in Noah’s first three or four years so we’re good for the classics. We have a ton of books and I get more for review all of the time so she’s already getting some books (I hold out review books throughout the year for gifts). So I’m stuck.
She likes art but we got a lot of art supplies for Christmas. She loves dolls but the dolls have already taken over her room. She loves music but she already has an electronic keyboards (that was Noah’s) and a set of nice instruments (from Jessica) and more kids tunes than you can shake a stick at. Dress up clothes? Noah’s old box full is in the basement as I type. Puppets? Again, already supplied for small Noah. Tricycle? Check. Tent? Check. Hoppy ball? Tire swing? Dollhouse? Check check check.
If you ask her what she wants, she says, “A tamogotchi and a game boy — like Noah.” That ain’t happening.
I’ve got grandparents asking and I’ve already given one set the only idea I have (face paint) so I’m stuck and people do want to buy her gifts despite the obvious wealth of fun already being ignored by my dependents. Your thoughts? (And frankly, these don’t have to be brilliant ideas just pretty good ones that would be fun and aren’t a complete waste of money.) Oh and if you have some game ideas for preschoolers that would be great — the ones we have are all variations on memory. Just not any that are electronic or take a whole lot of setting up to be workable.
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About Me
I have two kids and a delightfully odd husband, Brett. My children are Noah (born to us in 1997) and Madison (born to her first mom, Pennie, in 2004 and brought to our family through a domestic, open adoption). They are my inspiration and also the reason I don't get more done around here.
I'm a writer and sometimes I get published, which is a nice thing. I write for joy, I write for money and when I'm very lucky, both things happen at the same time. My work appears in national publications including Yoga Journal, Disney's Family.com, Utne, Wondertime, Brain Child and Salon. Currently I am working on a book about my daughter's adoption and seeking representation for the proposal. I also own Smart Cookie Communications with my husband.
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Margie
March 3rd, 2007 at 4:30 pm
How about some cute clothing ideas - cute sneakers for summer, colorful socks, sunglasses, maybe a beach bag and swimsuit, swimming gear? Or summer games - an fancy jumprope, sidewalk chalk? My kids loved all that kind of stuff!
Jody
March 3rd, 2007 at 4:48 pm
Playdoh? If it’s not already part of the Christmas craft haul?
Bubbles?
Anything else outdoorsy?
That’s about all I got. Sorry. You really are covered there.
suz
March 3rd, 2007 at 4:53 pm
okay, this may be too advanced and totally uncool for madison but had to share….why not buy her a star? i bought one for my daughter (her birthday is in may). i thought it was a cool idea. course my entire “theme” for her birthday package is star related…so, okay, maybe not for madison but still cool, no?
Lisa V
March 3rd, 2007 at 5:09 pm
Ditto on the playdough.
Also, and Madison may be too young for this- but a tea set. All my kids (girls and boy) have loved tea sets. We have had plastic ones and china ones. You can get china ones in little baskets at places like Marshalls or TJ Maxx for under $15. Plastic ones at Target or anywhere like that. We have a whole mish mash now of several tea sets. Last year for Linley’s 8th birthday we bought a table and chairs and a table cloth (I think I spent $50 on the whole thing from TJ Maxx) and set up a tea party with all our old tea services complete with little petit fours from a fancy bakery. She loved it. I wish we had done it at five or six because the table has multiple uses and she is now almost too big for it.
All my kids have loved to play “waiter” or “chef” and serve us imaginary delights with the components of the tea set and kitchen sets.
“A Bargain for Frances” is a great companion book for tea sets. So are some of the Beatrix Potter’s.
anna
March 3rd, 2007 at 5:15 pm
Get her a couple of refrigerator or other large appliance boxes. They won’t cost you anything if you go to your neighborhood appliance store and they make the best forts in all the world. Help her cut a door and windows, she can draw all over it, play in it endlessly and when it is done for, you can recycle it.
kim.kim
March 3rd, 2007 at 5:25 pm
Is she big enough to bake yet? How about a cute apron and some cookie cutter shapes and a rolling pin, whole baking set in children’s size with a packet for making cup cakes, the ones that include all the fun decoration things?
Orrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Fridge magnets where you can do alphabet letters or a doll that you can put different outfits on and everything can just be on the fridge.
orrrrrrrrrrrrrr
beads to make her own necklaces and bracelets.
orrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
some read out loud stories on cd
orrrrrrrrrrrr
dvd’s.
Has she got fairy wings, tiara and magic wand? I was just assuming she already had those.
hingly
March 3rd, 2007 at 5:40 pm
Klutz books are a never-ending source of gift delight. They are crafty, educational, and fun. They range from books for really little kids - 4 and up, the Chicken Socks series - to books for teens. Fun with Felt, how to juggle, velvet art, stained glass art, clay art, how to build a solar powered car, how to make dolls out of pipe cleaners, how different kids around the world play cats cradle, how to jump rope, how to make shrinky dinks, how to take trick photographs… They all come with the supplies, and with beautiful picture instructions about how to make the projects. My niece and nephew love them.
Even though they say they’re for kids 4 and up, I’m sure that lots of these books would be great for an engaged 3year old.
http://www.klutz.com/catalog/category.php?goto=1000&for=all&age=4to6&srt=1&x=11&y=8
Yondalla
March 3rd, 2007 at 5:52 pm
Is she old enough to appreciate an experience instead of an object? Would she get that a special day somewhere you would not normally go (like Ch*cky Ch**se) was a present?
Games for preschoolers include “Sails Pace” in whic the snails race, not the people. There are six snails in different colors and one die with the colors on each piece. Players take turns rolling the die and preschoolers can get “into” which snails are going to win. It teaches taking turns, but no people win or loose.
We also like Dinosaur Checkers which is just like regular checkers excpet the dark sqares are cool lava and the red are hot lave. On person plays the apatasauruses and the other the triceratops. When you get kinged you turn into a T-Rex of the appropriate color. I liked it for younger kids because I could place my dinosaur down pointing in the direction I might go next, which helped them to see the patterns.
About this time of year you can also buy kits with catepillars which should cocoon and turn into butterflies. They’re pretty cool.
my favorite site for creative kid toys is http://www. hearth song . com (take out the spaces). They sell quite a few good games for different ages.
Jeannette
March 3rd, 2007 at 5:53 pm
Museum membership.
A T shirt and/or cheap sneakers and/or an apron and some puffy paint for her to decorate.
Seeds, soil, pot set to watch her own flowers grow.
Paper dolls.
dawn
March 3rd, 2007 at 5:59 pm
You guys are a big help! Some of these we already have but some we don’t — I may just tell my inlaws to come and look at the comments for inspiration!!!
chicagomama
March 3rd, 2007 at 6:03 pm
well, Lisa V already beat me to the Tea Set Idea, but I will concur with her on that one. All three of my girls have loved their tea sets. And getting A Bargain for Frances by Hoban with a tea set is one of my “winner” gift ideas that I have given to countless little girls.
Another idea: dress up clothing. My three love to pretend to be different people. So we have hats, and doctor sets, and princess stuff and cowboy/girl stuff. They have a huge box of dress up clothing that they spend hours trying on and changing. This is also great during playdates, as every kid finds something they want to wear. Magic Wands, fairy wings, and different accessories are also a lot of fun.
Kitchen Set. - We got ours from Childcraft.com (which is a great site for shopping - it supplies most schools with their stuff). It is a little bit pricey, but they have several different styles and these things hold up like no ones business. They also sell a ton of fake food to cook in their kitchens, and I think they have shopping carts as well. Again - this was a huge hit with my three girls, but tons of boys who have come over to play have also enjoy it mightily.
Ballet Lessons (or equivalent) - We have gotten gift certifcates from grandparents for language lessons, music lessons, karate lessons and other “enrichment” course that the girls have loved. And it is a gift that keeps on giving, as the class are usually 10 -16 weeks long. I’m not sure if that interests you, but it is also another great way to meet other kids the same age and get some socialization.
Special Outing: We have also done these types of things where the child gets to go to the zoo or a show or a movie as a present. Again, it doesn’t clog up your house with more stuff, but it is something a little special that makes the birthday last a little bit longer. We make a big deal about putting the event on the calendar and make getting a souvenir (or equivalent) part of the excursion.
Balloons - Camille loves balloons like nothing else. So decorating the house with balloons (lots of them) for her birthday is something we do every year. And balloon store balloons last for about a week before deflating - so there is plenty of playtime with them. We have done princess theme, thomas theme, dora theme, ice cream theme…the lsit is endless, but it is another fun thing.
I will be interested in hearing other ideas that people come up with, as we are always looking for idea. With three girls - trust me we have gone through a ton of ideas.
kelly
March 3rd, 2007 at 7:12 pm
Kitchen? Lila spends hours and hours at her stove/fridge.
Chris (Mombie)
March 3rd, 2007 at 7:28 pm
As for games, I recommend Pop-up Pirate - both my boys (2 & 5) love it.
Shelley
March 3rd, 2007 at 9:48 pm
My 3-y-o’s favorite item in the universe right now is a miniature suitcase with wheels that she can drag behind her to her heart’s delight. I know you said no electronic games, but Leapfrog stuff is pretty cool — My First Leappad is a big hit around here, as is the “word whammer” fridge phonics set.
Brooklyn Mama
March 3rd, 2007 at 10:27 pm
A nice set of wooden blocks, with little wooden animals and people to go along with them.
Melissa
March 3rd, 2007 at 10:51 pm
As Shelley mentioned, my son loves his kid-sized suitcase. You mentioned games. B started playing Hi-Ho Cherry-O! right around 3 and still loves that game. It’s a classic and you may already have it, but thought I’d mention it. He also loves the Little Bear Adventure Game. Some neighbors of ours had Hulabaloo that the kids loved to get out and play together. I think that is a Cranium game for preschoolers.
That’s about all I have. Folks have given lot’s of great ideas already.
Country Mouse
March 3rd, 2007 at 11:21 pm
When in doubt, go with an experience rather than a thing. Maybe grandparents could give something for Madison to do with the whole family: a family pass (for a day or a year) to the zoo or a children’s museum.
CJ
March 3rd, 2007 at 11:23 pm
Ladybug magazine. My three oldest boys all love the Carus magazines (we get Spider and Cricket as well as Ladybug), and I like them too. All year long it’s fun to get mail with your own name on it.
Andi
March 4th, 2007 at 12:33 am
There are so many options for gifts. As several other commenters have posted, experiences make great gifts… Sprout’s suggestion the last time the subject of a birthday gift for someone came up was “Swim Lessons” but dance lessons or tumbling lessons would be equally wonderful. Our local art museum has preschool art classes for 3-5 year olds where they make art with a parent or grandparent. (The opportunity to take one of these classes with a grandparent and have that time and experience with them is so important.)
I’m not sure how you feel about DVDs but my daughter has a growing collection of movies that are far older than her…
A good gift which costs almost no money is to have friends and family read your daughter’s favorite books aloud so that they can be preserved on CD or as MP3s that she can listen to and hear the voices of the people she loves.
For cool handmade gifts, try Etsy.com. There’s even an Etsy Kids Street Team made up of Etsy sellers who make/sell things for kids. http://team.etsy.com/profilest/kids.shtml
You mentioned that your daughter has a collection of puppets that she inherited from her older brother. Does she have a puppet theater? Several Etsy sellsers make doorway puppet theaters from fabric. These are hung on spring tension rods in the doorway for use and then fold up and store flat so that they don’t take over the child’s room when they’re not actively in use. (I got Sprout’s from Munzies but there are several sellers who make them.)
gawdessness
March 4th, 2007 at 1:17 am
ping pong balls
ball pit balls and portable pit
camera
playdough
special blanket and sheets etc for bedroom
unbreakable mirror for her bedroom wall (can be painted or decorated in appropriate fashion
big cardboard box (or more than one)
crawl through tunnel
elsa
March 4th, 2007 at 1:19 am
a magazine subscription to something in the Cricket family of magazines, or Ranger Rick….
Jennifer
March 4th, 2007 at 1:26 am
I’m a lurker normally-just got onto your blog a few weeks ago, but how about a Leapster if she likes video games, the one for TV is pretty cool and safe for three year olds. Or an art kit-you can make one yourself. Have the family give her gift cards to a popular department store that she can get stuff she needs or wants year round-this is the best gift for us as we also have a lot of repeats with a 4 year old already and a 14 month old.
Maybe take her on a special day trip=where you do whatever she likes around town,eat her favorite foods. We did this is lieu of a third bday party with my dd and she loved it.
Good luck!
mom2wahid
March 4th, 2007 at 2:01 am
Just and thought but my daughter’s favorite gift at that age was an umbrella and matching small backpack. She still has the backpack (4 years later).
abebech
March 4th, 2007 at 4:17 am
Our daughter is a bit younger, and this is VERY commercial, but she love love loves her new Snap and Style Tamara from FP. Who knew $10 could buy so much happiness.
KJ
March 4th, 2007 at 4:41 am
I just got the Fisher Price “FP-3″ player for my almost three year old. We haven’t opened it yet, but it looks very, very cool.
Betsy
March 4th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
Some hits at our house this year (I have boys, 5, 3 and 1) -
games-Zingo, Toot and Otto, any of the Cranium games.
My Mom gave my 5 year old a subscription to the Phoenix children’s theater, so the past several months they have gone to the theater one evening each month. It’s in Columbus and I just saw next seasons schedule. I want to go too!!
Jenna
March 4th, 2007 at 7:22 pm
Uhm, three. What did Ariana get for her birthday? Uhmmmm. She got this huge set of polar bears and penguin figurine toys. We got her Dora board games because she loves Dora and she’s now featured on Candy Land, Match/Memory and Chutes and Ladders. Do you guys have a lot of games? The Munch is now starting to “get” games and REALLY likes them.
Other than that, girl toys bore me.
chanie
March 5th, 2007 at 12:35 am
i’m all for the ‘experience’ gifts - less clutter - like a show, or a lesson (we got swim lessons from grandparents one year) or a zoo memebership. also - music! not sure if you download all of it, but a good kids cd to switch off with what she may already have is nice.
Ayelet
March 8th, 2007 at 4:03 am
Zingo from Think Fun is a terrific game. That company has great stuff for Noah, too.
Ayelet
March 8th, 2007 at 4:21 am
Guess Who? Connect Four?