Hanukkah Gift Success Stories??

[annasmom]

I cannot believe we haven't started this discussion sooner - usually Christmas and Hanukkah coincide more, but this year we can get such great tips from Hanukkah moms!!

I have already grilled my irl friends - so how about it?? What did you get your dc that they just loved?? Any duds?? More importantly, I hope everyone had a great holiday!!

[emschwar]

DS (3.5) got the plan city crane and road set, as well as about a million cars for it. It was a big hit. He also got the discovery toys fire hose heroes set, and he absolutely adores it!

[megulis]

4 yo ds: Plan City Garage, Hot Wheels Rumblers Race (don't remember the exact name), Hot Wheels cars, Play Guitar (Power Tour Guitar), Cosmic Family (a Wii Game), Zingo, Target Gyroscope (already broke)

almost 2 yo ds: LeapFrog Learn & Groove Animal Sounds Guitar, Little Tikes Shopping Cart,
Hit the Road Cars Toss Pillow @ Target, John Deere Cell Phone and Keys Set by Learning Curve, Fisher Price Musical Teaching Clock, Lion Push Toy by Janod

No misses, but the cheap Target Gyroscope was not worth it because it broke!

For those who do Christmas and Hanukkah, do you feel that you aren't giving enough gifts for Christmas?

[s_gosney]

We celebrate Christmas but gave dd her gifts from us last night because we're leaving town soon. She really liked most everything, including a lite brite, balloon lagoon, and elefun. The perler bead set has caused some frustration, but I think she'll be okay with it eventually. We also got her some stuff for her bedroom including a tyke light (which she loves) and a princess canopy for her bed to which she said "hmm. not exactly what I wanted but interesting." She likes it now though and is even voluntarily laying in her own bed!

Sherri

ETA dd is 4

[erosenst]

The Quadrilla Twist and Rail Marble Run was a HUGE hit - she didn't want to open any more presents, and has played with it almost every day.

Hi Ho Cherry-O was also a huge hit.

The Leapster she got, with the Dora game in it, wasn't such a big hit, which didn't really surprise me. Not her kind of thing. MAY be good for long drives, waits, etc.

Oh - and she loves the PURPLE robe with fuzzy slippers.

HTH -

Emily
Abby 1/16/04

[deannanb]

I made some play silks and my 3 year old plays with them all of the time - my 12 year old also loves them.

The boys got books -
DS 3 also got a t-ball set from a grandparent
DS 12 got a microscope - which he played with for 10 minutes and hasn't looked at it since.

It was a quiet year for presents. Once you actually take a look at what is in the house versus what your child actually "needs" - I decided that the kids had enough so we didn't overdo it with toys.

I'm sure - not much help for people looking for ideas....
my advice for christmas presents - take the toys out of the twist ties and put them back into the box before you wrap them. It will save hours of screaming because the child can't get a toy out of the box.

[tzipora]

Not sure how much help this will be, but I'll do my part... :)

We just moved into a bigger living space, so this year was the year of "large items we never had room for before." Our big successes were the Costco retro kitchen and the kids' table and chairs from Sur La Table (originally posted on the BBB a while back).

The kitchen was a big present for both kids from one set of grandparents, and the reaction to it is one of my favorite memories from this year. DS (4) and DD (2) headed straight for it and began opening and closing everything that could open and close. Then DD began bringing over armfuls of wooden food and pots and pans as fast as her little feet could carry her. The two burners + grill are great for when both your little chefs want to cook simultaneously, and the fridge + cabinet + oven + broiler/drawer provide lots of storage space.

We put it together the night before we gave it to them, and that took about an hour altogether (it was very late at night, which may have made it slower than otherwise). The stove itself is mostly assembled, and the refrigerator is kind of like IKEA flat-pack furniture. (One thing I would do differently: the instructions say to slide the top half of the back panel in after you put most of the fridge together, but in real life, once both sides were all put together, there was no way to get the panel in unless you loosened them again.)

I originally had reservations about how PINK this kitchen is, but DS was actually the one who sweetly mentioned how much he liked it and that maybe we should get it.

When the Sur La Table table and chairs was originally posted, I had ignored it because it was pink, which was really not what I wanted (SLT still has the table with red chairs also, it's just $30 more). Once the playroom had a pink kitchen anyway, a natural wood table with pink and natural wood chairs didn't seem so bad. I started researching kids' tables and chairs and discovered that most of the tables are only 18 or 19 inches high, and this one is 22" high, which I preferred.

http://tinyurl.com/3a5pp9

The kids are loving that they can "serve" food at the table, and they are having a lot of fun inviting us for meals and treating us like guests.

The other thing that DS really loved was the kazoo his father got him, but I would only recommend those for people who are not susceptible to headaches!

[fivi2]

Well, the girls have received their Dec birthday gifts, does that count?

The kitchen was a huge hit. (the FAO kitchen of the chefs by Berchet). I originally didn't want plastic, but couldn't pass up the price. the girls love it and play with it constantly. It works well with 2 kids.

The doll strollers from my sister (cheap, not sure what brand) also a huge hit. They push around some big floppy Dora dolls the in-laws got them (they have no clue who Dora is, but they love the dolls). They also push each other.

They do not pay any attention the the cabbage patch dolls my mom got them, but they really aren't into dolls in general. They are the small (newborn?) CPKs.


The biggest shock is that they totally ignore the Rody Ponies I begged my dad to get them! I thought they'd love them - they bounce on anything that bounces whenever they can and are total daredevils. But after the first day, Rody has been totally ignored and they refuse to get on!

Oh yeah, my girls (twins) just turned 2.

[MichelleRC]

100 piece Magnatiles set was a winner as was the Geotrax Grand Central Station set. We celebrate both holidays so Santa will be bringing some extra tracks and trains. Oh, and tub toys: the Little Einsteins Rocket and the Alex pirate set for the tub were great too.

[momto2boys]

Michelle:

Where did you find the LE rocket tub toy? My 4-yo begged me for Pat-Pat at Target the other day when he saw it. He recently got the Planet Heroes ship and action figures for his birthday so I refuse to buy him another 'big' ship. Perhaps the tub toy would satisfy him.

Thanks,

Kathy

Kidlet '01
Kidlet '03
Kidlet '06

[MichelleRC]

Yup, in Target, but I got them a while ago and just put them away. Good Luck!