Any Christmas or Hanukkah success stories??

[annasmom]

I am so curious!! I know there are a few more nights of Hanukkah, but I was wondering whether anyone wanted to share any toy gift hits or misses from the holidays?? Is there something your dc just cannot put down, or is there something that you thought your dc would love, and she/he hasn't even touched it???

I don't have a clear winner for my dd because she has been too busy chasing after her cousins. The big winner so far for my ds are the M&D stacking rings, and the Haba Push Car that we gave him for his birthday yesterday.

The losers in our house so far are a doll that I got for my dd. I don't think it has anything to do with the doll though. Its really cute, my dd is just not really into dolls, she much prefers stuffed animals. I should have known this. Another unfortunate loser in our house is the Costco train table, and it kills me to say this! My dc like it enough, but I am not thrilled with the quality of the train set. The tracks are fine but some of the other pieces have already broken.

[Momof3Labs]

Since your DD loves stuffed animals, perhaps she'd like the Parents Magazine Animal Hospital that I posted about recently. It is about $20 at Target, and my DS is having a blast with it!!

Another hit here is the Play Doh set where you "grow" hair on the pets and then "cut" it. Runs about $7 on sale at Target.

[shburks]

Big hit here is the LeapFrog table! I bought it (at the after-Thanksgiving madhouse TRU for $19.95!!!) on multiple recommendations on this board, and ds absolutely loves it!! It's the first toy he goes to in the morning and just stands there making everything play and play!!!

Susan

[janeybwild]

Hits: Ryans room Mombo combo tent....DD#1 is camped out in it with all her "friends"; the animal hospital Lori posted about above; Reader Rabbit pre-school computer game (although tantrums result when her 15 mins of play time are over, so on that front its a miss!)
For DD#2, she loves the money we added to her savings account in lieu of gifts :)

Misses: my SIL got DD#1 a My First Leap Pad. She hasn't shown the slightest interest in it yet. Could be the book selection that comes with it is poor and we haven't bought any others that might appeal to her though….I have mixed feelings on this one

[ErinP]

Biggest hit so far has been Baby Annabell...to our surprise. My 4 year old dd got this and her stroller and she and my 19 month DS play with it ALL day!! It's pretty cute. She's never really beeen big into dolls or sharing with her brother-but she LOVES this! I admit I even found myself rocking her when she was crying!!!!!

[jess_g]

Best presents: A set of blocks, books, coloring books and crayons and markers, a sticker book. Also the train table that I bought with the tracks and everything glued down is a huge hit. The board sits right on the coffee table and comes with everything (roundhouse, storage shed, turntable, etc. and 20 trains!). This set is a huge hit with my 2 and 5 year old. Also a Lazy Town CD for the car is a huge hit that everyone loves!

Worst presents: Snow boots that my daughter hates and refuses to wear and books that are too advanced for my daughter and not her style.

Jessica.

[mudder17]

Hits:
The Bear House from Orvis Catalog (http://www.orvis.com/store/product_choice.asp?pf_id=5539&dir_id=1686&group_id=9758&cat_id=9708&subcat_id=9731&feature_id=17)
The two dresses that Kaya got from her great aunt for Christmas and an early birthday present. Yup, as soon as she saw the first one, she took off her current clothing and started putting it on. That was on Christmas morning. So she wore her birthday dress during Christmas morning. But then when we opened her Christmas dress box, she pulled off her dress and had to put on the "new" one. :)
And I hate to say it, but a pair of plastic flamingos, minus their legs, that DH's dad gave to his uncle as a gag gift. Kaya was the only one delighted by the gift. DH's uncle and aunt thought it would look great at Grandma's house and she said, "Not in my yard!" Anyway, I think when they drive up in early May or if we drive out in April, we're going to end up with a pair of plastic flamingos. At least it doesn't make noise! :)
She also loved DH's uncle's biking flashlight. It has a strap that goes around your head (although she wore it around her neck) and the flashlight normally goes on your head. When you push the button it is a steady light or a flashing light and then you turn it off. Anyway, DD played with it a lot. :)

Miss:
Well, not exactly a miss, but DD got a gorgeous doll with porcelein face and hands (and so did I and all the women there) that were made by some of Dad's Native American friends. Needless to say, both dolls are being stored away (otherwise DD is going to want to play with them) until I can trust her with the procelein hands and face. :)

Eileen

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/candle.gif for Leah
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_emerald_18m.gif

http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/catcatcvi20040222_4_Kaya+is.png
Kaya's a cousin! 10/1/05, 5lb13oz

[KrisM]

Hits were the train set, specifically the battery powered engine, and the Playhut series of tunnels and tents.

No real misses, it seems, so far.

[SuenosDelMar]

We haven't been home much to play and I have put a lot of stuff in the basement to bring out during the rest of the year, but these are the early hits:

- babystyle refrigerator which my DH finally put together after 5 months!

- cabbage patch baby doll (a gift from someone else; honestly I can't stand it, mostly because of its icky smell)

- music kit (a great deal! http://www.westmusic.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=134&prodid=201211)

- Wiggles playset (musical boat, garden, house and figurines)

- loaf of fun (this is so cute! http://www.superduperinc.com/M-N_Pages/mab60.htm)

- stuffed cookie monster doll

The only miss so far is the big "rocking cow" my sister bought. She loves her little rocking pony, but this thing is just not doing it for her. :(

[holliam]

Biggest hits:

- Music for Little People marimba
- Bombay Kids drum set
- Real bongos
- musical instrument wooden M&D puzzle

She got other things that she loves too (wooden vehicles, pull toys, etc., kitchen stuff), but the instruments keep her busy for hours and hours.

It's a musical season here! :)

Holli

[julieakc]

Biggest hit for my DS (22 months) was the Cozy Coupe. He hasn't quite figured out that he's supposed to "drive" it around, but he loves getting in and out of it, sitting in it, and having us push him. He has the biggest smile when he's sitting in it.:D

[tribecamom]

biggest "hits" are shake n go cars and track, win green house ( http://www.wingreen.co.uk/acatalog/CC5.html ); tea set ( http://www.zebrahall.com/600757.html ); easel ( http://www.communityplaythings.com/c/ArtArea/ArtIslands/H500.htm )and anything purple :)

so far we are steadfastly ignoring the thomas lego and bitty baby twins (although their wagon and their see saw are HITS)

[Jenn98]

Biggest hit here is the tissue paper. But DD is only 5 months, so I didn't really expect her to run into the room shrieking about how good Santa was to her anyway! :)

[bluestar2]

This Christmas was the first that DC got the concept of opening presents, and it was a hoot. The presents were sitting there wrapped for weeks and they paid very little attention to them. The Mambo Combo and easel box sat there unwrapped. When they opened the first presents and saw there were FUN THINGS to play with inside, we couldn't keep them from ripping off all the paper on the rest! DS walked around chanting "opeeen.. presents!" over and over again like a madman :)

Big hits in our house:

Mambo Combo tent/tunnel
harmonica and maracas
easel, block crayons and chalk
Haba play foods and dishes
puzzles
little cars
wooden desks
large Lego base platform
college $$ (ok, that was a big hit for us)

Big misses:

scary looking doll
stuffed animals
DVD's... cartoons, letters and math (DC just turned two)

[sdbc]

Rory got this Chanukah play set http://www.constplay.com/cgi-bin/constplay_cgi.sh/WService=constplay/constplay.com/family/product.htm?stateInfo=pqiianLlbBbiadaj5949|3&dept_id=17&pf_id=KDK-42L&parent_id=0&call_prog=dept&page=1&qty=1 from Grandma and "lights" her menorah each night while we light the real one. :)

She also likes her Melissa and Doug easel, but I have to say it takes up a bit more space than I'd like.

Sue, mommy to Aurora (Rory) born 5/13/04

[tribecamom]

without the dreidel which is a drag

i guess I will get it next Hanukah :)

[kijip]

I am culling these hits and misses from all the things he recieved, not just the things I purchased.

Hits---all things related to trains (wooden track sets, Thomas DVDs). The Yellow rain jacket lined with fleece from Lands End (this is super cute- I reccomend it!). The huge pear (Toby loves pears). Charlie Brown DVDs and Books. Stuffed Dinosaur to attack the train set with (at least, that is how he uses it, not what my mom had in mind). Playdoh waffle set, Nerf football, coloring stuff, Thomas underpants (to hold, yes...to wear, nope), Parents brand cell phone that I recorded a message on saying "Hello Toby, This is Charlie Brown, would you like to have treats with me and Sally?"

The One Big Miss- This brown horse called "Rock n Ride". It is a ride on toy that makes horse noises. Toby hated it so much that the giver, my dad, told him yesterday we would take it back to Santa and that Toby could pick out a replacement item. Which he leveraged for more Thomas trains- The Thomas Jet battery engine, Toby engine and Wacky track.

[sdbc]

Really? :( Did you check through all the packaging? Ours was pretty well hidden and wrapped in a ball of stuff. Sorry that happened to you. If it's any consolation, the dreidle part wasn't a big hit. Rory mainly liked the menorah and cooking the latkes.


Sue, mommy to Aurora (Rory) born 5/13/04

[jvorhis]

DD loves Thomas so santa brought her the Thomas ride on which she loves. Also, the Thomas Pop-up tent and the Shake & Go Speedway were big hits.

[boys2enough]

Great thread. Not so good for my over-worked credit cards though since I saw more toys that "I" want to play with. LOL.

We had a winner from Santa: the Melissa and Doug Pizza Party set. The Birthday set didn't get as much response from my 3 yo. Great CS as well. The pizza cutter broke. They said that they would send a replacement right away after much apologizing.

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/602-5490997-7911041?_encoding=UTF8&asin=B0000658L4

DS2 also loves putting money in this money bank from Grandma:

http://www.youngexplorers.com/itemdy00.asp?c=&T1=Y524762&SKW=bank&PageNo=1

He is fascinated with money lately. The Pig-e-bank though did scare my niece who is 2.5 yo.


Cheers, Lin
Mom to 2 wild boys
D 3/98
G 11/02

http://smilies.vidahost.com/kao/otn/pcomputer.gif

[tribecamom]

set (walking around with the toppings, begged for the pizza set and has ignored it since then (lol)

[tribecamom]

Hanukah theme last year--he was born during Hanukah and is my 2nd miracle baby :)) so survived

[boys2enough]

>set (walking around with the toppings, begged for the pizza
>set and has ignored it since then (lol)

That is funny! I actually was expecting DS2 to like the Birthday set better because he is obsessed with birthday and birthday parties! When we were at the beach last summer, we played Birthday cake party with sand every day: made a cake with sand, put a stick in it and then sang birthday songs! :)

Cheers, Lin
Mom to 2 wild boys
D 3/98
G 11/02

http://smilies.vidahost.com/kao/otn/pcomputer.gif

[mykidsmom]

Our hit was the pink PBK Vaccuum for my 13.5 month old. She used it in the store and love it. When we opened it up for Christmas she got SO excited and has been "vacuuming" ever since! It is SO cute!!

[Neatfreak]

My daughter adores her Kettler Air Navigator. She's even started trying to say bike - hee hee! Thank goodness that we've having a very mild winter as she insists on going for a spin around the neighbourhood every day!

Also popular are her Bee-Bop Band instrument package (the Parent's one sold at Costco) and the big tub of 101 plastic cookie cutters that was a gift for me!

She hasn't touched her Megabloks ... *sigh*

[neeter]

hits: train table, kidcraft toaster, melissa & doug beginners pattern blocks (http://www.countrytoys.com/bepabl.html). also the brio trike ride-on (http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=2-2/qid=1136257974/ref=sr_2_2/601-6235494-6485749?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=B0007RTI5E). ds is pretty tall, and this one is still a little big for him (his toes can touch the floor), so there's room to grow and that's good!

miss: rody horse (he was actually afraid of it when he opened the package!) he enjoys bouncing on it, but hasn't really played with it lately. clothing -- ds actually said "no" when he opened up the box to see a tee shirt inside (oops -- luckily the gift giver wasn't around to see that reaction!)

[kristenk]

I have a question about the brown horse. Does it talk if you squeeze one ear and play a song "I'm a little pony, clippity clop..." if you squeeze the other? If so, WE HAVE THIS THING, TOO! My mom gave it to DD when we drove down to visit her. I must admit that I was hoping that the horse would scare DD and give us a reason to give it away. Sadly, that didn't happen. DD started dancing and clapping her hands when she heard the "music". Sigh. Be glad Toby didn't like his!

[Judegirl]

Hits:

Riordan went nuts for the magnetic Huggy Buggy letters I loved so much. They were her favorite - she plays with them every day.

The stainless steel play pots and pans from Ikea were a surpsie hit - and again in the bath tonight!

She likes her Radio Flyer car a lot.

Misses:

She got a Jellycat horse from her grandma which all of us adore... but she doesn't seem too impressed. Ditto with a gorgeous stuffed snowy owl that dh and I loved.

I don't think she'd agree that her Aspen table and chair set was a miss, but it's been tucked away in our bedroom since Christmas day because we can't get her to stop standing on the table!

Jude

[Corie]

Jude,

What are Huggy Buggy letters? The name has got me curious! :)

[miki]

My SIL got DD an Uglydoll ( www.uglydolls.com ), the large green one called Ox. My DD has never liked dolls. She loves hard things she can grip in her hand like Little People and sticks. For whatever reason, she LOOOOVES this doll. In the past when she's gotten a new toy she likes, she will say she wants to nap with it but the toy always naps on a chair in her room. Ox not only gets to sleep in DD's crib, Ox must also be covered with a blanket. That's love.

[kijip]

Like Neeigggh. And what was a very poor imitation of galloping. And some sort of swishing noise. The bottoms of the legs have springs or something because it is supposed to rock and bounce. Toby did not get that far with his. I reckon it is now forlorn in the back of the store with a clearance sticker, getting dusty. Man did Toby hate that thing. Just glad my dad suggested exchanging it!

You could always let the batteries of your DD's horse die... I am totally evil.

[SpaceGal]

A big hit at our house is the pony we got DS...the Radio Flyer Rock and Bounce Pony. We only wish were could have gotten him the classic one in which the horsey would have been brown colored...but either way he still likes his horse. At first he was nervous getting on it but now he rides like a pro when we put him on and he's only 10 months old.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00021Z1VK/qid=1136691427/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-2061171-0594353?v=glance&s=toys

Most of the little things that he got worked out well, peek-a-block elephant, these big pull and zoom cars, and his first mega block dump truck he loves. Oh and a one other really surprising toy that he really likes to play with are a set of snap loc beads that a friend got him. He can play with them for a really long time.

Probably whats not a big hit is his Laugh and Learn puppy and Gloworm. But I think he just prefers those toys in the car when he's strapped in if you know what I mean

[Mabster]

Our big winners here were DD's Kidcraft kitchen and the MD&Pizza set & Toaster set with it. She's also obsessed with her Mr. Potato Heads set.

She got a Wiggles Guitar & Keyboard, and a M&D Piano which all saw lots of use in the first few days since Christmas, but have waned somewhat since. The Aquadoodle went over well too, althought it comes & goes.

Her Leap Pad book hasn't been a good option thus far. We tried it once and it was a disaster.