2009 Holiday Hits and Misses

[kochh2]

we had quite a few hits, very few misses!!

For DS, 5 years old
AIr hockey table
Legos (plain, no set)
Nerf guns (though mom and dad banned them till warmer outside weather)
twilight turtle
blokus (for whole family)
rush hour jr.
dr. fizzwizzle Wii game
Step 2 work bench
bean boozled jelly belly beans... what a hit!! but oh so gross...

For DD, age 2.75
Rody pony
fisher price mini van for her doll house
Fisher price people- grandma and boy for her doll house
Ariel doll
winter crocs
twilight turtle

As for misses, the CD player with dual michrophones was a bust, the CD player doesn't work, and it was bought at KB toys going out of biz sale, so it's a shame... also the dress up stuff for DD seems like she's not that into it right now...i'm sure that will change! she got a mermaid dress and cinderella dress... she's more interested in other stuff...

[amldaley]

DD was 16 months and 3 weeks at Christmas.

HITS:

Kidkraft Aspen Table & Chair set (white): painted surface is easy to clean. DD is a little short for her age, and she can *just* climb in to a chair. LOVES sitting there to eat, color and play with blocks.

Large, vinyl bouncy ball from Target ($2.89): "Ball!" She says "Ball!" everytime she sees it, and over and over and over as she carries it, kicks it, bounces it and chases after it.

Clipo Figure Blocks Bucket: dump peices out, jam a few together, return to bucket, repeat.

Corelle "Calin" doll: Dd loves her "baby".

ALMOST HITS:

Elmo doll, soft green stuffed monkey, books, Melissa & Doug triangle shaped crayons, anywhere chair (she likes to climb in, but doesn't sit ANYWHERE for more than a nano-second...so why would that be different?)

MISSES:
All thee misses are Melissa & Doug wood toys...

M & D Shape Sorter: She wants to use it but the design is impractical with one of the sides with holes also being a lid to the box which has no latch and falls off. The holes are SO precise that if she is not STRAIGHT on, it is overly frustrating for her.

M & D Stacking rings: We took this away from her. A narrow wooden dowel is ripe for a trip and poke in the mouth or eye hazard.

M & DWooden pantry items: she likes the Ketchup and Salad dressing bottle. The other items don't resemble the shapes of anything enough for her to be interested in them and she still prefers playing with the real stuff in our pantry.

[kristac]

1 month old DS:
Hits:
Wubanub
BJCM stroller- I love it but I'm dissapointed that I can't lay it flat in the "trunk" of my Sienna without popping off the wheels. It takes up a ton of room standing up so I end up moving it to between the seats when I get groceries. PITA.

2.5 year old DS:
Hits:
Geotrax-/ Eric and Aero
Thomas Blanket
pullback airplane
playfood pizza
Automoblox minis
Candyland Castle
Zingo- surprised he understands this- bought it for big brother
Cooties
M&D Barn w/ animals.... mainly the animals only mildly interested in the barn
Magnatiles
Hotwheels Boombox/ CD player (also big brother's)

Misses:
Corolle Paul- Absoulutely 0 interest. Poor baby is so neglected!
Parents Animal Hospital- I thought he would love this but he is only mildly interested and gets quickly frustrated by the keys. Maybe he will grow into it?
Kaleidoscope- big flop- he doen't "get" how to close just one eye and look with the other, he just gets mad at me because I won't take it apart to let him play with the beads.
K'nex kids- no interest
Sand Play Tower http://www.magiccabin.com/product.as...ex=&pcode=1756
This looks so fun to me but he was not interested in it and my five year old and I had a hard time setting it up since there are no instructions... There are still several pieces we have no clue what to do with.

5 year old DS includes bday:
Matchbox Mega Rig Pirates Ship
blutrack http://www.blutrack.com/ and Darda car This is really cool and works with most cars but you need a Darda car to really appreciate it I think.
Ed Emberley books
Blockus 3D
Hess Truck (race car)
Magnatiles
Zingo
pullback airplane
Geotrax/ Steamer and Samuel
markers/ colored pencils
Crayola Glow Dome
automoblox minis
Rush Hour Jr
Hyperdash
American Innovative Teach Me Time Talking Alarm Clock and Nightlight http://www.amazon.com/American-Innov...=2KY1H4HD3NTBU
Megarigs Dinosaur Hunter
Hotwheels Boombox/ CD player

Eh:
Morphibian- lost interest after a few days... we haven't tried it outside yet though- maybe that will make it more interesting
Knex- needs hep putting things together
Connectagons Treetops- I think mommy and daddy like it more though

Misses:
Binnoculars- no interest
doodle track car- I'm so disappointed in this- very finicky

[toby]

5 year old DS

Hits:
Twilight Turtle (big surprise) from family friend. I had no idea how neat this was and that it is not just for "little kids." DS loves that he can see some of the constellations
Moon in My Room http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000EUHKUE/...SIN=B000EUHKUE

small lego sets
Roman and knight Playmobil add-ons
Sensa Shaker with Jim Weiss stories


Misses:
mini automoblox (bummer)

[goldenpig]

Hits for almost 2.5 yo DD:
Tag Reader with Ni Hao Kai-lan book (she refuses to read any of the other Tag books but reads this one several times a day). She loves putting it in the Tag carrying case and carrying it around too...she's always saying "Where's my suitcase?"
Melissa and Doug Birthday Cake (loves to sing Happy Birthday to herself, blow out the candles and serve the cake)
Small Pillow Pets (she got both a large and a small and calls them the Mama Duck and Baby Duck, now she won't sleep without her Baby Duck).
Magnatiles 100 pc clear set
Crocs in her favorite color (yellow)

Semi-hits:
Boy baby doll (I think I need to buy some accessories so she has something to do with him, also his outfit is too hard for her to get on and off by herself)
Gyffy (giraffe Rody)
Candyland (she doesn't know how to play it yet but loves to take out all the pieces)

Misses:
Plan Toys Chalet Dollhouse ()...she played with this all day the first day, but not so much since then. I think she may be too young for this yet.
Schwinn Roadster trike...again, maybe too young, she sits in it but is not that interested in riding it much yet.

[deborah_r]

6.5 yo DS and 2.5 yo DS both LOVE the Magnatiles! Play with them daily. Fight over them daily. May have to get more. They are sharing a 100 piece set, you'd think it would be enough...

Wedgits got some love right after Christmas, once I sat down with them and showed them some of the building tricks. It's cute because DS1 helps DS2 to build with those! Magnatiles get much more attention though.

Rody horse has gotten some interest from both of them (meant for DS2, but DS1 is small for his age so he enjoys it too).

Sticker books got a lot of love.

Misses:
DS1 begged for Bendaroos from Santa - Santa got him Wikki Stix because they are not made in China, and DS was cranky that they weren't Bendaroos. He has barely touched them. I think they looked more fun in the commercial.

Little People airplane. DS2 has not had much interest in it.

[mecawa]

DD1 (day shy of 6 at Xmas)

Hits--
Convertible Car for her Barbies
Barbies
Leapster
Crayola Explosion Glow Board
Connect 4
Art Supplies and Writing Materials

No real misses for her


DD2 (week shy of 1 yr. at Christmas)

Hits--
Radio Flyer Walker Wagon
FP doll stroller
Dr. Seuss board books
FP Laugh and Learn Purse
Melissa and Doug peg puzzles
Corolle Calin Doll

Misses--
VTech Spinning Top
Various "babyish my 1st dolls" (we got a ton)
Leap Frog Radio