Help me spend my dad's money-- gift for 3y/o.

[WatchingThemGrow]

We have a whole collection that we've doled out over time - Remo tom tom, glockenspiel in a case, Hilo ukulele, plastic fish guiro, tambourine, etc. mostly from WestMusic.com. We haven't done the family band thing lately, but it's lots of fun when we do!

[veronica]

What about a bounce house? Our kids go nuts for ours and it has served us well for birthday parties and playdates!

[infomama]

Music classes are a great idea as are classes in general. If I had someones money to spend I would skip the toys and go for something like yoga classes or a semester at the Little Gym..maybe a pool pass or swim classes. Dd2 does yoga and they have so much fun.

[DrSally]

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys. DH and I went over the list together last night. He even had his own suggestion-- a musical instrument, since she is very into music ever since we took music class together. (Though we can't figure out what exactly).

I think maybe I'll run through a few options with my dad and see what he likes.

Remo drums are good quality. I got a small (real) guitar at BRU for $20 on sale. It's much better than the cheap ukelele I got at first b/c it has real strings, rather than plastic strings. Plan toys has a wooden drum, quality maracas, harmonica, tamborine, xylophone...

[infomama]

Oh..do you have a nice sturdy easel?

[secchick]

Honestly, my parents, instead of buying stuff, will buy one present maybe $40, add something like a couple pairs of pajamas or a dress too, and then will put $200 into the kid's 529 plan. We don't need more stuff either, DD gets a gift to open, and that $200 would be of better use to the kids invested for their education than in stuff we'll eventually give to goodwill anyway.

[jent]

Thanks for the further suggestions, guys!

I like the Remo drums, Sally. Our Music Together class uses them and they are nice! I also thought of getting a nice guitar, just don't know if DD is a bit too young-- though one of her classmates has a small guitar, and brought it to class to share, and they all loved taking turns playing with it.

I do like the classes idea, but I'm not sure my dad will go for it. They live to far away to take her to a class (except for a rare occasion) so I don't think it will really feel to them as though they are giving it to her.

And yeah, we do have an easel-- the big gift from the other grandparents at Xmas.

Honestly, my parents, instead of buying stuff, will buy one present maybe $40, add something like a couple pairs of pajamas or a dress too, and then will put $200 into the kid's 529 plan. We don't need more stuff either, DD gets a gift to open, and that $200 would be of better use to the kids invested for their education than in stuff we'll eventually give to goodwill anyway.

I wish my dad felt this way, but he likes to give something tangible. Well, he does (often) do the monetary gift thing, but he also likes to give a big tangible gift too. And if I don't come up with one gift on the pricier side, he will then come up with lots of little additional gifts-- more stuff that we don't need. This is what happened last birthday when I gave him a $40 gift idea.

[DrSally]

The first guitar I got for DS was when he was 2yo. He really wanted one, so I got small ukelele. It had plastic strings, but he loved it. Later, I got the child sized one at TRU on sale for $20 (I think it's normally $30) and it is really much nicer, but still not so expensive that you'll cry if it breaks. I wouldn't spend a ton of money on a guitar, but I don't think $20-$30 is bad. DS did great with his at 2 and for sure at 3yo.

[WatchingThemGrow]

The Hilo Ukulele we got from a local music store was light years better than the First Act one at TRU. I paid $30 with a coupon, and it sounds really nice, is tunable, etc. My DS1 is younger than your DD and has had it since he was 25mos. It is by FAR his favorite item. I wish I could post a video of him playing, singing and swinging his hips. Your dad would probably enjoy a video of your DD doing all that with one once she gets going!