I’m feeling very fortunate that we don’t have tv this holiday season – we don’t have to deal with all the toy commercials!

On the other hand, we did still receive the WalMart and Target Christmas catalogs in the mail. On a crazy whim I decided to let the kids circle things they liked – you know, so I’d have an idea what kinds of things appealed to them.

And in case you’re wondering, the circling spree came with some guidelines:

Circle everything you like, but bear in mind that you probably won’t get everything you circle and if everything you circle is too expensive, you probably won’t get any of it.

I’m just telling it like it is.

And in case you wanna get inside the heads of an 8 yr old girl, a 5 yr old girl and a 3 yr old boy, here ya go:

12 Toys My Kids Want For Christmas

1. Guess Who – Princess made this selection. She’s played it over at a friend’s house and enjoys it. I actually think it would be a good game for her because Drama Queen is able to play it, too. I love the fact that this game is a classic that has persevered through the generations – not to mention that it strengthens thinking skills and deductive reasoning. I love games that help kids learn while they’re having fun!
2. Baby Alive Baby Go Bye Bye – In case you can’t tell, this is Drama Queen’s choice. She’s VERY into dolls right now. She wants this, and still loves her Baby Alive Sip N Slurp (even though she long ago lost the special cup and straw. Not being 5, I can’t quite tell what’s so special about Baby Alive over all the other baby dolls on the market, but I know that this is the brand that Drama Queen requests the most. I think perhaps it is because they promote it as being realistic, some of them using words and others imitating life in other ways. I suppose I should embrace toys that foster my daughter’s mothering skills and encourages loving behaviors. 😉

   

3. Melissa and Doug Wood Blocks – Obviously for the little man in my life, it’s time he graduated up from the giant foam blocks he has. He has quite the eye for construction! I adore practically everything made by Melissa and Doug . They have a look and feel of a time long past, when toys were simple and colorful and made of wood. They’re also very durable, which means they can take whatever my active 3 yr old throws at them. 🙂
4. TinkerBell DVD – We haven’t seen this movie yet – but does it matter?? Both girls want it, sight unseen. I don’t often go for that sort of thing, but when it comes to Barbies or princesses and that sort of thing, I’m pretty sure they’re going to like it. Last year, hubs bought them Enchanted without watching it first, and I can’t even count how many times we’ve watched it since then!
   

   

5. Cake Mania for Nintendo DS Lite – This is also for both girls,…. (And actually, I think this would be kinda fun, too!) 😛 We’ve played this online and had a lot of fun with it, and we –uh, I mean, they– could use some new games anyway. 😉
6. Nintendogz for Nintendo DS Lite – This is one that Princess circled. I don’t think she’d tire of this for a long time. It’s the sort of thing she could really get into. Online, she plays with and takes care of her Webkinz dog and really enjoys that. But did you know the Webkinz animals come with a code that is only good for a year? That’s right, and it’s about to expire. I think she’d like to replace it with something else, something like Nintendogs.
7. Build-A-Bear Workshop for DS Lite – Well, if Princess has one, then Drama Queen *needs* one, too, right? This is basically the same as Nintendogs, but with pretend stuffed bears. Oh, the things that entertain our children. I have come to seriously disdain stuffed animals (my kids have way too many) so I suppose a virtual one is a welcome relief. Drama Queen also has a Webkinz animal that she received for Christmas last year, and really, I think that games in which you “take care” of something are way better than games where you run around and shoot things, don’t you?
8. The Best of Thomas DVD – Little Prince has really been getting into Thomas the Train these days. It makes sense, and yet it’s funny because he doesn’t actually watch the cartoons. He just fell in love with the character himself. Recently he’s been able to see some of the videos over at a friends house and he was enthralled – which is why this is at the top of his wishlist.
9. Pirate Dress-Up Treasure Chest – Is it possible my son has an unhealthy fascination with weapons? Or is that just how boys are? Little Prince also enjoys dressing up, and lately he’s gotten into the swords, bows & arrows, and anything else he can pretend is some kind of weapon. He dresses up like a mean Batman, and when he watches Kungfu panda, suddenly he knows karate, too. You should have seen the look on his face when he found this. I mean, little boys are kinda like tiny little pirates anyway, right?
10. Easy Bake Oven – Oh yeah. She went there. Near the top of Princess’ list is the Easy Bake oven. (Insert skepticism and motherly cringing here.) It seems like a good way to make a mess. What do y’all think? Anyone?
11. Play-Doh Creativity Center – Little Prince has loved to play with Play-Doh for over a year. I don’t see him outgrowing that any time soon either! This Center is neat, but it’s especially cool since it holds all the fun stuff INSIDE of it. I’m always in favor of self-containing toys. 😉
12. Barbie B-Bright Laptop – Drama Queen has wanted a Barbie Laptop toy FOR-EV-ER. She’s seen them at friend’s houses and practically begged for one for years. Now that she’s learning to read, and given her kinesthetic learning style, I think she’s finally ready for one. After reading the description and reviews of this one, it looks like they’ve made some improvements over the previous version – and that’s alway good to hear! Wouldn’t she feel smart with her very own laptop?

All these links & pictures provided by Amazon.com – one of my favorite online stores!