Here’s what I’m excited to see the kids open in a week:
I got Zuzu this Penelope Peapod doll, and I have to say it’s adorable. I have been on the fence about getting her a doll; she’s pretty into trucks and things, but she does love to cuddle with stuffed animals like they’re little babies. I took her with me to the toy store and she fell in love with this doll. And with the little basket/purse/bassinet it comes with.
Eli’s getting a giant working crane that he’s going to freak over. I’m also looking forward to his reaction to the motorcycle policeman who comes with a crossing guard stop sign — I think the toy company made the whole thing specifically with Eli in mind (unless, wait, maybe…is it possible Eli is a generic type of kid, and there are legions of children who love motorcycles, policemen, and crossing guard stop signs?).
Henry is going to go nuts over the dinosaur sticker encyclopedia he’s getting. He has the animal version, and it gets daily use. I think he’s also going to love the Enchanted Forest game, which he played with for a good solid hour once at Maple’s Organics.
I’m also psyched about the vintage copy of A Hole is to Dig. Thanks, Vintage Children’s Books My Kid Loves (or, well, thanks to her Etsy shop).
Things I got for free or super cheap (hurrah!):
A Leave No Trace game, 99 cents from Goodwill. This is from the same company that makes Rush Hour (we have Rush Hour Jr.), which all the kids love (though I’m not sure they’ve ever played it the proper way). Evil Mom Thoughts: “It’s a one-person game, which means I don’t have to deal with it.”
Wooden Noah’s Ark toy from Freecycle. I actually got this a few years ago, and then had reservations about introducing something with so many scatter-able parts. But it’s been in the closet for too long, and it’s time to bring it out.
A giant stack of wild animal cards, free from the library. Henry has a half-filled notebook of these, thanks to my mom’s library. In the same way the motorcycle cop is tailor-made for Eli, these are tailor-made for Henry. Animals + organization + animal facts + maps = Henry heaven. I seriously think that, once he opens this, he may not get to any other presents for the rest of the day.
I’m also looking forward to the Shins and Decemberists CDs I got for Dave.
I’m always embarrrassed to comment about music because I’m so behind, but I will say that I really have loved the shins. and the crossing guard toy! I felt the same way when I found the playmobil set taht featured, specifically, an elephant-riding circus act! wow! you have inspired us, again, to slow down and keep it small this year, thanks.
Henry’s enchanted Forest game sounds really cool, as does Zuzu’s Penelope Peapod: nice!
The company that makes Rush Hour is called ThinkFun and they’re located in downtown Alexandria, Virginia–a great group of people with some very cool toys. Milo also has RushHour and enjoys it tremendously. You might also want to check out their online version of the game and bookmark it for those times when you get kid computer takeover:
Minimum Spaces: http://www.thinkfunbrainlab.com/rushhour1/
Back Up: http://www.thinkfunbrainlab.com/rushhour2/
Also, you mentioned Henry’s Heaven equation above and I can’t help but to think that he would be really into a field guide for birds or mammals. Does he have any of these? Let me know and I can be on the lookout…
I realized that the ThinkFun game that I got Henry is called “Cover Your Tracks.” I will definitely check out the online version of Rush Hour.
Yes, Henry does have a bird book that he drags around with him everywhere. Sometimes he recreates the entire book himself (drawing it, I mean), but mostly he does some elaborate game of dog-earing pages of birds that fit into some category he has made up (brown birds that live in Florida, for instance).