Holidays Are Coming

November is here. In other words, the holidays loom just around the corner and toys are usually on every child’s wish list. Do you know what you will be getting your kids for Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa, or whatever holiday you may celebrate? Fortunately, Amazon puts out a list each year of the “hot toys” for the holiday season.

I don’t know what your family does to control the influx of stuff each year, but Travis and I have tried to adopt a slimmed down buying guide. Reason number one, we are NOT millionaires (that Mega Millions jackpot didn’t work out in our favor). Reason number two, we do NOT need any more stuff in our house! So, for each kid, we will get them a few books, because you can never have enough books. Some new clothes or jammies, because for some reason they will NOT stop growing! Seriously, I just bought Marshall pants at the beginning of the school year and those sweats are working overtime! We also buy them one wish list toy or game for the holidays, as long as it’s reasonable for their age (and price). In addition to that, we purchase one item from “Santa.”

What to Buy?

When Adelaide was a baby, I read a Facebook post somewhere to the effect of: How do you explain to the other kids at school why Santa brought one kid a new bike/gaming system/big ticket item, and another kid only got a hat and gloves from Santa? So, that really stuck with me. Maybe because I teach in a Title I school where there are kids that get nothing from Santa, or maybe because I am human and can’t imagine the pain those children must feel when they have to consider that maybe they weren’t “good enough” to deserve a better present from Santa. So, over the holidays in our house, Santa brings one reasonably priced toy or game and the rest are from Mom and Dad.

Okay, okay, you came here for Amazon’s Top Picks, not a lesson from me. So, below you will find some links to Amazon’s holiday list to toys that we either have and LOVE or toys that we hope to purchase this holiday season.

Amazon Holiday Toys

1. Magnetic Building Tiles. These provide endless fun and engagement. Furthermore, I use them at both home and school, and the kids always gravitate to them. 
2. Barbie Dream House. Adelaide just recently got into Barbies and received several for her birthday. As a result, what else could a girl want than a dream house to go with it! 
3. Hot Wheels Corkscrew Crash Track Set. Marshall got some Hot Wheels last Christmas and still plays with them. This holiday, if we splurge on any toy, we will buy this particular set. What boy (or girl for that matter) doesn’t like crashing things! 
4. My Live Pets. We absolutely refuse to get a real pet, so this will have to take the place. Marshall is obsessed with dogs and cats, so this is a top contender for the holidays. 
5. Outfoxed!™ board game. We recently bought this and the kids are playing it non-stop. And it’s fun for parents too!
6. Silly Street. This is my personal favorite birthday gift that Adelaide received this year. We LOVE playing this silly character building game. For info on playing Outfoxed!™ and Silly Street, check out Fanbase Press for a review of these games!
7. Crayola Ultimate Light Board Drawing Tablet. How cool does this thing look? The bonus is that you don’t end up with more stuff all over the place. Just wipe clean and start over. As a mom that is trying to reduce clutter, less artwork laying around is a huge plus!
8. Telescope. Oh man! The kids would go nuts looking at the night sky. They have asked for a telescope in the past and this one is geared towards kids and isn’t outrageously priced. 
9. Mega Construx Inventions Deluxe Pack. If you have a little builder on your hands, this is for you. Let your kid’s imagination guide the build! 
10. Pretend Make Up Set. Our kids (yes, even Marshall) love to pretend to put on makeup. This set is so realistic looking that I have had numerous parents nervously tell me that the kids got into my makeup and might be making a mess in the basement. 1) I don’t own makeup. 2) If I did, the kids would never have access to it! They spend so much time making each other up and there is no mess to clean up afterwards. Pretend play is awesome! 

All the Toys!

So, obviously, I can’t recommend ALL the products on Amazon’s Holiday Toy List for 2018, but I can tell you that there are always amazing ideas. Browse around and see what inspires you, and don’t forget you may need some extra storage for all those new toys! Let us know if you have other ideas for the holidays. I love to “borrow” other parent’s ideas, because this parenting is hard enough, why reinvent the wheel?!

If you like this list, share this post with your friends and family on social media, like Facebook and Twitter! Similarly, a share on Facebook and Twitter is actually something on the Winey Parent wish list, since we won’t ask for toys this holiday.