My son will be 3 in two weeks and my daughter will be 5 in a week...so my problem is with their birthdays so close to Christmas and everyone buying them birthday and christmas presents it is hard for me to get them stuff because everyone beats me to it. If you have any suggestions for toys that are good for a 3 yr old boy and 5 yr old girl I would love the ideas!
Thanks for all your suggestions! We just stuck with a birthday party in the middle of their birthdays and just told everyone stuff they didnt get for their birthday to get them for Christmas. It worked pretty good but there was still some things that my daughter didnt get that she wanted but they ended up getting plenty!
Some things that my 3yo son likes: cars/trucks/trains, blocks, puzzles, "workbench" and "tools", Mr. Potato Head and animals. For Christmas we are getting him a Thomas & Friends Mega Blocks set (from Santa), the TAG reading system, and a couple of zhu zhu pets and accessories.
Oh, and there is the active stuff, too - bike, scooter, t-ball set, and football are other favorites.
I have the same issue in our household. My daughters bday is Dec 17th (and we are expecting #2 on Christmas). If you look on amazon.com they have many great toys from Mellissa and Doug, my daughter and her friends love them. They also have stuff for your son there as well. Just type in the name and it willl pull up everything.
Just wait until after their b-day to see what they still don't have. I'm having the same issue b/c my kids bdays are 10/24 and 1/8. They get so much at this age and you only "need" so many toys. You could always do books, art supplies, pajamas, dvds, etc. You really can't have too much of those things!
My daughter turned 3 in October. I bought her some board games and she really follows them and has a blast! Her favorites are Candy Land and Chutes & Ladders. They are fantastic for a possible family game night too!
Maybe a "date" with the parent of their choice. Give them a few choices of where to go and on their day they get to go there with just mommy or daddy.
We have the same problem, but after Christmas. My son will be 5, 10 days after Christmas and my daughter will be 3, 10 days after that. We have decided to buy them each a few gifts. I specifically made sure I did not mention any of these items to anyone else in the family. Then we started a tradition last year with my son that him, mom and dad only get to go to a movie on his actual birthday. On my daughter's actual birthday, we take her to build-a-bear. Again, this is her special time to spent with only mom and dad around. Then on the weekend in between their birthdays we all do something together. This year we are going to Disney on Ice.
Sometimes I feel we end up spending too much money, but I like doing the special activities over buying more toys. They end up getting so much stuff from others that they don't need anything else. This way we get to spend some family time and go to events that we normally would not do.
We do a Toys for Tots party and my kids see all of the toys that come in. It's always a really good thing for me to see what they get excited over. We do donate every single toy that comes in, but I get to see what gets them smiling and hoping for. This year my 3 year old got over excited at some Toy Story 3 Lego's - so I know to pick those up for him!! Could you do birthday paties AFTER the holidays? Or maybe ask for people to give them something specific. Like if you are planning a trip to the beach this year, ask for beach type things?
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i will soon have 3 holiday babies. 1/25 and 12/18 and a new arrival that will be here in 8 days or less. So I can feel your frustration. I normally skip the toys, since everyone else does so much, or I ask the grandparents for something specific and family oriented so that I can have a few ideas left over for myself. For example a family zoo pass or waterpark passes for everyone. While the kids may not be thrilled when they open it as they get older they will appreciate it more and they sure do have a blast come summer when we can use them. and a tradition i have started with my daughter, every couple of years since she was about 3, for her birthday, rather than gifts of toys and such, we redo her bedroom. paint, curtains, bedding, and i give her complete control. (she has had some interesting rooms), I just have every family member that is doing gifts buy something that goes with whatever theme she has picked out.
I have a 2.5yr old and a 16yr old. The last 2 years at Christmas I always like to spend the same amount of money on each of them to keep it fair. But my 2.5yr old doesn't need $300+ worth of toys/stuff from us or Santa, especially with everything else he gets from our extended families. So we get him a few toys/things, Santa gets him a few things or one big thing, some new pajamas, etc. And then we put the rest in his bank. Maybe some day he will notice... but probably not. As long as he gets the same # of presents that his older brother does, he won't understand the value. But it makes me sleep better knowing that they at least got "equal amounts".
So maybe you could get them smaller things and put some money in their banks since they don't need it all right now. When they start college.... they will thank you. :-)
Just a thought... could you take them shopping after Christmas? They are young enough that they will be focused on the stack of presents, not necessarily who they are from. If possible, wait until after the holidays so you can "fill in" what they did not receive that they really needed or wanted!
