Which Gifts Are Naughty and Which Ones Are Nice?

If you celebrate Christmas then you're going to love the ideas given here. You will be guaranteed that your child will love the present they receive and but can also be assured that the gift you are giving is appropriate, meaningful, and will help your child explore their own sense of curiosity and creativity.

It is tempting to walk into a toy store and ask someone, "What's popular with boys/girls right now?" and then go purchase whatever they suggest, but I implore all parents, grandparents and caregivers to be careful with this approach. When you purchase a toy or book for your child you need to know that your child will be changed in some way after interacting with it. They can either learn to think divergently and outside the box, create, become more self-aware, learn to enjoy spending time with themselves, OR they can become dulled by watching something do an action over and over again, lose touch with their own creativity by playing with something based on the designer's imagination or, simply become bored and inattentive.

You know a toy is good if:

* the toy allows for multiple uses
* the toy or game promotes creativity, imagination, divergent thinking and/or problem solving
* the toy requires that your child be an active participant

You know a book is good if:

* the book has a descriptive setting
* the story-line begins with an intro of the characters and flows gently into a storyline where there is a specific problem
* the characters attempt to solve a problem in one or two ways before they finally solve it.
* the illustrations are age appropriate. I am finding that the illustrations in children's books have too much going on, which makes it difficult for children to focus on the main idea of the story.
* the book promotes further thinking from your child. They shouldn't be able to forget the story once the book is closed.

If this all sounds too complicated for you or you feel you just don't have time to make solid decisions then let the following list be your guide!

Great Gift Ideas:

* Doctor's Kit: inexpensive but real stethoscope (under $20), band-aids, tape, bandages, tensor bandage, tongue depressor, mask, cotton balls, clear gloves. These can be found in a homecare pharmacy. A small, layered tool box works well as a container.
* Craft Kit: school glue, toothpicks, lace, cut up yarn, pasta, little pine cones, ribbon, rice and glitter to sprinkle over blobs of glue, sewing scraps, etc. All these can be used to create collages on construction paper, sturdy paper plates or other shapes and colors of paper or cardboard that you supply with the craft kit.
* Tool Kit: some small but real tools like hammer, pliers, small wrenches of different sizes, measuring tape, etc.
* Art Kit: sketch pad, crayons, pastels, charcoal if old enough, markers, paints, apron
* Science Kit: magnifying glass, magnets, inexpensive binoculars, books on spiders, trees, flowers, etc.
* Musical instruments. Inexpensive but real instruments are much better than 'toy' instruments. (Look in a music store rather than a toy store.)
* Sets of zoo animals or farm animals and sets of small, movable people. Special baskets for each set. The Zoo is a good place to shop.
* New batch of home-made playdough plus cookie cutters, garlic press, child's rolling pin, etc.
* Blocks, puzzles, Lego
* Games ( Not all - see Erin Recommends for really good ones)
* Additions to their collections - new dolls, trains, clothes for their dolls, new kitchen pots, food, etc.
* books, novels (See Erin Recommends for some truly beautiful books)
* calendar
* funny or colorful socks
* crafty toy - see Erin Recommends for nice ones
* scientific toy
* slippers
* Christmas ornament
* Wallet
* Something with the 1st letter of your child’s name (pens, pads of paper, notebooks, pencils, books, socks, picture frames, calendar, key chain, wallet) The ideas are endless and will always keep your child guessing!
* New DVD (Not all! Please see the Erin Recommends section for great options at every age level.)