Help me create a birthday wish list for 1YO and 3YO

[vrclay]

My MIL is again talking about what the kids want for their birthdays, early and late August. We have a small house and I try to stear her away from buying things in general. But, alas, I think I need to give her some ideas or we'll end up with crap I don't want/need yet again.

She's not on-line and lives in rural MA so it would have to be something she could buy at a major retailer (think: wal-mart, Target, Sears, Kohls, ToysRUs, BabiesRUs).

I feel like we have everything we need - blocks, trikes, books, cars, sporting equip, etc. I mean if someone gave me $100 to spend on gifts for the boys, I'd be hard pressed to come up with anything I want at a big box store. And in case you are wondering, no, she won't give gift cards, she won't shop on-line and she won't do something like a zoo membership or pay for a class.

Just looking for inspiration, maybe I'm missing somethign obvious. What would you put on your list?

[Jayray]

DS just turned one, so I was thinking about this!

Pool toys/floaty thing for him to float in the pool
Sunhat
Shoes (although you might have a lot of leftovers from the 3 yo)
stacking toy
toddler furniture?? Like a little table with two chairs?
Beach towels or toys
Do you have any musical instruments? That might be fun--a little xylophone or something. Or maybe not!

[Comtessa]

Here's the list I sent to my aunt & uncle when they asked for gift ideas for DD's 1st bday:

Her Absolute Favorite Things:
- apples, oranges, bananas, strawberries and grapes
- Cheerios
- cheese
- balls
- small silk scarves
- kitchen implements - anything toddler-safe, like spoons, cups, bowls, silicone pastry brushes, whisks, muffin tins, etc., etc.
- Kleenex (she loves to pull them out of the box one by one!)
- Avent brand pacifiers
- wooden clothespins (preferably the old-fashioned wooden kind made all in one piece)
- picture books
- things with different textures that she can explore

Practical things she could use:
- soft-soled shoes (like Robeez) - size 6-12 months
- baby socks
- hair clips and ponytail holders
- CD's (especially lullabies and/or world music - the Putamayo CDs are great for kids)
- Babylegs (baby leg warmers)
- baby potty chair (we really like the old-fashioned wooden ones)
- summer sun hat
- baby sunblock
- Weleda Diaper Care or California Baby diaper cream
- sippy cup with a straw
- large feeding bibs
- baby toothbrush
- (Besides the things listed above, she doesn't need any clothes at all. We've been flooded with beautiful hand-me-downs that will fit her for the next four years!)

And here are some things she doesn't have but might like:
- a Bilbo (http://www.fatbraintoys.com/toy_comp...d_o/bilibo.cfm)
- a rocking horse
- a rubber duck or other bath toys


Okay, so she didn't get almost any of these things for her birthday. But here's what she got that we really love:
- lots of good solid board books - especially the ones with simple pictures + words, and/or photographs of familiar things or animals.
- a couple of cool fair-trade toys like a felt hand puppet and a wooden duck on wheels
- a swimming pool, swimsuit and pool toys
- a really nice solid pair of drums
And way too many clothes, of course.

I think you can always ask for books, wooden puzzles, and balls. Target now carries a lot of Melissa & Doug things, and a lot of other wooden toys. You can always regift or sell unwanted gifts, as a last resort.

[HeliMom]

Art Supplies! -markers, paper, crayons, finger paint, Play-doh

Plain t-shirts and crayola washable fabric markers that don't set until you run them in the dryer. This way you can use the gift to make MIL some gifts (if MIL wouldn't wear them you can stretch em like a canvas and frame em)

Soft shoes

Babies R us has organic pouch food snacks, as well as organic pantry snacks.

california baby sunblock (also at Babies R US)

cookie cutters? (you don't have to make cookies you could just roll out play-doh)

kids music? musical intruments

Cool Socks -because they always disappear!

I'll try to think of more things

[Peacemamalove]

Such great ideas! I like the cookie cutter idea !

What about a Sand and water table? Beach toys? Gardening tools?

[OkiMom]

I have an 18 month old and a 3 1/2 year old, they turned 1 and 3 within two months of each other. Heres what I got them (I was traveling at the time so everything had to be able to load into the suitcases and come with me).
Art supplies
puzzles
hand puppets
books... books... books..
The 3 year old got a children's digital camera since shes so interested in taking pictures. She loves the thing
A couple of beach type balls that blow up and deflate so they can pack into a small area

Other things I would have gotten if I wasn't traveling that I know they would have liked:
For the 3 year old:
a bike with training wheels (she is very physical and can already ride her trike with no problems, shes been asking for a bike since she was 2 1/2)
baby doll furniture (I don't know if you allow your boys to play with dolls)
Her favorite toys are: rocking horse, easel, trike and dolls.
For the 1 year old I would have gotten:
Another push along car (she can't really ride a trike yet but wants to copy her sister, unfortunately our push along car has seen better days)
her own baby doll so she didn't have to keep using her big sisters
stacking boxes (the boxes that nestle in together and then you can stack them)

As a combined gift (I don't know if you do them but with my girls they share everything so it wouldn't matter) I would have gotten them a double easel so they could both paint at the same time or a good sand table with toys.