Need some Christmas ideas...4 year old boy, Waldorfy kind of household

[abigail_b]

Hi All,

I am really struggling with what to get my son as his "big" Christmas present this year. He attends a waldorf mixed age kindergarten. Many of our toys are wood/wool/silk. We do have some duplos and TONS of Thomas the Train. We have a wooden kitchen and lots of wooden blocks. He loves playing with animal themes and is still obsessed with anything with wheels. We also have a 1 year old girl, so I don't want to get regular legos or anything too tiny. We have a marble run but don't take it out much because of baby sister.

I have thought about these really large blocks: http://www.atoygarden.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=678 but they could be a danger for his climbaholic sister and I don't know how excited he would be for them.

I am willing to do plastic if it is good quality...wondering on thoughts about Playmobile? I think my dad will get him some magna tiles that I recently read about, and in laws are getting him another Fagus truck.

Thanks in advance!

[Hoopin' Mama]

Playmobil is awesome, but there will be tons of little pieces so I don't know if that would be a problem with a 1yo in the house. Plan Toys makes nice car sets and other stuff (or they did, last time I looked).

Ds has always loved the big Schleich figures, and they are not cheap so they are usually gifts.

A big boy bike with training wheels was our big 4yo present, but we live in a mild climate so he could ride it that day.

ETA: Zoobs are cool too.

[pianojazzgirl]

What about a scooter if it's warm enough there that he could use it now.  Or skates if it's cold there!

I was thinking of making a puppet theatre for my kids for Christmas this year.  I googled "DIY puppet theater" or something like that and got lots of ideas. 

Another thought is a play tent.  They make ones (we have one) that collapse easily and don't take much space to store.

[omelette]

What about a dress up box? My son is 4.5yrs and he loves dressing up right now and  is always asking if we can add some type of new animal costume to the box.  In ours we have some purchased costumes, some old clothes and lots of made stuff.  Our coffee table is a trunk type table so we use that to store everything in.  So much fun and something that the little one can get into soon enough too.

ETA:  Playmobil is great.  My son is just starting to get into it but it is so not safe around little ones, especially ones like my 1yr old who puts everything in his mouth.  We either play with it on the table or he plays in the pack and play(he calls it his big boy fort) to avoid the little one getting into it.

[Dancerchic1981]

I second the dress up box idea.
You can get a lot of second hand halloween costumes at thrift stores.

[Tjej]

Automoblox are fun - we have the mini ones.  You really need a few so they can trade parts around.  It has small pieces too, but personally I think it's worth it. :)

Tjej

[treegardner]

Playmobil makes sets for younger kids, playmobil 123. That might be better because there wouldn't be so many little pieces. DS loves his sets.

[DoubleLove]

Playstands with a big long silk are great!  They give endless creativity options and little sis could have fun with them too for many years to come.  These were my twins big gift for their 4th birthday and were a total hit.

[Zuzu822]

Originally Posted by abigail_b 

I have thought about these really large blocks: http://www.atoygarden.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=678 but they could be a danger for his climbaholic sister and I don't know how excited he would be for them.

We are Waldorfy too.

The Christmas DS1 was 18 months DH recreated those large blocks. Oh my gosh, best gift ever! I only wish he'd made twice as many! The boys play with them daily. Yes, there's some climbing and jumping, but oh my! What they do with them!

I know you said you have blocks, but the "sticks" from Paulumba are a great expansion to typical unit blocks. We also have a set of cubes. You can see both here: http://www.palumba.com/category/blocks_building/115/

The large trucks from TAG toys might be a good choice too. Your DD would also enjoy them. The dump truck is a favorite: http://store.tagtoys.com/dump-truck-p61.aspx

This year we're expanding our Fagus collection and also adding Kapla to the block arsenal. Seriously, trucks and blocks see 95% of the play around here.