Tell me about the best holiday gift you gave your kiddos

[aphel]

Not posting in Life with a Babe, as I hope to get answers from Mom's with older ones too, Mods I hope thats OK!

So, it's 5 mo. DDs first Christmas and we're wanting to get her one big-ish special gift. Obviously, she's too young to really enjoy anything too elaborate (fave toy is currently a burp cloth!), but we were hoping to get her something that she could use in coming years, but doesn't really need to use now. Really, I only want to get it now for my own sake, so I have something from her first Christmas to be nostalgic about . . . . But I really would like it to be something she can/will use in years to come.

So far we have looked at a walker/pushcart type deal, and some gnome homes, but I'm wondering if any veteran mamas had any suggestions? What was the best/sturdiest/most well loved toy your kids had as toddlers? I'd love to hear!

[crunchy_mommy]

Last year DS was 10 mos & got a little rocking horse (smaller than the full-size ones which was great because he was/is easily able to climb on & off by himself even though he's tiny!) He goes on that thing several times a day, every day (which is saying a lot, most of his toys are neglected all day!) Your DD will be able to use it almost right away with help & in 6mos or so should start being able to use it independently. A 4yo came to our house the other day & that rocking horse was the first & only thing she played with!

[puffingirl]

We got DD a play kitchen for Christmas when she was 1 and it is the most well-used toy purchase ever.  She started playing with it when she could barely reach the little counter and still plays with it all the time at 3 1/2.  Your LO is still tiny so she probably wouldn't use it yet, but would grow into it.  As a toddler there probably wasn't anything that DD played with that she had when she was an infant. It was a big switch at about a year.

[Lisa1970]

OH!!!

The BEST gift was for my son last year...a Radio Flyer Walker Wagon. It literally does not tip over at all when the baby who only knows how to pull to stand pulls to stand. My son was pushing that thing all over the place before he could walk. He got it last Christmas and he was 3.5 months old then. He did not start using it for a little bit. But then it was a big hit and still is.

[Lisa1970]

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?client=safari&rls=en&q=radio+flyer+walker+wagon&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=6975811057022017313&ei=ssYLTYLMBYP68AaG25DqDQ&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDIQ8wIwAA#ps-sellers

It is not plastic..it is wood and then the bar across the top is metal. I don't know what the wheels are of so there is a little plastic on it likely, but it is mostly wood.

[Llyra]

I bought my DD1 a wooden pushcart full of blocks when she was ten months old . Fast forward six years, and the thing still gets played with EVERY SINGLE DAY. We got this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Unknown-PM9991-Around-Block-Walker/dp/B00009XZTK
It's hard to find, now, but there are lots of toys that are similar to it that are more readily available.
It was totally worth every penny we spent on it. It's the single best toy we ever bought, based on how much use it got. And even a baby can appreciate the blocks-- some of them are soft, and chewable.

[aphel]

Ooooooo, these are good ladies, thanks! I do love the pushcarts and wagons . . . . The rocking horse idea is great too. We'll have to see what DH thinks when he gets home.

I'd though about the play kitchen, but I think it's more than we have to spend right now, so perhaps for next year.

[madcap150]

We got our DS the Walker Wagon for his first Christmas as well. He was 9 months old and could use it right away. The picture shows him pushing his other presents around in it.

[nextcommercial]

When my daughter was seven, there was a kiosk in the mall where you could have them make a baby doll to your specifications.  It was an expensive doll, but It was beautiful.  So, we picked one that looked a little like her when she was little, and gave her longer hair.  Then, you leave and come back later and they have her all ready to go. 

It was actually from Santa, which made it even more special.

[mamadelbosque]

DS1's first xmas my dad got him the pushchair by haba. DS1 is now nearly 4 and he still pushes it around and sits in it. So I totally vote for something like that :)

EDIT: Its this one: http://www.amazon.com/Haba-1646-Walker-Wagon/dp/B0002HYDPY

Edited by mamadelbosque - 12/17/10 at 4:42pm

[inkslinger]

My dd1 was about 8 months old at her first Christmas and we got her this rocking snail:

http://www.quiltsjust4kids.com/item_1055/Sandy-Rocking-Snail-Rocker-Toy.htm

it was awesome and she used it forever!

[redpajama]

When my daughter was ~13 months, we got her a wheely-bug bee (a ride-on toy), and she got SO much use out of it.  Rode it every single day.  She's 4 now and still uses it occasionally, but it's now seeing daily use from her 16-month-old sister.  Possibly the best toy purchase I've made to date.

[SnowSparrow]

It's funny, but the most wanted gift, year round, is art supplies.

Edited by SnowSparrow - 12/10/11 at 9:11pm

[Maluhia]

http://www.amazon.com/Radio-Flyer-Pathfinder-Wagon-Red/dp/B002JCS7X4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1292666164&sr=8-2 Red Wagon to ride in a the park, go for walks in, later use as a set-up for lemonade stands, etc.  

[aphel]

DH has weighed in and the winner was . . . . radioflyer pushcart! So cute, and so on sale at amazon when I went to order it today. Which was, by the way, the very last day to get free shipping in time for Christmas. Phew! (there needs to be a smiley for that) Also, the radioflyer version? Half the price of the pushcart I was looking at from nova toys. Awesome.

Keeping the other suggestions in mind for holidays to come. I think a riding/rocking toy is going find its way into our house for bday #1. Thanks ladies!!!!

[meemee]

so here is the deal.

a lot of things here i would call 'supports of childhood'. not toys. so things like the radio flyer, or shape sorter are activities that she needs to help her develop skills i would not call a present.

however at 1 dd's favourite toy that she got the most play out of - that happened quite by accident was the popcorn pusher. that plastic thingy which pops little plastic balls. she loved that thing. 

however i have a child who is not a toy person. has never really been. so no toy has lasted with her ever or gotten play out of her - even at 1. i recall at 1 buying her more books coz at least she got some use out of them. 

we never owned a toy kitchen for htat reason. she never really ever played with it. 

[*bejeweled*]

A Little Tikes wooden easel with blackboard and whiteboard. DD has been using hers since she could stand up and she still uses it at 8 yo. Her friends love it too.
http://www.amazon.com/Little-Tikes-Mission-Design-Easel/dp/B00008XYR4

[OkiMom]

DD1- For her first Christmas we got her a trike (well DH bought it for her when I wasn't around) I thought it was silly.. but she loved sitting on it and being pushed around and now she rides it around. She loves it. If you ask her though she will tell you her favorite Christmas present came a month early and thats her baby sister. She went around the whole season telling everyone that she got her Christmas early and pointing at her sister. The two of them adore each other.

DD2- Really hasn't had something she LOVED more than something else. Her favorite toys: cars (which were actually bought for DD1), blocks (another of DD1's gifts) and a rocking dragon that we got from the thrift store when we had been looking for a rocking horse for a while. Her first Christmas she was only a month old so she got mommy cuddles, a couple new outfits and a toy to chew on.