What to buy a 5 yr old boy?

[403girl]

My child is attending a waldorf inspired school this year and he has been invited to a birthday party. The boy is the son of the waldorf teacher.. My normal go to gift is usually Lego... But I thought maybe I should get something more "waldorfy". What type of waldorf toy would you buy for a 5 yr old boy? TIA!

[honeybunmom]

First, I'd be sure they want gifts.  In our circle, most parties are "no gifts please".  Otherwise, I think a rainbow string (Bella Luna Toys) and book of string games is a good choice.  It's something he'll use throughout first grade, too.  Also try Bella Luna Toys and A Toy Garden and choose the age range for which you are buying for suggestions.  Both of those sites are Waldorf oriented. Another idea is something for dress up - pirate, knight, that sort of thing.

[403girl]

Thanks for the ideas!

It doesn't say anything about gifts on the invitation card so I figured it would be safer to just bring a gift rather than not.

If I had a little extra time I would have liked to order something from Etsy but I was afraid the gift may not come in time. The party is Knight themed and I thought about keeping with that theme.. just wasn't sure what to go with. Thanks for the store suggestions. I think I am out of time to order anything now but I will keep the stores in mind for the next party :)

[403girl]

Just to confirm, is this the rainbow string you were mentioning?

http://www.bellalunatoys.com/games/traditional-games/sarahs-silks-string-games.html

[SageR]

If you don't know the family that well and your ds can't tell you what kinds of things his friend particularly likes I wouldn't hesitate to call the parents and ask.   If you check you can make sure they actually want gifts (I personally am always happy to tell people they do not need to bring gifts - not only do we really not need any more stuff than we already have but I'd hate for someone to stress out about finding or affording a gift) or get some ideas for something the child needs or would really like.

My ds started public school this year.  He has already been to several birthday parties for children we didn't know at all, so I called the parents.  They were suprised but pleased and gave me recommendations for things I felt good about getting - not really Waldorf-y but not total junk either.

FYI Nova Natural and Palumba both sell knight-inspired dress-up gear and they ship pretty quickly.

[403girl]

Unfortunately there is no phone number or email with the invitation. I'm thinking it'd still be better to bring something rather than nothing. It seems most people will put something on the invitation if they really do not want gifts. I ended up finding a game at an eco toy store.. Got a gift receipt so if they don't like it they can always return it.

The worst part is that normally I would make a gift but my sewing machine is getting repaired :(

[melissa17s]

When my kids did Waldorf birthdays, the expectation was that the gift would either be something found or made by the friend.  So... we got rocks, nuts, pods, gnomes, knitted kitties, lots of drawings, some modeled clay, shells, etc.  Even if you get a store bought gift, try to include part homemade or found by your ds.  

[honeybunmom]

It is. If it is knight themed, then I'd consider this:  http://www.bellalunatoys.com/sarahs-silks/silk-toys/soft-foam-sword.html

My son loves playing swords, but he has just started school 2 days a week.   He is only 2.5, so, I know that's all I'll be allowing in our house for now. He does enough damage to his poor sister with the other wooden toys for me to consider a wooden sword.  He beaned her today with a wooden egg!