Gift Giving - Top Toys for Toddlers 12-18 Months

Playing with the Fisher Price Learning Home

Thanksgiving is just a few days away and then....Black Friday.  Whether you shop the early sales, wait until the online deals on Cyber Monday or just shop as you go, the clock is still ticking.  Less than 6 weeks until Christmas. 

If you're looking for great gifts for a toddler in your life, whether it's your niece, nephew, grandchild or your own little one, I've got a resource for you; another of my top picks lists: Top Toys for Toddlers 12-18 Months.

I'm a mom who loves reviewing toys, and between Li'l Girlie, her friends and having volunteered in our church's childcare, I've seen what gets played with and what doesn't.  So I made a list of the best of the best.  Hope it helps you!

Did I miss any outstanding toys?  If there's another you'd like to nominate for a Top Toy, please let me know!

New Year -- Can I Get a Do-Over?

To be quite frank, 2010 was not my best year for writing.  I feel like I let this blog wither like an unwatered houseplant.  Now here I am with the watering can, plant food, and new sunny window to revive it. 

Here's what you can expect for 2011... toy reviews, couponing tips, and family-friendly recipes, to name the main categories.  I'm still centered on the things that help make a mom's life easier, more enjoyable and help save money.  In addition to Mommy's Favorite Things, I also write websites that go more indepth on the stuff I talk about here.

In any case, if you've been following me (you super-loyal and patient person, you), I want to thank you and also apologize for my spotty posting.  I'm kicking it back in gear.

All the best,

Erin
Mommy's Favorite Things

Alphabet Train Fun

Chugga chugga chugga woo woo!  Ok, I don't know how to spell train noises, but that's my best attempt.  We got the Infantino Alphabet Train from our church's toy exchange and gave it to Li'l Girlie for Christmas.  It's really designed for kids 3-5, but since she's really, really into trains right now, we figured we'd try it out.

Right now Li'l Girlie just enjoys watching us put the train together, making train noises and trying to say what the object is on the top of the train cars when we point to them.  I can see how it will become a really fun way to learn the alphabet as she gets to be a bit older.  This puzzle, along with several other Infantino puzzles, is an Oppenheim Toy Portfolio winner and has suggested games and activities on the top of the box. The whole train is over 5 feet long, so the size of it even appealing for little kids.  Definitely a floor puzzle that can be worked on by more than one person.

The pictures are cute and colorful; the only kind of odd one is the big Jello mold for the letter 'J'.  But then again, how many easily recognizable things begin with J?

Teaching a Toddler about Christmas

From a young age, we want Li'l Girlie to be hearing the real story of Christmas and learning why we celebrate it. She's 22 months old this Christmas, and some of her favorite things (like most kids) right now are books and Fisher Price Little People toys. Playing to those interests, I found a couple of things that would be great for her for this year, but we could continue to use as she gets older.

The children's ministry director at our church --a mom of three herself, and a children's book aficionado -- recommended Patricia A. Pingry's The Story of Christmas for toddlers and preschoolers to tell the story of Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, wise men and of course Jesus' birth in an easy-to-understand manner. Li'l Girlie likes it a lot, especially since there are animals and a Christmas tree in the book. It ties in why we give gifts; to show our love and to celebrate Jesus' birthday. My personal opinion is that it would benefit from adding at least a paraphrase from Luke: "for today a Savior is born, which is Christ the Lord." Something about why baby Jesus is so special. Just my opinion. Maybe Pingry left it out so that parents could fill it in.

Our other Christmas story purchase was the Fisher Price Little People Nativity Set.  We have some lovely nativity sets, but none appropriate for toddler playtime.  She likes pressing the angel on the top of the stable to hear 'Away in a Manger' and she's learning who Mary, Joseph and Jesus are.  As she gets bigger, we can use the figures to act out the story.  Fisher Price also has the Three Wisemen and the Inn at Bethlehem sets, but we've also been on a tighter budget this year, so for us, those will be purchases for another year. 

The tradition that we started last year (when Li'l Girlie was too young to even notice) was making a birthday cake for Jesus.  This year, I let her squirt some of the frosting on the cake before I wrote the words.  She was nonplussed.  Oh well, hopefully seeing the finished cake and the happy rejoicing and eating will be a little more fun.  We still have yet to break out the cake today. 

I wish you a very merry Christmas celebrating our Savior

Erin

Fishing for a Great Gift? Catch this Giveaway

Toys that keep your child entertained for hours are worth their weight in gold.  Ones that foster imagination, creative play and allow for several kids to play together are even better.  Another mommy blogger whom I've started following, The Five Fish, recently reviewed such a toy, the Step 2 LifeStyle Deluxe Kitchen.  She should know about the multiple-kid, multiple ages playability of this toy -- she has twin toddlers and a 6-year old who've all loved it.

And, she's giving one of these fab kitchens away, courtesy of Step 2.  Read her review and enter the giveaway for a chance at your child enjoying the cool food & utensil accessories, realistic appliance sounds and lots of storage space for all of his/her culinary creations. . . for free.

Li'l girlie is already interested in kitchen play; she empties out her cupboard in my kitchen daily and one of the few recognizeable-to-the-general-public words is 'bowl'.  She loves bowls, especially the one on our salad spinner.  I could see her going nuts over this kitchen and its play food and dishes, and I'll probably play with it a ton too if we won, truth be told.  I love to cook, and am excited to continue fostering a passion for it in my daughter.

Thanks for giving away one of these awesome toys, Five Fish!   We all love the opportunity to get free cool toys like this for our kids to foster their imaginations.

O-Ball

This is one of those toys that'll last a kid from infancy all the way through their teenage years. It's a few bucks well-spent. My daughter has been playing with her O-ball since she was around 6 months old. Here's what the play has looked like at each stage:

6 months:  Mostly chewing on it and batting at it when I hung it above her with some plastic links.  It was easy for her to grab and shake too.  Daddy also liked mindlessly throwing the ball in the air and catching it repeatedly as he was thinking or talking.  Samantha liked to watch.

Crawling:  it's easy to chase and get a good handhold.  Throwing the ball and giggling when it bounced was popular.

Just starting to walk:  throwing the O-ball down and chasing it.  Liked holding the ball and gnawing on it during diaper changes.  Pointing to the circles in it.  Smooshing the ball down and watching it go back into a ball shape.  This elicited giggles as well.

20 months:  Our new favorite game is 'throw the O-ball in the bushes and take it out'.   The title's pretty self-explanatory.  The O-ball is light enough that the circles catch on the branches for easy spotting and removing of the ball from said bushes by the toddler herself.  :)  One of her buddies likes to play 'ball up', which is basically tossing the O-ball straight up in the air and chasing after it when it lands.  We'll see what other games the kiddos invent as they get older.

What I like most about this ball:

- Very durable.  Its strong, flexible plastic can take a beating from being squooshed, stepped on, and chewed.

- O shapes make easy handholds, especially for kids who are learning to carry things, catch, and throw.

- Very lightweight; if someone gets hit with this ball flying through the air, there's much less chance for injury than many other balls. 

- Interesting shapes and bright colors; visually stimulating for young children (and adults too  ;)  )