Kind of sad, kind of funny, but this is my second Christmas as a mom but my first year in which I actually purchased gifts for my daughter. Last year our funds were reduced to very little. Plus, we knew she wouldn't really care, which eased our guilt considerably.
This year I've had more fun than I'd anticipated choosing gifts I think suitable. First off, let me say the following: 1. I loathe Barbie dolls. 2. More generally, I like toys that are gender neutral. There are multiple reasons for this, but probably the most important is that the majority of gender-conditioning toys are just plain creepy. 3. I don't like buying plastic toys.
Working around that criteria proved not too difficult. Squirty is drawn to our fridge, possibly because she's attracted to the loot within (she's 30 lbs. for a reason, after all), but she also really loves magnets. Rather than go for the plastic alphabet fridge magnets we all know so well, I found some wooden letters for a great price. Why do I like wood? Isn't cutting down trees bad? Well, here's my logic: Trees are a natural resource that reproduce, or can be planted and replaced, fairly quickly (in comparison with oil-based plastic, anyway). And let's get real, plastic fridge magnets don't exactly qualify as family heirloom material, so one day they'll get thrown away. Wooden fridge magnets are biodegradable, whereas plastic magnets aren't. Less junk that will stay in a land fill forever. In addition to the fridge magnets, I bought some adorable wooden blocks, since Squirty loves, loves, LOVES stacking and organizing things.
This year I've had more fun than I'd anticipated choosing gifts I think suitable. First off, let me say the following: 1. I loathe Barbie dolls. 2. More generally, I like toys that are gender neutral. There are multiple reasons for this, but probably the most important is that the majority of gender-conditioning toys are just plain creepy. 3. I don't like buying plastic toys.
Working around that criteria proved not too difficult. Squirty is drawn to our fridge, possibly because she's attracted to the loot within (she's 30 lbs. for a reason, after all), but she also really loves magnets. Rather than go for the plastic alphabet fridge magnets we all know so well, I found some wooden letters for a great price. Why do I like wood? Isn't cutting down trees bad? Well, here's my logic: Trees are a natural resource that reproduce, or can be planted and replaced, fairly quickly (in comparison with oil-based plastic, anyway). And let's get real, plastic fridge magnets don't exactly qualify as family heirloom material, so one day they'll get thrown away. Wooden fridge magnets are biodegradable, whereas plastic magnets aren't. Less junk that will stay in a land fill forever. In addition to the fridge magnets, I bought some adorable wooden blocks, since Squirty loves, loves, LOVES stacking and organizing things.
Alright, so I sold out for this one, but I did cave and bought her a Disney Princess Coloring Book. I generally dislike Princess stuff, but for some reason I bought it. Don't ask me why. If any of you have seen Blame it on Fidel and happen to agree with the dad that Mickey Mouse is a fascist, you may have some idea how Derrick will feel when he sees the baby open this marketing trap from Disney. Sorry, dear!
Here are two books I adore that I found on sale at BYU's bookstore:
I couldn't have lived much longer without this book in my house:
I want to know: what's your toy-buying criteria? Even if it's the exact opposite of mine, I'd like to hear it and why. Or,
what are you getting your kids for Christmas? or,
what do you do when you feel like marketing companies are taking advantage of your child's innocence?
5 comments:
Good selection, how fun! :) We didn't buy gifts for any of our boys' first Christmases. They had plenty without Santa's help.
I love to do a mix of toy types. I'm a fan of handmade toys, so I've shopped etsy the last couple years. I also love Melissa and Doug toys. We do cave and buy commercialized toys but we try to keep it all in balance. And I'm SO with you on being against toys that steal innocence. My boys don't do video games and there are a handful of off limit toys. Have you seen those Brat dolls for girls? So terrible... :( I like toys that spark creativity, imagination, and encourage learning. Back to basic style I like too. We do a mix of good literature for the boys (every boy gets a big book box every Christmas), nostalgic and handmade toys, and some commercialized hits sprinkled in too. LEGO and Hot Wheels are the big ones in our home. I'm a little bit the opposite of you with gender. I prefer the gender specific. We buy ALL boy stuff! ;) The exception is cooking supplies. My middle son loves cooking items and that is primarily sold with girl toys.
I can't speak for my own children just yet... but for my preschoolers, I have to say that I do buy everything plastic. BUT before you kill me, this comes from a strictly germ-reducing frame of mind. Teaching 12 special needs kids that put everything in their mouths and have every diagnosis you could think of makes me, the dishwasher and bleach spray VERY good friends. But, I do have to say that I am a teacher in every sense of the word and try to always buy things that have some educational value to them... Whenever I look at a toy I think, what can we learn from this? I love puzzles and categorizing games for kiddos... :o)
When Izzy was 1, 2 and 3 years old she loved, loved, loved toy babies! She has spent many(!) childhood hours playing with her babies, strollers and miniature crib.
Those alphabet blocks are really nice when teaching your kids their alphabet. We use ours for that purpose.
Missing your Six by Seuss book? I think I owe you some money....
Peter Rabbit and the Velveteen Rabbit are books I adore as well. I'm so glad you got them for her! The blocks and magnets will be fun to!
Dan and I don't have any kids yet, but whenever we go out of town, we always buy a children's book. Our idea is that by the time we have a baby, we'll have a nice collection of memories to share with our little honey! Hopefully our child will enjoy reading...
oh my gosh there was a typo in my comment! I meant "too". How embarrassing!
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