not your average gift guide (for toddlers)

Countless gift guides are being posted.
For husbands, in laws, parents, neighbors, kids, hostesses, you name it and there is a gift guide for it.
Sometimes I look at them and think, ‘man that is a great idea!’ and other times I think ‘who the heck buys that?’
I have put together my own gift guide, for toddlers, BUT there is one very specific reason that it is an out of the ordinary, not your average gift guide.
That specific reason is – I have actually purchased all of these items for my own two toddlers for this Christmas.
I am not affiliated with any of the brands or stores. I am not going to be credited every time you click the link to check it out. I will not make a cent if you purchase it.
I really, genuinely believe these are pretty great items for your toddlers – so much so that I actually have them wrapped (okay, half wrapped) and shoved into a crawl space in our closet as I type this.
We purchased items designed specifically for Cam and specifically for Lily, then also picked up a few gifts that we thought would be ‘group gifts’ that they will both enjoy.
I will link everything that I can for you to easily find if you’re interested.
Let’s start with group gifts.
Our kids are really into tunnels and tents. Places to hide. This Discovery Kids Adventure Play Tent with Tunnel has both. This was a no brainer.

When we go to the local library, the dress up imaginary play begins. They transform into firemen, policemen, astronauts, chefs, doctors, etc. So I knew going into this holiday, I needed to purchase some of these role play costumes to have at home. I like the Melissa and Doug dress up costumes because they aren’t just costumes, they come with accessories as well. This is the four we decided to grab.

The last thing on our ‘group gift’ list was some age appropriate board games. Hungry Hungry Hippos, Candy Land, and Chutes + Ladders were on our list. Two out of three are more suited for Camden, but eventually Lily will be able to play and it will be a full on family event.
They also each receive twelve new books for their collection during the ’12 Days of Christmas’ in our house.

Stocking stuffers for the kids are exactly the same. They each got a new electric toothbrush + bath crayons, a Christmas notebook with crayons, a metal keep cold to go cup, new Christmas socks, a new set of utensils, and a few candy items.
Next we will do the gift guide for a toddler boy.
Camden is OBSESSED with dinosaurs, as most normal toddlers are. We walked passed this bag of miniature dinosaurs, like army men, 67 pieces to be exact and Michael decided he had to have it.

While we have been doing a lot of construction in our bathroom, Cam always wants to help and bring his toolbox with him. He has a few small tools that he collected throughout his three years, but they are mostly baby toys. We decided to upgrade his tool set.

In an effort to help Camden start to learn different sports, recognized different sports balls, get a handle for them – we bought a set of three mini sized sports balls. The one we bought is not on the website, but it looks like this.. they aren’t foam.

Camden has a recent fascination with play doh. Each night after Lily goes to bed, he plays for about an hour in the craft room. Once Michael showed him how to make different foods, it was over. Now he makes different foods and asks me to eat them. Play doh was another easy option. We went with a pizza set and a cutting board kit.

With his love for building things and the fact that he has a lego table, we decided it was time to buy him a real set of Legos. We ventured into the Lego store for the first time and man.. that place is overwhelming to me. But we did manage to snag this Lego Junior Cars Florida 500 Final Race set for him.

Cam will also receive a giant fire truck floor puzzle made my Melissa and Doug, plus a dinosaur sticker book.

Now to share with you gifts for a toddler girl.
Our girl has a collection of four Beanie Babies that she carries around everywhere she goes. She has gone as far as to throw them in her brothers wagon and pull them around. A light bulb went off – Lily needs a baby stroller, so we grabbed this Graco Dynamo Pram and a You & Me Chatter and Coo baby doll.

After seeing all of the Lily’s gifts together at the end of our shopping trip, I felt like she was missing something noisy, (I know, I know.. I should have been happy about that). I added this Little People Disney Princess Magical Wand Palace to give a little noisy fun.

Watching big brother + being in preschool/daycare has given Lily an interest in play doh also. We grabbed her a little shimmer Play Doh kit so she can play with Cam without using his, because he doesn’t like that very much.

Building blocks has become one of Lilys favorite things to do, plus it is great for hand eye coordination. We picked up a Minnie Mouse’s Bow-tique Set with the bigger Legos.

This was last up on Lily’s gift list. A set of two Melissa and Doug Mix ‘n Match Dress Up puzzles with wood pegs.

We (unintentionally) ended up getting the kids a lot of learning type gifts. Puzzles, blocks,  coloring books, board games, etc. While to some, this will seem like a lot – for me, because it is so much learning and not all just toys, I feel great about our purchases.
What are some must have items on your shopping list for your kids this year? What are they asking for? Are there any items that are a hard no?
I would love to hear about it!
xoxo K