A little input please

[pixie]

Hi

I’m looking for some help from those in the know, I know its quite early but I am already beginning to worry about Christmas presents for my nephews. 3 and 5. The 3 year old wants everything his big brother has and can be very destructive if he doesn’t get it. This years fave play themes for both of them have been power rangers and dinosaurs. How can I get something age appropriate for both of them that won’t start world war three between them when I go over on Christmas day

Thank you

 

[dulcissima]

I have two sons, age 5 and 7 who have been into Power Rangers for quite some time. I also have a 13 year old who used to really like Power Rangers from about the age of 2 to the age of 7. My recommendation if you are wanting to get them each a Power Ranger present, but one that would encourage imaginative play rather than fighting would be to get them the “morphers” which look like this: walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5585216

Another good option, and now is the perfect time of year to find them, is to buy them costumes. My kids have several years worth of costumes, and putting on the costumes is always a favorite thing to do when friends come over.

 

[Brenda_V]

dulcissima has great advise.

I would add that there are some great dinosaur toys out there too. Here is something that both ages can enjoy [explore4fun.com/dinf(name removed by moderator)up.html](http://explore4fun.com/dinf(name removed by moderator)up.html) Dinosaur puppets!

There is always dinosaur coloring books, costumes, puzzles (yes, even for the three year old), plastic/rubber dinosaurs, oh, I could go on and on and since the youngest is three, he is now old enough for some of the same things!

If you live near a Museum of Natural History you should be able to go into the gift shop of one to purchase dinosaur toys. Or, if they live near one, look at the cost of an annual family pass and include one small dino. rubber toy for each of the boys.

My family still loves going to the Museum of Natural History here and it is an itty bitty thing compared to the ones I grew up with!

I found some interesting Dino. type toys on Target.com too.

Brenda V.
Brenda V.

 

[Sabda]

Hi

I’m looking for some help from those in the know, I know its quite early but I am already beginning to worry about Christmas presents for my nephews. 3 and 5. The 3 year old wants everything his big brother has and can be very destructive if he doesn’t get it. This years fave play themes for both of them have been power rangers and dinosaurs. How can I get something age appropriate for both of them that won’t start world war three between them when I go over on Christmas day

Thank you

Toys R Us has a really nice big bucket of dinos. My son received a smaller one from Nanna for his 4th birthday. We went and got the bigger one with his birthday money. He picked it out. It’s the one that’s in the first link. There are PLENTY of dinos in there to keep them both happy. It is NEVER to early to shop for the kiddos Christmas gifts. We have already gotten a good head start on our kids.

 

[SeekerJen]

Toys R Us has a really nice big bucket of dinos. My son received a smaller one from Nanna for his 4th birthday. We went and got the bigger one with his birthday money. He picked it out. It’s the one that’s in the first link. There are PLENTY of dinos in there to keep them both happy. It is NEVER to early to shop for the kiddos Christmas gifts. We have already gotten a good head start on our kids.

That dinosaur bucket is awesome. I wish I’d had something like that when I was five. Looks like it would keep both boys happy, too.

 

[kage_ar]

Books. Books always fit, you can open new worlds, theach them the joy of learning, and there are zillions of cool dionsaur books.

 

[puzzleannie]

I made a rule, in self defense, when my kids were small: If I see it advertised on TV, you won’t be getting it. I also made a rule from the get go to prevent younger sibs from destroying or even touching toys and clothing that belong to the older ones without permission, since I suffered from this lack of discipline as a child.

 

[Deist]

My friends have 2 boys that age and my wife has the best iedeas.

Gift baskets.
I know this will sound dumb, but it is really popular with the kids and the parents say they are occupied for hours.

My wife will go to the Dollar store or some discount place. They usually have some kind of bucket or basket, then she gets dumb little dollar toys like silly puddy or zip cars. Then she gets a bunch of candy like buble gum and hershey kisses, then she gets some filler like Easter grass or shredded paper and stuffs the baskets with exact equal amounts of stuff, then wraps it in that colored plastic wrap or cut paper bag paper with a bow on it.

One year she got 2 flower pots, two sticks and two cone shaped stiro foam.
She hot glued candy to the cone shape and made a candy tree out of it with the stick as the stem coming out of the flower pot.
They loved it!

These things are cheap to make and the parents get to throw it all away when they are done…smiles all around.

 

[pixie]

Thank you all for these replies. Their Mom just let me know she’s pretty much cornered the dinosaur market for the youngests birthday at the end of this month. So I’ll be checking out the dress up though I have a suspicion prices are going to head me in the dime store direction.

Cheers

 

[Charitychick]

Thank you all for these replies. Their Mom just let me know she’s pretty much cornered the dinosaur market for the youngests birthday at the end of this month. So I’ll be checking out the dress up though I have a suspicion prices are going to head me in the dime store direction.

Cheers

My sister always gets stuff at the dollar store. I hate it. It only lasts a couple of hours, and the kids end up crying and frustrated. And, it makes a mess. I’d rather have something second hand that lasts a little like Fisher price or Little tykes.

Or, I’d love it if someone would take the little guys out to the zoo or indoor play ground and just spoil them a little with some attention.

My MIL once bought my son $50 worth of dollar store items. It was horrible. Broken parts everywhere. He was crying because his toys were breaking.

I’m just sharing my experience. I’m sure everyone has a different opinion. It’s sweet of you to put so much thought into it.

 

[ThyKingdomCome]

We give family gifts to everyone other than our own children. The thought of giving individual gifts to each child that is close to us is overwhelming of time and pocketbook. Also, I have yet to meet a child who actually NEEDS more toys, so I like to not contribute too much to the waste. Maybe a board game that is appropriate for both of their ages? Some that we have and like for that age group are Cranium Caribou, Snails Pace Race Game, and Penguin Pile Up.

 

[OutinChgoburbs]

go check out the Homemade Christmas Presents thread in this Forum. I am still in love with the felt bacon!

 

[dulcissima]

My sister always gets stuff at the dollar store. I hate it. It only lasts a couple of hours, and the kids end up crying and frustrated. And, it makes a mess. I’d rather have something second hand that lasts a little like Fisher price or Little tykes.

Or, I’d love it if someone would take the little guys out to the zoo or indoor play ground and just spoil them a little with some attention.

My MIL once bought my son $50 worth of dollar store items. It was horrible. Broken parts everywhere. He was crying because his toys were breaking.

I’m just sharing my experience. I’m sure everyone has a different opinion. It’s sweet of you to put so much thought into it.

I am going to agree here. I hate cheap toys that just end up on the floor broken. Everytime I consider a new toy purchase, I always try to picture what it will look like on the floor, broken or with parts missing. If it seems likely to happen with that particular toy, then I don’t get it. Kids really don’t need bunches and bunches of toys, and if they have them, chances are they don’t really play with them.

I think the suggestion of doing something with them really is the best present. You might also consider a family pass to a zoo or an aquarium as a gift.