Christmas toys

Happy December!

I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m pretty ready for Dec. 25 when I can pull out all the toys I’ve hidden around my house. The girls are getting older now – and much more agile – and it’s getting harder and harder to hide their gifts. We’ve been storing most of them in Kyle’s car, though I do have some in the closet where they can’t reach.

As they also can’t read – or at least can’t access the Internet and this blog, I thought I would share what our little Engineer and Artist are getting for Christmas. I always look to other parents to see what they’re getting their kids so I can get some ideas, so I thought I’d share what we bought the kids Thanksgiving night while lying in bed in pjs and watching Netflix (which is the only way to shop this time of the year).

Both of the girls are into “Paw Patrol” and “Puppy Dog Pals,” but The Artist also loves her American Girl doll, Mary Ellen. In her letter to Santa, she specifically asked for a car for Mary Ellen (In case you were like me and did not know until recently, please be aware there is a Target brand for American Girl — Santa has a budget!!) and a Skye (“Paw Patrol”) doll.

So, yes, she received both of those — and The Engineer will receive a Skye doll too, because we don’t want to deal with her stealing Big Sister’s doll. Because it will happen otherwise.

Both kids also received mermaid tail blankets with reverse sequins – reverse sequins have been a BIG deal for The Artist for a year now. She loves them. They also love cuddling in blankets and watching TV, so I thought these would be practical, too. And, yes, both got the same color blanket – again, not fighting over colors this year.

Speaking of colors – each kid got a big box of crayons, too. We go through crayons like Kleenex at our house. The girls color and draw every day, and we have gone through a big box of crayons since school started this fall. So I figured two huge boxes would help for this coming spring.

The Engineer (again, she is two), has the Paw Patrol Lookout Tower, which will be probably just slightly shorter than she is. She’s going to be so excited – so will The Artist. I can totally see them both playing with this a lot during break.

The Engineer also received a new pair of shoes, because she desperately needs some, a Paw Patrol Look and Find Book, and a Skye hat because her hats are too small. We don’t usually wear hats in Louisiana during winter, but we’ll have about a week of super cold weather, so she’ll need a hat then.

The Artist (who is five) also received a pair of shoes, which are needed, a new church dress (also needed), and a book on how to draw fairies and mermaids.

We try to get the kids four big gifts: something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read. We succeeded for these four, and then they’ll receive small stocking stuffers as well, like nail polish, stamps, and candy canes – or mermaid tail blankets and colors, ha!

Lastly, too, we have the kids pick out a gift for each other – so in a few weeks, I’ll take The Artist shopping to get her sister a gift and then The Engineer will “pick” out a gift for her sister. It’ll probably be hair ribbons. Girl needs some new bows.

What are your kids getting for Christmas?