I’ve had a few people ask for me to share some Kids Christmas gift ideas for this year. This is a compilation of fun stuff and educational stuff.
WARNING: Beware, this post is full of eye-candy, so try to contain yourself, and just to help out, you should be able to click on any of the images below and get to them online… ;o)
Tot School:
Alphabet Lacing Beads / How to build an A
Color Sorting Bears / Magnetic Fishing Game
Stacking Cups / VTech Touch & Teach Turtle
VTech Write & Learn Letter Book
Preschool:
Magnetic Color Cubes / Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
Lakeshore Color Sorting Baskets / Do A Dot Markers
Wikki Stix Alphabet Cards / Color Cube Activity Cards & Color Blocks
Magnetic Pattern Blocks / VTech V.Reader
Monkeying Around / My First Sticky Mosaics
1st & 2nd Grade:
Magnetic Mosaics / Qwirkle / Pick and Draw
Intermed. Pattern Block Cards / Rainbow Scratch Cards
Fashion Design Studio / Jewelry Design Kit
Legos Pirate Loot Island / Lego Star Wars (Any really)
Expedition Earth Geography / All About Spelling
For Mom:
Scotch Thermal Laminator / HP Photo Printer
Easy Lunch Boxes / Learning Resources Link N Learn Links
Hope that helps give you some ideas, and if you’re into looking for discounts check out www.dealigg.com for all the black Friday sales!
What a fantastic list of suggestions! I am bound and determined to get my girls presents for Christmas that they will both love and that will also provide some sort of productivity and education. I love the color sorting toys. I've been teaching my 2-year old different colors lately and she loves bears! Perfect!
Amy: Yes, I did have to put the magnets on but it wasn't that hard really. And so far they've stayed on. I've had issues with the foam ones you get in the mosaic kits staying on but so far the wooden ones are. If you are going to use the magnets for the letter of the week stuff i'd probably go with the round ones from Amazon.
Ok, thanks for the the insight. I love the mosaic look, but I don't want the work so I'll stick with the round ones. It's taken me almost 3 months to save up my Swagbucks to get them and I didn't want to get something and regret it. Thanks!
Hi Erika, thanks for the list! I am thinking about getting the laminator (Merry Christmas to me!) and I was wondering how long the laminating pouches (is that what you use??) last? I guess it depends on how much laminating you do, but I'm just wondering how often I will need to buy refills and if it is worth the cost vs going to a store? Thanks so much for your help! Love your blog!
NATASHA: Yeah, it depends on how much you laminate! To save on lamination I usually put 2 pages back to back and run them through the laminator together. Then I cut along the edges to remove the excess lamination and pull the sheets apart. That way you end up with 2 sheets that have laminate on the front, but not on the back. Because who really cares if it’s laminated on the back right, plus sometimes its helpful NOT to have laminate on the back because tape and Velcro etc doesn’t stick well to laminate! I have a local teacher store that charges .19 per foot but their laminator is 3 feet wide so I can do posters there and if I have LOTS to laminate I’ll usually go there, but then when I’m making odds and ends at home I just use mine b/c it’s easier than running to the store every 2 seconds!
Great, thanks for the info!
Thank you so much for the tip about laminating two pages at once, so just the front of both pages is laminated! I would never have thought of that. That would cut the laminating cost in HALF!