Christmas Gift HITS
 

With the holiday approaching many of us will be doing shopping for our kids/family/friends.. I was thinking it might be a good idea to share some of those gifts from past years that were huge HITS! Would be helpful for ideas on what we should buy!

for our first christmas together my husband and I did not have a lot of money to spend. we had a newborn baby as well so my husband got me an inexpensive camera which I used for years til it got misplaced. I loved it so much though.

Last year my husband replace my Nintendo DS with a DSi XL. I loved it. Have not used it a ton in the last few months though.

Leapsters for my 2 youngest!
my kids LOVE PJ's!!!! especially ones from Old Navy {from my 18 y/o to my 4 y/o LOL}
wooden puzzles like this have been some of Peyton's absolute FAVS! he got them out today and did a few
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ETA: Pillow pets was a huge hit for Abby...she sleeps with her ladybug everynight!
and my 10 y/o LOVES these Legos
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Two years ago, DH got me a necklace from Tiffany that was my initial (it was actually a "b" but Bea is my nickname). I love how simply sophisticated it was. Favorite gift for my girls: my oldest love the camera my parents got her last year and anything Thomas related.

Last year we got Mya the Weeble Treehouse. I had worried that she would tire of it quickly, but it was on the top of her Christmas list. Turns out it's has been one of her favorite toys all year long and this year she's asked for more Weebles and a Weeble car.

Last year I got Nicholas one of those kid tough cameras on a whim at the Black Friday sales. He loves it and its so cute to watch him set up shots. He also got a vReader and I was suprised by how much he plays with it. I was afraid it would be one of those toys he only plays with a short while before never touching again, but he loves it. It does go through batteries like no ones business though, so get the adapter.

Pillow Pets have been a huge success with both boys. I didn't think they would love them this much, but they did. They were great in the car when I moved from Washington to New Mexico... This year I'm thinking about getting them the "baby" version of their big ones just because :)

I'm watching this thread closely for stuff for my 2-1/2 year old daughter. I have NO idea what to get her besides a few tutus. Weebles are something I'll definitely take a look at. :)

Being that my kid is a Batman freak...he got this two years ago and still plays with it every week. Imaginext Batcave
This year he's actually asked for the Penguin Sub to go with it since I think it's the only accessory he doesn't have.

YES!!! :thumbup::thumbup: My son, too, LOVES his vtech vreader!! He uses it daily... Another big hit for him for the last few years is his little tyke cozy coup... he drives that around all over the house every day. He loves books, puzzles, and of course, his cars and trains... if it has wheels it is awesome in his eyes...

From last year's Christmas the big hit for my then-7 year old were the Lego sets. He doesn't keep them in their sets and instead they make all sorts of new and original creations. It kills me to spend the high prices on those speciality Star Wars Lego sets, but I can honestly say he has played with all his legos 365 days a year.

The best present we ever got the kids was a desktop computer. That's probably the only "toy" in the house that has been used almost daily for 2 years. Our other big hits have been Star Wars Legos, anything by Leapfrog, dress up stuff, a Little People dollhouse (which was ignored for the first 6 months then loved), lightsabers, and a Nintendo 3DS.

Then again, it depends so much on the child. LeapFrog anything was a HUGE hit with Ben (and I'm so sad he's outgrown most of what they make) but a fail with Jason. The boys never liked Little People as much as we wanted them to, but Lauren does.

Our wooden dollhouse and train set have been the best toys for our kids. DD also loves her Leapster2, and DS has fun playing with DD's LeapFrog tag reader though he hasn't quite figured out exactly how to use it.

Another Pillow Pet here...Rachel asked for the brown puppy one, got it, and it is still one of her favorite things...now she wants the mini one to go along with it. (and now they have Thomas, Percy, and Spongebob Pillow Pets...too bad, kiddo, you can't have them all!)
Legos are another good pick here, although I won't be getting another specialized set...didn't realize they were SO specialized now. Lose one tiny piece that's smaller than the size of a pencil eraser and it's off to the Lego store if you want to finish the project they show you. We'll be getting a basic set in the pink plastic bucket this year, nothing too tiny :)

We love Jawbones at our house!

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We picked them up at my son's occupational therapist's office and they have been well loved.

Three boys here, ages 3,5 and 6 and here's what's been a hit over the years:

-little cars
-big trucks like tonka
-wooden railroad and trains
-airplanes
-wooden blocks
-anything toy story related (especially a V-Tech phone that DS 3 plays with every single day)
-anything cars related
-a gigantic plastic box of legos that Ì bought at a rumage sale and wrapped - they play with that everyday
-bikes, helmets, plastic red and yellow car for toddler (they've outgrown it, but they played with it all the time)
emote-control cars
-transformers

my middle son is a little different, he tends to like craft supplies, jewel making kits or even boys' necklaces, Backugan stuff

my oldest loves memory or puzzle games and activity books.

my youngest loves Zhuzhu pets and could play with them for hours.

They always love to receive cartoon DVDs, especially if we've seen the movie at the theatre. Mario Cart, Super Mario and Kirby were huge hits, too.

They also like trying new candy, cookies or drinks so I stock their stocking with that. Stickers, lip balm, polished rocks :blink: are all appreciated too.

The biggest hit for JP is always books! His entire list this year is books!! He's even requested all books for his birthday, too. He's loved some of the DS and Wii games we've purchased as well, but the books are it for him.

Devin, he likes stuffed animals and toys with which he can play pretend. He's got an entire world revolving around his toys. It's pretty intricate and amazing. His list this year cracked me up. He put on things like iPod Touch and iPad2 and then made notes after them that says, "Already have one" and "Not going to happen. Rats!"

A comment on the Weebles--Devin got the treehouse Misty mentioned when he was 3 or 4. He turned 9 yesterday and still plays with it regularly. He just loves the Weebles!

The biggest hit for my dd was everything from Little People. She got her first set at 1.5 yrs and then new additions every birthday/Christmas, and she almost played daily with it until she was 6! I swear, I recommand it to everyone who has little ones! My 2yr old boy now loves to play with them too.

Last year Avery's big hit was his DSiXL...with everyone lol

Ella got a play kitchen last year and she plays with it every now and then but I'd not say it was a huge hit with her.

The surprise hit for them too was pillow pets...Avery begged for one and honestly I'm not big on stuffed animals b/c my kids just don't play with them. But I decided to get them each one as their Christmas Eve gift from us. I don't know what it is about those pillow pets but they still play with them almost every single day..they were playing with them yesterday for about 2 hours. So big A+ for those.

This year they're begging for a "Happy Napper" which I guess is this year's pillow pet.

Leapster was a big hit with Avery from about age 3-4.

Ella got this leapster Violet Dog 2 years ago and she LOVES it and still sleeps with it every night. You can program it with personalized info and she'll even say Ella when she talks. So cute.

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Tag Reader has been a huge hit in our house. Avery and Ella both love to use it and so I always pick up new books for that for birthdays and Christmas...they love to be read to though so that goes along with that I suppose

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And Ella got this little pink piano last Christmas which was her hit of the year..she still loves to bang away on it until I put it away for a while b/c I just can't stand it another second lol

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anything Melissa and Doug is usually popular around here..including this set of nesting blocks..they still play with it all the time...

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and our biggest hit?? Vintage Little People Sets...seriously like the ones I played with when I was little. My mom had some left from when I was growing up and then I've bought a few from ebay. They play with them ALL the time..especially Ella. We have a few of the newer sets and they never touch them. Something about old school fisher price that they love.

for my kids usually whatever they get that year is a hit. I know for my youngest he is going to freak over his big present. An Indo Board. I did not know what one was but my daughter said he loved it when he stayed with them while my husband was in the hospital. So I got him one for Christmas. My daughter is getting a laptop for christmas so I know she is gonna freak as well. She has just a netbook which is still running Windows XP soooo it is time for an upgrade. I am hoping to find a good deal after black friday.

For little ones:
-Thomas trains and wooden tracks (we got the off-brand tracks with a few of the Thomas specialty pieces. They still play with these some so I shipped them to Kuwait.
-Cozy Coupe...even the bigger kids cannot stay out of this thing..big plastic thing but LOVED...we got the gas station too when DS spent his birthday money on it.
-Little people garage was the hit of all the little peoples.
-Wooden stacking blocks and big stacking Legos (ours were Quattro)
-empty boxes and wrapping paper LOL
-sidewalk chalk and bubbles

For the 3-5 set:
-Leapster Explorer/Leapster 2 (still playing but my 7 year old will outgrow soon)
-Tag Reader by Leapfrog (reading made fun and its an actual book not a screen...books are on sale now buy them!)
-bicycles and helmets...do not skip the smallest size, you'll regret it later! Buy used if you can for this one!
-coloring books and playdough sets
-"electric" guitar and musical instrument set (anything to make noise!)

For the "big boy" set (5-7+)
-Star Wars Legos...yes they are specialized but the boys LOVE these and the characters
-Lego Star Wars game for Wii or other console...be warned they will want to play it to death!
-Razor scooter...good one for learning to get balance for no training wheels...can be given earlier just not loved maybe.
-books they can read
-movies they've seen
-science kits (beginners) We got Science putty recently and they've loved it (modern silly putty).
-R/C cars
-Lightsabers...ones that make noise are loved by kids...not the super expensive ones though.

Hope that helps a mom of a boy...I have no clue for girls! And of course every kid is different. Personally I stay away from what the retailers tell me is the "HOT" toy of the year, those are usually the ones that are one-hit wonders.

Birk totally looove his Brio wooden train tracks, and this is the 3rd year he is getting new stuff for it.

Oh for little boys definitely Thomas Trains...Avery was obsessed with Thomas from about the age of 18 mos-4 years old. He's kind of out grown them now which makes me sad. Every now and then he'll get them out but for the most part he's done with them I think. I've tried to get Ella interested in them but so far she's not.

He also loved the Cars diecast cars during that age too...I think we have every one they ever made. He still plays with them..especially since the second movie came out.

We have about a 100 Cars cars and another 100 Thomas trains, too. This are huge hits.

My girls love books.

Cora is totally into fingernail polish right now and hair ribbons. Her volleyball team was obsessed with them.

Sarah's into DS games and the Wii.

I had to smile at this - my girls are 15 and 11 and um yeah we have not been able to part with the little people yet despite my attempts to move all old toys out of our house! Part of me though can't put them away either...just a lot of happy memories of when the girls were young!

When our kids were really little, especially DD1, we had like every Little People set imaginable! lol

This year, I am really struggling with what to buy our girls (ages 10 and 8). We want to be practical, but I am desperate for ideas.

Here's what they are getting this year:

DD1 (10) - iPod touch, Bible and carrying case, comfy pants, Harry Potter disc set, $20 GC to the mall

DD2 (8) - new winter jacket and matching accessories, beanbag chair, $20 GC to the mall.....?????

DS (5) - iPod touch, PJ's and dinosaur slippers, Hot Wheels tracks/cars, Lego, DQ Blizzard Maker, Mouse Trap, Angry Birds game (actual game)