Birthday Gifts for a Four Year Old Girl and Two Year Old Boys

The birthdays of my children are looming. Annabella's 4th is April 7th and Milo and Huck's 2nd is April 14th. I keep having ideas for gifts that I immediately forget, so I thought I'd record them here and then also ask for suggestions. I don't think they've found this blog yet and as far as I know they can't read, so it's up to you to keep the secret. Ideas for Annabella Annabella is obsessed with princesses, especially the Disney kind. I won't use this as an opportunity to spout off on a Disney marketing rant, but if you're interested, feel free to e-mail me and we can discuss. What I will say that I would rather her dress up in generic princess costumes that she's pieced together herself than the plastic licensed kind. The trouble is I haven't found those pieces. For Christmas we got Annabella a CD player for her room. She's fascinated with the The Nutcracker CD, so I'm thinking another classical CD might be a good gift. If I'm to have a fighting chance of getting her to choose Hilary Hahn over Hannah Montana, I've got to start early. I'm also thinking of getting her a pair of pink crocs and wondering if she's too young for The Spiderwick Chronicles. Ideas for Milo Milo is obsessed with our vacuum cleaner. The son of a friend of mine has a similar infactuation, so her in-laws asked if they could get him a toy vacuum cleaner. She suggested getting him a dust buster, so at least he could make himself useful. Ideas for Huck When I was on The Screen Savers I had to wear make-up every day. They even bought me some fancy Mac make-up brushes that I had never used before and have never used since. Huck found one tucked away in a drawer about a year ago and it has been his favorite toy ever since. Is it crazy to get a 2 year old a real paint brush and real (washable, non-toxic) paints? Group Gift ideas If you have enough children to fill a picnic table, you might as well get one, right? Milo and Huck (and in the past Annabella) could probably occupy themselves all day as long as they had grapes and their copy of Cars and Trucks and Things That Go by Richard Scarry. I'm thinking of getting another Richard Scarry, but I can't decide between Biggest Word Book Ever, Busy, Busy Town, and What People Do All Day. I'm also seriously considering this magnetic responsibilities chart recommended by the fabulous folks at Parent Hacks. Milo and Huck are all about the blanket tent, but they get really frustrated when the blanket falls down and the can't get it back up. I saw the Fortamajig recommended at Thingamababy. It uses velcro to attach the blanket to chairs and tables. I'm on the fence about this one and I cannot tell you if it's because I think kids ought to be frustrated with things and figure out their own way to fix them or because it's $60. Any other suggestions?

Comments

[Andrea]

A really good place to get art supplies and princess costumes (and any other costume) that don't have the Disney feel to them, are from daycare supply stores. Anyone can buy from them. My favorite is http://www.kaplanco.com.

Step Two makes a very good easel that has a chalkboard on one side and a whiteboard on the other with a clip for painting endeavors, and that can be found at www.step2.com. Those Crayola wonderpaints are very good, as in they don't show up on anything but the paper, and the kids in my daycare absolutely loved sidewalk chalk. We could spend all day drawing on something that would go away as soon as water was on it.

There is a "Guess How Much I Love You" cd, with James McBratney reading the story with his Scottish accent, followed by classical music. Absolute best! Then other favorites are a soundtrack of the movie Dolphins, half instrumental/half Sting and a Sweet Honey in the Rock cd. Busy Busy Town was more appreciated than any others. I found that the kids in the center I worked for, couldn't care less about what their parents did or anything else in the world. If you ever change your mind about television, Sesame Street just put out a DVD, called Sesame Street Old School, classic skits from the show's inception.

When I was a kid, our blanket forts consisted of a blanket, two chairs, and those giant hair clips, worked just as good as some fancy contraption, and if it fell Mom would just tell us to be earth worms under the soil. Of course we fell for it, but looking back I don't know how safe that was.

Sorry, I tend to ramble on. I kinda got excited, because I miss working with children.

[MiloBloom]

You can also try http://www.magiccabin.com for dress up.

They have some great stuff and our 3 1/2 yo has had a set of their silk scarves for over a year and they are still going strong.

I 2nd the step two easel. We have one and she loves it.

Good luck!

[Meagan]

Speaking of vacuums, I got my daughter the Barbie version of the Scooby Doo Bissell Vacuum and we love it. It does actually vacuum, and it's a nice size for kids. If you are looking for a good play vacuum, there are many out there that look identical to the grown-up versions. There was one I liked that I bought at Walmart that had a removal play dustbuster, but I can't seem to find what brand it is.

Last summer, I got my daughter 3 pairs of generic crocs in place of flip flops to protect her toes from getting stubbed, and she LOVED them. She had 3 different colors to go with all her outfits, and they stayed on surprisingly well through all of the backyard wet/dry days. I also got a pair for my 2yr old niece and they were the only thing she would wear for the season because she could put them on all by herself.

I think that paints for a 2yr old is not crazy, but I like the idea of those Colorwonder paints that Andrea mentioned. I think the replacement paper can be pricey, but it beats having to clean paint off of walls, couches and floors.

A picnic table is a great idea! I think you have a good list, Megan!

[Laura]

Magic Cabin has really great dress-up stuff. Another classical ballet cd she might like is Coppelia. Also, i don't know if Annabella has a tea set or not, but that's a good little girl gift too.

And that responsibility chart is great. i'm going to get that for my 4 yr old.

[Laura]

Peter and the Wolf is a good cd too. the music is gorgeous, and it is narrated. i had a version without the narration when i was a kid and loved it just for the music itself.

[Jeanne]

First about princess, use the Nutcracker clue and get her a balarena outfit (used?)and slippers with a tiara! Then a long skirt to go over the body suit - starting the mix and match! And maybe some renfest type clothing.

No, it is not to early to start Huck on art. A roll of butcher paper, washable crayon's and paints. His first project? everybody lay down and he does an outline! I still have mine of my kids from 8 years ago. cute.

I have always loved tents and that picnic table can do double duty when they throw their "tent" over it!
Cothespins, the old fashions spring type, work relatively well till someone pulls something to hard. But the lesson on being cautious or redesigning is best! I abhor parents to make everything to simple. Instead of blankets or quilts, use your own sheets (I kept old sheets set aside just for this purpose for my kids. easy to wash and fold and tote for indoor or outdoor) or score some from a garage sale.

[mar]

Generic princess stuff at Hearthsong, I think - they used to have a great selection. eBay is always another option - or buy used frou-frou flower girls dresses at your local consignment shop. Playhut has great tents because they are those completely collapsible kind - I live in a very small house and need stuff to get out of the way! They have ones that have tunnels connect, etc. - I think they even have a castle one. As for painting, it's never too young. One of my kids favorite games still is taking a real (get a pack from the dollar store) adult paint brush and a bucket of water and "painting" the rocks around our yard, garden, etc. I'm not a huge fan of some of the Color Wonder stuff from Crayola (can we just teach our kids it's not ok to paint or color on walls, tables, etc. instead of giving them special stuff that can't??) but in your case, w/3 kids going in 3 separate directions, I can see where it would work and be worth it. I say watercolors and a roll of paper, washable markers, chalk, etc. Such fun - good luck!

[Brian]

Get her Hilary's Stravinsky.

[wRitErsbLock]

Regarding the Spiderwick Chronicles. My step-daughter started reading them in second or third grade. Loves 'em. I have read all of them (because I firmly believe in reading what she's reading so I know what's going on) and think they are wonderful books. But, at age four, some of it might be a little scary. They're not scary books by any means, but the kids get into trouble, like abducted by fairies or trolls (it's been a couple years since I read them), and A might find it a bit disconcerting.

Also, for the boys (and for A, too), have you considered a cheap (under $20 at Target) pop up tent? We gave one to step-daughter a year or two ago. She loves setting it up in her room. On non-school nights, she likes to "camp" in the living room. The one we got her is super simple to set up, and we bought it on clearance for under $10. So it's cheap enough that we don't care if she destroys it, but it's also a very usable tent. Hers came with a sleeping bag, inflatable chair, and a flash light.
/my two cents

[dmatthews]

A great place to look for the princess clothes is going to your local second hand shop you can find all kind of different dress up clothes when my twin girls were that age they would love a box of dress up clothes to make up story about different places and what they would do in that place. It was hours of fun for all of us.

[Nikki]

Looks like you have a great list worked out for the kids. We started using the chore/responsibility chart for our kid and it's been great. It comes with enough things that it's not too old or too young for different children. His reward for accomplishing a certain amount of tasks is a new book.

If you're looking for a tent, check out www.ltdcommodities.com and check out the 7pc. ultimate adventure tent. It's really two with some tunnels and a hub. I can't imagine any child getting bored in the thing!

While I don't have a girl, several of my friends do and the princess stuff is insane. I would suggest getting slightly bigger skirts and such off clearance racks and there's never a shortage of "jewels" in the dollar bins at Claire's.

Music, I always check out www.yourmusic.com when I'm getting something. Their cds are 6.99 flat. You do have to sign up to receive one a month automatically but for that price, it's cheaper than iTunes AND you have the cd with case. They have a nice selection for kids. We bought our son Bedtime with the Beatles, The Chipmunks Greatest Hits and the first Peter, Paul and Mommy cd for his 3rd birthday last August. He loved them and I hadn't been able to find them anywhere. I just saw that they have a lullaby Pink Floyd cd, hmm, could be interesting.

We also have the Scooby vac someone else mentioned, again, my son loved it and was about 18 months when we bought it for him. The nice thing is that it really works and everyone can use it. My friend has a hand vac that looks like a cow (it even has udders!) and that little thing works great, I'm sure that wouldn't be hard to find.

Either way, it sounds like you're off to a great start!

[Ann]

One year I decided to tell all the parents to bring a couple of wrapped books instead of an actual present. After all the books were piled together they all took turns picking one out to take home and my daughter got all the extras for herself. We added to our library, we were exposed to some terrific authors that we never would have known about, oh yeah tell people to brainstorm about the book they bring so you don't get 14 copies of "goodnight moon". And lastly, I didn't have to invest in party favors. I also think my doughter got the message that it feels good to give and not always be the getter. I can rcommend the Bierstein Bears as great books for Milo and Huck age and even Annabella. I would HIGHLY recommend ANY Bill Peet book especially "How Droofus the Dragon Lost his Head" Finally, since you asked, yeah I think she is way to young for spiderwick. What about "Little House"???

[Danny]

When I made blanket tents I used pillows to anchor them onto tables and chairs. Maybe you could get Annabelle the Fantasia soundtrack.

[kelli in the mirror]

My 3 1/2 year old has that responsibility chart and I gave up on it because she WILL NOT keep the magnets on the chart. She is obsessed with putting them in her purse and carrying them around. But it might work for you...

[Eric Anderson]

Cranium makes a couple of different forts, which my daughter (4) and son (6) just love.

http://store.cranium.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=1_136&products_id=1052

It comes with a nice storage bag, and can be set up in lots of different ways.

[jessica]

where are the the jumping monkeys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jessica]

this web site stinks big time you need monkeys now!!!!!!!!!!!!111

[jessica]

wow you need a better title for your web site you know you are really mean to temp someone by saying jumping monkeys and make monkey lovers think there are monkeys on the web site!!

[jamie]

wow that jessica girl is right you need a mew namw and some jumping monkeys this web suit would be alot better

[tara]

i am ashamed that you lied to to the citizens of these united states and i am formally annoceing i will be calling the
displayer of this web site to make sure you do not lie to the citizens again
from your unhappy citizen
tara

[mark]

wow you guys really need to stop asking about it is just annoying

[Garrick]

Your ideas are great. I have to purchase a gift for my little son from CouponAlbum site (http://www.couponalbum.com) and I will certainly follow them.