I know, I know it isn’t the holidays yet but it really is time to start thinking about what you are getting everyone for the holidays. I am breaking this into a three part series. The first being the kids gifts. These items are things my own children have that are great quality, in some cases educational, things they actually play with  and what I feel were not a total waste of money!

1. Melissa & Doug Water Wow Books – these are great as a stocking stuffer or if you want some fun things added to their bigger gifts. Why I love these is they make no mess and are reusable. If you aren’t familiar with these you fill the pen with water and they “color” over a scene in the book. The scene becomes colored and hidden objects appear. Once the page dries it goes back to almost white and they can do it again.
2. Double sided Whiteboard/Chalkboard – My daughter has had this for a few years  and still uses it. She is constantly playing school or making art projects. I love that it is two sided so they can use different medias and then the roll of paper can come down from the top if they want to use markers or crayons. It comes in three colors, so its great for girls and boys. You can add little baskets on the tray for some of their drawing supplies.
3. Jumbo Dinosaur Set – I like the quality of these dinosaurs, they aren’t the cheap plastic ones that can easily break. These are substantial dinosaurs. Once my son got tired of playing with them in the playroom we moved them to the bath and they have held up there as well. There is no place for water to get in so they don’t get moldy. If you have a kid who loves dinosaurs these are perfect.
4. KidKraft Doll House – There is hands down no better dollhouse on the market. Both my sister n’law and I bought these for our girls and 4 years later they still using it and all the pieces are still intact. A few things to note: it comes with all the furniture, which is solid wood and well made, barbies fit in it perfectly. Its pretty large. When she was three she couldn’t reach the top shelf, so the girls can grow with it and still use it.
5. Apple iPod Touch – If you have a 7-8 year old that is constantly asking you for a phone but you feel like they are too young still, this is a great alternative. They can only use it when connected to wi-fi, you don’t need a service plan, and they can’t call anyone. Through their Apple id email they are able to text. We downloaded a bunch of educational apps before we gave it to her so there were some additional things she could do on the ipod besides music. You can also download books and movies.
6. Scrabble – Some would think how boring but I sat down to play with my 8 year old and she absolutely loved it. It was great for spelling, word recognition and she loved adding up everyone’s score. I would spend the tiny bit of extra money to get the nice version so that it lasts longer. Also, this is just a great family activity.
7. Paw Patrol Fire Truck – A couple things I love about this is its good quality, you don’t feel like its going to break the second your kid drops it. There are 5-6 parts of the truck that move, come off and  go up and down. Also, two kids can play with it at once because of the size. This truck always comes out on play dates and the kids love it.
8. Nintendo Switch – The most expensive item on the list but so worth it. There are so many gaming systems out there and the games can be violent and too provocative for my 3 and 8 year old. I like that the games for this system are mostly G to PG and there are lots of games the whole family can be a part off. This particular one is called “lite” and is just the handheld version. Great for car trips!
9. Alphabet Train – I had actually found the one we have at TJMaxx but I knew Amazon would come through! This is for ages 3-5. The puzzle pieces are on the larger side and make a train with the alphabet (but you probably figured that out LOL). Great for learning the alphabet and sounding out letters. The graphics are clear and exciting to look at, so it holds their attention.
10. Princess Tea Set – I mean how precious is this. Its just a beautiful tea set made of real glass with gold trim and has a picture of the princesses on it. Any Disney princess lover would be so happy to get this! Love all the pretty pastel colors. Probably best for 5 and older.
11. Jewelry Boxes – Another Pottery Barn favorite. Love that you can have their name added to it for that personal touch. There are four or five different styles so you can make a little collection of boxes if you wanted. This is such a fun way to organize and keep safe all of your little girls jewelry. As Charlotte has gotten older we have started passing down some pieces that were her grandmothers and I feel better knowing they are in a designated, safe place on her dresser.
12. Echo dot – Similar to Alexa but a kid version. We have this set up in my daughters room. At 8 o’clock it says good morning, gives a weather report,  tells a joke and then plays a Taylor Swift song. That is how we set it up but you can have so many variations. The kids play games with it, listen to stories, play music. They are always asking it questions. If you don’t want to hear “mommy” this or “mommy” that. You have a back up lol.
13. Fujifilm instax Camera – Comes in a multitude of colors. Think Polaroid camera but reinvented and so fun for kids. You can buy fun film to go with it, that has different boards or filters. Also comes with a really cute case so that can carry it around easily. It was cute to give at the holidays because we got so many candid shots from the kids that actually turned out really cute and were great memories.