4 - EASTERN OREGON PARENT - December 2017
Holiday gift-giving suggestions, from babies to teens
By SUZANNE KENNEDY
The holidays are coming, and
if you’re anything like me, you’re
planning. We live in a small house,
and every year I’m determined to
make the right choices and not
choose gifts that make my life
harder.
The start of the fall season is
purge time in our house. Closets
get cleaned out, bags and boxes of
junk get thrown away or taken to a
thrift store if possible. The last thing
I want to do is fill all that space
right back up with more stuff!
Going through the toys always
makes me think of the ones that
stand the test of time. You know,
the ones that I always let them
keep because they get played with
consistently. I’ve decided to share
my wisdom with all of you in a
concerted effort to rid the world of
Happy Meal type toys (no offense,
McDonald’s.)
Babies: Hands down, you want
to go with something stackable.
My kids have a set of stacking cups
that I purchased from a home party
(Usborne, maybe) for $12. They
nest, so minimal storage needed.
They somehow magically add up
so that the first two cups pour
perfectly into the third, and so on.
The bottom of each has a raised
imprint of an animal (in size order),
perfect for pushing shapes into Play
Dough. They’re brightly colored and
went from baby toy to summertime
sandbox toy and back to the bath
tub again. I bought them 12 years
ago, and they are still being used.
Toddlers: Blocks. No question.
Blocks are great for stacking, obvi-
ously. During a well child check,
our doctor actually asked if my kids
could stack blocks — apparently
it’s a milestone marker. When the
kids get older, the blocks become
part of other play. Marble obstacle
courses, Hot Wheels race tracks
down the hall, Lego City suburbs,
you name it.
Preschool: Here’s where we
started to get into pretend play. Hit
the sales after Halloween for great
dress-up clothes. One plastic tub
filled with sheriff’s vests, princess
dresses, and a variety of different
hats means hours of mommy quali-
ty time developing imaginations. Be
aware of sizes. Hats and accessories
last for years. Dresses and wearable
costumes won’t, so buy them a
couple of sizes too big. Seeing them
stumble around in them is half the
fun and they really don’t care.
Lower elementary: Outdoor fun.
I always try to get the kids some-
thing they can do actively outside
like scooters, bikes, pogo sticks,
stilts, and the like. Don’t get too
caught up in specific sports quite
yet. My husband made our son a
“soft toss” machine that makes it
possible for him to practice hitting
without a pitcher. It sees more “in-
side the garage” time than it does
outside because he’s way more into
football now. This year I’m leaning
towards a human-sized Jenga game
that I spotted at Target. Shhh.
Upper elementary: Board
games. Honestly, Monopoly makes
me insane. We’ve found a couple
that are really enjoyable for a wide
variety of ages – including adult –
and some that are great for older
kids. My all-time favorite, fun-for-
all-ages game is Labyrinth, hands
down. Cards create a maze through
which you move your marker to
find certain treasurers. The kicker
is that the maze is constantly being
moved by each player. The run-
ner up is Lego Minotaurus. It’s fun,
easy, and fast-paced.
Middle school: I think this is the
toughest age for gifts. My daugh-
ter wants clothes, but you know
she isn’t going to like anything I
pick out. I’d stick
with sport-
ing equip-
ment:
gym bags
that can
double
as over-
night bags,
bats, athletic
shoes, leo-
tards, cool workout
clothes for practices.
I’d also consider
getting some small,
hand-held travel
games for long car
trips to attend all
the “away” events.
High school: I
don’t have any in
high school yet,
but friends gave
me a couple of
ideas that are
pure gold. Start
building their
own sets of
“adulting”
stuff: tool
box,
hunting
gear,
camping equipment, fishing tackle,
etc. The other idea is to give “expe-
rience” gifts like ski trips, concert
tickets, movie tickets and the like.
Love these!
________
Suzanne Kennedy is a former mid-
dle school teacher who lives in
Pendleton with her husband
and three children.
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