Gift Guide for Boys

Crate & Barrel Vintage Inspired Ornaments 

My oldest is 7 and everything is about sports or building. If there's a building set we've tried it, if there's a sport he's played it. One of our newer additions to our collection of building sets are the Fat Brain toys Offbits. They are so fun, and come in all sorts of sets, animals, people, vehicles.  My son's favorite are the vehicles. Offbits are unique because it is like building with spare parts - kids love getting down to the nuts & bolts of building.

Another awesome building line is the Tegu Toys line. They are wooden blocks with magnets embedded in them. Unlike magformers, the magnets are stationary so they have polar ends, which ups the degree of difficulty in building. They are awesome because they are more unique and aesthetically pleasing than a lot of building toys.

And of course we love lego and Magformers but those sets are more easily found and personalized to your child's favorites.

Hexbug robotics is another amazing STREAM toy - they touch on all five points - science, technology, robotics, engineering, art, and math. The sets vary in difficulty, so there are plenty to choose from based on your little dude's abilities. My seven year old loves watching battlebots with his Grandpa, so this set is extra cool. 

This robotics arm set is super fun! 

I have never met a boy who doesn't like RC cars, I'm sure there's one out there, but I've never met one. This care is amazing, it has great reviews and is an excellent price.

And we can't forget trains and racetracks! These magic track sets are so fun.

This is a great electric train set.

The perfect classic wooden set is a must. 

Sports gear is also a great gift, new football, basketball, batting cage - whatever sport he's into. This is my son's favorite football.  They also make this in the various NFL teams, so if you've got a superfan they can get their team ball in the perfect junior size. 

Here is his favorite basketball, which is the regulation size for his age. Both of these options are the composite so they hold up to outdoor play, there are indoor options as well, but with kids I prefer the durability of composite.

We also love Micro Kickboard Scooters! Our oldest got the Micro Maxi Deluxe Scooter for his sixth birthday and it is awesome! He loves it, and it's so much cooler than the other scooters on the market. And bonus it's recommended by pediatric physical therapists and occupational therapists. I'm pretty sure these scooters helped my kids pick up skiing - seriously, their ski instructor couldn't believe how well they did on day one. 

The EZY Roller is another awesome ride on toy! They are incredibly fun.

 

My 7 year old is getting a new bike this year, a bike and beyblades are the only things he's asked for. Dr. Nick is a cyclist so he will be choosing a mountain bike for him, but a few of our top contenders are:

Cannondale Trail 20 

What's your favorite gift for boys? Up next is my book post - oh man I can't wait to share some of our favorite books with you!

Preschooler Gift Guide. The Best Toy Gifts for the 3-5 Crowd

Adorable Mantle Decor from Pottery Barn Kids

I absolutely love holidays with children. Little ones make the holidays so much more magical, I love doing all the fun little things to make it even more magical - I'll do another post on our Christmas Traditions,  which I'm so excited to share with you, but for now, here is my preschool toy guide. 

This guide is tried and true toys that my children love, you won't find any "hot toys" or "must buy deals" but the way I've linked the items it should show the current price, many of which I know will go on sale between now and Christmas. My favorite thing about the preschool age is the burst of imagination and imaginative play. So these items are perfect for imaginative, open-ended play. 

One of our favorite toys are Magformers Magnetic Blocks. We bought our first set when our oldest was three, and have added countless sets since. All three kids play with them regularly. They are so much fun, and there are so many different sets out there!

This is also the age range many kids go from Duplo blocks to regular Legos. My kids love both! At 3 1/2 our oldest went full in on the legos and hasn't slowed down since.

If you've got a little engineer on your hands, another awesome option are Tegu magnetic wooden blocks. I recommend them for the older preschoolers since many kids find the polar ends of magnets frustrating. But if you've got a big builder, they are amazingly fun and beautifully made. You can even buy them from my favorite boutique, Pi Baby.

Another amazing Fat Brain Toys option is the zoo-ominoes. Kids of all ages love setting them up and watching them fall. This is a great STEAM toy!

This magnetic set is so much fun!

My kids love these gears as well.

This year our 3 year old daughter is getting Maileg Mice.  She has the ballerina bunny and she is obsessed with it. I cannot wait to give her the mice, now that she's showing more interest in little dolls. These little mice are adorable and have the cutest clothes!

Maileg Mice from Pi Baby

Maileg Twins from Pi Baby

Maileg Book House from Pi Baby

All of our littles also love cars! Our favorite for preschool age and above are Bruder! They are impeccable replicas of the real thing. Our first got this for his third birthday and he still plays with it! 

But this Jeep was his first Bruder, and the first truck he really loved, it has been on many adventures.

He also has an ATV and loves to play with the construction/action men that come with them.

This Bruder hat is a great addition to a tool set and the hape work bench, all of which we love! Great imaginative play for both boys and girls!

I know what you're thinking, I don't want plastic tools, I want cute wooden tools. No, no, no, trust me, you don't. You know why? Because kids. One of my son's little friend's took the wooden Hape hammer to his pottery barn dresser and now my son's dresser is covered in about 50 hammer marks, so do yourself a favor, buy the tool bench, hide the hammer, and pick up this kit.

Preschool age is where the imagination really explodes, so we are doing a dress-up trunk for our 3 year old, who has been hit with the princess obsession. Here are a few of the dresses I've picked up for her. I also ordered a few from Trish Scully, but I haven't received them, so I can't attest to their quality yet. I'll keep you posted, but these are great - especially for the price!

Micro Kickboard Scooters are amazing! We started our girl on hers at 2 and she hasn't slowed down since! And baby bro has been riding it for the past few months as well. If a scooter is on your list this is a must buy!

If a bike is on your little's wish list this year, I highly recommend Cleary Bikes. They are amazing,  classic, sleek, and so much lighter than your typical kid's bike. 

For older preschoolers or taller children the 16 inch is a great fit. My oldest has this model in orange, and has requested the same orange in the larger size.

The play kitchen is another quintessential childhood gift. But it's that way for a reason - hours and hours of play. We bought our daughter this Pottery Barn Kids Chelsea kitchen when she was 18 months. It took me 30 minutes to put together - you heard that right 30 minutes! It was unbelievably easy! The hardest part was getting it out of the box. After almost 2 years of rough play it still looks brand new, and both brothers play with it regularly as well.

Play Kitchen 

Of course you can't have a play kitchen without play food! Our favorites are the Melissa and Doug, and Hape cutting food. Here are a few of our favorite sets:

We also love the Melissa and Doug and Hape kitchen appliances. How cute are these? The little pound cake with the mixer is my favorite!

The Melissa and Doug Shopping cart is also an awesome toy.

Nugget Comfort is one of my favorite things we've ever purchased! We bought the Lagoon, pictured below last year for our then 2 year old, and it has been played with every single day since! Dr. Nick, who was not on board with this purchase, on the end of day one, said "we need at least one more of those, probably two more". So when our son asked for one thing, and one thing only, for his birthday - his own Nugget, we had to oblige, and ordered him the submarine aka navy. Nugget does not do sales unless you buy 2 or more. Their pricing model is simple - fair and consistent pricing always. They are made right here in the USA by a small team in North Carolina. Such an amazing product & company! We are huge fans! 

Nugget Comfort Couch 

Waldorf Boards and Pickler Triangles are another great open-ended toy for hours and hours of adventures.

We are also huge fans of arts and crafts, but this mama doesn't play with anything that isn't washable, after much trial and error, Crayola is the clear winner in the actually washable and great color department. I've also found that paint and markers are the easiest to clean up, so skip the crayons and stick to paint, markers, and colored pencils. 

We love both these rolls of paper, and the drawing pads for on the go.

Other arts items we love include water wow books, paint by numbers, and random craft kits from Michaels, Hobby Lobby, and Target Dollar Spot.

You can check out some of our favorite Bath Toys here. And other great ideas in the Toddler Gift Guide. Next up is our Book Guide!

This post contains some affiliated links.

Toddler Gift Guide

Adorable Toddler Tree from Pottery Barn Kids

You know what's better than baby's first Christmas? Baby's second Christmas! Christmas with toddlers is so much fun! Their amazement and excitement at everything is just so magical.  While we try to focus on experiences and family traditions, of course they need a few gifts. These recommendations are 100% tried and true things our family loves. 

This first gift is a fan favorite in our house, we gifted it to our youngest for his first birthday, and all three kids love it! We are big fans of Tegu magnetic blocks, and this train and peg people are so much fun - magnets + cars + people + building blocks - how could you not love it?

This Boogie Board is an amazing "quiet" toy. The chunky "pens" are perfect for little hands. My babe started scribbling on ours around 10 months, the bigs also love them.

The Tomy Hide & Squeak eggs are fun,  and bonus they teach color and shape matching. They also make an excellent addition to a play kitchen. 

Hape makes excellent toys. They are unique, heirloom quality, and educational. We've had this one for over 6 years, and it's still well loved.

I know, I know, another fat brain toys pick - listen, they just make amazing toys. The squigz make excellent bath toys (for more of our favorite bath toys check out the baby gift guide),  great travel toys, and really are fun just about everywhere. I love open ended toys like this. 

The Lalaboom beads are another great find. My kids are always making different things with them.

We are huge fans of Grimms Toys as well, another beautiful heirloom quality, open-ended toy line, that spans a huge age range when it comes to play.

Grimms Cars from Pi Baby Boutique 

Grimm's Rainbow Friends From Pi Baby Boutique

Full disclosure - we do not own this, but have purchased it for our youngest who will be 17 months at Christmas, I know he will love it because he is always trying to play with the marble run at his grandparent's house. This way he can build and play without the choking hazards.

Lego Duplos are another amazing STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) toy. All of my kids love building.

Brain quest stacks are another of our favorite things, they start at age 2 and have pictures with simple questions to help kids identify objects, sizes, colors, and sequences. 

Every little needs a cuddly buddy! We love JellyCat - no matter what your child's favorite animal, JellyCat has a stuffy to fit the bill. I'm currently obsessing over this new JellyCat Tiger which comes in classic Bangle orange & this adorable white, both of which you can also buy at Pi Baby.

We also adore this Lion

Now for the big gifts. In our house Santa only brings stockings, we do this for 2 reasons; first we want our kids to appreciate the value of things, and that we work hard to give them the things they want. The second reason is more pure, when my first was just a baby I read a post by a teacher talking about how sad it was when kids would get embarrassed after Christmas hearing what Santa brought other kids, and then admitting they got necessities. So we told our son, and now all of our littles, that we told Santa to just bring them stockings, and use his money and workshop to bring toys to other children. They still see Santa, and can ask him for a small gift. This is something anyone can do, at any time, just give Santa a call and tell him the new rules of the house.

I think a Rocking Horse is a classic Christmas gift. One every child loves. This adorable horse from Pottery Barn Kids is currently in my garage waiting for Christmas so we can give it to our babe. All of my kids have loved this horse, and I finally decided it was time to bring him home. 

Pottery Barn Rocking Horse 

The Pottery Barn Anywhere Chair is another amazing gift. We gifted them to our first two kids for their first Christmases. These chairs are so durable! Our oldest played with his non-stop for the first five years, it was always some type of vehicle or house in one of his adventures. After almost eight years of  rough and tumble play, other than the handle being ripped, it is still in excellent condition. My daughter is a little milder, so her's still looks brand new, even though she uses it daily.

Pottery Barn Anywhere Chair

A classic wagon is a childhood must-have! Our first got his for his second Christmas and it has been well loved. I particularly love this model with the "all terrain tires" it's much easier to pull than a standard wagon. 

Strider Bikes are a must these days. I'm pretty sure I was 6, maybe 7 years old when I learned to ride a bike without training wheels. Our oldest was 3!!! Yes, 3! I credit the combo of having a strider bike and a traditional tricycle.

Speaking of tricycles, we love this Kettler one. I love that it has a handle and the wheels can be locked to use it as a stroller as well, so when your little gets tired on a ride, you can push them home. This trike is legit, three kids and it is still going strong - the paint hasn't even faded!

Play tables are another must have for childhood. We bought a kidkraft one 7 years ago and I cannot believe how well it has held up! Other than a few marker marks, it's good as new. 

This post contains some affiliate links for which I earn a small commission if you purchase a linked item.

Gift Guide for Babies

Tis the season for gifting.
Anyone else stress about buying the right gifts? the right number of gifts? Not getting caught up in the fads, or ending up with a pile of junk your kids' won't touch? If so, I've got all the gift guides of tried and true items my kids love! We're going to start with the littles and work our way up.
Buying gifts for babies is so hard, you want to make that first holiday so special, and are tempted to buy them everything - even though they need very little. My goal is always to buy quality toys my kids will love long term. I'm not into trendy toys, or the top toy list,  I like tried and true toys that promote brain development, and are fun to play with.

While this list does contain some affiliated links, meaning I get a small commission if you purchase from some of these links, it is not sponsored. I do not share things that I haven't used and loved. Everything on this, and my other lists are 100% items we have owned and loved.
Let's kick off the list with one of our newer favorites, the Fat Brain Toys Dimpl, this was one of our babe's few gift's last Christmas. When he opened it his uncle and 8 year old cousin both took it over at one point, it's such a fun toy.

The Manhattan Baby Beads are one of the few toys I bought for my second. I bought them to fill a spot on her Crate and Kids Honeycomb Shelf, but it quickly became a favorite toy. She currently rotates between using it as a decoration and an accessory.

The Fat Brain Toys Name Puzzle is a classic first holiday gift that can be used for years.

Every babe needs a few on the go toys, the mini spinny is awesome for home or on the go.

Grimms are beautiful and classic. The flower is so pretty, and so fun. We also love the rainbow.


I think everyone agrees stackers are a must! I love this Fat Brain Toys one, because it's different from the norm.


The Wimzel is another great on the go toy.

I remember seeing this when I was pregnant with my first and thinking it was so cool! It was one of the few toys I put on my registry. It was a good pick, after 3 babies it still looks brand new, and still gets plenty of play time.

This is another baby shower gift from our first that has been well loved by all our babies.

This Fisher-Price gumball machine is so fun! I am not really into "hot toys" or common toys, but this one is a huge winner! We have the previous version and I randomly found it in my 7 year old's room last week in some elaborate set up - he got it for his first Christmas, and still randomly plays with it - I call that a win!

This little octopus is the best stuffie for little hands - with 8 arms to grab, it's easy to cuddle up to this guy - plus, he's so soft and cute!

My babies are early movers, so we used this around 3-4 months until about 9 months. The great thing about this Skip Hop activity Center is it turns into an activity table once you don't need babe to sit in it! Plus it is way better looking than anything else on the market.

Bath Toys! I love bath toys, they make great stocking stuffers, and are one of those toys that have a very long "play life". Here are a few of our favorites.
The pipes were our first boon bath purchase almost 7 years ago, and we still love them!

These little suction jellies are so much fun. My kids love sticking them all over - especially on their foreheads and tummies.

The best Squirties out there! These boon spurts pop open so you can let them dry out - squirties kids love without the mold - win-win!

I have to include the Tones Boats - they're a little big for my liking, but they are really fun, and my kids love tapping on them to make them whistle.

I have to include the plui - I'd say it's more for the 18 month + club, but it's such a fun one. Like the boon toys, it pops open so you can dry it out.

And our all time favorite bath toy! We've had ours for over 3 years and it's still going strong, hands down the favorite!


And let's not forget the Best Teethers. I've used the Zoli teethers with all three of my babes. With my first I literally dropped hundreds on various teethers he rejected. Thankfully we found a winner!

And of course our favorite baby bath products, Tubby Todd! Every year for the past 4 years I've done their winter scents for stocking stuffers. I also am obsessed with their dream cream and all over ointment, which I add to stockings as well.

Tubby Todd x Rylee & Cru Holiday Scents

Those are a few of our baby favorites! I hope these fill some holes in your shopping list. Happy Shopping!