Because We All Need A Laugh
Posted on November 21st, 2008 – 9:42 AMBy Kay Krhin
Here’s a little Friday fun for you…
Kara McGuire had a post on Ka Blog this week on saving money over the holidays.
She linked to a video of a baby who really appreciates the newspaper.
The title is. Why buy expensive toys?
Watch the video in her post here.
There is nothing like a baby’s belly laugh to make your day.
See? A newspaper subscription shameless plug is so much cheaper than a ride-along dinosaur - and provides hours of entertainment for parents and children alike!
As long as we’re talking gifts - how are you controlling your holiday spending on your kids?
Are there toys you recommend that have given you a lot of bang for your buck - ie: something your child plays with almost daily and hasn’t tossed aside or has learned so much from?
11 Responses to "Because We All Need A Laugh"
A toy baby stroller. My older daughter got it as a gift for maybe her 2nd birthday and it’s still in regular use 3 years later. I don’t think it could have cost more than $15. Now she and my younger daughter give each other rides in it along with giving their dolls rides.
I know this isn’t a good idea.
I find that dino slightly frightening.
We’re trying to be very thoughtful about the gifts this year. Going for less gifts, but higher quality, more likely to be used for years. The two bigs ones, a baby doll and accessories (including hopefully the doll stroller mentioned above) and a toy kitchen (nicer one to last longer/through multiple kids) with the Green Toys dish set.
Not all from just us of course. We have family that likes to do a lot and we’re trying to get them to go in on larger gifts instead of lots of junk.
My 14-month-old son loves the classic stacking rings. He has two kinds - the wooden Melissa & Doug version and a plastic, musical variety - and he’ll play with both for a long time. Both were gifts so we didn’t spend our own money on them, but I’d still view them as bargains because they get so much use!
For the slightly older gang, I’m a big fan of Scuply - it’s a bakable clay that won’t harden until baked. In fact, my kids will be making many gifts from this product. It isn’t cheap, but it’s hours of fun at our house.
We’ve got a double whammy since DD’s birthday is on Dec. 23rd. I’ve been buying things here and there for the past few months and pretty much have her shopping done, except for her stocking stuffers.
Toys worth the money: FisherPrice Fish Bowl and Kidland Pooh riding toy (she received that as a present last year and we finally took it out of the box when she was around 6 months old).
We buy clothes, toys, and books for our kids at thrift stores like Goodwill. You’d be amazed at the nice things you can find.
We’re also making them a kitchen out of some old lumber and various found objects (go a google search on DIY kid’s kitchen and you will find a wealth of ideas). And we’re stocking the kitchen with a huge bag of fake food that my mother-in-law found at Goodwill. It’s been a fun project.
That video is hilarious! Thanks!
I think toy kitchens are one of the best investments. We actually got ours hand-me-down from relatives, but both our kids as well as every other child that visits plays with that for long periods of time. An idea for those with younger kids - I bought one of those Fisher Price Learning Homes (looks like a little house with a door that swings open) on Craigslist when my son was about 7 months old. Both he and his 3 year old sister loved it and played with it daily. Finally they outgrew it so I gave it to our home daycare. She said it sees playtime every day.
We have found that toys are a waste of money and space. Our kids have the most fun with things that are not toys, while the toys that we have go unused. I would like to have a few things for the kids to open on Christmas morning, but we like to have adventures with the kids for birthdays and holidays. We take our soon-to-be-four-year-old to a hotel with a pool each year for her birthday. She loves that and looks forward to it each year. I don’t think she (or we) could tell you what presents she got last year for her birthday, but we all remember the weekend away. We all love it, and I think she feels special having a weekend adventure dedicated to her.
My group of girl friends has commented that if you want toys, buy them at garage sales. They are cheaper, so if the kids prefer newspapers over the toys, you aren’t out money. AND, it’s a great way to recycle!
Wow, sorry I spelled my own name wrong up there. It’s BECKY, not BECY. Sheesh.
I go to once upon a child for alot of my toys. I give my daughter books which she loves. I find cheap ones and I pile them up until x-mas and give her like 40 new books. It seems like alot but have maybe spent $10.00 at the most. I do have to say someone got us a ball popper. She still loves it at almost 3yrs old. She like the wind on her face and likes the little balls that go with it.
