what to get a toddler for the holidays //

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One thing I’ve learned about babies and toddlers is that you can totally go overboard with gifts. And well, everything. They get very over stimulated very quickly. At birthday parties, we’ve learned not to open every gift. In fact, we only open about 3. The rest? We put in storage to be opened later [and if I’m being completely honest, we put them into hiding so we can “regift” them — to him! — for Christmas just a few months later!].

The times he seems most uninterested in gifts is when he is overwhelmed. So this year, out of necessity and sanity, we are only giving him a select number of gifts for Christmas.

1. Matchbox Cars. All of the fancy toys in the world don’t compare to silly Matchbox Cars. I’ve learned that boys just love driving cars all over the place. So getting a giant box of cars is going to make his freaking day.
2. Fake Power Tools. He was obsessed with this Home Depot drill his friend K had, so he ended up picking out a Home Depot Leaf Blower with his Toys R Us birthday gift card. 🙂 It’s so funny cause he thinks it actually works to blow things. [hint: it doesn’t]
3. Action Figures. Especially the Marvel Titan series. Bonus? If I get roped into playing, it’s like Barbies, but with boys. Inexpensive. Sturdy. Fun.
4. Ants in the Pants. I was surprised to learn that he’s playing games like this at the sitters house. And actually focusing; like sitting down and actually listening/following directions! So I picked up this game [which, admittedly, was my favorite preschool game as a kid] on Black Friday!
5. Candy canes. Because, candy. And it’s a crowd-pleaser.
6. Green Toys Dump Truck. Not only is it eco-friendly, but this dude suddenly became obsessed with dump trucks. When we go to friends houses, he immediately passes up the fancy toys and goes straight to the big trucks.
7. Amazon Fire Tablet. Before you get all judgy about being ‘that mom’ that gives her kid a tablet, let me clarify: Ari has been using Chad’s old iPad for like a year now. Chad upgraded a while back and then pretty much it became Ari’s iPad. It had movies and preschool games on it. Aaaand it hasn’t been holding a charge for a few months so we haven’t used it in a long time. So the other day Amazon had the Kindle Fire on sale for $30 (!!!!!!) so guess who is getting a tablet [WITH a very childproof case]? Yep. Moosh. Really, they are great to have on hand for learning games and movies for road trips.

Looking at this list now, it looks like a lot. But I swear it’s easy to go overboard. And really + truly, we haven’t spent much at all on gifts. We’ve acquired them when we find them on sale and let them pile up over the months before Christmas!

What are your go-to toddler boy gifts!?