2009 Holiday Gift Guide

Santa hit the jackpot with this kitchen!
Buying gifts for children is a tricky business, you never know what will be a hit and what will fall flat and never get played with. I wasn’t planning on doing a gift guide this year, there are so many lists out there, I figured I’d pass and stick to my regular glue and glitter. Then I got email after email asking me for advice. I admit I always worry when I get those emails because I don’t want to lead you the wrong way. Kids are so variable. So I decided instead of doing a wish list gift guide listing all the toys I think are cool, I am doing a parent to parent it’s worked for me guide based on experience, including a reader suggested list. I have not been paid for any of these endorsements, nor have I contacted any of the companies to include their products. Please feel free to add your child’s favorite toy in the comments. This guide is about sharing and helping other parents!
We have 3 parts to our 2009 Holiday Gift Guide.
From now until January 1st the gift guide will be on the main menu bar for easy access.
12 Responses to “2009 Holiday Gift Guide”
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- 5 minute sparklers
- 5 senses
- Acorns
- Advent Calendar
- Airplanes
- Alligator
- Alphabet activities
- Alphabet Books
- Angel
- Animal Activities
- Ant
- Apple Prints
- Apple Tree
- Apples
- April No Fools
- Art Museum
- Art Storage
- Author Showcase
- Autumn Books
- Awards
- Babar and Zephir
- Babies and Toddlers
- Back to School Books
- Back-to-School
- Backyard Bug Adventure
- Baking with Toddlers
- Ball Painting
- Bandage Lightening Bugs
- Bandaid Art
- Banjo
- Barnyard
- Baseball
- Basics For Beginners
- Basketball
- Bat
- Bath Poof Painting
- Bath Toys
- Beach
- Beading
- Beard
- Because Babies Grow Up
- Bed Time Books
- Begging for votes
- Beginners
- Best Board Books
- Best Of
- Big Pumpkin
- Big Red Barn
- Binoculars
- Bird Feeder
- Birds
- Birthday
- Bleach Dyed Tee-Shirt
- Blissful Kids
- Blissfully Domestic
- Blog Roll
- BlogHer
- Blow painting
- Boats
- Book Dads
- Book List
- Bookmark
- Books About America
- Books About Animals
- Books About Babies
- Books About Farm Animals
- Books About Love
- Books About Music
- Books About Weather
- Bracelet
- Brag
- Bubble Painting
- Bubble wrap prints
- Bugs
- Build a Robot
- Building
- Bunny Ears
- Butterfly
- Button Mosaics
- Canada
- Canada Day
- Candy
- Candy Canes
- Candy Christmas Trees
- Candy Corn
- Canvas Painting
- Car Seat Safety
- Car Wash
- Carnival of Play
- Carrie Anne
- Carrot
- Cars
- Cat In The Hat
- Cat Puppets
- Caterpillar
- Chalk
- Chica Chica Boom Boom
- Chicken
- Childcare Checklist
- Childhood Favorites
- Children's Book Reviews
- Children's Book Week
- China
- Chinese New Year
- Christmas
- Christmas Books
- Christmas Bows
- Christmas Lights
- Christmas Ornaments
- Christmas Tree
- Chrysanthemum
- Circle time Lesson
- City
- Co-operative Projects
- Coffee Filter Butterfly
- Coffee Grinds
- Coffee Shop
- Collage Shamrock
- Collages
- Color Hunt
- Color mixing
- Color recognition
- Community Activities
- Computer
- Constellations
- Contest
- Cookies
- Cooking
- Corn
- Cotton Ball Clouds
- Counting
- Counting Books
- Cowboys
- Crabs
- Crafts
- Crayola
- Crayola Beginnings
- Crayon Candle
- Crunchy Domestic Goddess
- Cupcakes
- Cursive Handwriting Practice
- Cursive Name Bugs
- Custom Alphabet Book
- Custom Roadway
- Daisies
- David Shannon Books
- Daycare Advice
- Decoupage
- Dentist
- Diaper box firetruck
- Dig and Find
- Dinosaur Day
- Dinosaur Eggs
- Dinosaurs
- Dirt
- DIY Postcards
- Dog Collar
- Dr. Seuess Hat
- Dr. Seuess' Birthday
- Dragonfly
- Dragons
- Dreams
- Dried Lentil Art
- Drum making
- Duck Duck Fish Art
- Duck on a bike
- Ducks
- Early Literacy Resources
- Earth Day
- Easter
- Easter Egg Collages
- Easter Magnets
- Easy Hair Bow
- Egg Carton Crafts
- Egg Carton Number Match
- Egg carton spider
- Elephants
- Eric Carle Books
- EverythingMom.com
- Exploring Water
- Fairytales
- Fall Activities
- Family Activities
- family field trips
- Family Photo Quilt
- Fancy Foam Fish
- FAQ
- Farm
- Farm Animals
- Father's Day
- Father's Day books
- Father's Day Card
- Feather Painting
- Feelings and Emotions
- Felt Egg
- Felt Flower
- Fine Art
- Fine Motor Activities
- Finger Painting
- firetrucks
- Fireworks
- Fish
- Fish Bowl
- Fish F
- Fishing Game
- Flag Day
- Flags
- Flashback
- Flower
- Flower art
- Fly Swatter Painting
- Foam Magnets
- Foam Stamps
- Foam Turkey
- Food Activities
- Food Books
- Football
- Fourth of July
- Fredrick by Leo Lionni
- Free Art Friday
- Free Offer.
- Free Stuff
- French Songs
- Friendship
- Frog Lifecycle
- Frogs
- Frugal Friday
- Full List Letters of the week #1
- Fun with Fruit
- Gaia Girls
- games
- Garbage Truck
- Garland
- Gas Pump
- Geography
- Georges Seurat
- Ghost
- Ghost Cookies
- Giraffes
- Giraffes Can't Dance
- Giveaway
- Glass Bead Magnets
- Gold Medals
- Good Fairies
- Grapes
- Great new books
- Green Crafts
- Gross Motor Activities
- Growth Chart
- Guest Post
- Guest Posts
- Guitar
- Halloween
- Halloween Books
- Hammering
- Hand made fish
- Hand made Wrapping Paper
- Hand Print Butterfly
- Handprint art
- Handprint Crafts
- Hanukkah
- Hanukkah Activities
- Happy Holidays
- Haunted House
- Hawaii
- Heart
- Herman The Worm
- History
- Holiday Card Holder
- Holiday Gift Showcase
- Home Art Gallery
- Home Depot
- Home Made Picture Books
- Hooked On Phonics
- Hospital
- Hot Dog
- House for a Hermit Crab
- Hug
- Human Body
- If You Give A Cat A Cupcake
- If You Give A Moose A Muffin
- If you Give a Mouse a Cookie
- In Flanders Fields
- Indian Corn
- Inspired by You
- Interviews
- Island
- Itty Bitty Bookworm
- Jack and The Beanstalk
- Jackson Pollock
- Japanese Cherry Tree
- Jar Lid Stamps
- Jelly Fish
- Jenny's Light
- Jewelry Making
- Jungle Animals
- Kevin Henkes
- Kindergarten and Up
- Kissing Hand
- Kitchen Utensil Prints
- Lacing Activities
- Lacing Card
- Ladybugs
- Lanterns
- Lauren Child
- Learning through play
- Leaves
- Leo Lionni
- Leopard
- Letter A
- Letter B
- Letter C
- Letter D
- Letter E
- Letter F
- Letter G
- Letter H
- Letter I
- Letter J
- Letter K
- Letter L
- Letter M
- Letter N
- Letter O
- Letter of the week
- Letter P
- Letter Q
- Letter R
- Letter Recognition
- Letter S
- Letter T
- Letter U
- Letter V
- Letter W
- Letter X
- Letter Y
- Letter Z
- Lightening Bugs
- Linky Love
- List of Free Art
- Lois Elhert
- Long Term Projects
- Look what they made
- Love Bugs
- Lowercase a
- lowercase b
- Lowercase c
- Lowercase d
- Lowercase f
- lowercase j
- Lowercase Letters
- Lowercase n
- Lowercase o
- Lowercase p
- Lowercase s
- Lowercase u
- Lucky Gold Hunt
- Magic Shape Paintings
- Magic Wands
- Mailbox
- Make your own crayons
- Making Muffins
- Manners
- Marshmallows
- Martha Stewart
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- Matching Activities
- Math Activities
- Matisse
- Media Macaroni
- Melissa and Doug
- Mess Free
- Mice
- Mini Olympics
- Mittens
- Mom it Forward
- Monster
- Moon
- Moose
- Moosetashe
- Mother's Day
- Mouse Shapes
- Mural
- Mushroom Prints
- Music
- Music Activities
- Naptime Creations
- Native American Crafts
- Nature Activities
- Nature Collages
- Nature Jars
- Necklaces
- Nests
- Newspaper Hats
- Noodle Art
- Number Recognition
- Numbers
- Ocean Activities
- October Blog Roll
- Octopus
- Ohana Mama
- One To One Correspondence
- Onion Printing
- Ooops
- Operation Playtime
- Orange Prints
- Outakes
- Outside activities
- Owl Puppet
- Owls
- Painting like Pollock
- Painting with a Pastry Brush
- Paper Bag Frog
- Paper Crowns
- Paper Plate Art
- Paper plate Jelly Fish
- Paper Plate Sun
- Paper plate tortoise
- Paper Plate Turkey
- Parade of Costumes
- Parent and Tot Projects
- Parents Corner
- Pasta Collages
- Pasta Dyeing
- Pasta Necklaces
- Pasta Pouring
- Patterning
- Peacock
- Pencil Holder
- Pencils
- Penguin
- Phases of the Moon
- Picture Frames
- Pig
- Pilgrim Hat Cookies
- Pilgrims
- Pinkalicious
- Pirates
- Pizza
- Place Cards
- Place Mats
- Planting Seeds
- Playdough
- Playdough Recipes
- Poetry
- Pointillism
- Polar Bear Polar Bear What Do You Hear ?
- Polka Dot Discovery
- Popsicle stick coaster
- Popsicle stick crafts
- Popsicles
- Potato Print Turkey
- Potato Prints
- Pour Feel and Scoop
- PPD
- Preschoolers
- President's Day
- Pretend Play
- Princess
- Product Review
- Puffy Paint
- Pumpkin
- Pumpkin Luminaries
- Pumpkin Printing
- Purplicious
- Puzzles
- Q tip dandelion
- Q tip painting
- Quick Activities
- Raffi
- Rainbow
- Rainy Day Rainbow- Recycled Art Project
- Reader's Corner
- Reading Readiness
- Recycle Town
- Recycled Art
- Recycled Crayons
- Recycled Rocket
- Recycled Round Up
- Recycled Sail Boat
- Recycled UFO
- Recycling
- Rememberance Day
- Remembrance Day
- Reviews
- Rhyming
- Ribbon Dancing
- Ribbon Painting
- Robert Munsch
- Robot Costumes
- Rock Bugs
- Rockets
- Rubber Duck Stamping
- Rudolf
- Salad Spinner Art
- Salt Art
- Salt Scrub
- Sand Art
- Sandra Boynton
- Santa
- Scarecrow
- Scavenger Hunts
- School Bus
- School of Fish
- Science Experiments
- Scrap Paper Art
- Scrubber Painting
- Seahorse
- Season Sort
- Sensory Activities
- Sensory Tubs
- Sent In By You
- Sewing
- Shake shake let's make music
- Shake your sillies out
- Shamrocks
- Shape 4 Leaf Clover
- Shape Activities
- Shape Sorting
- Shape Turkey
- Shape-o-saurus
- Sharks
- Sheep
- Shells
- Sheriff's Vest
- Shooting Star
- Shrinky Dinks
- Sight Word Bingo
- Sight Words
- Snail
- Snakes
- Snow Globe Snowman
- Snowflakes
- Snowman
- Snowman Blocks
- Snowman Song
- Snuggle Puppy
- Song List
- Songs
- Sorting
- Sounds
- Space
- Special Needs
- Spelling
- Spider Cookies
- Spiders
- Sponge Painting
- Sports Theme
- Spring Fling
- Springtime
- Squirrel
- St.Patrick's Day
- Stamp Making
- Star Sponge Painting
- Starfish
- Stars
- Stellaluna
- Sticker Zoo
- Stickers
- Stockings
- Strawberry
- Stree Signs
- Submarines
- Summer Activities
- Summer Reading
- Summer Reading for School Age
- Sun Catchers
- Sun Prints
- Sunday Spotlight
- Sunflower
- Super Stars
- Supplies
- Tadpole
- Tambourines
- teachmama
- Terrific Traffic Lights
- Texture Collage
- Texture Easter Egg
- Thank You Notes
- Thanksgiving
- The Duchess Bakes A Cake
- The Olympics
- The Paper Bag Princess
- The Princess and The Pizza
- The Very Grouchy Lady Bug
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar
- Things that go
- Three Great books
- Three Little Pigs
- Tiger
- Tire Tracks Art
- Tissue Paper Collages
- Todd Parr
- Toilet Paper Roll Airplane
- Toilet Paper Roll Necklace
- Toilet paper roll shaker
- Toothbrush painting
- Touch and Feel Duck
- Train
- Transportation
- Transportation Books
- Travel
- Treasure Hunt
- Treasure Maps
- Tree Craft
- Turkey
- Turkey Baster Painting
- Turkey Songs
- Turtle
- Turtles
- Twisted Tissue Paper Flowers
- Umbrella
- Unbreakable Ornament Series
- Uncategorized
- Under the Sea
- Unicorns
- United States
- Valentine's Day
- Veteran's Day
- Virginia Kahl
- Volcano
- Vote
- Watch me on MomTV
- Watercolor Crayons.
- Weather Books and Crafts
- Wedding Etiquette
- Weekend Repost
- Windsock
- Wine Cork Stamping
- Winter
- Winter Books
- Worms
- Wreath
- Wreaths
- Write to the troops
- Writing Activities
- Yarn Easter Egg
- Yogurt Painting
- You've got mail
- Zebras
- Ziploc Painting
- Zrecommends




















I know you’ll have the BEST HOLIDAY gift guide in the universe!!! Thanks for putting together something so valuable to make Christmas easy and joyful.
:)
Great ideas. I am sitting here writing out a list as we speak. I love your book choices and have added a few that we don’t have to a wishlist. Thank you!
becky@oursweetpeas´s last blog ..Halloween 2009
We love that kitchen! We gave it to our daughter for her 2nd birthday, and she and her cousins have played with it everyday since! Fantastic design and a great price!
Yay, we have a lot of the books on your must-read list (and I agree, they are our very favorites), but there are plenty that we haven’t read, so thanks for the lots of good ideas for my little readers!
We have a wooden play kitchen, although ours is from Angels & Elves, and we love it. So, so fabulous.
Our current favourites are our Waldorf-inspired playsilks, which are good for everything. You can use them to play peek-a-boo, as blankets, as costumes, or as tablecloths. They’re so versatile and fun. We also love our Mega Bloks. Another versatile toy, that’s good at many ages.
Amber´s last blog ..Crafting my Life Manifesto
Thanks for sharing your gift guide! It would appear that our sons have lots in common! My son’s FAVORITE things in the whole wide world are garbage trucks, so I was delighted to see one on your list. This one looks like lots of fun, and I love that it doesn’t make noise. Too funny that you have 15 different kinds….I think we may be up to 7 or so.
I’m also loving the kitchen! We were thinking about going that route for Christmas, and I really like this one!
Cara´s last blog ..Some of My Favorite Freezer Friendly Meals
Thank you for linking up to my “Toys My Children Actually Play With Post!”
My Bilingual Boys´s last blog ..Toys my children ACTUALLY play with.
My son LOVES books, even more than toys. We have quite a few of the books you recommended, but others I had never heard of before. I just searched our local library’s online catalog and they have many of the books you recommended which we don’t have at home. I made a list and plan to check them out on our next visit to the library – a great way to give them a “test drive” for free before deciding whether or not to purchase them. Thank you for the recommendations!
Lisa´s last blog ..My Favorite Beach – Bellows
Great list! Thanks for the link up. I have to say that I love your site and when I see it in my inbox, I can’t wait to get here to see what you are doing now.
Love the list, both the readers favorites and your favorites. We have had the hammer bench since my son was 9 months. He has graduated to a big boy work bench, but now baby girl hammers. We also have a wooden kitchen, different brand. We have a ton of trucks, his fav are dump trucks, though. Great guide, great site.
Kim´s last blog ..Gooey Geyser Goo
I clicked on your list of books expecting to nod my head and agree with all of your picks. I was shocked! We haven’t ever read most of them!
Grace is getting some books for Christmas.

Tara @ Feels Like Home´s last blog ..Easy Thanksgiving Recipes – Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes
[...] No Time for Flash Cards [...]
Thank you for taking the time to do this, it makes shopping during the season so much easier!
I wish you happy holidays!