Camille here, Anna’s Assistant. I have compiled a few of my favorite baby toys and new Mama and Dad gifts! Hope you find something perfect for your little one! This list may contain affiliate links.
New bath toys are the best!
And a Caddy for the said bath toys and cozy towels!
We have the cutest videos of our Daughter trying out her walker for the first time. This will always be a great go to baby gift!
More of a Mom to be gift but these Heart and Oxygen Monitors are genius.
Never met a baby that doesn’t love Sophie the Giraffe.
Let them hit the things you want them to! Classic Pound and Tap toy.
What kid doesn’t want their own personal roller coaster. They look pretty fun!
Rattles are never ever going to go out of style!
I may have just added this one to relive my own childhood playing the Chatter Phone.
This Cookie Monster was dubbed the FAVORITE from my son’s first birthday! It eats cookies, talks, and it just dang cute.
Anything with the word busy, I’m sold. Busy Gears.
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom will there be enough room? A told B and B told C…Ok you get it, this one is so good I know the whole thing by heart or this modern First Year book!
Jelly Cat stuffed animals are the softest things ever. Just trust me, these are the only stuffed animals you want hanging around.
Gifts For the Children…
It’s for the children!
I always think of this Simpsons video when anyone says “think of the children” or “it’s for the children.”
It just makes me laugh.
Because, when are we NOT thinking of the children? Am I right??
Anyway, we have been working hard around here compiling gift ideas for your family, friends, and yourself. We are even thinking of doing a gift list for pets. Because my husband would be stoked about getting our dog a bunch of presents. ha!
This first gift list is all about the children. A kids Christmas gift list seems superfluous… I mean don’t they already create their own wish lists for Christmas, Hanukkah, and all other holidays where gifts may be exchanged?!
My kids start making a list of presents they hope to receive and then become determined that they’ll get whatever is on that list.
Say it with me, AS IF!
As my sons and I were compiling this list, there were a lot of items I showed them that they had never considered to put on a gift list. My eight-year-old son grabbed his “birthday/Christmas wish list” and promptly scratched a few things out to add many items listed below. Because SOMETIMES (or, rather, all of the time), parents know better.
I realize this is mostly geared toward the masculine child, so we are working on a more feminine kids wish list as well. Stay tuned.
I hope you find something in this gift list for kids that will help you on your holiday shopping. Most links are on the photos and to Amazon; they may be affiliate links.
We have had the Swurfer for a couple years and EVERYONE loves it. Especially neighbors. It’s a blast if you have a tall tree or sturdy branch.
The Air Hog was one of those toys that I showed to my boys and they both immediately put it on their wish lists.
We have had this over-the-door hoop for YEARS and my sons are just starting to get into it. I hear them slamming and shooting on their hoop all times of the day. Play basketball all year long! We shoot, we score!
Marbles, roller coaster, building stuff… it’s like a big kid marble run. And it breaks back down to easily fit in a box when they aren’t using it. Save it for the grandkids… someday! ;)
This large connect four game is so cool. It’s big, it makes a statement, and it’s NOT A VIDEO GAME! Score!
Maybe it’s because I have three sons, but this looks like a HIT! And a pedal go cart is up my alley… no need to worry about batteries, gas, or anything else that will probably break within the first week!
Christmas Cards are Ringing
A week or so ago I read an article my friend Kat wrote about sending and receiving holiday cards. And gosh darnit, my black no-time-for-cards-this-year heart grew two and two-thirds sizes that day. She's right, you know. ("I send out Christmas cards to slow things down. I send them to keep the frenzy of the season at bay. I send them to remind myself of all of the good around me.")
So, I'm pulling up my Santa pants and putting together a Christmas card to send out this year. It might not be super fancy and the photo might be taken from our iPhone, but it's going to send out a little physical reminder of our love to those we care about most.
Here was our Christmas card from way back in 2013:
My mother-in-law didn't think it was funny, because she called my husband asking why he didn't tell her that we were having another baby. Sometimes my humor borders on cruelty, it seems. And hey, I had bleached hair! Those were some good times.
This year, I want to play a fun Christmas/holiday card game. Send me your Christmas card! That's it. Just send me a card. Isn't that fun?
Jk. Send me a card, yes. But then I will pick ten (maybe more) cards to win stuff. I already have some great prizes, like free Apple Music, Thread Wallets, Kids are the Worst shirts, treats, and more! My kids and I will pick ones that we think are funny, or pretty, or simple, or rad, or with girls that my boys think are cute, or just a random winner because it came to us on a Thursday.
You know you have an extra card hanging around, so what do you have to lose? And I will feature them on Instagram Stories--maybe even put a few up for popular vote to win something. There are no straight rules, because this is a fun, new game spreading fun, new cheer to fun, new friends. You can send a Hallmark card, for all I care. Or a card you had from 2013.
Send your cards to:
Anna c/o Things Are the Worst
PO Box 521048
Salt Lake City, UT 84152-1048
Maybe the first card I get wins something fun. So, hurry! Send me your cards. And add your Instagram handle somewhere on the back of the card so I can find you there, too.
Any questions?
Holiday Gifts for Kids You Love and for Others, Too
Ok, parents, aunt, uncles, grandparents, and godparents: It is already time to get on your holiday shopping. Take a deep breath, clap your hands together three times, shake your shoulders, and then let it go, because I got you covered with some pretty fantastic ideas (if I do say so myself).
Speaking of "let it go," for those kids or parents that haven't been necessarily good this year, may I present for your consideration, the Frozen Recorder set. Less than $10 and guaranteed to make enemies of friends and ecstatic small children, this little gift will keep on giving long after the holidays. Mostly headaches to parents and babysitters.
Another kind of cruel, but mostly funny to give, is the inflatable pizza. Not only can you NOT eat it, but there's a big chance that you can't even use it until next summer. Unless they plan on using this pizza to go sledding on, which will be fun for the first few rides until it inevitably pops or the rider realizes that there is nothing to hold onto as they barrel down the slippery mountain. But, fun to give.
Remember the insanity last year that was the "hover"board? (I have to put "hover" in quotation marks, because we all know they don't actually hover, so it's a misnomer and incredibly misleading.) This year, the fire issues should be extinguished AND you can get a super handy chair to put on top of it, making your "hover"board a go-cart. Which seems safer, anyway. Maybe? I'm tempted to get this bad boy a spin. Can you imagine the epic races you could have on these?
If Pie in the Face was the must-have game of 2015, Watch Ya Mouth will be the game to have for 2016. I just wish they came with more cheek guards, because I'm weird about sharing things I put in my mouth and stuff. Weird, I know, but have you seen what goes in and comes out of kids' mouths? You can buy more (40 more, exactly, because you're going to have so many parties)!
And for a shameless promotion, get your kids and the adults in your life a really cool shirt. Because you're cool and they're cool and we can all be super cool if we had a cool shirt. Cool? Cool. For those of you who read this and buy a shirt from theworstgoods.com use the code GiftsAreCool for 20% off. I'm feeling generous and cool and stuff.
Do you have a product you think I should share for holiday giving? Email me at kidsaretheworstest@gmail.com (notice the extra "est" at the end of kidsaretheworst) and tell me what you got.
AnnaM