Gift Guide: Toys for Boys and Girls

I have not done my Christmas shopping yet, visiting toy stores gives me a terrible headache since I don’t know what to give to my goddaughters and godsons.

There are lots of things I consider in buying presents:

1. It must have a good quality and free from harmful chemicals like lead.
2. The toys must help a kid improve his/her skills (fine motor skills, hand and eye coordination and pretend play).
2. It should be durable, so that it will last longer than a month
3. It must be less expensive. I have no work, so the price must be pocket friendly
4. It must be something that even I would like to play.

With that in mind, I searched for toys that will pass on my criteria.

For Girls:

RUSS stuff toys – they look cute and cudly. Your little girls will surely like to pretend mommy and baby with these adorable and high quality plush toys.

photo via: exmoorteddybears.com

Gelarti Designer Studio– Let your child make her own stickers with this one.  They can paint, peel, decorate and stick it anywhere they want.  P1,299.75 at Rustan’s and Toy Kingdom (5+)

Plan Toys Meat Set– This toy will help enhance your little chef’s fine motor skills. P995 at Rustan’s (3+)

Balance Ice Cream Tower– This toy is cheap for a price of P399.75 at Rustan’s.  Challenge your little kids to pile the ice cream without knocking them down, or he can make  make believe ice cream party and serve the guests with ice cream.

Doll House – A member of Pinay Mommies Community is selling a wooden doll house.  Kids will learn not only the different areas inside a house but most especially on how to take good care of it.  Playing with it may be the first step on what they will become in the future (Engineer, Architect, Interior Designer etc). You can buy this for only P800.00

Kid Kraft Chelsea Dollhouse– This is a lot more expensive than the wooden dollhouse featured above.  It cost around P9,500 .  So, better think twice or thrice before you buy it.

For Boys:

Leap Frog LeapPad Explorer Tablet – My son loves to play with his iPod touch but this toy from Leap Frog that  has been awarded as the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Best Toy Award Platinum Seal 2011,  I think will help him learn more.  It comes with a built-in camera and video recorder, educational apps, microphone, interactive e-books, art, photo studios and a lot more.  It may be expensive for a price of P7,999.75 but I think it is worth it.

photo via: tabletforchildren.com

Pictureka’s Kubes– Boys bore easily compared to girls their age.  With this toy, they will be occupied for an hour or more, and it can even promote a lot of interaction.  It should be played by 2 or more persons and the rule is simple: find the picture first and find it fast. P899.75 from Toy Stores

Viking Toys–  Have you read my review about this toy? If not, check it HERE and read why I am in love with these toys.

Educational Wooden Toys – Another member from Pinay Mommies Community is selling educational wooden toys (check it out HERE). These toys are safe, non-toxic and most are tested by EN71(European standard safety requirements for toys). Some of the toys for sale are even used in Montessori’s way of teaching like this Geometric Blocks.

only P300.00

These are just a few of the toys I am eying for this Holiday season.  If you think toys are not practical, you can switch for clothes or shoes to give out (watch out for my next post about kids’ fashion).