Suggestions, please

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Hambet is five (six in February -- !). For Christmas, he deserves a big, shiny, solitary lump of coal. But Santa is a softie and wants to leave a little bit more than that.

My question is -- what? Hambet doesn't seem to have a particular wish this year, and he seems to be at kind of a transition period -- beginning to outgrow some of his preschool toys, but not quite ready for the Big Kid toys.

I know he likes building toys, and I was thinking about a marble run, but Grandma's got the Tinkertoys covered this year.

What about Playmobil -- how long do little boys play with those?

Whatever it is, I'd like it to be something that promotes healthy play and that is not an ugly robot.

14 Comments

Wooden blocks, wooden playsets, toy trucks, art sets, giant coloring books...

"What about Playmobil -- how long do little boys play with those?"

When I was a lad (in the early to mid '80s), I recall playing with Playmobil figures until I was at least six or seven.

Of course, you could always give what St. Nick put in the stocking of Little Will:

A hammer with lots of tacks; also a ball and a whip that cracks.

Playmobil is great stuff, and I could see that having a couple of years in it.

I also am a big advocate of moving towards real art supplies at that age, in other words, away from the horrid, low pigment crayons to fun things like soft pastels, nupastels, gouache, conte crayon, charcoal, etc. But, if you do that, you should get him a selection of real papers to go with it: various colors, finishes, weights, etc.

You could also get him a small accordion and give him a gift that will last a lifetime: music education on an intstrument that is a built in theory lesson.

Or there are also those things that are hated by liberals, but encourage very healthy tendencies, particularly among boys: toy soldiers. Lots of them. With cool pieces of artillery and pillboxes, etc.

I would hold of on the microscope, since he is too little for a good one, so you will end up getting a semi-toy one this year and then having to go out and get another in five more years. If you wait until he is seven or eight, you can get him a very nice microscope, complete with the necessary tools, and know that he will be old enough to handle them (I can't see giving a five or six year old a sharp scalpel, but without one, there is not much point in a microscope).

There are also some great building books. We gave a book on building with PVC to a five year old with natural engineering tendencies (and a father who is good at helping on those sorts of things - essential), and I think he has built just about everything in the book.

Someone drew my attention to this link with this mother`s list, which includes lots of our favorites:

http://tinykingdom.typepad.com/tales_from_my_tiny_kingdo/2006/11/anne_glamores_g.html

I like her flashlight idea -- talk about a practical gift. We got our older son some rechargeable batteries one year, too -- and I`m now looking for the best deal on a hand-cranked flashlight that lights up with no batteries at all.

I usually refer to Amazon's gift guides when doing my Christmas shopping. If you hover over "Find Gifts" at the top right hand side of the page, a little box comes up and on the left hand side of the box says, "Gift Guides." The 4th link down is "Gifs for kids and teens." On that page, it gives you age options, including a 5-8 category. That might be helpful. =)

What about a little puppet theater? Hearth Song sells a really cute one. :)My six year old loves those chunky Star Wars Galactic Heroes toys. He's big into Star Wars this year. Last year it was all about Spiderman. The Playmobil Nativity set I got him last year was a bust. Within a week, half of the pieces were missing despite my constant nagging that everything be kept in ziplocs. Another idea that I think would be cool is Illustory (you can find this on Amazon...just have Hambet dictate a story to you and have him illustrate it and then you can have it printed and bound in hardcover).

Some other ideas: Cranium Hullabaloo (this is lots of fun and is currently on sale everywhere), as Erik mentioned--art supplies (these never go unused), matchbox cars with tracks, or a few board games like Sorry! and Junior Clue.

Oh, my kids love those chunky Star Wars and Spider-Man...and Transformers. Also, big, plastic dinosaurs.

Erik,

My older boys love, love, love those basic, green toy soldiers that come in like a bag or bucket. They always end up on the Christmas lists. My father said they used to play with them in his generation and they were always a hit.

The puppet theater is a great idea, because you can expand on it, and it can grow with age (and, who knows, perhaps the lad will end up being a Punch and Judy "Professor"). If you are good with basic woodworking tools you can make a really cool one, too.

5, eh? If you're comfortable with having the small pieces around, Legos are awesome. The best part is even if they break you just rebuild them, or even better build something new of your own creation. I was always big on Lincoln Logs and GI Joe, too. Build your own world and live in it forever.

I second the lego. It is great for creativity, and there are so many themes to chose from (although it might be a bit pricy for some of the bigger, cooler things) Megabloks is another option and works with lego. My kids all love Lego. And, as mentioned even it it breaks, it doesn't matter, and if you loose some of the pieces it doesn't matter much either... because at the point we are at, if you loose one piece you're sure to find a similar if not exact same piece from a different set... My 12 year old still plays with this. So it lasts a long time.

Legos are great, but with one caveat: these aren't the Legos of our own childhood. They are much more tied into movie merchandising, and they use a lot more specialized pieces that can really only be one thing. Both trends stifle the fun that I had as a kid with a big set of Lego's.

You can still buy big 500 piece buckets of
legos. Hamblet could then build what he wants. If you don't want small pieces, my boys have really liked transformers. If you have outdoor playspace (are you in the city or country right now?) Nuff makes a fun bow and arrow set. Soccer balls or basketballs are also fun and encourage boys to play OUTSIDE.

What about a bucket of k'nex?

FWIW, my older girls, ages 9 and 7, love Playmobil as much (or more--easier to manipulate some of the smaller pieces) now than they did at 6 and 4. Playmobil is a good investment toy in my opinion and no deadly magnets!

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