I am really struggling with what to buy my children for Christmas. We have a houseful of toys. I wanted to do the "three gift" thing, but I am struggling. I want nice, open-ended stuff for them. Dh picked out RC cars for the boys and I have some Angelina Ballerina stuff for Molly.

I am drawn to blocks, but we already have some, we have a metric ton of Legos. I need fairly inexpensve things for them, as the RC cars are pretty much the main gift for them. I was considering a Pop Bottle Science kid for DS#1 (7), and a set of dinosaurs for DS #2 (4), since dinosaurs seem to be one of the few things that he is interested in that DS #1 isn't already into, but I can't decide on what to get there--I love the idea of a wooden set, but I don't know if he would...

For DD (2), I am considering blocks, again, a bouncy ride-on (the boys have bigger ones that she can't use), and a doll, but she already has several, and will probably be receiving more from someone.

I am just so frustrated. I guess I will post for a couple reviews of things I am mulling over, but if anyone has ideas, I'd love them!

We've got lots of dress up, silks, ninja turtles, rescue heroes, transformers, starwars stuff, etc., and I suppose we could add some special items to the collections we already have, particularly Star Wars, but I don't just want to buy a hunk of plastic that's not going to get played with after January, KWIM???

art kits
music-do they like music? get them some cds that have the songs remade with kids singing.
pajamas are ALWAYS a big hit here
do they like to help cook? get them a kids cooking set...apron and kid size utensils.

Clothes, pajamas, audiobooks for in the car, books (can never have too many in my opinion), bedding/room decor/switchplate covers/etc, battery powered tooth brushes, dd loves hair things, simple computer games....

for your ds. My son is 5 and he still loves them so much - he is also a thomas train addict but dinos are the bomb. I have found that he prefers the realistic plastic molded ones above more styalized ones or wood ones but your son may be different. He got a couple of the fisher price imaginext dinos for his b-day and is getting the dino mountain and all the rest of the dinos in the series. They are pretty realistic except they have these cave men guys that can ride on their backs but you can take them off. That makes my dh cringe as he is an earth science teacher but we have taught him they didnt coexist and it is about imagination for crying out loud!

But if I had to do it over, I might have gotten a really nice set of larger detailed plastic dinos - natural history museum stores usually have some awesome ones. I saw a set in Lakeshore learning catalog that was about 30.00 and they were pretty large. I saw a set by Battat at tjmax for just 10.00 and they looked good too. In a purple carry case with a handle.

Another thing he loves is his Folkmanis T-rex puppet - you can get that at amazon. Good luck. No big ideas on the other kids. Except I also saw nice blocks by guidecraft at tjmaxx and I think for your dd's age blocks, playsiks and baby dolls are the best things. They also had those big cardboard blocks which look kind of fun but take up a bunch of room. What is a bouncy ride-on?

Did your kids ask for anything in particular?

We got ds 4 1/2 a bow and arrow he's been asking for for a year now. (it is one from Magic Cabin with suction cup ends), he loves Indians
His Gran go him a wooden workbench

Ds 2 got a ride on excavator (loves his scoops) for outside. We are finally paving our drive this year and he will be able to ride!!
Gran got him a set from Hearthsong that has trucks, construction vehicles and crane

Both boys will enjoy each other's gifts as well (I planned it that way:))

I also got 2 boats from Huntersmama for the stockings. They will love these in the bath.

DD 7 is getting a handmade fairy cottage, fairy family, accessories, more wood blocks-yes we have some but they love them!!
Gran is getting her a bike.

Ds 13 is getting a papazzan chair for his room and a new bike from Gran.His birthdays is Dec. 24 so I will get him some clothes and money for going out with friends.

I added the Gran (dh's mom) presents because I do the shopping and she pays. I get to coordinate all the gifts and give them what I want them to have!! Works great. My mom also asks and coordinates where necessary (like an Indian outfit and mocs for the Indian lover)

Best wishes on finding the perfect gifts. Took me a month or so of thinking on it!!

I get my kids books, just ordered 10 the other night from bookcloseouts.com, plus Junie B. Jones and Magic Treehouse books from Grandmas.
DS is also getting some treeblock stuff, a baseball, and an alarm clock. DD is getting Harry Potter book 6, a DVD, and a nice puzzle.
DS is giving DD a playdoh with My Little Pony on Top, and DD is giving DS some Robot reels for his viewfinder.

I scoured through the one catalog I had not recently--Rainbow Resource! I do believe I have everything now! I just have to double check (keeping fingers crossed) that nothing is backordered!!!

For DS #1
RC car
Pop Bottle Science kit
Lego Creations kit with plans and special pieces!!!

For DS #2
RC Car
Blocks (everyone will enjoy these!)
Dinosaurs

For DD:
Tabby cat puppet (Folkmanis)
Angelina Ballerina stuff
two hand puppets from the Target $1 bin

I may come up with something else for DD, but she is 2 and I think she will love the stuff she has, and I can work it into 3 presents...

I also have lots of cool stocking stuffers and a sort of religious book for each of them, and our family gift, the first season of the Muppet Show on DVD (DH and I are so excited about this one!).

I feel a little guilty because I spent really un-even amounts of money on each child. Does that really matter if they are getting things (I think) they'll like????

I don't think the dollar values matter. i try to give equal numbers of packages though, otherwise they get upset (they are less than 2 years apart...they being my older two...so they are extremely competitive with one another :rolleyes: )

We'll be ordering from RR too. I've got a few things on my wish list there to show dh, we'll decide together what to order.

Zoey is getting a small digital camera ($20 sports camera so more durable) this year. She loves to take pictures and this will keep her busy lol.

My 2yo s big gift is a basketball hoop since he seems to be obsessed

we're considering one of those bouncer/ballpit things too for our covered patio to help with ds and his need for sensory stimulation lol (ie, to tire him out).

My son is getting the playmobil dinosaur set - its dino in the ice - its really cool looking! He is totally in to dinosaurs, and we had some wooden ones, but he really prefered the plastic ones. I like natural stuff, but when it doesn't get played with, it has to go....