Halloween Gift Ideas for Kids

Here's a quick post on some ideas for what to put in your kids jack-o-lantern bucket for Halloween. I love giving my daughter little presents so I of course do on Halloween as I'm sure many of you do as well.

1. You could go with the obvious and give them some candy or sweet Halloween treats. They're going to get a ton of candy on Halloween already so I don't give a lot of that but this year I did grab some of her seasonal favorites for her bag that won't be available in stores much longer, like the candy corn Hershey's bar. And another treat that I knew would make her so happy, she loved Peeps this year at Easter time so I got a little pack of ghosts and a little pack of grave stones.

2. Halloween books

3. Grab & Go Halloween coloring packs, like this one . They have them for many characters and are at most grocery stores/Targets/etc.

4. Halloween coloring books. They often will sell small ones that would fit good into a jack-o-lantern bucket.

5. Halloween stickers. 

6. Maybe your child is in need of some new accessories, like a scarf for the cold months or some new hair bows. Those could easily be stuck in a jack-o-lantern bucket. Even tights, socks, etc. You can stay with the Halloween theme and get some in black/orange colors or Halloween patterns or not.

7. Halloween/fall themed dishes. I am obsessed with buying seasonal plates/cups/utensils/place mats at Target. A cup can easily be stuck in a jack-o-lantern bucket.

8. Little stuffed animals (Halloween themed or not)

9. I always get one of the little Halloween Barbies for my daughter's jack-o-lantern bucket.

10. Something that has to do with their costume. One year I gave my daughter a Lalaloopsy t-shirt because she was being one for Halloween. You could do something similar for lots of other character costumes. Shirts, underwear, all sorts of things.

11. Halloween finds from the dollar store. They have tons of little cute things for Halloween, my daughter loves the packs of holiday erasers at Dollar Tree.

12. Other Halloween themed snacks that aren't candy. Lots of stores will carry stuff like that. We've found cheese puffs in bags with Minnie & Mickey dressed up for Halloween on them. You could get some Halloween cookies and put a few in a bag for the jack-o-lantern bucket.

13. Glow bracelets to keep them safe and seen by drivers when out trick or treating.

14. Spider rings.

15. I like to keep it Halloween themed, but if you don't the options really are endless as long as it'll fit inside your jack-o-lantern bucket. Crayons, bubbles, bracelets, bouncy balls, etc.

These pictures are from  a couple years ago, all the ones from her last years basket turned out pretty blurry and she hasn't gotten hers yet this year because I give it to her Halloween morning.

The Perfect Little Things for an Easter Basket

I love giving things in the Easter basket that are needed anyways and so I'm putting together a helpful list of little things to add into an Easter basket that are very useful and help fill up the space between the bigger items.

                                               

1. Crayons are always appreciated. This year my daughter is getting a pack of glitter crayons.

2. A new pack of undies with a favorite character on them!

3. New spring shoes!

4. Socks. My favorite's can be found here 

5. Jewelry! Can also fit in Easter eggs.

6. Any Annie's bunny snacks are perfect anytime of the year, but especially at Easter time! There's a selection of all kinds here 

7. Glitter glue

8. Stickers, stickers, and more stickers! Joann Fabric's has lots of cute packs.

9. Highlighters. My daughter loves to use pink highlighters to do her tracing worksheets because she can see it so much better over lines than anything else.

10. Books. Toys R Us has lots of Easter books, but I like to give the Easter books before Easter so they can be enjoyed leading up to the holiday. Board books for babies/toddleres or Golden books for preschoolers are good choices.

11. Hair accessories, hats, infinity scarves. Justice has super cute scarves for girls, and Gap has cute hats for boys!

12. Chalk. Dollar Tree normally has some chalk in cute Easter shapes around Easter, here they are!

13. A game or gift card for to buy apps for their Leappad or LeapTV.

14. A barbie doll or action figures.

15. Wheelie cars or Hotwheels.

16. Bubbles.

17. A CD.

18. A movie.

19. A new toothbrush. Pillow Pets make cute ones now!

20. A cute toothbrush holder.

21. New sunglasses, Children's Place usually has great ones!

22. Chocolate bunny.

23. Other candy, Reese's eggs/jelly beans, whatever you like to give your kids.

24. Organic lollipops.

25. A watch

26. Homemade play dough. You can make it look like a carrot like this 

27. Light jacket for Spring.

28. Bubble bath.

29. Pajamas.

30. Little People. They now sell Little People with all different jobs for just $2.99 each.

31. Bath toys

32. Cups

33, Utensils

34. Balls. All different kinds for all different ages, I love these for babies 

35. Animal Planet Tubes.

Best Gift Ideas for Preschoolers

I posted before Christmas with some good gift ideas for preschoolers, and you can view that here. They are good any time of the year as well of course. I made that post with ideas from some things I had picked out for Christmas, and some things my daughter had received for her birthday a few weeks before that we loved. I haven't had a chance to post some other things we got for Christmas that we loved yet, so here it is.

More Best Gift Ideas for Preschoolers


1. The Home Depot 18-Piece Deluxe Toolbox. This is a great addition to pretend play toys for any girl or boy. They can pretend to tinker and fix anything they desire.



2. Melissa & Doug Can Opener Play Set. This can be found at Toys R Us for a very low price and is a super fun play set. It's good for honing fine motor skills and it's a practical life skill. Pretend play in their kitchen set can become even more realistic with the addition of this play set.


3. Pinkalicious Pinkamazing Storybook Collection. This storybook collection includes six of the super cute Pinkalicious stories. It's handy to have them all together like this.


4. Little Live Pets Bird Cage - Friendly Frankie. These are so cute! They're great as a first step before getting a real pet, if you're looking to do that sometime soon. Your child can check on them every day and the more you pet them and the more you take care of them the more they talk and sing to you. Kids also get a kick out of the fact that they can record themselves saying things and hear them repeated back in a little bird voice.


5. Step 2 Puppet Theater. We love love this! It has a light that shines on the stage, a dry erase board front and marker to write the name of the puppet show which encourages early literacy skills. It also has a space in the back to store a few puppets.


6. Don't Break The Ice. This game is a classic and my daughter thinks it's so much fun! I'm sure most other kids would too.


7. Melissa & Doug Color By Dots. This is great for early preschool and for kids who aren't ready to color by numbers yet. It's also a great activity for them to do for quiet time.


8. LeapPad Ultra is the tablet I chose to get for my daughter. I think it's a great tablet and that it will last her a long while. It has both front facing and outward facing cameras. There's also a ton of apps and games available to go with it. My favorite apps/games are:
- Get Ready for Kindergarten: Rocks and Roly Polies
- Octonauts Learning Game
- Little Pim: French Volumes 1, 2, and 3
- Photo Fracture
- The Human Body: Captain Plasma's Adventure
- Disney Minnie's Bow-tique: Super Surprise Party
- LeapFrog Learning Game Letter Factory Adventures: The Rainforest
- LeapSchool: In the Kitchen with Hap
- International Food Fair


9. Sofia the First Wooden Stamp & Activity. My daughter loves Sofia and preschoolers in general love stickers and things of this nature, so this delighted her. It's great because it comes with various stampers and two colors of ink pads. There's also the little book to put stickers in and use the stampers with.


10. Fancy Nancy Storybook Treasury. Fancy Nancy books are so great and expand vocabulary in a very fun way. The price of this set is unbeatable.


11. Sofia the First Once Upon a Princess Read-Along Storybook and CD. Again with the Sofia! This book is so great because it's a long a great story. It's my daughters first story that is also on CD. I was glad to hear that the CD features voices from all the different characters in the story, sounds when they need to turn the page, and sound effects as well.


12. Hungry Hungry Hippos. My daughter thought this game was hilarious and it made for great family bonding time. She delights in playing this and family game nights are fun for all of us when we find a game we can all enjoy together like this. This one definitely makes for plenty of laughs and is a childhood favorite.


13. Melissa & Doug Harmonica. I'm trying to inspire my daughter to have a love of music and this beginners instrument is a great one to spark that. She found it in her stocking and loves it! She is already playing it well and dancing along with it.


14. Calico Critters Baby Love & Care Set. My daughter loves babies and when she got this she knew she would get to set up a nursery in her Calico Critters house. This play set has everything needed to set up an adorable nursery and take care of some babies in the house.


15. Melissa & Doug Slice and Bake Christmas Cookie Play Set. This toy was perfect for Christmas time and would get any child in the spirit. It's a great toy for pretend play. My daughter got out her baby dolls and had them each pick a icing topper to decorate their cookies with just like at her cookie decorating party we had. They are all velcro pieces and can be sliced apart during pretend play and put together in all kinds of different ways, just like the birthday cake set and pancake set.


16. Eeboo Simple Words Puzzle Pairs. These are great for early readers and can help them learn sight words easier.


17. Discovery Kids Extreme Weather Tornado Lab. This is a great learning tool for a weather unit in preschool and above. It looks so fun and is interactive, the child can press a button and hear tornado noises again and again. There is also an educational DVD about tornadoes and hurricanes included.


18. Frozen Elsa of Arendelle Doll. This doll is enchanting and any little girl or boy who loves Frozen would certainly appreciate it. My daughter has been off of Frozen for a while, but she absolutely loved this doll and wanted to bring it to the park with her.


19. Sofia the First Talking Clover. If your child loves Clover this will surely be a hit. Santa left this gift unwrapped among all the wrapped presents and my daughter ran right up and hugged it. It is super soft and says a few cute phrases when you hug him.


20. Calico Critters Burger Cafe Play Set. This is an adorable play set to add to a Calico Critters collection. If your Calico Critters have a house and need someplace else to go for a change, this is sure to be fun. They can put together burgers and pretend to order as costumers or serve as workers.


21. Water Bird Whistles. These are so cute! You fill them up with water and blow into them and it sounds just like a bird whistling.


22. Cra-Z-Art Crayons 24 pack. I usually wouldn't put something as simple as crayons on a list like this, but my daughter got these specific ones for her birthday and I really liked the colors that were in this pack. There was a lot of interesting ones and they're nice to add to your regular collection of crayons.


23. Disney Villain Classics Ursula Doll. Need I say more?


24. Dessert Bullet. I got this for Christmas, but I really asked for it for my daughter as well as myself of course. She's been loving making healthy ice cream in it with me. It's great for bonding in the kitchen and I'm glad we're finding even more ways to eat healthy fruits. Homemade, dairy free is the best ice cream there ever could be. We love this thing! It provides good opportunities to talk about ingredients and step by step processes with children when doing it together.


25. LeapTV Dance & Learn Educational, Active Video Game. You need a LeapTV to play this game, and if you do you should definitely get this game for it. It's so much fun for the whole family and when you have a play date or party for the kids it's sure to be a hit with them as well. Not to mention the literacy skills of your child will be growing while they are being active!


26. Doodle Bear - Glow Doodle. I got this for my daughter for Valentine's day, so I can't tell you how much she loves it yet, but I really am thinking that she will. This specific one also has a marker that the kids can doodle with and then turn out the light and see it glow where they doodled.

Best Preschooler Christmas Gift Ideas

Since Christmas is right around the corner I thought I'd make a post of some of the best children's toys right now.

1. The Calico Critters Town Home Gift Set is one of the presents that I got for my daughter for her birthday. She was very excited to see it. I think it's a great gift set since it comes with 50 pieces and two critters so it's ready to be played with after only a little bit of set up. The town home itself is also great with the lights that turn on and off and movable staircase.

2. Disney Sofia the First Royal Talking Enchanted Vanity. My little girl loves Sofia and I'm betting a lot of other little girls do too. This vanity has animal characters from Sofia the First that can pop in and out of the vanity, and Sofia talks when you press her amulet. It comes with some jewelry and pretend makeup. It's easy to put together and makes for hours of pretend play!

3.  Candy Construction Building Set. I think this building set is just so adorable, and it's perfect for developing STEM skills in preschoolers. Perfecting fine motor skills and using their imagination to build things are important things to happen in preschool. Kids will love it because it looks like candy and they can create.

4. My Little Pony Equestria Girls Radical Hair (Rainbow Dash). I think these new My Little Pony dolls are so cute! My daughter got one for her birthday and though they say for ages 5 and up and she just turned 3 she loves it. It's good for her fine motor skills putting the hair clips in the dolls hair. 

5. Melissa & Doug Felt Food - Pizza Set. My daughter got the pizza/sandwich combination felt food set and she loves it. They come with a lot of pieces to make different sandwiches and pizzas. This provides lots of opportunities for dramatic play with a bit of your help. You can pretend to have a pizza parlor and call your child on pretend phones and tell them what kind of pizza you want. Or pretend to have a deli, etc.

6. Radio Flyer Classic Pink Dual Deck Tricycle. I picked this tricycle out for my daughters wishlist and her great aunt bought it for her! I think it's so much better than the character kind and cheap made ones. It's not too pricey that it's unreasonable to buy either. It's very well made and sturdy and super cute with the tassels and bell. My daughter loves ringing that bell and she really took to riding this tricycle when ones we've been on at other places didn't go as well. Maybe it's just her age and her ability level now, but the style of tricycle may have something to do with it too.

7. Melissa & Doug Flip and Serve Pancake Set. Is this not the cutest? I'm all about providing my daughter with pretend play opportunities so I had to buy this. I got a great deal on it on sale at Toys R Us. She'll be able to use it to pretend she's making different kinds of pancakes. She'll be able to make pretend pancakes for her baby dolls while I make real ones for her, which is always good.

8. Maxell Safe Soundz Head Phones. I'm super excited for my daughter to open these on Christmas because she'll be able to use them with her Leappad Ultra that she's also getting! I was really weary about her using headphones, so I was excited to find some marketed towards her age group and said to be safe for the ears and don't go above a certain volume. I'll be testing them out first to make sure though. I sure hope they work good because it will give her a way to listen to her games, shows, or even music without everyone else having to hear it in the car or airplane or situations like that. 

9. Brain Quest flash cards and books are great, and I got some preschool questions with lots of flashcards for a stocking stuffer for her for Christmas. They are so useful for on the go learning!

10. Sofia the First MP3 Sing Along Boombox with Microphone. This will be so great for my daughters budding singing skills and self esteem. It has one of her favorite characters on it so I know it will get her excited, and I'll be able to play any music she'd like to sing along to on it.

11. Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood Game. Daniel Tiger is one of my daughters favorite shows and this game also, like the boombox helps her develop a strong self esteem which is very important to me. The cards in the game require the players to act things out, it's like charades for kids. I use it for family game nights and it's silly fun that brings the whole family together. She was apprehensive to act things out at first, so we got to assure her how wonderful she is, and then it was great to see her start really trying.

12. I was able to get this at a pretty decent sale price from Toys R Us as part of my daughters Christmas presents. It'll be especially great for her because her grandma is a hair dresser so she'll feel like she's being like grandma, as well as having pretend play and developing imagination. She loves Rapunzel so it's encouraging with a character. 

13. BOB Books. Set 1 for beginning readers is the level we're at right now, but all of the BOB Books are amazing tools for kids learning to read. They introduce letter sounds and have just a few words on each page with those few letters. Really helps with the concept of sounding out words and reading.

14. Melissa & Doug My First Daily Magnetic Calendar. This will be so great for starting home school preschool in January. She'll be able to learn the days of the week and months a little bit better than she does now, although she already references days of the week and such. I also like that it'll be a circle time beginning of the day type of thing to get things started.

15. Barbie Sisters Safari Cruiser. Got this for part of the Christmas presents because my daughter has recently gotten into Barbies and doesn't have a vehicle for them yet, and this one has a special part in the back for the kid dolls to sit, which are her favorite to play with as I assume other kids do as well.

16. Barbie and The Secret Door Princess Alexa Singing Doll. Any Barbie and The Secret Door toys are really hot right now! Kids love this movie I guess, we just have the book which is pretty good and the toys are all cute. I got the doll for my daughter for Christmas.

17. Melissa & Doug 48 piece jigsaw puzzles are so great! They are only $9.99 and that's an unbeatable price. My favorite thing about these puzzles are that they come with the wooden board to do them on when many other brands do not, which is inconvenient for when there's no table around.

18. Animal Babies Deluxe Electronic Plush. These are too cute and my daughter specifically asked for one when we were at the store. I can't find the one I bought for her online, but this one is adorable too. I think they're fantastic for pretend play and different than the typical baby doll.

19. Bell Sports Minnie Mouse 3D Child Bike Helmet. My daughter absolutely loves riding her tricycle in this. I could not recommend it more for any little girl who loves Minnie!

20. Candy Land Game. This is a classic. Along with Don't Break The Ice. Perfect for family game nights with toddlers. Both of these will be under the Christmas tree!

21. Laptop Lunch Bento Box. I love bento style meals for kids and this is the best bento box I've seen. Can't wait to get it and start making my daughter all her lunches in it. They're a great way to make visually appealing and make kids more eager to eat them. They also help with portion control and reminding parents to add all the food groups.

22. Lincoln Logs Building Set - Little Prairie Farmhouse. Yet another thing for the STEM, fine motor, and building skills. I think it's important to have varying things for this area of development in a home school preschool setting, just like a mainstream preschool would have.

23. LeapFrog Leap TV Educational Active Video Gaming System. I'm kind of really hoping that Charlie's grandpa gets this for her for Christmas. I'm normally kind of anti video games and a lot of tv watching, but I like that this involves games with characters kids love and encourages them to get up and be active. The best part is all the while they are learning with the educational games!

24. Vet Transport Crate with Dog. Yet another thing for pretend play opportunities. So important for preschool development. 

25. Melissa & Doug Wooden Stamp Set Deluxe Happy Handles. Any crafty kids would be thrilled with this. They can make some beautiful things with these and learn another fine motor skill.

26. Learning Resources Handy Scoopers. These will be so great for sensory bins! Fine motor skills improving and making sensory bins even more fun.

27. Learning Resources Beads and Pattern Cards Set. These again help improve fine motor skills and also teach kids to follow directions in a new way. They should lace the beads the way the card tells them too, making a great tot tray activity for home schooled preschoolers.

28. Minnie Mouse Remote Control Car. This is perfect for little kids who like Minnie, and I'm sure there's other varieties for kids who like other characters or colors. It's a new experience for controlling something from a remote. How fun!

29. Vtech Kidizoom Camera. This would be so great if my daughter got it for Christmas, it's definitely on her wishlist. She could take all her own pictures of things she wanted to and possibly develop an interest in photography! 

30. National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Animals. This, along with the National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Why are on the wishlist. Very educational books for preschoolers who are learning all about everything.

31. Calico Critters Ice Cream Truck Play Set. This, and the Calico Critters Burger Cafe Play Set are on the wish list. They're good additions to the town home, so the critters have other things to do. These play sets have little pieces of food to put together which is good for fine motor and pretend play.

32. Playdough Tools Set. Very important for the homemade play dough for home school.

33. Barbie Chelsea Doll and Clubhouse Set. My daughter loves this play set because as I've said she's just getting into barbies and prefers the ones that are closer to her age than the big ones sometimes. This play set provides her a little space just for the small dolls. They can bake cupcakes and go up the elevator which all requires fine motor skills.


34. Step2 Light It Up Junior Basketball Set. This is the one of the number one things on our wish list. Step2 products are so wonderfully made and this one is supposed to be be easy to assemble, and able to adjust the heights of it as the child grows. My favorite part about it is how encouraging it is with the cheering sounds and rainbow noises that come on every time they make a basket.

35. Kinetic Sand - Sandbox & Molds. I like this set because it comes with a box to kepe it in, and molds to use it with. It's just another sensory material for my daughter to experience and play with.

36. Glitz and Glam Role Play Melissa & Doug Collection. All of the Melissa & Doug role play clothes are so great. They're a bit pricey but they are well made and come with so many parts to them so they are definitely worth it. There's always several accessories. I chose this one for my daughter's wish list because as I've said I'm trying to really encourage my daughters singing.

37. Melissa & Doug Wooden Sushi Slicing Play Set. This is especially perfect for my daughter because she LOVES going out for sushi, but even if a child didn't normally go out for sushi it doesn't mean they wouldn't enjoy this toy. They get to pretend to slice the sushi and the sushi makes realistic noises when sliced. The box they come in provides a storage opportunity.