Hot Christmas Gifts?

trying to plan my christmas list for the boys.
what is on everyone's list this year? any hot toys (indoor and out) that i might need and ask for or buy for them? they will be 2.5 at the end of november and i'd like to get them some great age-appropriate things.

they already have tons of books, puzzles and a swingset.

ETA - they love my iphone and play apps very well on it. i would also be interested in hearing about the leap pads and ipads for the LOs as well.

 

I'm interested to hear what people have to say as well since my boys are the same age as yours. The other weekend my MIL got them a Fisher Price Geo Trax train set with remote control that they LOVED. I'm debating on whether to get another remote controlled GeoTrax for Christmas to keep at our house. Just wondering if people recommend the remote controlled ones, or the manual ones that the kids push and pull by hand.

BTW (since you mentioned your iphone) my kids also love to play with my Droid phone. However, they always ended up pushing the wrong button and either pulling up a browser page or going to the home screen or accidentally making a phone call, etc. Then I found a Droid app called Toddler Lock which is awesome! It is a drawing/coloring app that when launched it puts the phone in "airplane mode" so that it can't make phone calls or surf the web, and it also can't be minimized if the home button is pushed. I've installed it on my phone and my Xoom and now i don't have to worry that they are accidentally calling a coworker, for instance. Not sure if Apple has a similar app but they might.

 

Last year the boys big present was a train table and they love it.

 

I don't know about the leappad, honestly I don't think my kids are ready for it yet... I'm waiting a few months for it... but it's true that the only technology they've been exposed to is some laptop toys, not Iphones etc.

Last year my kids were 2.5 and the huge hits for my son were matchbox cars, Cars sets, Imaginext ambulance and police cars (giving more this year), and his imaginarium train table... He's been playing with them every day. We don't have Geotrax, I don't want to have more tracks all over the house, I'm sure he would love it though.

 

Over the last year, Jack loves imaginext toys, trains, Lego duplos, and cars. Anna loves anything with little pieces. We are looking at the leap pads for Christmas, but DH thinks iPod touches are a better investment.

 

My LOs are about the same age. We will be giving them a train set and either dolls furniture or a play kitchen. Mine are B/G and we have no gender specific toy preferences so far.

If you don't have them already and don't mind storing them for spring - trainer bikes or tricycles. A sleigh for the winter. Indoors - Lego Duplos (our best investment ever), playdoh, craft suppplies, acrs (we love farm machinery and construction machines).

 

At 2 1/2 my girls were really into Little People toys. I got a bunch off craigslist and they loved to play with them. They still play with them sometimes at 4 1/2!

 

Yes! Little People are awesome!

 

Here is what I am considering for Christmas for my twin boys: Two Wahoo Puppy bouncing toys, two indoor trampolines (if I can find a good price), Fisher Price Workbench, Teach Me Time Talking Alarm Clock and Nightlight (for big boy bed training), Lego duplos (they LOVE building with the bigger Lego Quatros), chalk board and chalk, and some sort of toy/books for teaching numbers and letters. Other smaller stuff like training pants, Hot Wheels, any type of construction play vehicle, markers and colored pencils, socks. They turn 3 in February and am thinking about getting them a Leap Pad type toy then.

Happy Shopping!

 

We have an imaginarium train table already which was given to us by my brother and SIL after their kids were too old for it. However, it is has been downstairs in the basement essentially hidden under our pool table. We do plan to bring it up for Christmas, and have some kind of train tracks and trains on it, if I can ever decide on the best type of train tracks to buy I've also already got them some "little people wheelies" and Thomas the Trains for their stockings. And I purchased one Fisher Price Kid Tough "see yourself camera", with plans to buy a second one (once they go back on sell for $60 instead of $70!). BTW, I love the idea of a chalk board. I'm going to look for one of those as a gift idea for the grandparents.

 

Get the Imaginarium tracks from TRU..if you wait a bit I'm sure they'll have a sale on them again.