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I can’t believe black Friday is nearly here!  I feel like somewhere along the way I got stuck back in the middle of October, I think part of it is being home the last couple weeks after my son’s surgery.  Time to kick it back in gear and get ready for the holiday’s.  It is always hard to find great gifts for your kids, gifts they will actually use for more than a second.

In the past, at least in our family, some have been hits and some have been misses.  Sometimes it’s hard to know….you think you found the perfect gift and it flops.  The other side of that is when you find a great gift your kids love…..you should tell others.  So that is exactly what I’m doing.  I am pulling out some of the best toys we have had over the years.  This means they lasted well and our kids continued to play with them far beyond Christmas.  Here are the top ten gifts we have given or been given over the years.

Our Kids Top 10 Gifts

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1. Crayola Mess-Free Touch Lights

This is one of those gifts that I just happened to pick up.  I was perusing the aisles of Target (you may notice a trend here) and came across it.  It looked interesting and the mess free definitely caught my attention.  I had no idea how great it really was until my 3 year old daughter (at the time) opened it.  It plays music, lights up and all my kids liked to use it.  We have had it for 4 years now and the front has a small scratch on it, but after years of rubbing the liquid on the front…it still plays music and the fluid never leaked.  I would highly recommend this gift for younger kids, especially if they like drawing and music.  The product recommends ages 2-4.

2. Step 2 Little Helper’s Grocery Cart

The grocery cart was one of my daughter’s favorite toys.  What I liked about this particular grocery cart is how sturdy it is.  It never tipped over when my two year old was pushing it.  5 years later, it has been used by both of my daughters and they still enjoy it.  This cart is very durable and still looks like brand new.  It is definitely a gift that will last a long time!

3. Sleeping Bags

My kids honestly don’t do a lot of sleepovers, but sleeping bags are still a great gift.  We use them for special movie nights, when we go camping, and the occasional night over at grandpa and grandma’s.  These were given to them from their Aunt, and I love the sleek back pack style.  Target only carries these around Christmas time, so don’t wait too long if you like them.   This is a gift they will use for years to come.

4. Nightlight

My daughter kept begging and begging for the Elsa Nightlight at Target.  With skepticism I put it on the Christmas list for Grandpa and Grandma.  I knew she would love it, but I didn’t think her love for it would last or the physical nightlight itself would last.  I have been pleasantly surprised.  She still uses it every night. It doesn’t have a plug, so she sleeps with it right in her bed.  We have replaced the batteries twice in the last year, which I don’t think is terrible.  We try to keep it on the timer setting, so it shuts off after 20 minutes or so.  Also note, it does not make music, it is just a light.

This gift won’t last forever, but it has worked for a good 2 years now.  It has been dropped and fallen out of bed several times and has a little rattling inside but still works.  It may not last until next Christmas, but it is a much loved and used gift.   Target has several other figurines too, so if you have boys they have different options for you.  To check them out click Here.

5. Power Wheels

Power Wheels come with a big price tag, and is normally above what we spend on Christmas presents.  We did some looking and found a great deal on craigslist.  So six years ago my son received a John Deere Power Wheels Tractor for Christmas.  Fast forward to this year  and he just turned 9.  We keep telling him that he is too big for it, but he still tries to ride it!  Our son has loved this toy far beyond any other.  He has built trailers for it, had straps behind it to tow things and the list goes on.

Even if we had paid full price, my husband and I both feel it would have been worth it.  Over the years, we replaced a couple of the tires (remember we bought it used, so they were already a little worn) and we did buy a new battery for it.  The battery didn’t cost much, maybe $15 dollars.  Our son is a worker, and loves being outside…if you have a child like that, this would be a great gift!

6. Journey Girl

Nearly every store has their own version of an 18″ doll and Journey Girl is the Toys R Us version.  Both my girls have them and I have been very impressed with the quality.  I have seen the Target version before, and overall, I feel like the quality of the journey girl dolls is better.  The price point stays around $40, which isn’t bad.  The collection is made up of eight different girls, each having a different name and different interests.  My girls love all the dolls, clothes and accessories that go with them too.  If you are looking for something that is nice and affordable for your girls…this is the doll for you.

 7. Snowboard/ Helmet/ Goggles

A few years ago, my son had a snowboarding lesson and really loved it.  The problem is, he doesn’t go enough to invest in an expensive board and bindings.  Once again walking through Target, I came across something.  A cheaper snowboard….It didn’t have real bindings, it just had straps he could put his snow boots in.  My husband and I thought it would be perfect for him to work on his balance.

We also picked up a nice snowboarding helmet and goggles (which I scored a great deal on the day after Thanksgiving).  The goggles he wears outside whenever he is shoveling or even when he is playing and the snow is blowing.  He also wears his helmet and goggles sledding.  This gift was a definite hit, it is useful and he wasn’t expecting it at all….I loved the look of surprise on his face!

8. Uno Attack

Uno Attack is a great pick for family game time.  Our kids are ages 4-9 and they are all able to play the game (our 4 year old needs a little help).  We get competitive in our family, all in good fun, and enjoy having games we can all play together.  Especially when the cold weather hits and it isn’t ideal for playing outside.  Plus the box says….Unpredictable excitement every time you press the draw button.  How can it get much better than that?

 9. Leap Pad 2 Power

The electronics world (*disclaimer- I am not an electronics expert).  So many things exist for kids nowadays, and our budget for Christmas is normally pretty small.  I wanted to get the kids some kind of tablet, but didn’t want to spend a ton.  The other thing to consider, our kids are young.  We needed something for kids ages almost 3-7.

I found good reviews on the Leap Pad 2, so continued doing a little more research on them.  Walmart had good prices, but we actually found some new ones on craigslist and eBay even cheaper.  We ended up buying a used one for our 3 year old, but put a new gel skin around it and she didn’t know the difference.  I also recommend paying a little extra for the power packs which are rechargeable batteries.  To charge them, you just plug them in and never have to replace batteries.

The Leap Pads are very easy for the kids to use.  And after two years, they still enjoy taking video’s and pictures with them.  They also love playing games on them.  At leapfrog.com you can buy games and download them to the leap pads.  Another thing I love, is you pay for one game and can download them onto all 3 leap pads.

We did ruin one leap pad, my youngest left hers out on the deck and it rained.  So they are durable, but don’t like the rain.  My oldest is now age 9 and he is probably ready to move up to a newer device more suited to his age, but I highly recommend the Leap pad for younger ages.  The Leap Pad 2 is getting harder to find (since it is older), but you can research the Leap Pad 3 if you are interested in a more updated version.

10. Jewelry Boxes

My girls love their jewelry!  My oldest finally has her ears pierced, so a jewelry box was a great gift.  I am sure my younger daughter is not far behind her either.  They have two different jewelry boxes, my older daughter has smaller compartments and my younger daughter has a larger more open box.  I think the smaller compartments work better for the earrings, but it is harder to fit necklaces in.

When deciding what type of jewelry box to get, just consider what things your daughter would want to put into it and then make the decision based off of that.  Here are the two boxes we have.  I do want to note, for the Kelsey jewelry box, when you lift the lid it automatically pushes the drawer out.  This ended up breaking because our youngest daughter didn’t realize how it worked.  I would recommend that jewelry box for older girls.

As you can probably tell by now, I like gifts that are useful and that will last longer than the latest trends.  I also like to stay away from a ton of toys with batteries.  It can’t always be avoided, but I like to limit it as much as possible.  The list could go on, like Nerf guns, drones and play dough that my kids really love…but I tried to stick to our top 10.

My advice to leave you with would be, try hard not to get swept into the craze of the Holiday’s.  Focus on what your kids will love and not necessarily the new and hottest toy.  Being creative and limiting the toys will be helpful too.  How many just end up sitting around a month later anyways.  Another great idea that I didn’t mention earlier is asking for tickets to events or gift cards to places for them to go.  In our family, we don’t spoil them with special trips or tickets very often, so that is a really fun thing for my kids.

I hope this list sparks some great ideas for your own kids, and please drop me a comment with your kids favorite toys!  I would love to hear them.  Happy shopping everyone!