Christmas in Memphis: Alex's Christmas.

[rivka]

For all practical purposes, this was Alex's first Christmas - the first one where she was old enough to understand a little of what was going on. And she loved it. She loved our Christmas tree. First thing every morning, she'd ask for "Christmas tree lights." We decorated it with unbreakable ornaments so that Alex could touch them freely, and she quickly learned to observe our rule that ornaments stay on the tree. She'd walk around and around the tree checking in with each of her favorites: "Hi doggy. Hi star. Teddy bear, okay?"

She quickly learned to identify Santa Claus (sounded more like "Sticker Claus," though) and snowmen when she saw them on cards or decorations. I'm quite sure she has no idea what either one actually is, but she enjoys them both all the same. She loves looking at Christmas cards. Michael's father had a basket of them set down low, and Alex spent a lot of time taking them out and studying each one.

We spread her Christmas over several days, which worked beautifully. She got to play with and appreciate all of her toys individually, and never got so overwhelmed that she was just ripping things open without looking at them - which I often saw in my nieces and nephew, when they were younger, and was determined to avoid.

She was given:
Tuesday the 19th (at home): Set of nine dinosaur figurines from wcg.
Stuffed llama from Lydia (my boss), who raises llamas.
Saturday the 23rd (in Memphis): Two sleepers from Poppy and Nana (Michael's father and stepmother) - one very cute, one unspeakable.
A toy dishwashing set from Poppy and Nana - small plastic dish drainer, dishes, dish soap bottle, and several different kinds of scrubbers. We had suggested that she might like a set of dishes, and this is what they found. On the one hand, what a bizarre idea for a toy. On the other hand, toddlers love to imitate grownup activities, including dishwashing, so it's all good. She played with it a fair amount.
Sunday the 24th: Three wooden peg puzzles from Mama and Papa. She likes these a lot, but they're easy enough for her that I'm not sure they'll have enduring play value. We'll see.
Wee Sing Children's Songs and Fingerplays CD and book from Mama and Papa. She loves it.
Plastic baby doll from Poppy and Nana. She's played with it some, but she's still not that interested in dolls.
Two books: a Richard Scarry lift-the-flap book from Grandma and Grandpa (my parents) which is actually kind of lame, and Harold and the Purple Crayon from Aunt Juanita.
Monday the 25th: Stocking from Santa Claus: four small poseable safari animals (elephant, giraffe, cheetah, hippopotamus), a small analog clock (she loves clocks), and a mini board book version of A Visit from St. Nicholas.
The book Papa's Song from Papa and Mama. All three of us love this book. Yay.
The book Corduroy from Grandma and Grandpa, one of my all-time favorites and favorite of Alex's as well.
A very simple wooden train set from Santa Claus. She just loves it. "Alex's train track! Alex's train track!" We played trains all Christmas day.
A pair of Guatemalan slippers from Aunt Debbie.
A small neon-colored pillow, a Nursery Rhymes "CD Player", and some Color Wonders markers with a coloring book from Betty's daughters-in-law. I think everything but the pillow will probably "disappear."
Wednesday the 27th (at home again): An absolutely gorgeous set of unit blocks from Grandma and Grandpa. Best toy of Christmas. Beautifully finished natural hardwood blocks, the kind of thing I can imagine our grandchildren (should we have any) playing with.
A plastic barn from Grandma and Grandpa, which opens to reveal farm animals, a tractor, a farmer, and some fencing. Alex loves it.
Two "Don't Let the Pigeon..." books by Mo Willems, from Aunt Judy. A little old for her right now, but I anticipate that these will be future favorites.
Two tie-dyed sundresses and a dalmatian-print hat from Gran (Michael's birthmother). Very very cute.
Still to come, whenever we finish painting it: a child-sized wooden table and chairs from Papa and Mama.

This is a massive amount of stuff, obviously, and at times I worry that it's too much. We don't want Christmas to be a huge material extravaganza - and honestly, we don't have a lot of space to put toys. Add in the stuff she'll probably get for her birthday in just four months, and seems a bit overwhelming.

But most of the things she got are enduring toys that will see her out of babyhood and into the preschool years and beyond. Small animal figures, blocks, a doll, furniture, a train set that can be expanded as she gets older... these are toys with multiple uses, and their play value will grow as she gets older and is capable of more complex imaginative play. She didn't have a lot of things like that already, so it's not really that inappropriate to give her a lot of them now. Right?

I guess part of it is that I'm coming at this from the perspective of having been the fourth child in my family. By the time I came along, we already had enough toys to outfit a medium-sized nursery school. Blocks, legos, dolls, stuffed animals, a toy kitchen, push- and pull-toys, riding toys, pretty much the entire Fisher Price Little People empire, a whole cabinet overflowing with art supplies and coloring books... in that environment, yeah, I didn't need a lot of new toys. Alex's environment is different. She's an only child, so we're starting from scratch.

Comments

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

Wow. That is a haul.

B

[chargirlgenius.livejournal.com]

You're right, it's a kid's second Christmas that's the really fun one.

At this age, you're stocking her, and any possible future siblings, up for a long time. She's too young to be greedy, so it's good to do it now, before she expects the same sort of haul every year.

As for the toys themselves... *bookmarks wildly* (except that weird crayola thing)

[rivka.livejournal.com]

I can't recommend those Melissa & Doug unit blocks highly enough. They're a tactile delight, smoothly sanded with blunted edges and corners. The set of 60 is a great size - plenty of building options, with lots of variety, without being overwhelming to clean up. And they're much, much cheaper than other unit blocks.

[kcobweb.livejournal.com]

E got a Melissa & Doug abacus, which she rather liked. And a set of very similar blocks to the ones you link to, but hers were painted primary colors.

I'm also amused that Alex likes clocks, because as I type this, E is lying on our bed playing with galagan's new travel-style digital clock. I should have just gotten her one too. :)

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

When I was 8 & 9, we had friends who had a boy about four years younger than me, and then a very fragile diabetic boy (fortunately, his mom was a home economics professor). They were always upset that I played with the unit blocks and not the dolly they set aside for me.

[wiredferret.livejournal.com]

I love the Color Wonder stuff for car trips. You might stash it in your emergency jump bag or similar.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

I think the Color Wonder stuff is a good enough idea in theory, but I am outraged by the coloring book - which has the special chemical treatment applied in such a way that it is physically impossible for kids to color outside the lines or add additional drawings to the picture.

[jerusha.livejournal.com]

They do make blank pads with the Color Wonder treatment. Stupidly expensive compared to just buying a ream of paper or a roll of butcher paper, but. Maybe worthwhile for travel?

[ailbhe]

We got one of those from a friend and I am FURIOUS about it. It enrages me.

[threeringedmoon.livejournal.com]

I love the dinosaurs. What great toys kids seem to have these days.

[huladavid.livejournal.com]

I agree with your comment re: dinosaurs, my nephews (12 &10) still love 'em. They got squishy light up dinos in their socks this year.

[fairoriana.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't bet that the Pigeon books are too old for her. Grey loves them and has for months... and he's a ton younger than she is. I'd give 'em a try!

[ratphooey.livejournal.com]

The wee table looks quite nice unpainted. And since I figure he'll end up getting crayon and paint all over it, anyway, painting the whole set some color or other (or combo thereof) can be a family project in a few years.

[chargirlgenius.livejournal.com]

I think applying some sort of finish would allow stains to be cleaned up much easier though. We got our kid a painted table, and the washable crayons (and food, and milk, and...) come off of it like magic.

[ratphooey.livejournal.com]

If he were in the habit of eating at his little table, I'd agree completely. Even an easy spray-coat of varnish or polyurethane would work.

But he prefers to eat at the big table, so food spills aren't a concern.

[larcb.livejournal.com]

Coral was pronouncing Santa Claus "applesauce" for about a week, now it's clear. And Peoples rock, she'll play with them by herself for a good half hour at a time!

[verymelm.livejournal.com]

I have to admit to being disturbed by the Color Wonder stuff, too. My nephew has them and it's just .. not really coloring.

The train set, on the other hand, seems to be a favorite of kids of a certain age, and you're right that it can grow with her. The same nephew got a single small train car on a whim one day and now has what can only be considered an empire, complete with it very low table that my dad made for him to keep the original tracks contained (it's far too small for all his tracks, now, but still provides a more contained space for him to play in).

[nolly.livejournal.com]

I must admit to burning curiosity about the unspeakable sleeper.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

It is cotton-candy pink. All over it, closely packed together, are hearts and crowns made up from tiny dots of shiny metallic silver. Think "bling pointillism."

[nolly.livejournal.com]

Baby's First Clubwear!

[wcg.livejournal.com]

Poor l'il Alex. Maybe she can use it as a landscape for the dinosaurs to cavort in?

[(Anonymous)]

I'm especially happy that a few of these items were big "hits" with Alex. I can remember when my older son was almost 2 and almost 3 (his birthday is the beginning of March) he got a few Christmas presents that he played with over and over for months. It was mostly luck; I don't think I would have guessed which ones would turn out to be favorites.

I sympathize with your being the 4th child with the toys already around. With my younger son (2 1/2 years younger than his brother) there was never quite that element of wonder and surprise where something new and delightful suddenly came into his enviroment. I assumed this was because he saw all his brother's toys long before he could appreciate them.

Grandma Susan

[wilfulcait.livejournal.com]

One thing to do with presents that you don't want to have around all the time is to set up a small box (shoebox sized, more or less) as the "sick box." You put into it toys and amusements that a kid can play with without getting out of bed.

When I was little, we had a Sick Box, and it had small plastic animals, and little coordination games, and those plastic viewers with the picture disks of slides, and puzzle books. When it was time for the sick box, my mother would remind me of the poem for sick days (http://www.lone-star.net/mall/literature/rls/LandofCounterpane.htm), and I would get to play with it. And when I got up, all the stuff in the box would go back in the box and it would go back up on the top shelf of the closet until next time.

It keeps a lot of small things out from underfoot, and gives a kid stuck in bed something to do.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

I am already looking at kid sized tables and chairs for our grandson, and he can't even walk yet.

K.

[castiron.livejournal.com]

Yep, it sounds like most of the stuff is things that'll be entertaining for her for a few years yet.

It's probably not a bad idea to start thinking about how you want to handle toy purging in a few years, though! (One in, one out? Have her fill a box for charity before Christmas?)

Since my son's autistic, I purge without his input. But it's pretty clear which toys interest him and which don't, so I just pick out the stuff that he never plays with and unload it. I rotate toys; one box is on the floor of his closet where he can get at the contents, and two are on high shelves, and every few months I'll switch them out.

[robyn-r.livejournal.com]

Daughter Stacia (age 2 at end of February) prounounced him to be "Santa Closet" which is also a location in mommy and daddy's bedroom! ;)

She got the Thomas the Tank Engine overload, including the Brio-sized trains and a ride-on Thomas.. Trains surely are the thing now!

Robyn (Stacia's Dad in Ypsilanti, MI)