Gift Ideas to Buy for Children and Money Saving Tips: Great Ideas for Toddlers and Babies

What parent doesn’t love to buy special presents for their children? This time of year, many parents scramble to find the best gifts for their children. I myself really enjoy trying to find fun toys for my children while staying within a reasonable budget. This year (2011), I'm happy to say that I am completely finished with my shopping (before Thanksgiving!), I found some great toys AND I saved money doing so. Yay!

This will be an updated hub of gifts I bought for my children. I will add to it every year to keep the list fresh! Also, look below to find my money saving tips.

1. Cars 2 Pop-Up Tent—He loves tents, but the one I had for him was too much to have up in the house. This nice pop-up tent allows him to ‘camp’ inside the house and folds flat!

2. Cars 2 Throw—Sensing a theme yet? He loves Cars 2, so why not let him cuddle up with a blanket? This one is nice and soft, and can easily be washed in the washing machine.

3. LeapFrog Text and Learn—My son is at the perfect age to start recognizing letters and their sounds, so why not make learning fun? With this LeapFrog Text and Learn, he can interact with the puppy ‘Scout’ and learn his letters at the same time.

4. Mega Bloks Thomas & Friends Play Set—My son also loves Thomas the Train and blocks, so this set by Mega Bloks was a great idea! He can continuously change the tracks as he wishes, and the bonus for me is that it comes with its own storage container.

5. Alphie, The Learning Toy Robot—Do you remember Alphie? He was a hot toy back in the 1980s, and he’s back again! This new little Alphie robot is another learning toy that I wanted to get for my son. With Alphie, he’ll be practicing letter sounds, shapes, patterns and vocabulary.

1. Fisher-Price Brilliant Basics Stroller Styled Walker—My daughter is still getting the hang of walking, so this Stoller/Walker from Fisher Price was perfect. It can be played with as she’s sitting on the floor or when she’s ready to get up and walk, she can safely push it around. It doesn’t come with a doll, but…

2. Fisher-Price Little Mommy Newborn Nursery Doll--…there’s always the Fisher Price Little Mommy baby! It was really hard for me to find a nice, soft, not-creepy baby doll (you know what I’m talking about…the ones that make noise and move on their own…). This little baby was so cute, soft, and smelled like a newborn. Ah.

3. Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Smilin' Smart Phone—My daughter loves to imitate how her mommy talks on her cell phone. She uses anything—socks, little toy elephants, her hand—to say ‘Hiya!’ into her ‘phone’. I just had to get her this cute little imitation smart phone. Don’t panic! It’s not real; she won’t have one of those until she’s much, much older…This one is just a fun, musical toy that teaches things like the ABCs, numbers, weather and more.

4. Evenflo Convertible Car Seat—This is one year when I can get away with such a practical ‘gift’. My daughter has quickly outgrown her infant car seat, so I decided to upgrade her to a convertible seat since she’ll still need to be rear facing for a while. Evenflo had a nice convertible seat that wasn’t too bulky and was a great price.

5. Her First Birthday Party—Ok, this one is a stretch too, but since her birthday is so close to Christmas, this one is going to be a ‘gift’ for her as well. The party is going to be at a local pizza restaurant that has enough space for our incredibly large family.

Who doesn't love to save money? Here are a few tips to save money when you are buying Christmas gifts for your children:

1. Plan ahead. Make a list of the items you'd like to buy at home. If you try to shop without a list, you might spend more than you intended.

2. Compare. With your list, look through the holiday circulars and store websites to find the best price. Keep in mind that some internet prices are sometimes different than in-store prices. On your list, make note in which store (or website) you will buy the gift.

3. Coupons and deals. This time of year, many stores are offering a multitude of coupons and deals, especially for toys. Look again in circulars and online to find coupons (or codes if shopping online). Also look to see if there are any special offers, like BOGO 50%/free or earning money on a rewards card or gift card after making a purchase.

4. Shop Only with Your List and Coupons. Stick with your original plan. If you find an item while you are in the stores that you'd like to add, wait until your next trip out and do your homework on where you can find that item for the best price. (If you are spending a lot of money on gas, however, it might be worth it to get the item right then and there. My shopping area is less than 3 minutes away from my house, so it's not too bad for me to make multiple trips...)

©ThePracticalMommy