GIFTS FOR PRESCHOOLERS HOLIDAY 2016 #DMHOLIDAY16

There are so many toys on the market for preschoolers today, and we’re bombarded with even more via commercials, flyers, and ads around the holidays. Here at Daily Mom, we know it can be overwhelming and sometimes frustrating to choose toys that are current without being quick money-wasting fads, so we took the guesswork and stress out of shopping for your preschooler this holiday season. We’ve hand-selected our favorite toys, games, and clothing from brands we love and trust, and compiled a gift guide of things you won’t feel guilty about giving your little ones!

Kids’ Fashion by Mainio

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In today’s day and age, micro-fashion is definitely a priority for many parents, but kids and “cutting edge” usually don’t mix well due to one major factor: comfort – or lack there of. While stylish children’s clothing is fun, it’s often difficult to find styles that are comfortable and easily maintainable.

Mainio clothing is made for the cool kid who doesn’t want to sacrifice comfort, flexibility, or style. Their eclectic, modern designs – all with the ability to be mixed and matched – make the perfect gift this holiday season for the fashion-forward, no-nonsense kid in your life.

There’s nothing cooler than this Rock Forms grey long sleeve shirt, paired with Crayon Slouch Pants in Calluna and the Painter Beanie, made with merino wool to keep little heads warm on chilly outings.

Read moreEducational Gifts for Kids: Holiday 2018

This Crewneck Chalk Sweatshirt rocks a dark grey base with a complimentary frosty blue background on the top and the sleeves. The seams have raw edges, and you can snag a pair of drawstring sweatpants to match. The entire combo is made with 100% organic cotton.

The little girl in your life will adore dancing and twirling in this Frosty Green Pencil Tricot Dress. This high-low dress has an asymmetrical hem and a gathered waist in the back. Both dress and leggings are made with 100% organic cotton. It can be paired with the Sketch Leggings in Birch White for the perfect contrast.

For littler ones, the Chalk Tunic in Oat can perfectly compliment the older styles. This tunic features a frill hem and snap button closure on the back neck. Pair it with Pencil Leggings in Birch for cooler weather.

Perfect gift for the cool kid in your life who loves to be stylish, but hates to sacrifice comfort!

About Mainio

Read moreStunning Summer Decor You Need for Your Home

Mainio’s mission is to create fun, casual clothes that both children and their parents alike will love. Mainio’s pieces are versatile, comfortable, eclectic, and cool, and can be worn year round, individually, or layered. They’re easy to maintain and made for stylish kids, from infant sizes up to 10 years old, with some matching adult styles to boot.

Our inspiration stems from interesting phenomena, everyday insights, and street fashion. We are fascinated by wild, even weird combinations of colors. The more unusual the blend, the better the outcome. Mainios can be combined infinitely!

Personalized Books by Put Me In The Story

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Learning how to read is an exciting adventure for toddlers and preschoolers, especially when they become part of the story! Put Me In The Story offers a variety of personalized books for young kids that takes them along for the ride in every single story, featuring their photos and name throughout.

The Personalized Marvel’s Avengers Book is perfect for your superhero-loving child, who would love to suit up and fight alongside Earth’s mightiest heroes such as Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and the Hulk. He’ll join them on a very special mission to save the world and fight the bad guys, and he’ll feel part of the story with the personalized pages inside the book with his name and photo, as well as a personalized special message.

The National Geographic Little Kid’s Book of Space will make them aspire to reach for the stars, and takes them on a personalized quest through the solar system and beyond. As you work your way through the galaxy, the book asks your child questions using their name, such as “How many times have you been all the way around the sun?” The final page even offers a space for their very own drawing of the night sky. This book will take story time to infinity – and beyond!

In Disney’s Doc McStuffins: A Night In Sticky Armor, your little one becomes Doc’s personal assistant as she tries to solve the mystery of Sir Kirby, a brave knight who gets in a sticky situation and has lost his shine. Customize this book with a dedication, photo, and Doc’s personal assistant’s name.

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If your kids love “look and find” books, Find Me If You Can will be their new favorite busy book. A Mom’s Choice Gold Award Winner, your child can search for their picture amongst photos of other children, page after page for endless hours of fun. You can add up to 3 children’s photos, making this the perfect gift for siblings.

Isabella: Star of the Story is the third installment of the beloved purple-haired Isabella series. Your child visits book after book during a trip to the library, becoming the star of each story. Your child will love traveling on this literary adventure, exploring classic books and stories, from Alice In Wonderland to The Wizard of Oz and everything in between.

My Adventures With The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles takes your child on an exciting mission straight out of the sewers and through the streets of New York City. The turtles meet your child on their way to rescue April and her dad after they were kidnapped.

In a galaxy far, far away, your child must use the force and prepare for battle with the Ghost’s ship team, as the commander has intercepted Darth Vader’s message to your child, and asks for help defeating him. Will they unite with the Ghost crew, or join Darth Vader’s army? The Star Wars Rebels: Battle Plans from Darth Vader, is the perfect library addition to any Star Wars-loving child in this galaxy.

Perfect for toddlers and young children on the brink of learning how to read! They will adore seeing their names and photos throughout the stories in each book.

About Put Me In The Story

Put Me In The Story was conceived with the idea to create personalized stories from some of the world’s best books, authors, and characters. At Put Me In The Story, they believe that the gift of a book to a child is the most important gift, and want their personalized books to be magical and special stories that become cherished for years to come.

Basic Apparel by Goat-Milk Kidware

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On any given day, your preschooler is running around in their underwear and a t-shirt, right? At least ours are! This holiday season, give your kid’s basics wardrobe a makeover with clothing from Goat-Milk Kidware. In supple, 100% prewashed organic cotton, with clean lines, neutral color palettes, and unisex designs, the apparel from this eco-conscious brand is kid-friendly and parent-approved.

Perfect gift for trendy preschoolers who live in casual, basic pieces with a hipster edge.

About Goat-Milk Kidware

Roland and Tania, friends and creators of Goat-Milk Kidware, bring modern, 100% organic cotton, European inspired children’s basics to their customers, including underwear, socks, t-shirts, lounge pants, and more. Using fair trade practices, environmentally friendly sensibility, and a passion for simple, high quality design and apparel, Goat-Milk Kidware’s collection is offered for babies and children.

Calico Critters Adventure Treehouse Gift Set by Fat Brain Toys

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The Adventure Treehouse Gift Set will make the perfect addition to any little Calico Critters collector. This set will fit perfectly into your little one’s Cloverleaf Corner.

This 3-story hollow tree has a crow’s-nest-like upper branch for star-gazing, a moveable cabin, swing, slide, and basket pulley! It’s everything your little one’s Calico Critter families need for a forest adventure, summer picnic, and firefly watching.

As an added bonus, this gift set includes 3 bonus play sets: a family picnic set, a baby slide set, and a children’s play set as well as one Chipmunk sister, Chipmunk baby, and Cat baby, poseable and all fully-clothed. Over 65 pieces of furniture, food, toys, books, post cards, and other accessories are included. This will truly be your little Calico Critter collector’s dream gift this holiday season.

Perfect gift for the 3-8 year old who loves collecting things and playing make believe.

About Fat Brain Toys

For over 13 years, Fat Brain Toys, a small family-owned and operated business, has been providing its customers with thousands of quality, open-ended toys, games, and gifts that entertain AND educate. What you will not find at Fat Brain Toys are licensed, violent, cheaply made toys that end up in the trash can shortly after being played with. Fat Brain Toys prides themselves on their unparalleled selection of unique toys from around the world in addition to acquiring the single largest selection of American-made toys found anywhere.

Fantasy Fort by Hearthsong

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Why settle for couch cushions and blankets, when you can build a fort dreams are made of? Hearthsong’s Fantasy Fort comes in 32 piece and 64 piece sets complete with everything your children needs to build their fort their way. All of the wood-styled pieces are interchangeable and made from heavy-duty cardboard. The only tools you really need are a little bit of imagination. This is a gift that will supply endless hours of fun for little ones.

Hearthsong’s Fantasy Fort is designed from heavy-duty cardboard and all of its parts are interchangeable to build almost anything your children can dream up. Whether you splurge for the 32 or 64 piece set, each one comes with double sided velcro and matching cardboard clips to secure your creations together.

Your small ones may need a little bit of assistance assembling their fort, so ideally this would be for children ages 4 and up.

Perfect gift for those hands-on creators who love to build forts!

About Hearthsong

Hearthsong was founded in 1983 to help provide parents with wholesome, high quality toys that encourage your children to use their creativity and imagination. The name itself represents the core family values. Hearth being a traditional symbol for the center of the home, and Song, symbolizing the family spirit and playfulness that comes when parents and children play together. Originally printed in a black and white catalog with pencil drawings of carefully selected toys and puzzles, their selection has grown and expanded. However, they still stand by their original ideals and offer the same high quality products geared towards your child’s development.

Wooden Magnetic Block Sets by Tegu

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It’s no secret that we at Daily Mom love the open-ended play that Tegu blocks provide for our kiddos. That’s why, every year, we’re excited to see what they come up with next, and to snatch up a few sets for under the tree. Gift your child – whatever their age! – with Tegu’s newest collections, FUTURE and STUNT TEAM.

The Magbot is part of the new FUTURE series, and gives boys and girls alike the opportunity to create robots, speed racers, and beyond, all from a modest number of simple wooden, magnetic blocks.

Skyhook comes from the STUNT TEAM set, and features working wheels, a propeller, and lots of blocks in unique shapes and sizes, all designed to give your child the tools they need to keep their imagination running wild.

• Skyhook includes 17 pieces, and Magbot includes 9 pieces
• Fully compatible with all other Tegu Magnetic Wooden Blocks
• No lead, no plastic, non-toxic, with a water-based lacquer finish, and no small parts
• Sustainably sourced hardwoods
• Can make countless combinations

Perfect gift for kids of any age who enjoy creating, problem solving, and working with their hands.

About Tegu

Founders of Tegu, Chris and Will Haughey, wanted to create a toy company that not only produced wooden, magnetic blocks, but that used those blocks for the greater good, and that’s just what they did. Their fully independent toy factory in Honduras fosters a positive social impact to Central America, and by using sustainable wood materials harvested responsibly, they keep an eye out for the environment. The greatness that Tegu provides is also made apparent in every person who plays with their magical wooden blocks, by inspiring creativity, potential, learning, and dreams to Tegu players worldwide.

Disney Descendants Digital Recording Studio by Ekids

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Just in time for the holidays, eKids has created the Disney Descendants Digital Recording Studio. Featuring a design from the popular Disney Channel film, Descendants, this digital recording studio is like a karaoke machine but so much more. It features dual microphones with volume control. Your child can sing along to songs from the movie. This studio is designed with a Line-In connection and your own audio device you can record. There are voice effects like auto-tune, echo, and voice distortion. Your child can put on a concert with LED lights that flash with the music.

Perfect gift for any child who loves music and wants to make her own.

About eKids

eKids brings you electronic gifts through a collaboration between iHome and Disney. iHome is a top creator of digital
speakers. When combined with Disney, our favorite characters are brought to life through cutting edge electronics. eKids offers fashion-forward speaker systems, alarm clocks, headphones, earbuds, and iPod and mp3 docks all with Disney characters incorporated. You will find characters from Descendants, Frozen, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Star Wars represented, just to name a few. We love that eKids creates useful items out of the Disney characters that everyone loves.

Bootsie the Kitten by FurReal Friends

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If you have an animal loving child, FurReal Friends are ideal holiday gifts! Meet Bootsie the Kitten, an adorable kitten with big blue eyes and a sweet heart collar. Bootsie is so loveable and will quickly become a favorite to your child. As she is played with, her moods change. You can give her a treat and make her happy. However, she doesnt like when you tap her on the mouth. The interactions go on and on and she always responds. She loves cuddles, and you will find that she behaves like a real kitten! Her fur is super soft and she is the cutest kitten ever!

Perfect gift for any child who loves animals, imaginary play, or wants a pet of her own.

About FurReal Friends

FurReal Friends make it easy for your child to have their own pet without actually adopting a real animal. You get all the snuggles without the vet bills and poop. To take the interaction to the next level, there are also FurReal Friends Apps. All the FurReal Friends are engaging and interactive. There are lots of animals to choose from. Besides Bootsie the Kitten, there is Torch the Dragon, J.J. the Pug, and Starlily the Unicorn. The imaginary play will never end with a FurReal Friend.

Magnetic Tiles by Shape Mags

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Great for little engineers, Shape Mags Magnetic Tiles are the perfect starter builder kits for your little one. Their easy-to-handle plastic shapes connect to one another using safe ferrite magnets, a hard magnet that is resistant to demagnetization. Their translucent plastic is bright and colorful, yet allows for extended play when you shine a light through it.

The possibilities are endless when building with Shape Mags. Your child can let their creativity flow by building bridges, houses, castles, and large and small structures. The 100 piece set is a great starter set for the upcoming holidays, giving you squares, rectangles, triangles, window pieces, and two-wheeled carts to build upon.

Shape Mags also offers accessory sets, though, so your child’s imagination can soar to build larger, more complex structures! And if your child needs an idea of what to build next, each Shape Mags set comes with an idea book with instructions on how to build different types of structures.

Shape Mags are made with your child’s cognitive development in mind. The inherent building and engineering that comes with playing with these toys helps your child focus on spatial awareness, problem solving, pattern recognition, and math reasoning. Their creative side will also be challenged, giving them a wide range of skills being used and practiced all while playing.

Perfect gift for any little builder, ages 3 and up! Preschoolers up to middle school age children will love building with Shape Mags.

About Shape Mags

Shape Mags was inspired when parents Jonathan and Julia found that the market for affordable, educational, open-ended toys was lacking. They met a Japanese teacher who was making homemade magnetic tiles to inspire STEM learning, and the idea for Shape Mags was born. The now award-winning toy has been used by thousands of children, building structures through creative and innovative play. Jonathan and Julia’s goal with Shape Mags is to help promote future engineers, critical thinkers, and creative leaders through open-ended play.

Cooperative Board Games by Peaceable Kingdom

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The Peaceable Kingdom cooperative board games are not like regular games where there is one winner and the rest of the players have all lost the game. While playing a cooperative board game, children work together towards a common goal rather than against each other. Kids work together as a team in a respectful and caring way so that they can accomplish the game’s goal. They not only have fun, but they learn valuable social skills that they can carry with them throughout their lives.

There is a board game for everyone too – some teach children to share, others build self-esteem, and some shape emotional development. Your child can also learn some fine and gross motor skills from many of the cooperative games as well!

When playing Willy’s Wiggly Web, the members of the game work together to cut small bugs out of a paper web before Willy the spider falls out! Throughout the game, cards are drawn and the participants follow the directions to cut the web and then pass the scissors to the next game player. This game works on fine motor skills, following directions, taking turns, and working cooperatively.

In the Dinosaur Escape Game, dinosaurs are lost and a volcano is ready to erupt! The participants work to move the three dinosaurs around the game board. Each person tries to find matching dinosaur fern so that each dinosaur is rescued from the volcano and safely on the island. Not only does the Dinosaur Escape game work on their memory skills, but also focuses on problem-solving, following directions, and of course – cooperation!

Friends and Neighbors is another matching game, but it focuses on empathy! Having the capacity to be empathetic is a very important trait within relationships. During this game, participants choose a token from the “helping bag” and try and match it to a scenario game board in which a person needs help. Friends and Neighbors shows game players how to recognize and name emotions, how to show empathy, and how to cooperate with each other.

Perfect gift for using to aid in teaching children how to be a caring and respectful person while having fun playing a board game!

About Peaceable Kingdom

The Peaceable Kingdom company has wonderful beliefs, and feels that play is extremely important in children’s daily lives. They want everyone to put down their tablet, phone, and computer and just spend quality time connecting with their families.

It’s a family-owned, family-first company that began in Berkley, California and has been there for 30 years. Many of their games and all of their greeting cards are printed with soy-based inks, utilize corn-based plastics, and are made from Forest Stewardship Council certified paper and wood for a greener outlook on production.

Peaceable Kingdom believes that when playing comes from the heart and feeds the soul, a more peaceable kingdom is really possible!

Books by Green Toys

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One of the best gifts you can give the preschooler in your life is the love of reading. Experts agree that reading with your child every day promotes language skills, school-readiness, and pre-reading skills. In addition, reading to your child is a great way to promote a strong emotional connection.

Green Toys, the award-winning line of eco-friendly children’s toys, has recently expanded their line of toys into the book category. They now offer three narratives based on their popular toys: Construction Trucks, Sport Boats, and Train.

These Green Toys books are easy to read, giving a rhythmic bounce to the story which helps to engage your child in listening. Coupled with their favorite Green Toys, your child will be able to imagine the characters from the books come to life through their trucks, boats, and trains. Using these two tools together helps to promote guided open play, which according to Green Toys, helps to “develop language skills, emotional intelligence, and abstract thinking.” The new line of Green Toys books, along with their coinciding Green Toys are the perfect gift for your preschooler.

Perfect gift for your reading-loving preschooler who has an interest in trucks, boats, and trains!

About Green Toys

Green Toys is a company that prides themselves in making toys from 100% recycled materials. Their mission is to provide safe, fun, and environmentally-friendly toys that reduce their carbon footprint on our Earth. Most of their toys are made from recycled milk jugs using food-safe, mineral-based coloring for those bright colors kids love. All of their toys are designed with purpose, and they don’t use any screws, metal, glue, or paint – just a big idea that they pair with their sustainable materials to create open-ended toys that you and your child are sure to love.

For more great gift ideas for 3 year old boys check out this site!