Christmas present

Well that's Christmas done for another year! Time to look and see which presents were the biggest hits this year...

 

Lego




It was a bit of a Lego fest here this Christmas both in stockings and under the tree. Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and Friends all made an appearance. Lots of excitement from children on seeing the contents and lots of fun for all 3 generations in building them:

 

I grew up with Lego and I never mind buying it for my children. It's such a versatile toy and it encourages dexterity as well as imaginative play.

 

Playmobil




My children have loved Playmobil for years. They still seem to find a few small sets in their stockings to add to their collection:

 

We will have to clear some space at home for a major Playmobil scene at home!

 

Books




Both children had books from older cousins that they have spent plenty of time reading. They also have book tokens to spend in the shops. That will be hours of pleasure to look forward to.

 

What were your biggest successes this Christmas?

 

Browsing Argos

At the beginning of the year I won some Argos vouchers in an online competition. This gives me an excuse to browse their online catalogue on a regular basis. Come on put your hands up if you do the same?


I have already spent some of the vouchers on some new furniture for the children's bedroom in the vain hope that it will help them to stay tidy! The open top boxes do make it easier for the kids (or me) to just chuck toys away at the end of play. Typically my daughter chose a girly option:

My son was lucky and grabbed a slightly bigger version that at the time was on special offer:

I liked the fact that the furniture was flat pack to be easy to take home. The kids had lots of fun putting it together. I wish I'd been able to get some of the Argos nursery furniture when my kids were babies as having come across it in the catalogue it looks like it would last longer than than bits I did get hold of! The combined offers appear to be a great way of getting more for your money when setting up a new baby's room. Really shouldn't get myself unnecessarily broody by looking at their range of pushchairs either - I'm sure I didn't have that much choice 8 years ago!


So now I need to keep looking out for ideas for what to spend the remaining vouchers on for my children's birthdays. I would love to introduce my son to Hornby but think I may have to hold off for a few years as he is still a bit young to respect it! He would probably ask me for Star Wars Lego. My daughter spends hours perusing the Playmobil section in the hope that she will get some additions to her collection. Although top of her list is a Nintendo DS and I can see that Argos so pre-owned ones to help stretch the budget. 


You know I really shouldn't have started looking at the catalogue as there are far too many tempting items in it! So I am going to close the browser tab to the Argos catalogue and I'll try not to come back until nearer my kids birthdays...

A passion for Playmobil

When I was the age my daughter is now I got hooked on Playmobil. Back in the late 1970s the sets weren't anywhere near as fancy as they are today and there wasn't as much choice but they provided hours of pleasure.


My brother and I had builders, firemen, nurses, US cavalry men, knights and even Robin Hood with a longbow. We played with them so much that quite a bit of damage was inflicted on them. The ones that survived were saved by my parents and are now providing fun for our children.


My step-daughter was bought some small sets of family and house related Playmobil but she didn't play with them much on her visits to us. When my daughter was quite little my parents bought her the Noah's Ark set with all its animals. This was a great introduction to the fun that Playmobil can be.