Sunday, January 17, 2016

Christmas gift review

As usual this Christmas, I suggested to Jesse that we follow the 'want, need, wear, read' rules of Christmas gifts for Riley, but he has a hard time sticking to that. We usually talk through some gift ideas; me saying things like "she likes to sing, let's get her a karaoke machine - that can be her want item". Jesse then orders everything online and a few more items, of course.

I think Riley scored quite well this year between gifts from Santa, us, and family so I thought I would share a little more about some of her gifts.

Disney Frozen Fever Chatterback

Disney Frozen Fever Chatterback Smile with Tooth Plush

Riley and I were shopping at Kohl's and came across a lone Chatterback amongst the underwear. She picked it up, squeezed it's hand, said something and then the Chatterback said something back. I couldn't understand what it said so I thought it was broken. She did it again and I realized that the Chatterback was repeating what she said, but in a super annoying voice. And yet, it was funny. There we were giggling over this silly thing. We mentioned it to Jesse when we got home and he went searching high and low on the internet for this thing. This gift actually came from papa Frank (he has us buy her a gift from him) and it's been a huge hit. I'm sure the fun will wear off soon, but it was worth the purchase.

Knock-Knock Jokes for Kids



Riley loves her knock knock jokes so this seemed like the perfect 'read' item. She loved it as do I. I'm terrible at making up knock knock jokes so I can now at least refer to this book. So, yes, this was a win.

Race to the Treasure Board Game

Image result for race to the treasure

Jesse ordered this one on his own and I'm glad he did. It's a co-op game so you work together to beat the ogre. I'm all for teaching lessons when it comes to winning vs losing, but sometimes it's nice to have a game where you aren't pitting player against player. Riley has asked to play this over and over and both Jesse and I have been happy to oblige. This is a great game for kids as it's relatively easy, but with a good amount of strategy involved.

The Singing Machine

Riley pretty much sings her made up songs all day long. I reluctantly mentioned to Jesse that a Karaoke machine would be a perfect gift for our girl. I was hesitant to get something that would invite noise into our house, but it really hasn't been a big deal. Riley tends to put it on an appropriate level and sing her heart away. It has multiple settings (volume, echo, etc) and has a setting where you can have disco lights flashing. I haven't found this annoying (yet) and Riley loves it so I would consider that a win.

Disney Princess Karaoke CD

Disney Princess Music Box

And what good would a singing machine be if you didn't have some princess karaoke songs to sing? I think I might get her another CD for her birthday, but more along the lines of Adele whom she still loves. Plus, there's only so many times we want to listen/sing to the same songs, but it's been a good starter CD.

Plastic Stencils 

24 Creative Plastic Stencils from Highlights

We discovered that Riley enjoyed these when she came home from school where she was able to play with stencils during her before school childcare program. There are a ton of stencil options and they come in this nice little container. Well worth the price and keeps her occupied for quite some time.

What Should Riley Do? Choose your own adventure book. 


Boy, was I excited when I saw this book. I loved 'choose your own adventure' books as a kid and figured Riley would too. Extra bonus that it's a about a little girl with the SAME NAME and from a movie that Riley likes. I think we've already read through all the possible endings and I may try to find more of these for the future. Her birthday is coming up so that's a good excuse. Reading is already fun for my kid, but this makes it extra interesting.

Ikea Books

Riley received a handful of books from Ikea that we have been very impressed with. The stories are so imaginative and the art is bright, detailed and just so beautiful. We've had a lot of fun reading them.

The Friends in Fantasy Forest

SAGOSKATT - THE FRIENDS IN FANTASY Book IKEA

The Princess and the Happiness

KRULLIG - THE PRINCESS AND THE HAPP Book IKEA

The Frog Prince

KVACK - THE FROG PRINCE Book IKEA

The Owl Goes on Holiday

SKOGSLIV - THE OWL GOES ON HOLIDAY Book IKEA

Riley also received some clothes, a number of arts and crafts items and puzzle that she's enjoyed, but we've seen her navigating towards the books, games, and her singing machine the most. As usual she received more than she needed, and with her birthday coming up we'll try to keep that within reason, but who knows... especially if Jesse's in charge of purchasing her gifts.

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