Every December, the grandparents start texting me the same question: what do the twins want? The honest answer is that at twenty months, Theo and June want the box, the wrapping paper, and whatever my phone is doing. But that's not a helpful answer to give a grandmother.
The other honest answer is that our duplex is small and our toy storage is already at capacity. Last Christmas, when the twins were eight months old, we ended up with an avalanche of blinking, singing plastic toys, and most of them were in a donation bag by March. So this year I made a list to send to family, and I'm sharing it here in case you need one too.
A few rules I used
I didn't ban plastic entirely. Some of our most-used toys are plastic, and that's fine. My actual rules were simpler:
- It should do less so the kid does more.
- It shouldn't need batteries, or if it does, it shouldn't sing.
- It should fit in our house, or get used up, or be something we'd go do.
- Two of the same thing is often better than two different things. Twins are a special case here.
Open-ended toys that get played with daily
Wooden blocks. A basic set of plain wooden blocks is the toy I'd buy again first. Right now the twins mostly knock down towers I build, but they're starting to stack two or three, and I can see this set lasting years.
A small toy kitchen accessory set. We don't have room for a toy kitchen, but a set of wooden pots, a wooden spoon, and some felt food lives in a basket and gets used every day. Theo "cooks" soup and serves it to me with great ceremony.
Stacking and nesting cups. Cheap, silent, useful in the bath, useful in the sandbox. We have two sets because of the aforementioned twin situation.
A push toy or ride-on. If your toddler is a mover, something to push around the house or the park is great. Just measure your hallway first. Ask me how I know.
Books, books, books
Board books are my favorite gift to receive on the kids' behalf. They're flat, they store easily, and they get used over and over. At this age the twins love lift-the-flap books, books with real photos of animals and trucks, and anything with a simple repeating line they can "read" along with.
I asked each grandparent to write a short note on the inside cover. That way the books become a little keepsake, and someday Theo and June will find their grandpa's handwriting in a battered book about tractors.
Consumables that get used up
- Washable chunky crayons and a big roll of paper we can tape to the floor.
- Bath crayons or bath foam, which buy me ten peaceful minutes at bedtime.
- Play dough, which is supervised-only at our house because June still thinks it's food.
- Stickers. Big, easy-to-peel ones. Toddlers adore stickers.
Experiences instead of stuff
This is where I pushed the grandparents hardest, and they surprised me by loving it.
My mom is giving us a family membership to a local children's museum. It was around $150 for the year, which is less than she'd usually spend on a pile of toys for two kids, and it gives us a warm, indoor place to go on rainy weekdays. Dan's parents are doing a zoo membership, which works out to about the same.
Other experience ideas I floated:
- A few prepaid toddler swim or music classes.
- A promise of a "grandma day" once a month, with lunch out.
- Tickets to a kid-friendly holiday train or light show next year.
Practical gifts that feel like gifts
Some relatives just want to give something they can wrap. For them, I suggested things we'd buy anyway: rain boots in the next size up, a warm pair of pajamas each, a small backpack for daycare, or a sturdy step stool so the twins can wash their hands at the sink by themselves.
The step stool doesn't sound exciting, but when June climbed onto it for the first time and turned on the water all by herself, you would have thought we'd bought her a pony.
What we're giving them
Dan and I set a budget of $60 for the two of them combined. We're giving them a set of wooden animal figures to share and one new book each. They'll open them, chew on the wrapping paper, and probably spend twenty minutes playing with the box.
And honestly, I've made my peace with that. The box is free, it's cardboard, and it goes in the recycling in January. It might be the most eco-friendly gift of all.
