Holiday Gift Giving for Nannies
Nannies and au pairs don’t need to spend a fortune on giving gifts to their Nanny Kids. Instead, nannies and au pairs should keep to a budget by choosing quality gifts, rather than expensive gifts, for the children in their care. Wooden toys make great gifts as they are usually non-toxic, environmentally friendly, and provide hours of screen-free imaginative play. Here are some of my favorite wooden toys to give as gifts to children.
This is a classic must-have for every child. Vibrant, beautifully crafted, and wonderfully versatile, these high quality beech wood blocks invite hours and hours of creative exploration. Use them to get a head start on shape learning. Compare them with your environment to show kids how each shape can be found throughout the world. Or, simply let kids stack, build, and explore any way he or she wants. The possibilities are endless!
2. Melissa and Doug Fold and Go Barn
Children three-years-old and up love this two-story barn is stocked with seven realistic plastic farm animals, a wooden ladder and a folding corral. The farm has wonderful detail, smooth-working parts, and ample room for play and lodging of the horses and other animals. Chunky handles let you take the toy wherever you go.
3. HABA Magica Wooden Baby Rattle
This rattle is made of colorful wooden balls that securely attached by elastic, yet balls and rattle are flexible. The balls are just the right size for infants to pick up with their little hands, which helps to build motor skills. It is durable and non-toxic.
4. Alex Little Hands String Blocks
I have found that toddlers love the bright colors and shapes of Alex Toys stringing sets. I am recommending the gender neutral farm stringing set today but Alex Toys offers other fun sets as well including cars, clothes, letters, and treats. Each set includes 12 wooden beads, wooden needle, cotton lace, and stopper. The wooden needle is easy for little hands to lace through the beads. Children can also play with the wooden beads separately as toys. Stringing beads improves fine motor skills and manual dexterity.
5. Melissa and Doug Cutting Food
My two-year-old nanny kid loves this wood cutting fruit crate which includes a wooden knife and seven pieces of sliceable fruit that can be cut into a total of seventeen pieces. Velcro holds the pieces of fruit together so when the child cuts the food it makes a fun “crunch” sound when sliced. With so many pieces, it’s also a great way to introduce the concepts of part, whole, and fractions to young children.
Always prepared for a hard day’s work, these three chunky, wooden construction vehicles, packaged as a set, include a bulldozer, a dump truck and a cement mixer. Each vehicle has a free wheeling base and is constructed of solid wood stacking parts. The fun is endless, as they can be taken apart and rebuilt again and again.
7. Melissa and Doug Deluxe Pounding Bench
What kid doesn’t love this classic toy made from one of the best wood toy makers in the world? The brightly colored, smooth-sanded pieces help build early shape, color, and size differentiation skills. There are eight wooden pegs to pound into the wooden bench, then flip it over to repeat again and again! The sturdy wooden hammer is also included.
8. Melissa and Doug Pound and Roll Tower
For kids two-years-old and up, this classic pounding toy has been taken to new “towering” heights at over 10-inches high. Kids can pound the four brightly colored balls through the tower’s holes, then watch and listen as they roll down the ramps. There is a sturdy wooden hammer included. Incredible value and superior craftsmanship make this item a childhood favorite. Brightly colored, smooth-sanded pieces help build early shape, color, and size differentiation skills.
This portable wooden dollhouse is great for boys and girls 3-years-old and up. It features working doors and includes 11 pieces of wooden furniture as well as 2 dolls. It has chunky, sturdy handles that inspire kids to bring it along for portable play.
Amazon is a great place to buy baby and children’s products because they make pricing clear and they also offer what they call the Family Program. It’s the perfect way to get the most out of your money, as it provides members with 20% off of product subscriptions. Click here to try the Amazon Family 30-Day Free Trial.
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