Top-10 Kid Gift Lists
1I just stumbled across this list of top-10 gift ideas for girls and boys this holiday season (courtesy: National Retail Federation)…and promptly choked on my cereal. With two- and four-year-old boys, with one TBD on the way, is this seriously in my not-too-distant future?!
2012 Top Toys for Boys
1. LEGO
2. Video Games
3. Hot Wheels
4. Cars (generic)
5. Xbox 360
6. Nintendo Wii U
7. Transformers
8. Remote Controlled Vehicles
9. Furby
10. Trucks (generic)
2012 Top Toys for Girls
1. Barbie
2. Dolls (generic)
3. Furby
4. Monster High Dolls
5. Disney Princess
6. American Girl
7. Video Games
8. Dora the Explorer
9. Apple iPad
10. Apparel
You see, I’m currently getting away with Nos. 3, 4 and 10 in the boys list. It’s simple, and beautiful really. I just walk into any toy store and ask myself, “Does it have four wheels?” If the answer is yes, then I know it’s a winner. I’m not naive enough to think the boys will never transition to video games (it’s already happened to an extent with the iPad), but I guess I’m just whining about the thought of one day soon moving from a $50 Christmas to a $50,000 one.
A few reactions to the lists (and remember, I only have boys, but with a “?” on the way I feel like I can at least chime in on the girls list):
1. Furby? I had to Google that. Good grief, really? I’m picturing the Furby creator diving into a pool of gold coins in his house like Scrooge McDuck.
2. Maybe it’s just my house, but I don’t think “Cars” needed the generic label. I type this while my boys watch Mater’s Tall Tales transfixed on the couch. Talk about printing money. Actually, maybe the Furby creator is with the Pixar brass somewhere on an island off the Greek coast.
3. Hmmm, my boys love Dora too…
4. The iPad sneaks into the bottom of the girls list. I find this only slightly ironic, as my wife often uses ours as a serving tray.
5. Monster High Dolls? What? Again, no girls for me, so I hope I’m not the only one who thinks that sounds bizarre out context.
6. No love for the PS3?
7. Do girls not like LEGOs? I thought that was an age/gender/race/religion/political transcending toy. Who doesn’t like LEGOs?
8. “Apparel” made me laugh. Why not call it clothes? I’m picturing girls asking their parents for a McDonalds staff uniform or a logo’d shirt from the Olympic Games.
9. Can someone help me out with what video games girls are into?? I was under the impression that, no matter the age, females loathe video games.
10. Is it bad that my current Christmas list has eight of the 10 items on the boys list?
Good luck to all those parents out there scrambling to check these boxes. Seeing the boys list has now made me thankful of the little knuckleheads we’ve got running around the house happily smashing plastic, “generic” vehicles into the walls.
About Jake Fehling
I enjoy fantasy sports, a good IPA and UNC hoops. I love my wife and two boys very much, but the latter often send me to the edge of sanity…and ultimately, to blogs like this.
