Bath time toys!

Bath time is a big deal in our home. For my son it's part of his daily nighttime routine. It's a way to get out that last bit of energy and freshen up before book and bedtime. It's also a great opportunity to connect and even do a little learning while playing.

I thought I'd share our favorite bath toys. I imagine that most mothers of young ones have many of these items already but as a new mother it's a list of tried and true bath toys for your toddler or young child to help keep bath time interesting.

My personal favorites are foam letters, numbers & animals: Learning letters, numbers, colours and animals in the bath is a game for my son and a way for us to encourage the love of learning. His interest in learning the alphabet definitely started during bath time play and when we saw his interest in animals blossom we got the animal set. Now we match the first letter of every animal name with the corresponding animal. I can see how down the line this will progress to spelling complete words.

Munchkin Bath Foam Letters and Numbers via Amazon

Bright Toddler Bath Gift Bag (includes foam animals, bath book and toy storage net) via Amazon

I wish I had found this item (below) earlier. It's the letters, numbers and animals all in one and the first letter of the animal is actually a puzzle piece within that animal piece! How clever!

Foam Bath Toys Letters and Animals for Kids via Amazon

The following are toys that we have and with which we have a lot of fun:

• Basketball net & balls (We have this exact item)

Muchkins Bath Dunkers Set via Amazon

• Thomas the train and station (We have this exact item originally bought at Walmart)

Thomas The Train Bath Tracks via Amazon

• Stackable containers (We have a similar item to this - I bought ours at the Dollarstore)

Munchkins Stack and Spill Bath toy via Amazon

• Boats (We have this exact item)

Magnetic Boats Bath Toys via Toys R Us

• Plastic animals (We have a similar item to this)

Munchkins Lake Buddy Bath toys via Amazon

• Bath books (We have a similar item to this)

Munchkin Bath Book via Amazon

We're thinking of getting some of these in the future:

• Motorized animals

Tomy Swim N Sing Turtle via Amazon

• Bath markers

Crayola Bathtub Markers via Amazon

• Foam blocks

EWonderWorld Non-Toxic Foam blocks for bath via Amazon

As Yolanda mentioned in previous posts the following our great items to make bath time go smoothly for mommy or daddy:

• Kneeling pad

Skip Hop Moby Bath Kneeler via Amazon

• Storage for bath toys

Skip Hop Bath Toy Organizer via Amazon

Clippasafe Bath Toy Bag via Amazon

I also think these are must haves:

• Grip pads (We have this exact item originally bought at Walmart)

Munchkins Grippy dots 6 pack via Amazon

• Spout cover

Skip Hop Moby Spout Cover via Amazon

• Hooded towels and mitt wash cloth

Animal Hooded Towel via Pottery Barn Kids

Circo Hippo Wash Mitt via Target

• Bubble bath 

Toy Story3 Bubble Bath via Amazon

Combining any of these items into a gift basket would a great gift for any young child or family whether for a baby shower, a birthday or other special occasion.

My tip of the week: Anything but video games!

A few days ago a good friend of mine asked me what to get her 10 year old nephew and I was at a loss of ideas...I asked her the next day what she purchased and she said, without enthusiasm: "a video game".  She sounded discouraged, and I agree, as I would be the same.  It seems as though we feel all kids are doing and want to do these days is play video games.  She then told me that her parents bought him a monopoly game and to her big surprise he LOVED it!  I think we underestimate kids these days and fail to realize that some board games are great classics that would be loved by all.  So my tip of the week is, don't hesitate to get a pre-teen one of your favourite classic board games.  You may be surprised!

Via Scholar's Choice

Via Scholar's Choice

Via Scholar's Choice

Via Scholar's Choice

Gifts for 5 yrs+ girls

Last night I felt like I was Christmas shopping all over again, but on Christmas Eve! I had very little time after my little guy's bedtime to shop for all my upcoming birthdays and showers.  So the challenge was on, but I love that! I find myself productive and I pick great gifts (well, I think I do!).  Anyway, I had a 5 year old girl to purchase for and within just 10 minutes at DeSerres I had found everything I needed.  She and her sister already have so many toys, so I thought crafts would be best - they will keep her busy and she will have something to use at the end. I discovered this line and all these stood out for me:

Natural Soap making kit - DeSerres

Lip balm making kit - DeSerres

Bath Fizzie making kit - DeSerres

Solid Perfume making kit - DeSerres

If you haven't visited DeSerres' site or store, you really should!

A few gift ideas for a one year old

It is a challenge to shop for a one year old.  This is because they are just starting to be really mobile and are interested by too many things and yet there are still many things they cannot do.  For example, they can't do crafts or play with play'doh and so the options are limited.  Here are a few gift ideas of things my son really enjoys or I have given the people attending my son's first birthday as recommendations.

Sled and accessories (perfect for strolls for this time of year)
Available at Clement and Canadian Tire.

Via Clement

Wagon (perfect for spring/summer and fall strolls - it is a must as most kids as they get older don't like being in a stroller)

Via Toys R Us

Via Sears

Via Walmart

Xylophone and other instruments (my son loves making sounds with pots and pans so I am hoping he will love the musical instruments just as much)

Via Growing Tree Toys

Via Deserres

Via Walmart

Ikea tunnel (we already have this, and my son loves it!! Perfect for playing peek-a-boo.)

Via Ikea

Tots Crafts by Alex (this is for a little bit later in the year, maybe around 18 months)

Via Scholar's Choice

Wooden puzzles (this is great for teaching them new words)

Via Scholar's Choice

Via Melissa & Doug

Via Melissa & Doug

Spring clothing (love the Gap's Neon colours)

I love this! - The Gap

Via the Gap

Via the Gap

My Tip of the Week!: Gift for a one year old

Everyone keeps asking me what they should get my little guy for his upcoming first birthday.  That is a difficult question!  My son just received a ton of toys for Christmas so he already has more than he needs, and the sad part is that he spends more time following me around and playing in the cupboards than with any of his toys.  In upcoming days, I will definitely list a few gifts I think as a one year old he will need and enjoy, but for today I will tell you about the gift I am making for him.  In addition to "the" Pottery Barn Chair, I ordered for him (as posted on Monday) I will be making him a picture book.  He loves flipping through picture books and he loves looking at pictures so I am going to make him photobook of the people and things around him (mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, etc.).  This will not only make a nice souvenir for later but it will be good for him to start learning people's names, etc.  He is already saying a few words and this will help expand the vocabulary he will need daily.  The photo book will need to be small and pocket sized like the following.

5.5 x 5 - Via Black's

5 x7 - via Tiny Prints



6 x 4 - Mixbook



These are my favourite options.  I prefer the Black's option because it is a square book and the smallest size and it seems simple inside.  I will see which one ships faster.  The best part is that both Black's and Tiny Prints have sales on these items right now!  Hope he likes it.