The Grandma Chronicles ANNUAL Holiday Gift Guide is in two sections and each section will feature a
giveaway. Giveaway details are at the end of the post.
The two Holiday Guide sections are:
- Peanuts and Star Wars Hot Toys and Toys for Children of All Ages (This Post)
- Toys for Kids that Grandparents Will Love (See Post Next Week)
This guide is a little different than other holiday guides. Here’s how:
All the gifts are grandparent approved. Some are new
versions of toys that we remember that our kids played with or even we did
ourselves. Some are for budget conscious
grandparents and some are for those grandparents who buy the extravagant gift
that is not in the parents’ budget.
This guide features items that can stay at the grandparents’ house
and not take up a lot of room or can easily be transported for a visit. Toys and games that grandparents can play
with a grandchild are my personal favorites.
The guide is peppered with my commentary. I
have personally seen everything on this list - many out of the box and some I
have even played with my grandson. They offer quality and value and the
toys are the sort of things that become favorites. The pictures
shown have almost all been taken by me. I either took the pictures at a
show display or in my kitchen.
Almost everything in this guide is available at Amazon.com. I suggest you
check out other online options for price comparisons. Online shopping is a great way to go but prices do vary so comparison shopping is important.
Holiday Guide Part 1:
Today the most popular toys are those with movie and TV Show themes. The Peanuts Movie premiers
on November 6th. Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be a major blockbuster and premiers on December 18th. Toys with these themes will be among the
hottest toys this season so here a few of my favorites…..
For the younger children Peanuts featured items….
The Peanuts Matching Game by Wonder Forge
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Peanuts Matching Game |
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I love Wonder Forge games because they
are well designed, appeal to kids, feature current and classic popular characters and are value priced.
I am thrilled that Wonder Forge is sponsoring a
giveaway of The Peanuts Matching Game with this post! Giveaway details
are at the end of the post. My grandson
and I have enjoyed many hours with the Marvel Heroes Matching game and I can
attest to this being an excellent grandparent/grandchild game to play with younger
children. If they have seen the new
Peanuts Movie, they will love this game.
Even a three year old can enjoy these simple Matching games and older
kids will enjoy playing this game with younger ones.
Happy Dance Snoopy by Just Play
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Happy Dance Snoopy |
This adorable plush Snoopy dances to
the Peanuts theme music. Give him a kiss
and he will return the kiss, laugh and howl.
The demo for this at the TTPM showcase in September drew a crowd. Adults
will be as engaged as the kids. This is a TTPM Most Wanted List winner.
Stars Wars: The Force Awakens will arrive with a force indeed……
When I was at the LEGO store in NYC last week for a LEGO Star
Wars preview I had my own awakening.
Adults may be even more interested in Star Wars toys than the kids. I saw several fathers and sons looking over
the Star Wars playsets and the fathers were more starry eyed (excuse the puns)
than the children. None of them were
saying “Choose one” like a mother would.
Rather it was clear multiple sets were going to fly out of the store. Anything Star Wars is going to be big with a
wide age range but here are a few of the "stars":
Play-Doh Star Wars Millennium Falcon Featuring Can-Heads
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Play-Doh Star Wars |
Yes, Star Wars is even for young children. There is a TV show for them called Droid
Tales. This Play-Doh set includes a
Millennium launcher, 5 playdoh cans, and 5 removable engine molds. I gave this set to my grandson the day he got his flu shot. He and Pop had a great time playing with it. Apparently, launching play-doh missiles is a lot of fun. I bet we will see more of these cans with character labels. My grandson really liked them.
LEGO Star Wars Millennium Falcon
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LEGO Star Wars Millennium Falcon |
LEGO has a bunch of new Star Wars sets based on The Force
Awakens Movie. Look for the red/gold
cylinder near the top of the package to make sure it is a new set related to
the movie. This one is the premier, most
coveted Star Wars set if you are looking for the perfect gift for the Star Wars
struck. Of, course, you could buy
several and not go wrong. This is a TTPM Most Wanted List Winner.
Star Wars Pictopia by Wonder Forge
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Star Wars Pictopia |
This Star Wars trivia game features 1,000 questions on the iconic planets, ships, villains, and heroes from a galaxy far, far away. The game requires strategy, teamwork, ability to fool others, and yes, Star Wars knowledge to win. This will be a winner with all Star Wars fans. This game is available on Amazon and specially priced at Target.
And for Children of All Ages……
Since I have been going to toy shows
and writing about them for years, I know that lots of adults enjoy and collect
toys. Men and women. I can see which toys the adults are looking
at for the kids and which ones they covet for themselves. Here are some toys that you or
another adult in your life might be interested in this holiday season.
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Raggedy Ann and Andy 100th Anniversary Dolls |
Shouldn’t every child have a Raggedy
Ann or Raggedy Andy doll? Raggedy Ann is
celebrating her 100th anniversary this year and there are special
dolls to celebrate the occasion. This
will be a truly special gift for doll collectors of any age.
Ty Sports Themed Beanie Babies
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Sports Theme Beanie Babies by Ty |
Do you still have your Beanie Babies
collection? Would you like to add to it
with these brand new sports team beanies?
What a super stocking stuffer for beanie baby collector/sports
fans.
Strawberry Shortcake 35th
Birthday Limited Edition Classic Retro Rag
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Strawberry Shortcake 35th Anniversary Doll |
Doll by Bridge Direct
Strawberry Shortcake is back and
she is popular. Mom just may want this one for herself. This 14 inch rag doll is dressed just like
the original and is, of course, scented.
Collectors will love this one. The mothers are always fussing over the
Strawberry Shortcake items at the shows I attend.
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LEGO Brick Bounty Pirate Ship |
Lego The Brick Bounty Pirate Ship
The original LEGO pirate ship debuted
in 1989 and my son had a whole scene set up with it in our basement. We made a table out of an old plywood door set on
patio blocks and it was covered in fabric remnants representing the land and
sea. It provided many hours of
imaginative play. Maybe you had one
too. This new set is a replica of the original. Look at those beautiful masts! There are 47
reviews on Amazon and it has a five star rating. Adults have bought this for themselves and
also are enjoying working on it with a child – grandpas too….
The Polar Express Train by Lionel
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The Lionel train sets come in various themes |
Shouldn’t your Christmas tree have a
Lionel train under it? Of course it
should. The only question is whether the
kids, parents or grandparents will enjoy it more. Make sure you know what you are
getting. The less expensive g-gauge is
plastic and can easily be enjoyed by young children. The o-gauge die cast metal version is more expensive and classical. They will also be
enjoyed by collectors and children of all ages. I wish I had a better picture but this is the one I took at the TTPM showcase in the Fall.
Giveaway Details
It is easy to enter and
there are two ways. Both ways count as an entry so you get two
entries if you do both. I need to be able to contact you if you win.
If you enter - email me with your email address at marion@grandmachronicles.com. I will not use your email
address for anything except to notify you if you win. Grandmother’s
Honor.
Two ways to win:
Leave a comment here on the blog
and/or
You can have two entries by doing both. Deadline to
enter: November 17, 2015 at midnight. This item can be sent to US
addresses only.
Update: The giveaway is now closed. Congratulations Amy, winner of the Peanuts Matching Game.