Birthday present for my DS (3 next week) ...

[Ghosty]

Hello everyone ...
My DH and I are struggling to make a decision on what to buy DS for his 3rd birthday ...
DH wants to get him a paddling pool or a sandpit (about to start summer here!) but I think that as this is the real first birthday that DS is 'aware' of I think that they are not very exciting ... and he can't unwrap them and play with them straight away ...
I did want to get him a bike but DH has pointed out that he will grow out of the smaller size bike very quickly and we ought to wait until he is 4 or 5 for that ...
So now we are veering towards one of those garages (with the different floors and a pump etc) for his little cars (he has hundreds!) but we can't decide on which is the best one ... so far I have seen Fisher Price Little People, Chicco, Molto and a wooden one that you paint yourself ... also I am wondering how long he will be interested in it? Is there much point if he is going to grow out of it in 6 months time?
Any advice on a) good garages, b) how long they are played with AND indeed any other suggestion would be welcome!

PS No ELC here

[robinw]

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[tigermoth]

Just to second robinw's suggestion on buying a bike - both our sons on reaching three years had bikes for their birthdays. They loved them at first sight, even if they couldn't ride them well immediately. The adjustable seats mean the bikes last for a good two years. This, and the fact that they are their most used toy, make them great value for money.

[megg]

My ds is 3 next week as well what day for yours? Ds is 3 on the 28th. My dad got ds a garage last year, the Fisher Price Ferrari garage and ds loves it. He's always going round the house with cars in his hand. I'm sure if we had bought one as well and had one upstairs in his room and one downstairs that it would be the only thing he played with. We bought him a bike but he's outgrown that already but then he is a large boy (see other thread). Can definitely recommend the FP Ferrari garage though, it comes with two Ferraris and a tow truck. We're going for a Brio trainset this year (courtesy of fil). He's had an Ikea trainset for nearly a year and loves it so we're going for the real thing this year. We've also got a Fisher Price Rescue Helicopter a cd-rom learning for toddlers and some rookie chopsticks plus books coming his way. Personally I wouldn't do the sandpit, we had one last summer and he only wanted to be in it if someone else was as well and the sand still ends up being traipsed through the house even if you make them wash their feet before they come in. The paddling pool went down well though.

[RosieT]

Can I 'third' the bike suggestion? My little one got a bike for his third, and though it took him a couple of months to get the hang of it, he now whizzes around everywhere. It helped us say goodbye to the buggy (one of my pet hates is inappropriately large children being wheeled around in buggies, I'm afraid). He will probably need a larger one next year sometime, but bikes do have quite good second-hand value if you haven't another tiddler to pass it on to. Don't leave it too late ? particularly if you live in an outdoorsy sort of place. You wouldn't want him to be the only one on stabilizers at seven.

[pluto]

Have bought a wooden garage made by Plan Toys for Xmas. Looks good but won't know if it's a hit for another month! Bike sounds like a really good idea.

[Hilary]

My two boys (4 next week and almost 2) play most of all with Brio train track, Playmobil vehicles (fire engine and crane and rubbish truck) and little Lego. These three things keep them busy virtually all day. They do have a garage which does keep coming back into favour but hasn't quite the pull of the other things I mentioned. Ds1 got his Playmobil fire engine for his 3rd birthday and played with nothing else for weeks.

I know what you mean about having something they can open and play with straight away. We used to put big presents eg garage under a sheet in the middle of the room and the kids come in in great excitement as to what is underneath. A moment to be treasured for us and them.

[Marina]

Plan Garage (as mentioned by Pluto) was a big hit in our house but, as Hilary says, the no 1 faves with ds (3.5) at the moment are Duplo, Playmobil and Brio. Dressing up as a pirate, monster or firefighter are also v. popular right now.

[clary]

Planning a bike for ds (3.5) for christmas so this is encouraging reading. We have a garage (ELC) which ds and dd (18 mo) both love, but the big hit at the mo is our train set, a mix of Brio and Tesco cheaper version (Asda also do some). Cannot recommend this enough, both would play with it all day if allowed I think. Trouble is it's expensive to get lots and lots (we have been building it up since ds was 6mo) but definitely a long-lasting toy. Another fave with both mine is any shopping/kitchen stuff eg trolley, money, play groceries, velcro fruit and veg etc. Endless imaginative fun.

[Eulalia]

I think a garage is a good idea and a boy will play with that for a long time. Get one that is fairly sturdy as they still tend to be a bit rough with toys at age 3 and maybe some small things like a petrol station with pumps.

We got our son a sandpit for his 3rd birthday and he loved it - trouble is he kept chucking the sand out of it so keep it on a large piece of plastic that you can sweep up the sand and put it back in. We got a shell type thing with a lid that can be doubled up as a paddling pool.

Hope he has a great day

[Katherine]

Another suggestion - look at the Hamleys Website . They have this amazing jungle marble run for little people. It costs £35 and we've got DS &DD one for Chrsitmas. The pieces are really chunky and solid and incoroporate lots of wild animals. I can't wait till they open it.

PS What about the elc website. Perhaps they take orders for overseas? Their wooden garage is great.

[KMG]

Well Ghosty - I can't second the bikes suggestion! My two had bikes young, but have never particularly enjoyed them, and neither can ride without stabilisers. (3 and 5 now).

They love the sandpit - years of use out of that. Every summer I think they will be growing out of it, and every summer they have played in it even more! DS1 didn't like being out there on his own, but DS2 wd stay out for 2 hours on his own, when he was only 2! My kids don't need something 'big' to enjoy - they are thrilled with something quite small. So you cd get something little for 'excitement' value, plus a sandpit.

My bro bought them the Fisher Price garage, when they were about 0.5 and 2.5 - I thought it was expensive, but they've had a LOT of play value out of it, and it is strong enough to survive if they sit on it. But it is bulky and takes up quite a bit of space.

[Ghosty]

Thank you all so much for your input!!!

Joy of joys ... I found a shop that sells Early Learning Centre stuff here in Auckland today ... I was absolutely chuffed to pieces and told all the staff there how much I had missed ELC in the last 8 months!!! They are planning to expand and rave about the toys and how good the quality is ... they asked me how big it was in England and I told them that ELC was (IMO) second to none as the toys are practically indestructible ... unlike some of the toys you can buy here!!!

Anyway ... I bought a garage from them today ... the make is SMS but has the ELC green triangle on it ... it is big and chunky and colourful and has a car wash in in which DS will love as he loves the car wash!

We decided to wait for a bike until his 4th birthday ... won't leave it later - agree about not wanting him to have stabilisers when he is 7!

He got the wooden Thomas figure 8 train track last year and over the last few months I have been buying the odd little thing to add to it so will wrap those up too ...

I am so excited about his birthday ... can't wait to see his face on the morning when he gets his pressies ... I can see that I am going to be hopeless as he gets older as I will want to buy him everything ... why is it all so expensive?

Anyway have rambled on long enough ... thanks for the advice girlies ...

Love G

PS Megg ... happy birthday for your DS on Thursday ... my DS' birthday is Saturday 30th!

[Hilary]

My ds1 will be 4 on Saturday 30th. Fancy him sharing a birthday with another ds on here, Ghosty.

[Ghosty]

Ah Hillary ... happy birthday to your DS ...
Just left a little note on the other thread (having a 'mare) for you ...
Are you going to have a party for him? I am determined to give my DS a good day despite the difficult few weeks that I have just had ... not that we are having a big do ... just 8 little friends (still big enough for me!) and a Thomas the Tank Engine cake that I have been practicing making (that sort of thing does not come naturally to me!)... hope it turns out OK ...