Would it be weird to wrap up cheap shampoos/shower gels for my 3 year old to play with in the shower?

[ChristmasIsComing2024]

He loves squeezing shampoo/shower gel out and saying the colours ect. Would it be unreasonable to get him a basket and fill it up with a few cheap bottles in different colours and just let him empty them all out when we shower him? 🤷‍♀️

Well of course not. Who would know, who would care?

Age 3 - keeps him happy
nothing wrong with that in my eyes

If that’s what he enjoys doing - absolutely, go for it!

No of course not. Just hide all your good stuff. In January my 4 yo emptied my expensive (to us anyway, it was fancy mm&s range) treat bath oil that DH had bought me for Christmas down the bath plug hole. I cried 😭

Nothing weird about this, not all presents need to be expensive. If it's something you think he will enjoy then I think you should go for it.
Last year I put a deodorant in my sons stocking (5years) and he was soo impressed and went around telling everyone that he can smell nice like a man. It's a little thing to us, but a huge thing to them.
I'm sure if it's something your child loves doing, he will be so excited at the idea of having more shampoo and body wash of his own to use.

And I saw these colour changing bath gel test tubes the other day, he might like those. Currently half price at boots. Bath test tubes

Just do it now, they might grow out of it by Christmas

Also just fill with water and colouring. Save you and the planet resources! You can then just keep filling them up every night.

It would be very weird not to include a small plastic cup as well, and a spoon. How else will they mix them up together?

Both my DDs vividly remember mixing coloured body washes/bath soaps and getting the maximum froth from them, then blowing the froth down the bath and making bubbly mohicans on themselves or giving daddy a bubbly beard. The bath toys used to get a good bubbly layer on too. Ever seen a big duck or a red whale with a bubbly mohican 😂

Get smallish bottles and keep topping them up with different, cheap supermarket own brand products. I think DDs stopped around 7-8 years when they started preferring showers. Enjoy making memories OP 😀

What is unreasonable is letting social media / marketing / peer pressure make you think you should get anything other than the things your child will most enjoy!

Most little kids are far more interested in non toys. Stick a wooden spoon in his stocking, he’ll think it’s brilliant.

Shower gel basket sounds great to me.

Santa has included coloured foam soap in DD’s stocking since she was 2-it’s her favourite part of Christmas I think (she’s 5) 😊

Whatever makes them happy in my book!

My child with ASD is 11 and still loves making potions in the bath! Christmas and birthdays I always get some cheap shower gel/bubble bath/foam soap/bath bombs etc and he loves them. Price doesn't matter at all.

Sorry to be a killjoy, but no, I wouldn't let a child do that. They need to learn not to waste things and how will he learn not to squeeze all the 'good stuff' down the drain?

You can do the same thing with a squirty bottle with water in, use a ketchup or mayo bottle and they'll squirt. Bath bombs in the bath, empty bottles they can tip out. Mine use old plastic cups and colanders etc. If he only has showers you could put a washing up bowl in there and let him play with the water in that.

An eldery aunt of mine once presented my dc 5 with a random assortment of hotel shampoos and she thought this was the best present ever.

Perfect present!
My daughter would have loved this. She also received a roll of sellotape once for her to do what ever she pleased, which was basically making a spiderweb with tape.

Oh OP, these are the Christmases! Last year DDs were 9 and 6 and the blue tac in their stockings got more attention than LOL dolls 😆

Thinking like this for gifts is good sign of thoughtful parenting you notice what they like and buy accordingly even if it's completely random. Get as many different consistencies as possible so the gels will make a nice wavey pattern before they fully blend together.

My DD once emptied a new bottle of Olaplex in the bath 😑

Aww you've reminded me of my youngest who used to love making potions with any shampoo and bubble bath he was allowed. I'd recommend asdas most basic essentials shower gel, think was 40-50p but is brightly coloured red with an actually lovely fruity smell (I sometimes refil handwash bottles with it for said son's bathroom (now 6'2"and sadly no longer nto making potions🤣).

My go to gift for a three year old is a metre of fabric and a metre of ribbon. What you plan seems fab. I would use travel sizes and keep big bottles for quiet topping up but I do watch my pennies a bit.

To make it a Big gift, perhaps a collapsable washing up bowl with it so it can go outside in summer or whatever comes into his little mind.

DD also asked for, and received her own Sellotape dispenser when she was about 5.

Othered than mainstream presents the dc asked for when younger - a bag of marshmallows, a bag a carrots, marmite with their name on, hash browns, a garden hose, a tape measure. We have all these things, they just wanted their own.

I once asked a 6 year old boy in my class what he had got for his birthday that day. He told me very excitedly about his favourite present - a whole packet of blue tack.

When we mentioned it to his parents, it turned out it wasn’t even a present. It was just the blue tack that had been used to hold up his birthday banner!

I always include shower gel and bubble bath in the Christmas stocking. Also for the last Xmas/Bday I’ve wrapped up anything practical they’ve asked for eg stationery around the time of their bday just to bulk up the number of presents. Now mine are older they want something expensive so I see it as a good way to make there still look like there’s things to open and it makes them chuckle. For your little one, it sounds a perfect present.

I gave my 19yo plasters in her stocking last year.
Not weird at all.

I remember asking for blu tack and plasters as a child and being really delighted to receive them at Christmas. I've no idea why!

One of mine asked for paperclips and was thrilled with a big tub of multicoloured one I found, he liked stringing them together to make long chains🤷‍♂️😂