Great gift ideas for boys!

I was a girl mom for 3 odd years before a boy made an appearance. Before Joshua and Adam, it was Barbie this, Doc Mcstuffin that. Pink, purple, girly girl toys. Well except that time Addison refused to leave Game without a Buzz Lightyear costing us about R1k. When we bought Buzz, to me it was totally a ‘boys toy’, but part of me was like…that’s cool that my daughter likes ‘boys toys’. I am at a point now where I know there really isn’t such a thing as girl or boy’s toys….obviously any gender can play with any toy that they want! My sons love to brush my hair….and my daughter would happily sword fight one of her brothers. So the stereotype of boys and girls toys….that doesn’t mean anything to me. For the purposes of today’s post though, I am going to refer to it as a gift guide for boys, but know…this could be for any kid!

So recently Master Adam turned 3 and he got some fantastic gifts! I always want toys to be durable and to also have some educational aspect or a multipurpose sort of function. Today I’m rounding up some of the gifts that I thought really stood out!

Jurassic World Dinosaurs

So if you’ve seen Adam’s 3rd birthday cake….you would know that he is DINOSAUR obsessed. Joshua was also dinosaur obsessed at age 3. It’s so bizarre, because Joshua was watching Barbie movies all the time when he was 3 (older sister controlled the TV), but yet this kid loved dinosaurs. I don’t even know how the obsession started. Dinosaurs make me believe that there is some truth in the saying ‘boys will be boys’.

Mattel sent over a Jurassic World Attack pack and Owen and the boys maturely opted to share it. By sharing, I mean Adam claimed the dinosaur and Joshua got given Owen. I love that these have little accessories, so the boys spend a bit of time putting on arm guards and removing them. I love watching the boys play together at this age…..and dinosaurs seem to be the thing they have in common so I’m all for it! Dinosaurs, bringing siblings together? That could be the tagline of a new dinosaur range… no?

There are quite a few dinosaurs in this Jurassic World range and I definitely want to pick up the Thrash ‘n Throw one for Adam and Joshua for Christmas.

Thomas the Train

A few weeks back we were in Toys R Us and Adam went nuts for Thomas the train, so I for one was pretty excited when he opened up a gift from one of his aunts…and there was Thomas! Specifically, this is the Thomas & Friends Collectible Railway Tidmouth Sheds set.

Introducing portable play to the Collectible Railway line with the iconic Tidmouth Sheds location! A favourite of Thomas and Friends fans, Tidmouth Sheds is the place where every engine begins a new day, and the place where they go to rest after a very busy day. 

Open the top to unload 9 pieces of track. Snap the track pieces into and around the sheds to build your track set. Take Thomas along to pick up cargo from the cargo loader. When you’re finished, load all your pieces inside and take it on the go with the convenient carry handle. It includes a die-cast metal Thomas engine and 3 cargo pieces.

What I love….and I think what Adam loves as well, is that when he’s done, he can simply pack it all up into the shed and off he goes. As if it’s a little tool box. I think it makes him feel very independent in that he can open it, undo the track, pack it up and close it all by himself. Putting the track together, taking it apart, I feel this also helps with the fine motor skills. This is fun and educational.

Side note: We’re so excited about the new Thomas and Friends: Big World! Big Adventure! movie coming out in September!!! Definitely taking my kids to see it…Adam is going to freak out! 

Hot Wheels

How many boys do you know that are NOT that into cars? You don’t know any? Yip…me neither. The car category makes me think of my nephew Kai. You see, before Kai could even walk properly he was able to master those black plastic bikes the toddlers love. Wheels are his jam! He just sees a car and he has to have it….and he also has to make sound effects all the time!

Now, while I love the little classic Hot Wheel cars for my older son, I really love the bigger Hot Wheels Fast Racer Pull Back cars for the younger kids like Adam and my nephew Kai! These are bigger, so they are perfect for little hands. I love the surprised look on their faces when one of them pulled the car back for the first time….and then seeing it jet off out of their hands! I think this is a great one for toddlers and older kids.

Lego

Do you know any kids that are NOT into Lego? I find Lego is another one that brings all my kids together…even my big kid….my husband! I think he gets more excited than the kids do when he can go and buy Lego for them.

For Adam I really love the Duplo lego sets. It’s simple, easy for him to build himself and educational. My sister got him this ‘First Puzzle Pets‘ set and he loves it! It teaches him colours, animals….we make sounds, he feeds them, etc. Joshua and Addison are into Jurassic World (shocker) and Lego Friends respectively. My husband……he’ll play with any set the kids allow him to touch. ha ha

Side note: I forgot to take pictures of the Lego for this post, so I went with an image from the Makro website, where the Lego was purchased. 

Adam also got a bicycle for his birthday that he really enjoyed, but I reckon a bicycle is a staple for any kid, so I didn’t feature that here. So that’s that for my ‘Gift ideas for boys’ round up! What do you think? Which toys/brands would you say are your favourites when it comes to gift shopping for your kids?

Disclaimer: The Jurassic World toys were sent to us, but as always, all opinions are my own. Everything else was purchased by myself/husband and/or family members 😉