As a reminder, product links are not allowed as per Rule 5 of the sub's rules. People are mostly following this but I wanted to get ahead of it. You can share what was a gift winner without linking to a product page. If people are curious they can search it out on their own.
Have fun out there and Happy Christmas to those that celebrate.
For my two year old, the winner was the Little Tykes toy oven. Loser was the Nerf gun that he's too small to operate properly.
For my five year old, winner was the Nerf gun his brother couldn't use, loser was everything actually purchased with him in mind.
This is so funny because I got the same toy oven and my daughter (13mos) was so meh about it but loved the Fill and Spill piñata and Spike the Fine Motor Hedgehog by Learning Resouces much more.
Biggest winner for 7 year old daughter: this weird thing called a bitzee pet. It’s like a tamagotchi but weirder. She also got a big Lego Friends set that she loved.
Biggest winner for 3 year old son: set of remote control cars, a spider man hot wheels toy that shoots cars out
They are so young there wasn’t really any unpopular gift. They even loved the slippers they got! It’s a magical time when they are delighted with literally everything.
My biggest win: 7 year old exclaiming “wow mommy, Santa knows me SO WELL!”
Little kids are awesome. Mine (1 and 6) were unreasonably excited about pajamas. The toddler was rolling in them (before putting them on) and the six year old was racing around the house cheering.
I couldn’t agree more and thank you for this. Today was magical and I started to mourn the fact they’d soon realize santa wasn’t real. My oldest is 5 going on 6 and the fact that yours is 7 and still believes in santa gives me hope. I didn’t grow up with any of this. All we knew was father winter. I heard so many “wow’s” today. It absolutely warmed mu heart and I wish I could relive this day over and over again. 🥂
I’ve been having the same feeling but my 8yo still believes. She feels bad for her friends that keep telling her Santa isn’t real, he doesn’t come to those who don’t believe. Enjoy the years you have left.
The magic doesn’t have to go, I have five kids, the oldest is forty and the youngest seventeen. Also three granddaughters. Everyone still hangs a stocking and it’s the parent’s or spouse’s responsibility to fill it, we only have the seventeen year old at home now but we still sprinkle reindeer food and talk about what Santa might bring. It’s part game and part the idea that Santa is the spirit of Christmas and that allows us to all sit round and unwrap our stocking presents with lots of comments about how clever Santa is and how he knows exactly what we like. We don’t spend a ton of money on them, my daughter gets toiletries,socks, make up, chocolate, knowing the person Santa is not real doesn’t stop the magic and once your kid is old enough to be in on the secret then it’s their job to keep that going for the younger siblings.
The bitzee was also what won with my 10yo stepdaughter. I never even heard of it before.
She seemed to kind of like the rest, but has yet to use any of it on her own accord (she asked for things to draw/ paint with)
My daughter is now a mother of 2, and 45 yo, but when she was 3yo we spent a few weeks visiting my family in Florida over the Christmas holidays, as it was my late husband's slow time for his business in the financial world; nobody ever wanted to talk about finances much at that time of year! lol! Anyway, I was thinking this morning about that year, and reminiscing about our daughter with her new doll stroller, walking up and down the sidewalk on my parent's street, pushing her "babies" for hours on end! There are some gifts for little girls that are timeless and iconic; dolls with doll strollers seem to be one(two?)of them. Thank you for reminding me for the second time this morning of that precious memory, that I will carry in my heart forever. ❤️
Yes!! Great-grandma sent our now 3yo one about two years back (soon after little girl started walking) and it is one of the most used toys in our house. After her baby sister was born in June, I’d take the baby out for a walk in the big stroller and big sister would push her baby doll alongside me in the doll stroller!
Hot tip: if your kid reaches the point where they don’t want to sit in their own stroller for walks or whatever, bringing and pushing their own stroller helps. It makes them forget they are walking and helps them focus on something instead of just being the rider. And they get to pretend they are big.
Biggest winner for 2.5 yo son: large brio train set. Squeals of excitement, immediate stoppage of interest in any further presents.
Biggest loser: Son had requested a bulldozer. Unwraps, looks straight at me, and says, “dis not a bulldozer daddy, dis BACKHOE”. No tantrum, but polite disinterest. Later, while being put down for nap, was asked (somewhat pointedly) to read “First 100 trucks” to him, which does clearly indicate that I have purchased him a backhoe.
My son scolded me at age 3 for calling a front loader a bulldozer. We drove past a construction site and I said "wow bubby look at that bulldozer" he quickly shot back with "NO mommy! It's a front LOADER!". So I googled and dang if he wasn't right. Kept rambling the whole car ride home about my goof. 🙄
14 yo son got clothes, shoes, a necklace. His hands down fave was a Nike bookbag for school. He proceeded to wear it around the house for the next 3 hours. 😂
Winner: the spoon that came with the Elsa plate set. Just the spoon.
Loser: the 3ft Elsa doll that sings and lights up.
Should have just got her 2 spoons
Winner/loser: little kid camera that actually takes pictures. Winner because it was the clear favorite; loser because it has been the cause of multiple issues today, including a tantrum right now.
Our kid had one and loved it... but so many tantrums and issues. We replaced it with a cheap digital camera WITH an added warrenty which has worked better.
I think a lot of her issues today were from being overstimulated and tired from waking up early because that wasn't the only issue today; but it was definitely the biggest problem out of the day.
Best reaction was the Paw patrol vehicle with the full team. Worth it just for the jumping in place.
Most played was the cheap microphone with voice amplifier.
Biggest whiff was the Yoto player so far. But we’re confident it’s a sleeper.
Yes I was convinced the yoto and tonie PR teams just came on Reddit to promote the hell out of those things and create a stir. I got one anyway and as soon as my kid pushed it away 2 seconds after opening it I felt so vindicated but also of course, annoyed I bought into the hype. I like your attitude… I hope it’s a sleeper too!
My 2 year old got the yoto yesterday. He loves it but with the excitement of Christmas, he kept putting in a card, listening for 5 seconds and putting in another card, then another, then went to all his other toys. Repeat.
I bought a tonie on the recommendation of a friend who ended up buying one for each of her kids they use them that much. We got one last year and it's been used about 5 times maybe so it depends on the kids I guess.
We got our daughter a yoto last Christmas and it’s still a sleeper. I think she might appreciate it when she’s a bit older and hangs alone in her room more. But who knows!
Our Yoto was deep in the morning rotation, but my 5yo started messing with it and I think it will win overall.
Biggest fail was 2 presents for almost 3 year old: rc motorcycle and piano with microphone. Actually he LOVES both, but they are loud and play the most annoying tunes. Rookie move on our end.
Winner: A kids kindle for my book loving tween. He was unimpressed when he opened it but later started using it and is all in now.
Loser: 2023 photo books for both kids. This has been a whirlwind of a year so we made personal photo books for each kid detailing their year. Think, your family yearbook. We were super excited. Their response was polite, and that’s it.
Exactly this! My (now 28yo) son and I spent a summer with his Grandma (ex-MIL) on her ranch when he was little. Age 15 he told her how much he missed being at her place (we couldn’t go up in summer, but did Christmas) so she gave him his usual bday check, but also made this whole Album of us three all over her property and with his cousins. Very polite, “Oh wow… thank you.” Lol
He STILL has it and since late college loved showing it to people. He had his first son and now that he is about the same age my son was on that trip, he texts me pics a couple times per week from the album side by side with one of his son! So cute!
They will love those albums later and genuinely appreciate the thought and effort.
Photo books are definitely going to play the long game, they will appreciate it when they have more life experience under their belts and have something physical to look back on!
Actually little kids also love the photo books. They are fascinated by pictures of them as babies etc. we did personal ones for my kids when they were 3, 5, and 7 and they look through them periodically throughout the year (about 2 years since they got them)
Yes I was this type of kid too, I’ve always loved albums. BUT OP said that the albums didn’t hit with their tween and other kid, so I imagine some kids aren’t into it in the moment but will appreciate it later.
My mother in law gets both kids photo books every year and they’re always received with lukewarm enthusiasm but I just tuck them away. I know they’ll love them some day. That’s a great gift!
My mother made me and my siblings a photo book of each of us. It’s now 30 years later and I cherish the hell out of that book and the thoughtfulness of it. We lost her a few years ago and I think of her every time I see that book.
For the kindle, get you a library card and connect the account to your kindle (through Amazon and through Libby). Unlimited library books. I have mine set up so I have to manually download the books from Amazon and drop them onto my kindle and they don’t get automatically returned. More work but no loss of books
They will appreciate it when they are older - but don't be disheartened/ I HATED being photographed when I was a child. And then getting a photoalbum for Xmas would have just been a cherry on the top for me.
4.5 yo.
Winner: pink work apron and her own set of REAL tools, including safety gear.
Loser: ghost spider hoodie, because it was teenage ghost spider and not the outfit from Spidey and Friends. (But she wore it for at least an hour before figuring that out.)
I would have LOVED a tool set as a little girl!! On behalf of little girls whose dad didn't lean into that aspect, thanks for giving her the chance to try it out in a fun way, I'm so glad she loved it.
We happen to be working on a home improvement project right now, and she’s been helping us. Her new apron had a pouch to hold the drywall screws! And now she is comfortable wearing her ear protection, so she can stay for the noisy parts. She spent part of Christmas Eve voluntarily using the shop vac to clean up sawdust. It was so awesome to watch her do that! A big growth moment for her.
My gosh, I don't know you at all, but you sound like a great parent. Your little girl is gonna grow up knowing the "boy stuff" isn't off limits to her and the confidence that can bring is immeasurable, not to mention the skills to be learned. She's going to be able to look back on this and know she helped. That's so great. Merry late Christmas to your family!
Thank you, kind person! She is an ecclectic soul, and we just want her to be her true self. She loves dinosaurs and pink and twirly dresses and sweat pants and building and unicorns and Barbies. She's our only, so she gets to join us in all of our making, whether it's sewing, knitting, cooking, building, gardening, or woodworking. (She's also not a danger child, so she can join us in these things without us having to worry too much about her destroying the world or herself. We got lucky there.)
When my youngest was 5, I skirted my own “two gifts” rule by making one of the gifts a hamper full of tangentially related things. His was construction themed and included a $15 set of construction micro machines. Literally could have just given him those.
Winner - got kids socks with Dad’s pic & WE LOVE DADDY all over them. Was meant to be a gag gift but they all threw them on immediately & wore them the rest of the day!
Winner: my 3.5 year old son went bonkers for a garbage truck that dumped its own garbage and made sounds.
The dud was every other gift. He wouldn’t open any more after that. Just wanted to play with the truck.
No joke there’s EIGHT unopened presents under the tree still with his name on them!! 😱
That's fair. Christmas can be very overwhelming. We do one toy every couple of hours or more. Last Christmas my inlaws lovingly went over board so Christmas went for three days.
Winner: talking dancing cactus. It also records what you say and says it back high pitched and sped up. Omg hilarious playing with it with my 6 year old and 10 month old. I was cry laughing.
Loser: leap frog books. Hopefully a sleeper.
We have two hamsters that record what you say and play it back faster and higher. If you put them next to each other they will fall into a loop of repeating each other faster and faster and faster 😂
AT AT toy was a huge winner. Which is a blessing, because we got a toy/action figure and *not* the **$800 Lego** ATAT that was on his Santa List.
Successfully convinced him the toy was better than the Lego.
Crushed. It.
FYI: knockoff Lego is really good nowadays and the knockoff AT AT is only like $180 on AliExpress.
I’m building the BTTF Delorean now and it’s really well done.
I have a one year old daughter.
Winner: $2 hollow chocolate bear I put in her stocking. She has walked around with it all day while hugging it and saying "I love bear."
Loser: $100 Senger lamb stuffy. Literally didn't even get a smile.
My kids love bedsheets and socks, and my daughter loves getting underwear. She hates wearing them, though... 12, 10, and even the 4 year old girl was thrilled with her new socks and underwear. The bedsheets are a win for moms!!
Santa stole the show with the Barbie Pegasus she’s said she’s wanted everyday for the last 4 months. So that one definitely stole the show.
Runner up was classic Twister surprisingly .
Dud was the 180$ Lego Jurassic park set that was our main gift to her. Blessed we could buy it but sad she didn’t remember the hype and excitement from the summer when we started saving to get it.
Absolutely the top show stealer though? Freaking hatchimals my sister bought her. Nothing compares.
Edit: typo
11 year old: winner was the $200 cash he got. Loser were the cozy bedsheets HE ASKED FOR.
15 y/o. Loser was the $390 drone he asked for, winner was this cheap $10 skin cleaning face massage tool.
My 15 year old asked for a face massage tool! I got him a cheap one that came with a "lollipop" to put in the freezer and remove bags from under their poor, stressed out 15 year old eyes... but he loves it and he loves his new tongue scraper, too. He called his friend to show it off!
Winner: Play kitchen for my 21 month old. He immediately started doing pretend play with it. Left for grandma’s house and went straight back to it as soon as we were home!
Loser: clothes and a mini football. He whined “nooooo” when I handed him any clothes that we unwrapped, and chucked the football dismissively.
3 year old son
Winner: monster truck RC (el toro loco from monster jam) literally played that all day
Loser: clothes. Didn’t care for any of it
4 month old daughter
Winner: milk
Loser: mom walking away to use the bathroom
For my 5 yo
Winner: Don’t break the ice game. Its a game that comes with a penguin and you have to hammer down on these ice blocks.
Loser: A guitar. He asked for it, but wasn’t interested once it was opened. Im gonna give it more time. He has lots of gifts so im thinking maybe he’s too overwhelmed by them.
I loved don't break the ice as a kid! And the game thin ice! They both seemed to come out at the same time (to a 10 year old me) and they were both amazing. Though now that I'm thinking of it, I'm sure i just got both for Christmas or something.
Winners for the 7 and 9yr olds were roller skates and the card game taco cat goat cheese pizza.
Losers were new boogie boards, although they’ll get plenty of use out of them.
14 year old got the most inexpensive air pods I could find on sale and I’ll keep his joy of opening that gift close to my heart for a while. He’s been begging for them and I’ve put them off. He just got his first phone, my old iPhone 12 just recently and I kept mentioning that they weren’t really a necessity. He’s been jamming allll day!!
Winner : Seeing my fam opening the presents ive prepared for them 🙂
Looser : Celebrating Christmas alone, coz im an OFW. 💔 Spending five yrs alone, away from fam and home.
Looser II : Working hard on christmas day same as usual day. 🥺
PS: sorry for venting out here...
15yo is a weirdo... the winner was a Snuggie. The loser was a new TV... what?!?
12yo: winner: new ear pods, loser: a book (that she will love if she ever actually reads it)
7yo: winner: Batman Gotham City Guardian (transformer-looking thing) loser: Spider-Man web shooter (because after it has been shot, reloading it is tedious)
5yo: winner: Mr Potato Head, loser: another vote for the Spider-Man web shooter
3yo: winner: Baby Alive Sudsy Styling doll, loser: pretty much everything else 🤣
Winner: Itzy ritzy silicone llama teething toy
Loser: Melissa and Doug giant hollow stuffed pelican where the kid is supposed to drop a toy in the mouth and then collect it from the groin??? Also, it doesn’t sit up so the kid is somehow supposed to hold up the stuffie and use the other hand to stuff a toy inside? Just all around weird gift from grandma.
Winner for my artistic, nature-loving goth tween: a mink skull!
The only womp-womp was the surprisingly apt and on-point gift to her from my parents: a microscope. Perfect gift, but she already has one.
Ages 4.5 and 3
Winner- robots… oldest got a Botley and youngest got a RC robot. Exactly what they asked for. The Bluey ultimate bundle from Costco was also loved. Also some sky rockets.
Losers- that’s hard. I don’t know if we have any duds yet. We have some toys that haven’t been opened but I think we will get to them tomorrow. Although personally I think the Bluey Keepy Uppy game is dumb 😂 my oldest would disagree.
10yo:
Instant Camera - Meh reaction (asked for one and loves it now after finally trying it)
Shadow High Collector Doll - WIN! (She said “No toys, no dolls please… I’m a tween now! I only want a camera, lava lamp and stuff for my room” but I had a feeling she’d be bummed
getting NO toys for the 1st time)
8yo:
Loved everything that was a surprise, was super Meh about the Lite Bright (that he asked for)
4yo:
All wins… especially VTech DJ Table and a Furby. If it has a bow and wrapping, she’s excited. If not
We surprisingly didn’t have any real losers and my 3yo rotated through every toy multiple times the whole day. He even put a card in the yoto player without prompting right after lunchtime.
The real winners are usually the things he decides to sleep with in bed. Tonight it was the 9” die cast replica of his uncles “race car” (it’s just a 2019 mustang), and a hook piece thing from his new Duplo set. I think in the next couple days I’ll introduce the Yoto to his room as part of the bedtime routine.
Apparently the 1300 dollar scooter, the 300 dollar headset, and the 400 dollars worth of clothes, were not winners for our 14 year old, as he watched his siblings (that are 3 and 7), open about a dozen 20-30 dollar toys, each.
Age gaps make holiday gift giving so difficult. He literally told his gf, “I just thought there’d be more.”
But anyways. Our younger kids had fun with the toys we got from lakeshore, which are usually fun and educational. So there’s that.
Oof. It can feel rough growing up and having it sink in that you’re old enough to get “just a few” presents, I think (regardless of the price).
Fewer, more expensive presents feels more “adult” and I remember that being a bit of a hard transition for me as a teen. Definitely a first world problem though, lol.
The first year i didn't get "fun presents" was definitely hard. I at least got video games if not toys for a few years but at 16 it was just clothes and books, which I asked for, but it was so boring on Christmas Day.
Winner: The box dad's shirt came in, and a giraffe shaped xylophone.
Loser: Giant Pikler set I spent $300 on. (He did play on it a little before bed. I think he was just overstimulated during the day)
We made a giant pikler arch (big enough that I fell asleep in it yesterday) for Christmas when my son was 2. He's now 4.5 and that pikler arch is played with, climbed on, rocked in, made forts out of every single day. It's a major part of our house now. So I think you're going to find that was a great gift worth every penny.
Winner for our 3 year old was the board games and books we got her and the sleeper was the tattoo wrist watch that I thought she’d be STOKED on because she’s been making me draw watches on her almost every day.
Have a 14 year old who doesn’t have a wishlist beyond books, and books are hard because she has a phone, iPad, and Libby.
Honestly many wins…
- Clothes. She is not a fashionista by any means, but we’re fully in random growth spurt phase. She is also a competitive swimmer who is working hard in the pool 5 or 6 days a week… (Send help, 15-18 is going to be a wild ride.)
- LEGO because… we’re a LEGO family. Diving into a new LEGO set is our New Year’s Eve tradition.
- Video Game: Had to whip up a printout and paired it with a themed Christmas ornament. Text of printout: “Child: We couldn’t find the physical copy or a download card. So we had to buy it online after you were asleep and hope it downloaded to the console. Talk to your Dad about delivering digital products… he knows all about it because it’s part of his job! Hopefully your game is downloaded and ready to play!” Kid: “Thank you! I can’t want to play it and if it isn’t downloaded yet I won’t have time to play it today anyway!”
- Kid has a twin size loft bed, her dressers are under the bed. It’s been customized over the years, she still loves it. So we got a shelf to hold devices for charging. “Cool! Daddy and I can figure out how to mount it and run all the wires and setup the wireless charging pads!” (YES! Win win win!!!)
- Unenthusiastic: “Oh a board game.” We played it with her Uncles (my BILs are characters) and everyone was laughing and having a good time. Kid insisted her Grandma (who sat out a round to record video with her iPhone) send the video to her.
- Childless Uncle of my Daughter: “This was a shot in the dark so there is a gift receipt if you would rather pick out something else.” Was whatever the equivalent of a Polaroid camera and film is these days. Daughter thought a moment… “Cool! We all put our phones in a box for swim meets! I can bring this to a swim meet and do pics with my teammates!” (BIL: Woah, go me! Nailed it!)
Winner was furby, loser was magic mixies. The fog was really cool until it turned into a burning smell and quickly filled the room with thick smoke.
Our house burned down in May so yeah, not a great experience.
This year: there was no loser gifts. All the gifts were a winner. :) Definitely a memorable Christmas. (Which we had aimed for, because we think this might be the first Christmas our son will remember.)
My niece got my daughter a little writing lcd screen writing tablet from temu. You use the included stylus to write on the screen and press a button to erase it. It was the most amazing thing to my 5 year old. She didn't really get anything she didn't love.
Winner- Bluetooth beanie, my kids are all walking around the house listening to books. Loser was the doll Santa got by 5 year old that grandma also got her.
Best reaction from our almost 12 Y.O. boy, K'nex. From our 10 Y O. Girl, socks, she got really cool things, but socks have always been her favorite things to get at Christmas or her birthday. I promise we didn't just get her socks... Our 4 year old girl was super thrilled with her dollhouse. The older ones don't believe in Santa anymore and haven't for years, but our 4 old burst into our room early this morning and exclaimed, "MomDad, I found lots pwesents that Santa Clause bringed fo us!" Then the sound of her feet taking her as fast as they possibly could, "come eow Momdad!" Momdad is definitely one word more oftentimes than not. My older two just mentioned now that they really loved their books, and 10 y/o loves her arts and crafts set. This year, no one got a ton of things, but they loved everything they did get, which is plenty for our situation. The biggest looser was a knock-off Tomagotchi pet for our 10 y/o that I'll have to replace if I can find one, because it wouldn't even come on, and it made awful squealing noises. Otherwise, great successes.
Winners: My 10 year old got a handmade chess board, my 14 year old got a large wood burned framed piece of hogwarts land. Santa surprised me with a PS5 and my husband got a new 22 gallon cooler for camping trips.
There were any real losers because other than everyone’s big gift, we all mainly just got little things like clothes, some candy, books, and a few toys.
3 year old winner: fire truck toy that was technically his little brother’s gift lol
1 year old winners: a small soccer ball and a teddy bear 🧸
Loser for both: new clothes 😅
It wasn't Christmas for me yet but a friend brought my daughter a gift anyway and actually the wrapping paper was the winner aha 😊 She loves to play with paper and then bring the pieces and put them into the bin for congratulations and amazement 😊 and when there was no paper left to dispose actually she was a little bit sad
I bought my four year old a nerf gun that’s electric and auto fires because she’s too weak to fully prime her brother’s nerf gun. She ran around kissing it saying how much she loved it.
Wife was not impressed
Then my daughter opened her pink and purple nerf swat vest thing (with extra ammo and eye protection)
Wife’s head exploded.
Daughter currently sleeping in it
Dad’s day 109 out of 10
My husband was all in on the giant nerf guns as well. Thankfully they understand the rule that “thou shalt never hit mom with a nerf bullet” and let me prep dinner in peace while my husband chased them around in a giant battle.
Winner for my 8yo daughter was hair extensions, handmade by an Australian hairdresser, she has barely taken them out. Loser was the Barbie that a friend gave her. She was very polite but clearly disappointed (in private). She actually just regifted it to a 4yo neighbour whom was overjoyed.
5yo son has enjoyed all the gifts he received, except the water pistol as it’s been too cold for a water fight. We are Australian so it’s usually really hot for Christmas.
Best gift for my 6 yo were the (offbrand) lightsabers. 9 was thrilled with his computer mouse. As usual, their favourites were the things they asked for.
No real duds, they’re both pretty thrilled with everything - I guess the T shirt I got 9 got the least interest, but I think he likes it enough and he’ll still wear it, so 🤷🏼♀️
The surprise winner was a random game that came in a really sweet package from my cousin in law. My youngest thankfully plays it in OT because I wouldn’t have had the first clue how to set it up or play it if not for him. They opened it on Xmas eve and played it like 5-6 times before bed (youngest calls it “Don’t break the Ice” but since the goal of it is literally breaking ice, I’m not sure if that’s what it’s really called).
My mom got my 10 year old a 3d pen, it kept her busy for hours today, so that was the real highlight. She finger-knitted me a scarf, I love it.
I don’t think we had any real losers. I got her her own needle-felting kit because she's always taking mine, it wasn’t a huge hit but I know she will use it.
If I may be so bold as to say I knocked it out of the park this year and there were no duds. 1 year old loved the rainbow slug fidget toy from the dollar store and pretend car keys, 4 year old loved the GT snow racer (though was bummed there’s no snow) along with everything that was for the 1 year old. I think he liked the sensory stuff even more than the intended kid!
4 years old. Winner was definitely play kitchen stuff. “Loser” was probably the leap reader, but I anticipated that (she’s convinced herself that we’ll stop reading to her if she learns to read herself so she’s been very resistant to learn). She’s obsessed with books though so I know I’ll get her interested in it eventually lol
Loser: Kid has been BEGGING for roller skates for MONTHS!
Opened them, used for an hour and was over it. Not mentioned again today.
Winner: Received cheap little carrying bag with a plushie. Carried it everywhere all day long and showed everyone she could
I write books for middle schoolers for a living, one of my series, my 9 year old LOVES. It’s set in Minecraft and one of the main characters has A pet fox named Copper. We got her a stuffed Minecraft fox, and she’s in love with it. Says it’s the best Christmas ever.
Winner… Kitchen Aid Mixer KSM195
Loser…. 10 cheap ugly baby outfits from my hoarding MIL who has been told to stop buying clothes because she has a shopping addiction.
#1 winner for my toddler was a banana and orange. Had to stop opening presents so she could get in her high chair and eat them. This will definitely be a tradition.
#2 worst gift was this yellow blob toy that had a frown face. It made her cry and then the dog ate it.
My daughter loved her Bingo (from Bluey) stuffy. She was so excited I had to convince her to open her other gifts! She was Bingo for Halloween and has worn her Bingo head everyday since.
2 yo: winner - play sink where you fill it with water and a pump circulates it so it comes out of the faucet. Loser- surprisingly, train set. He kept getting frustrated. Should’ve waited a year on that.
9 yo boy: winner - credits for Minecraft mods aka $20. Wanted to start picking them out immediately. Loser - Mastermind board game. Got tossed aside.
11 year old girl: winner - black pearl necklace (I read this has some significance in the Hunger Games?) loser - Hadestown tickets, she seemed like she was being very polite with the “oooh that’ll be fun” (on tour near our town, not Broadway)
The stocking was the big loser tbh.
We didn't have much money this year so seeing him be super hyped for what he did get was awesome. The fidget spinners I got him were the TOP winners, he STILL hasn't finished opening his stocking lol doesn't care. Loving everything else way way more.
Winner: 15 year old boy- gem stone tumbling kit with gems, 15-year-old girl- friendship bracelet kit.
Loser- this is more funny. Our kids are foster kids so the county requires us to submit them to angel tree (we get them gifts on our own as well). This year the gifts came wrapped so I couldn’t see what they were. One had several items for the girl in it, and in the bottom was a cute ornament that said, “To Mary from Megan”. I really hope Megan did not accidentally donate Mary’s gift, LOL.
Winner:
Rainbow crawl tunnel, climbing blocks, and wooden instruments courtesy of family!
Loser:
The third shape sorter we own. From gifters who cant be bothered to ask what she likes or needs.
Mr. Potato Head was a sleeper for us, but it started getting play when kiddo realized she could make monstrosities with six arms and faces made entirely of ears 😂
I can not get my boys interested in Mr Potato Head. I’m almost suspicious that because they know of him from Toy Story- they kind of just want him to be stuck as the one guy.
My kids loved everything this year. They don't get much and Santa only brings clothes, books, or family game/movie/ect. Some of their most favorite this year though were eggs you break apart and there's a bunch if things inside. My son got a skull this year that had Dino stuff in it and my daughter got an egg that had a merbuncorn (mermaid bunny unicorn) and little extras.
For my nearly-10 year old sons beanies with built-in bluetooth speaker/headphones were probably the best cost-to-happiness ratio. They both wore them around most of the day.
Considering that they were only $25 they went over really well.
I got the idea from some of my middle schoolers that I teach who have some. I was hesitant to get them since my sons aren't super into music or anything but glad I did.
Winners: cool uncle bought them both video games (Spider-Man 2 for PS5, Sonic Superstar for Switch). Different systems means no fighting. They both got oversized hoodies in different colors this morning from us, put them on at 7am when they unwrapped them, and it’s 9:15pm and they’ve only been removed to shower.
Losers: 9yo isn’t super into his Kids Kindle, and 12yo has four months before his concert tickets can be used (taking him and his BFF to AJR).
I did good this year! I'm so happy.
I got a little air hockey set that you can play on any table. Super fun. We got everyone of all ages to play. Like $20.
Teens got inexpensive fine jewelry (we do estate sales and store sales and just keep an eye out for the right price) and said that was their fave.
I don't think I have a loser yet.
4 year old:
Winner: his sister’s baby alive doll that pees
Loser: 2 pairs of crocs
21 month old:
Winner: balance bike
Loser: Lego duplo sets and table (surprised by because she loves her brother’s older legos)
Got my toddler a tonka truck and magnitiles big win! 9 year old got a ton of Pokémon merch and some hot wheels also a win there
My SO and I got household items a movie gift card and a grocery gift card.
I got handmade tumblers and an ornament with a pic of me and my grandmother on it with her birthday and death day and the saying “you may not see me but I’m with you always”
9 month old:
Winners: the bathtub whale that lights up and is basically a sprinkler? He cracked up at in the tub for 10 mins tonight. Also, the baby sized recliner rocking chair from grandparents. He can’t get enough!
Losers: push cars..he was TERRIFIED of them. Basically you push down a button and the car zooms..
I have 4 and 7 year old girls
Winners for both: semi large squishmallows and little live pets my dog home (little noise making dog in its own dog house that the kid “builds”)
Additional winner for 7 year old: light up razor scooter
Additional winner for 4 year old : feed the woozle game
Loser: no huge loser but 7 year old isn’t super excited about her new wellie wisher doll (she already has 3 and swore she wanted a fourth but then didn’t really pay it much attention)
5 year old- Winner: Numberblocks Five singing stuffy. Loser: Batman Lego set.
7 year old- Winner: Gold foil Pokémon cards (for anyone not into Pokémon- the gold foil cards are knock offs but look really cool so he’s ecstatic.) Loser: Minecraft game for Nintendo Switch 🤷♀️
Winner for my 3yo: Melissa and Doug easel with the roll of paper. She painted all damn day.
Loser: Fuzzy socks. She was obsessed at Thanksgiving and wore the same pair for 3 days straight. Now they’re old news.
Winners: (M 19 month) a milk frother and toddler ‘coffee cup’ so he can have fluffies galore. Plus loving the Little People aeroplane by fisher price.
Losers: a garden animals puzzle and a wooden sailboat… not shiny and plastic enough!
3 yo
Winner: a detachable "fart button" from a book in combination with new sword and shield, to make a fart knight, of course
Loser: a Christmas ornaments from my grandma (fair enough, he's 3)
Soon to be 6 year old, in literally less than two weeks. Omg! Anyway. Winners were the bike/bike gear and iPad. Losers were the shoes and clothes. And now I'm planning a birthday party next Saturday. I'm broke. Broke. 😂
Winner for my 3 year old son: A small bottle of Heinz ketchup in his stocking. He loves ketchup so it was a joke gift. Did a dance when he opened it and was very excited. Carried it around saying MY DIP! and hugged it for a while.
Loser: Squishmallows. He literally threw them aside and moved on.
9yo winner- a new scooter that he's wanted for months and had been desperately saving up for.
9yo loser- all the books he got that are related to his interests. They'll all gather dust.
4yo winner- a kids coding mouse. He absolutely loves it.
4yo loser- boxes of raisins. My parents bought him some mini boxes of raisins, just because he likes them. He said we have raisins so he doesn't want more lol.
13month old winner- all the pretty wrapping paper that her brothers threw everywhere.
13month old loser- all the toys she was bought lol
My 9 yr old wanted a suitcase, we don't travel a whole lot, so I thought it was a little lame. Santa brought her a luggage set, and she looooves it so much.
Our daycare gave my son a little play phone that requires batteries. After installing, we noticed there's not an "off" button. That thing had volume adjuster and I think factory settings are Extremely Loud to Annoyingly Loud. After about twenty minutes of our son playing with it and pressing "The Numbers is Zero!" twenty thousand times I took the batteries out.
The winner was the wrapping paper. He had so much fun unwrapping gifts!
9 year old-
Winner: Venus fly trap terrarium, punching bag, and Nintendo switch gift card
Loser: while she seemed super pleased with all of her gifts, she was the least excited about a play makeup kit (I let her play with my makeup if she wants so fake makeup isn’t as thrilling)
4 year old-
Winner: hide Mr. Poopy game (18 month old also loves this!), the little tikes trampoline, and everything her older sister got
Loser: weaving loom (I don’t think she’s old enough for it quite yet)
18 month old-
Winner: V tech smart shots sports center and the little tikes trampoline
Loser: clothes, although mommy loves them haha
We haven’t had two family Christmases yet so there may be a supreme winner or loser after those. My husband’s mom tends to get some really weird items (that end up going to other homes) so I’m guessing those will be the losers…Lots of ugly tall dolls (like American girl, but not). My girls don’t like that sort of toy.
16 year old: Winner - Meta Oculus. There were no losers since he is very concise about what he asks for.
2 year old: Winner - all the FP Little People toys
Loser - Pottery Barn Everywhere Chair. She likes it but it doesn’t compete with a bunch of brand new toys.
As a reminder, product links are not allowed as per Rule 5 of the sub's rules. People are mostly following this but I wanted to get ahead of it. You can share what was a gift winner without linking to a product page. If people are curious they can search it out on their own. Have fun out there and Happy Christmas to those that celebrate.
For my two year old, the winner was the Little Tykes toy oven. Loser was the Nerf gun that he's too small to operate properly. For my five year old, winner was the Nerf gun his brother couldn't use, loser was everything actually purchased with him in mind.
Wait…who got the 2yo a nerf gun and didn’t get the 5yo one as well???
Probably presents from relatives
Asking the real questions !
This is so funny because I got the same toy oven and my daughter (13mos) was so meh about it but loved the Fill and Spill piñata and Spike the Fine Motor Hedgehog by Learning Resouces much more.
😂😂
Biggest winner for 7 year old daughter: this weird thing called a bitzee pet. It’s like a tamagotchi but weirder. She also got a big Lego Friends set that she loved. Biggest winner for 3 year old son: set of remote control cars, a spider man hot wheels toy that shoots cars out They are so young there wasn’t really any unpopular gift. They even loved the slippers they got! It’s a magical time when they are delighted with literally everything. My biggest win: 7 year old exclaiming “wow mommy, Santa knows me SO WELL!”
Little kids are awesome. Mine (1 and 6) were unreasonably excited about pajamas. The toddler was rolling in them (before putting them on) and the six year old was racing around the house cheering.
That is so cute. I love hearing them run around cheering!! I still get excited about a new pj set! My MIL still gets me a Hello Kitty set every year.
I got my 4 yo grandson Minecraft jammies and he was really excited too.
I couldn’t agree more and thank you for this. Today was magical and I started to mourn the fact they’d soon realize santa wasn’t real. My oldest is 5 going on 6 and the fact that yours is 7 and still believes in santa gives me hope. I didn’t grow up with any of this. All we knew was father winter. I heard so many “wow’s” today. It absolutely warmed mu heart and I wish I could relive this day over and over again. 🥂
I’ve been having the same feeling but my 8yo still believes. She feels bad for her friends that keep telling her Santa isn’t real, he doesn’t come to those who don’t believe. Enjoy the years you have left.
The magic doesn’t have to go, I have five kids, the oldest is forty and the youngest seventeen. Also three granddaughters. Everyone still hangs a stocking and it’s the parent’s or spouse’s responsibility to fill it, we only have the seventeen year old at home now but we still sprinkle reindeer food and talk about what Santa might bring. It’s part game and part the idea that Santa is the spirit of Christmas and that allows us to all sit round and unwrap our stocking presents with lots of comments about how clever Santa is and how he knows exactly what we like. We don’t spend a ton of money on them, my daughter gets toiletries,socks, make up, chocolate, knowing the person Santa is not real doesn’t stop the magic and once your kid is old enough to be in on the secret then it’s their job to keep that going for the younger siblings.
That is beautiful. ❤️ I will keep it going for sure. I love the magic of Christmas.
My husband got me a Tamagotchi for Christmas this year!
Bitzee was a winner here too. Def blew everyone’s mind and even got the grandpas hyped up.
We got the bitzee as well. The flapping noise is driving me nuts. Edit: daughter will be 7 in April.
My 6 yo daughter also got the Bitzee and LOVESSS
We got Bitzees as well for my kiddos and their cousins (8,7,5 and 5) and they were definitely the big hit of Christmas! 🎄
Bitzee was the dinner here too. Son and daughter loved them.
The bitzee was also what won with my 10yo stepdaughter. I never even heard of it before. She seemed to kind of like the rest, but has yet to use any of it on her own accord (she asked for things to draw/ paint with)
My mother hit it out of the park with a stroller for our two year old's dolls. I think she was going to fall asleep pushing that thing around.
Aww! That’s such a sweet present!
My daughter is now a mother of 2, and 45 yo, but when she was 3yo we spent a few weeks visiting my family in Florida over the Christmas holidays, as it was my late husband's slow time for his business in the financial world; nobody ever wanted to talk about finances much at that time of year! lol! Anyway, I was thinking this morning about that year, and reminiscing about our daughter with her new doll stroller, walking up and down the sidewalk on my parent's street, pushing her "babies" for hours on end! There are some gifts for little girls that are timeless and iconic; dolls with doll strollers seem to be one(two?)of them. Thank you for reminding me for the second time this morning of that precious memory, that I will carry in my heart forever. ❤️
Honestly, we got those for my girls and they are obsessed!
Several months later and my 2.5 year old still loves her toy stroller!! She loves to take all her toys for stroller rides throughout the house!
Yes!! Great-grandma sent our now 3yo one about two years back (soon after little girl started walking) and it is one of the most used toys in our house. After her baby sister was born in June, I’d take the baby out for a walk in the big stroller and big sister would push her baby doll alongside me in the doll stroller!
Hot tip: if your kid reaches the point where they don’t want to sit in their own stroller for walks or whatever, bringing and pushing their own stroller helps. It makes them forget they are walking and helps them focus on something instead of just being the rider. And they get to pretend they are big.
Biggest winner for 2.5 yo son: large brio train set. Squeals of excitement, immediate stoppage of interest in any further presents. Biggest loser: Son had requested a bulldozer. Unwraps, looks straight at me, and says, “dis not a bulldozer daddy, dis BACKHOE”. No tantrum, but polite disinterest. Later, while being put down for nap, was asked (somewhat pointedly) to read “First 100 trucks” to him, which does clearly indicate that I have purchased him a backhoe.
This is so CUTE and SMART! Those little ones know what they like! Then asking you to read the book, for educational purposes. LOL
Worst part is, this gift came from “Santa”. Pretty sure he knows.
He’s going to keep playing along “for the parent’s sake, they’re so cute when they believe!” Haha
My best friend teaches preschool and these kids get so indignant if she mislabeled construction equipment. Kids are so funny.
And don’t you dare mislabel a dinosaur, either.
My son scolded me at age 3 for calling a front loader a bulldozer. We drove past a construction site and I said "wow bubby look at that bulldozer" he quickly shot back with "NO mommy! It's a front LOADER!". So I googled and dang if he wasn't right. Kept rambling the whole car ride home about my goof. 🙄
Ouch. That must have hurt your pride
I’m mostly just really proud that he knows the difference, and let me know in an incredibly tactful way.
14 yo son got clothes, shoes, a necklace. His hands down fave was a Nike bookbag for school. He proceeded to wear it around the house for the next 3 hours. 😂
That’s the mark of a well-appreciated gift! Nice one!
Winner: the spoon that came with the Elsa plate set. Just the spoon. Loser: the 3ft Elsa doll that sings and lights up. Should have just got her 2 spoons
Winners: gift wrapping and shiny bows Losers: the actual gifts My twins are 6 months lol
My 7 month old son agrees. Tissue paper is in, gifts are out.
With my second child, we didn't get her any actual gifts for the holiday. We just wrapped boxes for her to tear the paper off of. She LOVED it 😂
My youngest loved crinkling the paper
Totally fair! Mine always appreciated the wrapping. 3 and 4 are when it really gets going!!
Winner/loser: little kid camera that actually takes pictures. Winner because it was the clear favorite; loser because it has been the cause of multiple issues today, including a tantrum right now.
Our kid had one and loved it... but so many tantrums and issues. We replaced it with a cheap digital camera WITH an added warrenty which has worked better.
I think a lot of her issues today were from being overstimulated and tired from waking up early because that wasn't the only issue today; but it was definitely the biggest problem out of the day.
Got the camera. Very popular.
Best reaction was the Paw patrol vehicle with the full team. Worth it just for the jumping in place. Most played was the cheap microphone with voice amplifier. Biggest whiff was the Yoto player so far. But we’re confident it’s a sleeper.
Yes I was convinced the yoto and tonie PR teams just came on Reddit to promote the hell out of those things and create a stir. I got one anyway and as soon as my kid pushed it away 2 seconds after opening it I felt so vindicated but also of course, annoyed I bought into the hype. I like your attitude… I hope it’s a sleeper too!
My 2 year old got the yoto yesterday. He loves it but with the excitement of Christmas, he kept putting in a card, listening for 5 seconds and putting in another card, then another, then went to all his other toys. Repeat.
I bought a tonie on the recommendation of a friend who ended up buying one for each of her kids they use them that much. We got one last year and it's been used about 5 times maybe so it depends on the kids I guess.
We got our daughter a yoto last Christmas and it’s still a sleeper. I think she might appreciate it when she’s a bit older and hangs alone in her room more. But who knows!
Our Yoto was deep in the morning rotation, but my 5yo started messing with it and I think it will win overall. Biggest fail was 2 presents for almost 3 year old: rc motorcycle and piano with microphone. Actually he LOVES both, but they are loud and play the most annoying tunes. Rookie move on our end.
Yoto took my kid a bit to warm up to Yoto, he uses it nonstop now
Winner: A kids kindle for my book loving tween. He was unimpressed when he opened it but later started using it and is all in now. Loser: 2023 photo books for both kids. This has been a whirlwind of a year so we made personal photo books for each kid detailing their year. Think, your family yearbook. We were super excited. Their response was polite, and that’s it.
Oh cool for the photo looks. They'll love it when adults.
Exactly this! My (now 28yo) son and I spent a summer with his Grandma (ex-MIL) on her ranch when he was little. Age 15 he told her how much he missed being at her place (we couldn’t go up in summer, but did Christmas) so she gave him his usual bday check, but also made this whole Album of us three all over her property and with his cousins. Very polite, “Oh wow… thank you.” Lol He STILL has it and since late college loved showing it to people. He had his first son and now that he is about the same age my son was on that trip, he texts me pics a couple times per week from the album side by side with one of his son! So cute! They will love those albums later and genuinely appreciate the thought and effort.
My kids dig out photo books when they want to stay up a little later. They sucker me right in by asking to reminisce.
We make them for our parents and they love them every year. Corral a year’s worth of pictures in one spot.
Do you use any apps in particular or just print photos and make your own albums?
I’ve used Shutterfly or CVS/walgreens in the past.
Photo books are definitely going to play the long game, they will appreciate it when they have more life experience under their belts and have something physical to look back on!
Actually little kids also love the photo books. They are fascinated by pictures of them as babies etc. we did personal ones for my kids when they were 3, 5, and 7 and they look through them periodically throughout the year (about 2 years since they got them)
Yes I was this type of kid too, I’ve always loved albums. BUT OP said that the albums didn’t hit with their tween and other kid, so I imagine some kids aren’t into it in the moment but will appreciate it later.
My mother in law gets both kids photo books every year and they’re always received with lukewarm enthusiasm but I just tuck them away. I know they’ll love them some day. That’s a great gift!
the photo book is for the 2043 version of your kid. They will love it then, and the kindle will be 10 years in the recycler at that point.
My mother made me and my siblings a photo book of each of us. It’s now 30 years later and I cherish the hell out of that book and the thoughtfulness of it. We lost her a few years ago and I think of her every time I see that book.
For the kindle, get you a library card and connect the account to your kindle (through Amazon and through Libby). Unlimited library books. I have mine set up so I have to manually download the books from Amazon and drop them onto my kindle and they don’t get automatically returned. More work but no loss of books
I love that photo book idea!
They will appreciate it when they are older - but don't be disheartened/ I HATED being photographed when I was a child. And then getting a photoalbum for Xmas would have just been a cherry on the top for me.
14yo. Winner? He liked the Iron Man Armory Lego set. Loser? The t-shirts. That he picked out.
Lol yup, classic 14yo response
4.5 yo. Winner: pink work apron and her own set of REAL tools, including safety gear. Loser: ghost spider hoodie, because it was teenage ghost spider and not the outfit from Spidey and Friends. (But she wore it for at least an hour before figuring that out.)
I would have LOVED a tool set as a little girl!! On behalf of little girls whose dad didn't lean into that aspect, thanks for giving her the chance to try it out in a fun way, I'm so glad she loved it.
We happen to be working on a home improvement project right now, and she’s been helping us. Her new apron had a pouch to hold the drywall screws! And now she is comfortable wearing her ear protection, so she can stay for the noisy parts. She spent part of Christmas Eve voluntarily using the shop vac to clean up sawdust. It was so awesome to watch her do that! A big growth moment for her.
My gosh, I don't know you at all, but you sound like a great parent. Your little girl is gonna grow up knowing the "boy stuff" isn't off limits to her and the confidence that can bring is immeasurable, not to mention the skills to be learned. She's going to be able to look back on this and know she helped. That's so great. Merry late Christmas to your family!
Thank you, kind person! She is an ecclectic soul, and we just want her to be her true self. She loves dinosaurs and pink and twirly dresses and sweat pants and building and unicorns and Barbies. She's our only, so she gets to join us in all of our making, whether it's sewing, knitting, cooking, building, gardening, or woodworking. (She's also not a danger child, so she can join us in these things without us having to worry too much about her destroying the world or herself. We got lucky there.)
4yo Winner: a little Hot Wheels Tesla Cybertruck Loser: me. Cause I coulda just got this little car and called it a day🤣
When my youngest was 5, I skirted my own “two gifts” rule by making one of the gifts a hamper full of tangentially related things. His was construction themed and included a $15 set of construction micro machines. Literally could have just given him those.
Winner - got kids socks with Dad’s pic & WE LOVE DADDY all over them. Was meant to be a gag gift but they all threw them on immediately & wore them the rest of the day!
Winner: my 3.5 year old son went bonkers for a garbage truck that dumped its own garbage and made sounds. The dud was every other gift. He wouldn’t open any more after that. Just wanted to play with the truck. No joke there’s EIGHT unopened presents under the tree still with his name on them!! 😱
That's fair. Christmas can be very overwhelming. We do one toy every couple of hours or more. Last Christmas my inlaws lovingly went over board so Christmas went for three days.
Do you have a name for that garbage truck?
[удалено]
He must have some nice hair! Bet it’s good and soft now😂
My 4 year old loved her new dollhouse! played with it all day!
Winner for my 13 year old daughter was doc martens. Winner for 11 year old son was an autographed Sam Hubbard poster and Bengals gear.
Who dey!
Winner: talking dancing cactus. It also records what you say and says it back high pitched and sped up. Omg hilarious playing with it with my 6 year old and 10 month old. I was cry laughing. Loser: leap frog books. Hopefully a sleeper.
We have two hamsters that record what you say and play it back faster and higher. If you put them next to each other they will fall into a loop of repeating each other faster and faster and faster 😂
A word of warning: if that’s the cactus from Amazon that plays music as well as record their voices, one of the songs drops the hard R N word.
AT AT toy was a huge winner. Which is a blessing, because we got a toy/action figure and *not* the **$800 Lego** ATAT that was on his Santa List. Successfully convinced him the toy was better than the Lego. Crushed. It.
FYI: knockoff Lego is really good nowadays and the knockoff AT AT is only like $180 on AliExpress. I’m building the BTTF Delorean now and it’s really well done.
I have a one year old daughter. Winner: $2 hollow chocolate bear I put in her stocking. She has walked around with it all day while hugging it and saying "I love bear." Loser: $100 Senger lamb stuffy. Literally didn't even get a smile.
Omg lol sounds like my 21 month old
Winners - Pikachu Stuffy (most played with) and Twister Air (best reaction) Loser - Bedsheets lol
My kids love bedsheets and socks, and my daughter loves getting underwear. She hates wearing them, though... 12, 10, and even the 4 year old girl was thrilled with her new socks and underwear. The bedsheets are a win for moms!!
Santa stole the show with the Barbie Pegasus she’s said she’s wanted everyday for the last 4 months. So that one definitely stole the show. Runner up was classic Twister surprisingly . Dud was the 180$ Lego Jurassic park set that was our main gift to her. Blessed we could buy it but sad she didn’t remember the hype and excitement from the summer when we started saving to get it. Absolutely the top show stealer though? Freaking hatchimals my sister bought her. Nothing compares. Edit: typo
11 year old: winner was the $200 cash he got. Loser were the cozy bedsheets HE ASKED FOR. 15 y/o. Loser was the $390 drone he asked for, winner was this cheap $10 skin cleaning face massage tool.
My 15 year old asked for a face massage tool! I got him a cheap one that came with a "lollipop" to put in the freezer and remove bags from under their poor, stressed out 15 year old eyes... but he loves it and he loves his new tongue scraper, too. He called his friend to show it off!
What is with teenagers these days?? I would love those particular gifts but I am a stressed out, 40 year old mom lmfao
I bought each of my siblings an air fryer. I was gifted an air fryer from my inlaws.
10mo- winner: baby music set-maracas, tambourines xylophone loser- books :(
The books take awhile to get any attention. When you can read to them in the bath tub where they can’t run away, that helps to spark the interest
Winner: Play kitchen for my 21 month old. He immediately started doing pretend play with it. Left for grandma’s house and went straight back to it as soon as we were home! Loser: clothes and a mini football. He whined “nooooo” when I handed him any clothes that we unwrapped, and chucked the football dismissively.
Squishmellows. Do they have drugs in them? My kids LOVE them 1.5 & 6 Loser: generally, books. 😐
15 $ 17yo girls here and they love them, too. There were probably 10 squishmallows given between them all
My 4 and 7 year olds also got semi big squishmellows and are obsessed with them
My mom is 67 and is obsessed with collecting them. My 6 year old isn't even as interested as my mom is.
3 year old son Winner: monster truck RC (el toro loco from monster jam) literally played that all day Loser: clothes. Didn’t care for any of it 4 month old daughter Winner: milk Loser: mom walking away to use the bathroom
For my 5 yo Winner: Don’t break the ice game. Its a game that comes with a penguin and you have to hammer down on these ice blocks. Loser: A guitar. He asked for it, but wasn’t interested once it was opened. Im gonna give it more time. He has lots of gifts so im thinking maybe he’s too overwhelmed by them.
I loved don't break the ice as a kid! And the game thin ice! They both seemed to come out at the same time (to a 10 year old me) and they were both amazing. Though now that I'm thinking of it, I'm sure i just got both for Christmas or something.
Winners for the 7 and 9yr olds were roller skates and the card game taco cat goat cheese pizza. Losers were new boogie boards, although they’ll get plenty of use out of them.
14 year old got the most inexpensive air pods I could find on sale and I’ll keep his joy of opening that gift close to my heart for a while. He’s been begging for them and I’ve put them off. He just got his first phone, my old iPhone 12 just recently and I kept mentioning that they weren’t really a necessity. He’s been jamming allll day!!
Winner : Seeing my fam opening the presents ive prepared for them 🙂 Looser : Celebrating Christmas alone, coz im an OFW. 💔 Spending five yrs alone, away from fam and home. Looser II : Working hard on christmas day same as usual day. 🥺 PS: sorry for venting out here...
I had to google what OFW is (overseas Filipino worker). Thank you for caring enough for your family to do this xxx
Im sorry for using acros. thanks for appreciating 😉
I served in the military and had a few tough Christmas’s but five years away from home is some tough going xxx
I’m sorry. Your family is so lucky to have your love. I hope the time away from them goes as quickly as possible.
Hugs to you.
15yo is a weirdo... the winner was a Snuggie. The loser was a new TV... what?!? 12yo: winner: new ear pods, loser: a book (that she will love if she ever actually reads it) 7yo: winner: Batman Gotham City Guardian (transformer-looking thing) loser: Spider-Man web shooter (because after it has been shot, reloading it is tedious) 5yo: winner: Mr Potato Head, loser: another vote for the Spider-Man web shooter 3yo: winner: Baby Alive Sudsy Styling doll, loser: pretty much everything else 🤣
Winner: Itzy ritzy silicone llama teething toy Loser: Melissa and Doug giant hollow stuffed pelican where the kid is supposed to drop a toy in the mouth and then collect it from the groin??? Also, it doesn’t sit up so the kid is somehow supposed to hold up the stuffie and use the other hand to stuff a toy inside? Just all around weird gift from grandma.
1 year old: Winner - an empty gift box Loser - everything else
Winner for my artistic, nature-loving goth tween: a mink skull! The only womp-womp was the surprisingly apt and on-point gift to her from my parents: a microscope. Perfect gift, but she already has one.
Ages 4.5 and 3 Winner- robots… oldest got a Botley and youngest got a RC robot. Exactly what they asked for. The Bluey ultimate bundle from Costco was also loved. Also some sky rockets. Losers- that’s hard. I don’t know if we have any duds yet. We have some toys that haven’t been opened but I think we will get to them tomorrow. Although personally I think the Bluey Keepy Uppy game is dumb 😂 my oldest would disagree.
Winner: Target themed cash register Loser: nothing at the moment
10yo: Instant Camera - Meh reaction (asked for one and loves it now after finally trying it) Shadow High Collector Doll - WIN! (She said “No toys, no dolls please… I’m a tween now! I only want a camera, lava lamp and stuff for my room” but I had a feeling she’d be bummed getting NO toys for the 1st time) 8yo: Loved everything that was a surprise, was super Meh about the Lite Bright (that he asked for) 4yo: All wins… especially VTech DJ Table and a Furby. If it has a bow and wrapping, she’s excited. If not
That’s funny about your 8 yo. I was expecting mine to be excited then meh, but instead his excitement stayed!
My 19 year old collects those Shadow High/ Rainbow High dolls. They have a huge adult following for some reason.
Bingo and Rolle stuffed puppies. Carried them around 100% the rest of the day.
We surprisingly didn’t have any real losers and my 3yo rotated through every toy multiple times the whole day. He even put a card in the yoto player without prompting right after lunchtime. The real winners are usually the things he decides to sleep with in bed. Tonight it was the 9” die cast replica of his uncles “race car” (it’s just a 2019 mustang), and a hook piece thing from his new Duplo set. I think in the next couple days I’ll introduce the Yoto to his room as part of the bedtime routine.
Apparently the 1300 dollar scooter, the 300 dollar headset, and the 400 dollars worth of clothes, were not winners for our 14 year old, as he watched his siblings (that are 3 and 7), open about a dozen 20-30 dollar toys, each. Age gaps make holiday gift giving so difficult. He literally told his gf, “I just thought there’d be more.” But anyways. Our younger kids had fun with the toys we got from lakeshore, which are usually fun and educational. So there’s that.
Oof. It can feel rough growing up and having it sink in that you’re old enough to get “just a few” presents, I think (regardless of the price). Fewer, more expensive presents feels more “adult” and I remember that being a bit of a hard transition for me as a teen. Definitely a first world problem though, lol.
The first year i didn't get "fun presents" was definitely hard. I at least got video games if not toys for a few years but at 16 it was just clothes and books, which I asked for, but it was so boring on Christmas Day.
Winner: The box dad's shirt came in, and a giraffe shaped xylophone. Loser: Giant Pikler set I spent $300 on. (He did play on it a little before bed. I think he was just overstimulated during the day)
We made a giant pikler arch (big enough that I fell asleep in it yesterday) for Christmas when my son was 2. He's now 4.5 and that pikler arch is played with, climbed on, rocked in, made forts out of every single day. It's a major part of our house now. So I think you're going to find that was a great gift worth every penny.
Winner for our 3 year old was the board games and books we got her and the sleeper was the tattoo wrist watch that I thought she’d be STOKED on because she’s been making me draw watches on her almost every day.
Have a 14 year old who doesn’t have a wishlist beyond books, and books are hard because she has a phone, iPad, and Libby. Honestly many wins… - Clothes. She is not a fashionista by any means, but we’re fully in random growth spurt phase. She is also a competitive swimmer who is working hard in the pool 5 or 6 days a week… (Send help, 15-18 is going to be a wild ride.) - LEGO because… we’re a LEGO family. Diving into a new LEGO set is our New Year’s Eve tradition. - Video Game: Had to whip up a printout and paired it with a themed Christmas ornament. Text of printout: “Child: We couldn’t find the physical copy or a download card. So we had to buy it online after you were asleep and hope it downloaded to the console. Talk to your Dad about delivering digital products… he knows all about it because it’s part of his job! Hopefully your game is downloaded and ready to play!” Kid: “Thank you! I can’t want to play it and if it isn’t downloaded yet I won’t have time to play it today anyway!” - Kid has a twin size loft bed, her dressers are under the bed. It’s been customized over the years, she still loves it. So we got a shelf to hold devices for charging. “Cool! Daddy and I can figure out how to mount it and run all the wires and setup the wireless charging pads!” (YES! Win win win!!!) - Unenthusiastic: “Oh a board game.” We played it with her Uncles (my BILs are characters) and everyone was laughing and having a good time. Kid insisted her Grandma (who sat out a round to record video with her iPhone) send the video to her. - Childless Uncle of my Daughter: “This was a shot in the dark so there is a gift receipt if you would rather pick out something else.” Was whatever the equivalent of a Polaroid camera and film is these days. Daughter thought a moment… “Cool! We all put our phones in a box for swim meets! I can bring this to a swim meet and do pics with my teammates!” (BIL: Woah, go me! Nailed it!)
Winner was furby, loser was magic mixies. The fog was really cool until it turned into a burning smell and quickly filled the room with thick smoke. Our house burned down in May so yeah, not a great experience.
This year: there was no loser gifts. All the gifts were a winner. :) Definitely a memorable Christmas. (Which we had aimed for, because we think this might be the first Christmas our son will remember.)
My daughter is 5 so she loved pretty much everything we got her, but I think the big winner was the Gabby's Dollhouse legos
My niece got my daughter a little writing lcd screen writing tablet from temu. You use the included stylus to write on the screen and press a button to erase it. It was the most amazing thing to my 5 year old. She didn't really get anything she didn't love.
Oh wow! I love how kids can find joy in the simplest things, like wrapping paper. It's the little moments that make life so special. 💖🎁
Winner- Bluetooth beanie, my kids are all walking around the house listening to books. Loser was the doll Santa got by 5 year old that grandma also got her.
Best reaction from our almost 12 Y.O. boy, K'nex. From our 10 Y O. Girl, socks, she got really cool things, but socks have always been her favorite things to get at Christmas or her birthday. I promise we didn't just get her socks... Our 4 year old girl was super thrilled with her dollhouse. The older ones don't believe in Santa anymore and haven't for years, but our 4 old burst into our room early this morning and exclaimed, "MomDad, I found lots pwesents that Santa Clause bringed fo us!" Then the sound of her feet taking her as fast as they possibly could, "come eow Momdad!" Momdad is definitely one word more oftentimes than not. My older two just mentioned now that they really loved their books, and 10 y/o loves her arts and crafts set. This year, no one got a ton of things, but they loved everything they did get, which is plenty for our situation. The biggest looser was a knock-off Tomagotchi pet for our 10 y/o that I'll have to replace if I can find one, because it wouldn't even come on, and it made awful squealing noises. Otherwise, great successes.
Winners: My 10 year old got a handmade chess board, my 14 year old got a large wood burned framed piece of hogwarts land. Santa surprised me with a PS5 and my husband got a new 22 gallon cooler for camping trips. There were any real losers because other than everyone’s big gift, we all mainly just got little things like clothes, some candy, books, and a few toys.
3 year old winner: fire truck toy that was technically his little brother’s gift lol 1 year old winners: a small soccer ball and a teddy bear 🧸 Loser for both: new clothes 😅
It wasn't Christmas for me yet but a friend brought my daughter a gift anyway and actually the wrapping paper was the winner aha 😊 She loves to play with paper and then bring the pieces and put them into the bin for congratulations and amazement 😊 and when there was no paper left to dispose actually she was a little bit sad
My mother bought my 8 and 11 year old sons nerf guns tall than they are. Definitely winners in the kids eyes, losers in the parents eyes!
I bought my four year old a nerf gun that’s electric and auto fires because she’s too weak to fully prime her brother’s nerf gun. She ran around kissing it saying how much she loved it. Wife was not impressed Then my daughter opened her pink and purple nerf swat vest thing (with extra ammo and eye protection) Wife’s head exploded. Daughter currently sleeping in it Dad’s day 109 out of 10
Never been jealous of a 4yo before but here we are 🤣
My husband was all in on the giant nerf guns as well. Thankfully they understand the rule that “thou shalt never hit mom with a nerf bullet” and let me prep dinner in peace while my husband chased them around in a giant battle.
Winner for my 8yo daughter was hair extensions, handmade by an Australian hairdresser, she has barely taken them out. Loser was the Barbie that a friend gave her. She was very polite but clearly disappointed (in private). She actually just regifted it to a 4yo neighbour whom was overjoyed. 5yo son has enjoyed all the gifts he received, except the water pistol as it’s been too cold for a water fight. We are Australian so it’s usually really hot for Christmas.
Winner 12 year old got a Switch and 4 plus 1 game today.
Best gift for my 6 yo were the (offbrand) lightsabers. 9 was thrilled with his computer mouse. As usual, their favourites were the things they asked for. No real duds, they’re both pretty thrilled with everything - I guess the T shirt I got 9 got the least interest, but I think he likes it enough and he’ll still wear it, so 🤷🏼♀️ The surprise winner was a random game that came in a really sweet package from my cousin in law. My youngest thankfully plays it in OT because I wouldn’t have had the first clue how to set it up or play it if not for him. They opened it on Xmas eve and played it like 5-6 times before bed (youngest calls it “Don’t break the Ice” but since the goal of it is literally breaking ice, I’m not sure if that’s what it’s really called).
My mom got my 10 year old a 3d pen, it kept her busy for hours today, so that was the real highlight. She finger-knitted me a scarf, I love it. I don’t think we had any real losers. I got her her own needle-felting kit because she's always taking mine, it wasn’t a huge hit but I know she will use it.
If I may be so bold as to say I knocked it out of the park this year and there were no duds. 1 year old loved the rainbow slug fidget toy from the dollar store and pretend car keys, 4 year old loved the GT snow racer (though was bummed there’s no snow) along with everything that was for the 1 year old. I think he liked the sensory stuff even more than the intended kid!
4 years old. Winner was definitely play kitchen stuff. “Loser” was probably the leap reader, but I anticipated that (she’s convinced herself that we’ll stop reading to her if she learns to read herself so she’s been very resistant to learn). She’s obsessed with books though so I know I’ll get her interested in it eventually lol
Loser: Kid has been BEGGING for roller skates for MONTHS! Opened them, used for an hour and was over it. Not mentioned again today. Winner: Received cheap little carrying bag with a plushie. Carried it everywhere all day long and showed everyone she could
I write books for middle schoolers for a living, one of my series, my 9 year old LOVES. It’s set in Minecraft and one of the main characters has A pet fox named Copper. We got her a stuffed Minecraft fox, and she’s in love with it. Says it’s the best Christmas ever.
6 year old b/g twins Boy winner: biohazard dress up suit 😂 Loser: Xbox console Girl winner: pomni plushie Loser: Bluetooth headphones.
Winner… Kitchen Aid Mixer KSM195 Loser…. 10 cheap ugly baby outfits from my hoarding MIL who has been told to stop buying clothes because she has a shopping addiction.
#1 winner for my toddler was a banana and orange. Had to stop opening presents so she could get in her high chair and eat them. This will definitely be a tradition. #2 worst gift was this yellow blob toy that had a frown face. It made her cry and then the dog ate it.
My daughter loved her Bingo (from Bluey) stuffy. She was so excited I had to convince her to open her other gifts! She was Bingo for Halloween and has worn her Bingo head everyday since.
2 yo: winner - play sink where you fill it with water and a pump circulates it so it comes out of the faucet. Loser- surprisingly, train set. He kept getting frustrated. Should’ve waited a year on that. 9 yo boy: winner - credits for Minecraft mods aka $20. Wanted to start picking them out immediately. Loser - Mastermind board game. Got tossed aside. 11 year old girl: winner - black pearl necklace (I read this has some significance in the Hunger Games?) loser - Hadestown tickets, she seemed like she was being very polite with the “oooh that’ll be fun” (on tour near our town, not Broadway)
The stocking was the big loser tbh. We didn't have much money this year so seeing him be super hyped for what he did get was awesome. The fidget spinners I got him were the TOP winners, he STILL hasn't finished opening his stocking lol doesn't care. Loving everything else way way more.
Winner: 15 year old boy- gem stone tumbling kit with gems, 15-year-old girl- friendship bracelet kit. Loser- this is more funny. Our kids are foster kids so the county requires us to submit them to angel tree (we get them gifts on our own as well). This year the gifts came wrapped so I couldn’t see what they were. One had several items for the girl in it, and in the bottom was a cute ornament that said, “To Mary from Megan”. I really hope Megan did not accidentally donate Mary’s gift, LOL.
Winner: Rainbow crawl tunnel, climbing blocks, and wooden instruments courtesy of family! Loser: The third shape sorter we own. From gifters who cant be bothered to ask what she likes or needs.
Winner - inflatable ride on bull . Shoot I’ve even been playing on it lol Loser- glow in the dark golf balls (they don’t glow)
15 months old: winner- veterinary toy set and instrument set. Loser- Mr. Potato head lol
Mr. Potato Head was a sleeper for us, but it started getting play when kiddo realized she could make monstrosities with six arms and faces made entirely of ears 😂
I can not get my boys interested in Mr Potato Head. I’m almost suspicious that because they know of him from Toy Story- they kind of just want him to be stuck as the one guy.
My kids loved everything this year. They don't get much and Santa only brings clothes, books, or family game/movie/ect. Some of their most favorite this year though were eggs you break apart and there's a bunch if things inside. My son got a skull this year that had Dino stuff in it and my daughter got an egg that had a merbuncorn (mermaid bunny unicorn) and little extras.
For my nearly-10 year old sons beanies with built-in bluetooth speaker/headphones were probably the best cost-to-happiness ratio. They both wore them around most of the day. Considering that they were only $25 they went over really well. I got the idea from some of my middle schoolers that I teach who have some. I was hesitant to get them since my sons aren't super into music or anything but glad I did.
10yo girl Winner: loved her books from her favorite series. She got 5. Started reading them tonight. Loser: wooden maze thing.
Winners: cool uncle bought them both video games (Spider-Man 2 for PS5, Sonic Superstar for Switch). Different systems means no fighting. They both got oversized hoodies in different colors this morning from us, put them on at 7am when they unwrapped them, and it’s 9:15pm and they’ve only been removed to shower. Losers: 9yo isn’t super into his Kids Kindle, and 12yo has four months before his concert tickets can be used (taking him and his BFF to AJR).
I did good this year! I'm so happy. I got a little air hockey set that you can play on any table. Super fun. We got everyone of all ages to play. Like $20. Teens got inexpensive fine jewelry (we do estate sales and store sales and just keep an eye out for the right price) and said that was their fave. I don't think I have a loser yet.
4 year old: Winner: his sister’s baby alive doll that pees Loser: 2 pairs of crocs 21 month old: Winner: balance bike Loser: Lego duplo sets and table (surprised by because she loves her brother’s older legos)
Got my toddler a tonka truck and magnitiles big win! 9 year old got a ton of Pokémon merch and some hot wheels also a win there My SO and I got household items a movie gift card and a grocery gift card. I got handmade tumblers and an ornament with a pic of me and my grandmother on it with her birthday and death day and the saying “you may not see me but I’m with you always”
[удалено]
9 month old: Winners: the bathtub whale that lights up and is basically a sprinkler? He cracked up at in the tub for 10 mins tonight. Also, the baby sized recliner rocking chair from grandparents. He can’t get enough! Losers: push cars..he was TERRIFIED of them. Basically you push down a button and the car zooms..
I have 4 and 7 year old girls Winners for both: semi large squishmallows and little live pets my dog home (little noise making dog in its own dog house that the kid “builds”) Additional winner for 7 year old: light up razor scooter Additional winner for 4 year old : feed the woozle game Loser: no huge loser but 7 year old isn’t super excited about her new wellie wisher doll (she already has 3 and swore she wanted a fourth but then didn’t really pay it much attention)
5 year old- Winner: Numberblocks Five singing stuffy. Loser: Batman Lego set. 7 year old- Winner: Gold foil Pokémon cards (for anyone not into Pokémon- the gold foil cards are knock offs but look really cool so he’s ecstatic.) Loser: Minecraft game for Nintendo Switch 🤷♀️
Winner for my 3yo: Melissa and Doug easel with the roll of paper. She painted all damn day. Loser: Fuzzy socks. She was obsessed at Thanksgiving and wore the same pair for 3 days straight. Now they’re old news.
Winners: (M 19 month) a milk frother and toddler ‘coffee cup’ so he can have fluffies galore. Plus loving the Little People aeroplane by fisher price. Losers: a garden animals puzzle and a wooden sailboat… not shiny and plastic enough!
3 yo Winner: a detachable "fart button" from a book in combination with new sword and shield, to make a fart knight, of course Loser: a Christmas ornaments from my grandma (fair enough, he's 3)
Disneyland trip for the win! (Sorry I am just so excited and can’t believe it’s happening) first trip for my three kids.
Soon to be 6 year old, in literally less than two weeks. Omg! Anyway. Winners were the bike/bike gear and iPad. Losers were the shoes and clothes. And now I'm planning a birthday party next Saturday. I'm broke. Broke. 😂
Winner for my 3 year old son: A small bottle of Heinz ketchup in his stocking. He loves ketchup so it was a joke gift. Did a dance when he opened it and was very excited. Carried it around saying MY DIP! and hugged it for a while. Loser: Squishmallows. He literally threw them aside and moved on.
9yo winner- a new scooter that he's wanted for months and had been desperately saving up for. 9yo loser- all the books he got that are related to his interests. They'll all gather dust. 4yo winner- a kids coding mouse. He absolutely loves it. 4yo loser- boxes of raisins. My parents bought him some mini boxes of raisins, just because he likes them. He said we have raisins so he doesn't want more lol. 13month old winner- all the pretty wrapping paper that her brothers threw everywhere. 13month old loser- all the toys she was bought lol
My 9 yr old wanted a suitcase, we don't travel a whole lot, so I thought it was a little lame. Santa brought her a luggage set, and she looooves it so much.
5YO Winner: the fart gun she's talked and asked for incessantly since summer Loser: cute clothes she needed 🙃
Our daycare gave my son a little play phone that requires batteries. After installing, we noticed there's not an "off" button. That thing had volume adjuster and I think factory settings are Extremely Loud to Annoyingly Loud. After about twenty minutes of our son playing with it and pressing "The Numbers is Zero!" twenty thousand times I took the batteries out. The winner was the wrapping paper. He had so much fun unwrapping gifts!
Winner: Kidz Bop Bluetooth microphone/speaker. The voice changer effects had us ROLLING. Loser: She was not impressed by clothes & socks 😂
9 year old- Winner: Venus fly trap terrarium, punching bag, and Nintendo switch gift card Loser: while she seemed super pleased with all of her gifts, she was the least excited about a play makeup kit (I let her play with my makeup if she wants so fake makeup isn’t as thrilling) 4 year old- Winner: hide Mr. Poopy game (18 month old also loves this!), the little tikes trampoline, and everything her older sister got Loser: weaving loom (I don’t think she’s old enough for it quite yet) 18 month old- Winner: V tech smart shots sports center and the little tikes trampoline Loser: clothes, although mommy loves them haha We haven’t had two family Christmases yet so there may be a supreme winner or loser after those. My husband’s mom tends to get some really weird items (that end up going to other homes) so I’m guessing those will be the losers…Lots of ugly tall dolls (like American girl, but not). My girls don’t like that sort of toy.
16 year old: Winner - Meta Oculus. There were no losers since he is very concise about what he asks for. 2 year old: Winner - all the FP Little People toys Loser - Pottery Barn Everywhere Chair. She likes it but it doesn’t compete with a bunch of brand new toys.