When I was dating my now husband, He worked a lot of hours and didn’t have much time to Christmas shop, but he wanted to impress my kids and buy them some cool toys for Christmas.
He envisioned a scene of himself coming through the front door, with armloads of wrapped packages, and my kids squealing in delight as they opened them, exclaiming “Oh, how did you know? This is exactly what I wanted! This is the coolest toy EVER!”
Kind of like Ralphie, in A Christmas Story, daydreaming about the A+++ he was going to get on his “Why I should get a Red Rider BB gun for Christmas” essay.
Unfortunately, my husband didn’t have the time time or resources to research what the coolest toys were at the time. And it didn’t help that he worked the graveyard shift so the only place open when he got off at 4:00 AM on Christmas morning was Walgreens Drugstore.
Did I mention he was a bit of a procrastinator too?
Anyway, he presented my then 10 year-old son with a battery operated toy dog. It had a button attached to it with wire that you could push and make the dog bark and jump…sort of jump. It mostly just fell over.
Now, my kids aren’t ungrateful by any means, but my son has always been honest to a fault. He said to my well-meaning boyfriend, “It doesn’t look like it works. But thanks anyway.”
Thanks anyway. That cut right to the heart of my poor, crest-fallen boyfriend.
And that is the reason for this website. We started it in the hope it becomes a resource for any adult buying toys for a child so they know what’s in, what’s out, what’s hot and what’s not.
It’s not about how much you spend, it’s just about buying the right gift for the child. Whether it’s your kid or someone else’s, you never want to hear the dreaded, “Thanks anyway.”
So here you’ll find toy reviews, gift guides and toy recommendations for every age group to help you choose the perfect gift for the children in your life.
Aside from consumer opinions, my own observations of the toys I buy, and my experience as a mom, I also get lots of input from my nieces and nephews (AKA my crew of toy reviewers!)
That’s two of them in the picture and I have 5 more, from ages 5 to 19.
I try hard to buy them all toys and gifts they’ll love. I do lots of research and ask them all kinds of questions about toys I’ve bought them, toys they and their friends play with, and toys they want. They are happy to help me in my research, especially so the closer it gets to Christmas or their birthday! 😉
Please browse our site and if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us through our contact form.
Happy Shopping and we hope your gift-giving experience elicits a hearty “This is the coolest toy EVER,” and not, “Thanks anyway.”