These toys that we are happy to see come into our house!

Christmas is coming and, like all of you, my husband and I are juggling these requests: what do we buy from Louis, Laurier, and Simone? What would Marie want? Does little Raoul need something? The real answer is that they don't need anything. But I understand the desire of my loved ones to want to make my children's eyes shine and to feel the magic of Christmas vibrate. My rational side thinks of everything we already have at home! Sometimes I want to take all the toys, all the books from home and make a big mountain out of it in the middle of the living room! I am sure that my loved ones would not return! Besides, that's kind of what I experience every day! You know it as I do, it makes rubbish to pick up and our children are not always willing to put it away! My emotional side, too, understands the need to give them a present that will make them happy for a moment. The catch is that very often toys only make their eyes shine for just a moment. They are quickly abandoned or dismantled far too quickly and relegated to oblivion with all the other toys they have abandoned. This year, I want to suggest to my loved ones that together we think about responsible purchasing. Far be it from me to stop them from giving my children something, but I want to give them a gift, in addition to giving them value. That of "all consumer goods do not make me happy" or that "abundance is not synonymous with happiness", that of "I do not define myself by what I own" and above all that "consuming less is better for our planet. " Like most people in my family, I signed the pact, and under the title "Consumption  "I promised to “Reduce my consumption, my production of waste (reuse, recycle, compost) and waste in all its forms, especially energy; Reduce my plastic consumption, by choosing among others the least expensive products packed. " At this time of Christmas, the feast of consumption, it is time to keep our commitments, right? Still with this in mind, I want my children to receive objects which not only will please them, but which will also last over time and which, in addition, will help them develop their capacities to build themselves and understand world around them. This is where it gets harder! To those around me, this kind of speech can seem like a spoiler! If I serve them this scum, they will certainly be very discouraged; it might seem a little complicated to them. How to find the gift that will please both children and parents… So, dear parent, we decided to help you help them!  We even prepared a little checklist  that you can give them and that they can slip into their wallets. That way, when they get to the toy store, the bookstore or the sports store, the nice clerks can give them a hand in their choice. What is a good toy?  Here according to Les Belles Combines the criteria that any good toy should have!

• Toy that harnesses the child's imagination. A good toy has the quality of being changed, manipulated, transformed by the imagination of children. Building blocks, legos, plasticine, DIY materials, figurines, disguises are great examples. ALL my children use them, girls or boys. I do not tell you the number of times I have had a parade of costumed characters where I heard "mom comes to see my construction", where I saw my children escape for very long minutes or even hours creating something and proudly showing me their masterpieces!

• Toys that will last over time. We avoid toys that do too much and break quickly. They are often intended for a mechanical bri. For the little ones, we prefer wooden toys. They are beautiful and durable!

• Still with a view to having durable toys, we try to avoid toys from Disney movies. For real, in two months, they will not even like them anymore. Flash McQueen was super popular a few years ago. The kids got all the little cars in the series. Unfortunately, it quickly passed. It's funny, the little car they liked the most is the very ordinary one, which came from Dad's toy box from when he was little!

• We avoid toys that are hyperstimulating, that produce lots of sound effects, lights that flash, etc. In fact, like the screens, these toys make children become spectators who do not work their cognitive skills. Anyway, once the lure of novelty is gone, they quickly lose their lure.

• Do kids have a doll they love, 5 little cars they have fun with? Why buy them 3 more? We avoid duplicates and multiple toys. When they have too much, they go in search of one in particular, emptying the toy bin on the floor and abandoning its contents without putting it away.

So what do we buy from them? Are you a parent and need to give suggestions of toys to those around you? There are not only toys to offer as gifts. Find a project and ask people to buy stuff related to it. Kids will love going home with everything they need to make this new project a reality. This year, we decided to transform the basement into an active corner. To get there, there are many things to get: quilted floor mat, exercise rings to attach to the ceiling, "punching bag", wooden swing, "slack line", climbing holds to put on the wall , giant quilted cubes for construction, etc. We intend to ask everyone to buy one of these items. It’s going to be great since we’ll get almost everything we need and one’s gift can also be used for the other. Ultimately it is a family gift that we will receive! We can decide to create a DIY corner for them. We will need a work desk, stools, small compartmentalized bins to put the material, DIY materials, pencils, etc. We can create a reading corner in the house. A beautiful carpet, cushions, a teepee, posters, books, a library, a beautiful ottoman, etc. Maybe it's time to redo the room of your growing child? Think of bedding, cushions, a rug, posters, a new library, books, etc. Are your kids not going outside enough? Consider equipping them to play in the snow. Snowshoes, shovels, seals, equipment for building igloos, paint for snow, sleds for sliding, etc. Maybe you want to go on a trip with the whole family and it seems beyond your financial means? Why not ask family and friends for help! They can donate money to the children to help with this project. To make the experience more fun, go on a treasure hunt for Christmas loot, have the elves hide tickets around the house. The magic will still be there! You can also ask people to offer things related to the upcoming trip: passports, travel bag, swimwear, diving mask, tourist information book, etc. We did this for our family trip. The kids loved it! And if this year you really don't want or need all this, let people around you know that your children love going out alone and that, due to lack of time or financial means, going to the movies , the restaurant, the museum, the theater, the science center or the planetarium are infrequent!