how often do your kids get new toys?

During their first year, I think we must have bought a new toy for the boys every time we went shopping. Now they rarely if ever get anything new - partly because we have so many toys already after last Christmas and their birthday, and partly because we are now actually sticking to that budget that we created years ago!

They've seemed kind of bored with their toys lately - even though we switch them out regularly. Just switching toys used to work for weeks - but now they seem bored with the 'new' toys after only a day or two. I was trying to think what the last new toy they got was, and I really don't think they've gotten anything new since their birthday 9 months ago. (They've gotten new books since then, and they've gotten new outside toys since then, but no inside toys that I can think of.)

We always joke about how many toys they have and that clearly they don't need more - but I'm really starting to wonder if they really would benefit from some new toys (that they don't have to wait until Christmas for). Plus I think they kind of get screwed by having their birthday so close to Christmas - they get more than they know what to do with within two weeks, and then that's it for the whole year.

So, just wondering what everyone else does - do you buy new toys regularly throughout the year? Or do you stick to birthdays and Christmas? Any other tips for keeping them interested in what they've got when just switching them out doesn't work?

 

We tend to get "new" (new to them) toys every few months, via hand-me-downs from my nieces. In fact we were getting so much stuff this way that, last time it happened, I instituted a "something in, something out" policy. I told them if they wanted to keep the play stove (plus pots & pans and bag of plastic food), they had to choose something roughly equivalent to hand down to other kids.

But my twins also have the "birthday close to Christmas" problem (though not as much as yours -- mine are mid-November). So far, I've dealt with that by putting away about half their toys right after they're unwrapped, then doling them out every few months. I don't really keep track, but I'll pull out something new if someone is sick, or if daycare is closed, or if it's raining -- anytime we're stuck in the house and need some diversions.

We still have some toys they got last year that they haven't seen since Christmas Day (which makes me less tempted to buy them lots of new stuff, too). I don't know if that's going to fly this year, since they are more able to remember things from one day to the next, but I'm still going to keep the "in-out" rule.

As far as keeping them interested in what they already have....
It can really help to put nearly everything away and just leave a few things in sight. I have great success with cleaning off the top of the train table and then just leaving a couple of things there -- they go right to them and start playing. If there's too much clutter and too many things to choose from, they get overwhelmed just like we do.

Putting things in new places can also help. Take a toy that usually lives on a shelf in the living room, and put it on the bed instead -- or even in the bathroom.

Hope this helps!

 

I tend to rotate toys in and out rather than get new ones. Although I am an occasional garage sale or Goodwill shopper just for fun. That way I don't feel bad if they don't play with it tons.

My kids really like "nontoy" toys, too. They love to play with the laundry baskets, pans, etc.

 

I stash away some of their birthday and Christmas presents and bring them out every other month or so. As for buying them, we really don't buy them too often.

 

We hardly ever get out girls anything new. If it is something it is usually a book instead of a play toy. The biggest reason for us is we used to get our son new stuff all the time and when Christmas or his birthday came around he would never play with his new toys for more than a week or two. We learned from him and just don't buy them much. They get more than enough at Christmas and birthdays, especially since all three of our children have their birthdays in December :blink: Oh, and mine and DH is in December too :blink: :blink:

 

We haven't really bought much since their first b-day in May...Except for new books. I agree mine are quite bored with their toys now, especially since the weather got cold and we stay inside now. We are waiting until Christmas though to give them any new toys....We really have a lot already and I'm pretty sure we can wait it out for 2 months....hopefully...lol

 

I actually just joined a toy "rental" program. Toys are sanitized before they go out to new people and have been checked for lead/chemicals etc. So far we have had great luck w/ it. I'm still trying to decide if it is worth the money. It is about $30/month for 4 toys (this includes shipping fees)..........but the girls are having a great time. Toys rotate about once a month-but you can keep them as long as you like. You choose toys from a list online. We are using a company called "Baby Plays" and they have had great customer service.

 

Just birthdays and Christmas. Every once in awhile, they earn a special toy as a reward or they get a hand-me-down. But I never just buy new toys to buy new toys. We keep lots in tubs and although I never intentionally rotate our toys, I do bring toys out each day that they don't play with all the time. For example, yesterday I brought out the Mr. Potato Heads and they were happy all day. They hadn't played with them in weeks!

One thing I learned from my SIL, is each night before she goes to bed, she gets out a toy that they haven't played with in a while and sets it all up on the coffee table in the family room. When they wake up, it is like Christmas and they play all day with that special toy. We do that often here too. Tonight, I will pull out their Little People sets. We haven't played with those in weeks!!

 

I rarely buy them "new" toys, but I get them things from rummages over the summer. Their birthday is December 18th so they have the whole Christmas/Birthday problem too, but we do a kind of mini-party for them in June, we call it thier "half-birthday." It's just our family and my parents and MIL, and they get a few new toys, clothes, and we have cake and stuff.

 

Years ago, I read that one of my favortite authors had a rule with his kids that they could have new books whenever they wanted them but new toys were only for hlidays/bdays. I loved it, and have always used it with my kids. Now that Owen is getting older, he can obviously buy toys if he saves his own money, which he earns. We also do the big clean out right before Christmas, where we say that Santa can't come if he doesn't share and hand down some of the toys he doesn't play with anymore to other kids. It works great for us.

Most libraries have toy lending as well.

 

Mine only get new toys for birthdays and Christmas. They have a ton of stuff though. Having 4 kids, 3 years apart, they can pretty much all play with the same toys (give or take a couple). I am going to be moving next month and I will try to cut back on toys, once again, since I really hate to have a bunch of stuff that doesnt get used. (and its a pain to move stuff from one place to another for no reason).

I also try to rotate toys, to keep them interested. It also helps keep the room a little neater. I have certain things in 'bins' that they have to ask to play with, and everything else has to be put up, in order to get that bin out.

 

Every once in a great while, I'll get them something. Usually something small, $10 limit. Yesterday, I was doing some Christmas shopping for my middle dd and had the little two with me. Annika picked a Wiggles car and Natalie wanted a new giraffe stuffed animal. Annika spent $11 and Natalie spent $8. It was worth every penny. I managed to use the two toys as leverage for the rest of the day and a trip to the mall, they played with the toys all night and woke up asking for them. Sometimes it's nice to have a little something new. It's not every trip, or even every month. Just once in a while.

 

I have a problem. I can't go into to a toy type store without getting them something. Which I why I do my best not to go into stores with toys.

My kids got a ridiculous amount of stuff last Christmas, some of which immediately went into the basement for later. Except that their birthday was in April ... at which time another explosion of toys entered the house. We brought a new round of toys up from the basement in mid summer. We are getting antsy and ready for some new stuff again ... so Christmas can't get here soon enough for me! Santa (aka Grandma) started shopping for them months ago ... But this year I want to focus more on books/puzzles versus big electronic stuff, which for whatever reason they get bored of much quicker. But give them an Elmo book, and we can read that 30 times a day for a month straight and they never get bored.

I, on the other hand, want to kill myself.

 

Generally, only at their birthday and Christmas. I will buy puzzles periodically and always buy books because I get bored reading the same ones.

 

I buy books a lot more than toys. And I tend to put a lot of thought into any toy I buy them (generally), so it doesn't happen very often. Usually if I do buy a toy, it was pre-thought. Unless I'm at a Goodwill or yard sale......or every once in awhile if we're shopping at Target or Walmart I'll get them a new Hotwheels car if they're very good. But usually they're not well behaved in stores, so that doesn't happen often, either.

 

QUOTE(Minette @ Oct 23 2008, 09:35 PM) [snapback]1039251[/snapback]
But my twins also have the "birthday close to Christmas" problem (though not as much as yours -- mine are mid-November). So far, I've dealt with that by putting away about half their toys right after they're unwrapped, then doling them out every few months. I don't really keep track, but I'll pull out something new if someone is sick, or if daycare is closed, or if it's raining -- anytime we're stuck in the house and need some diversions.

We still have some toys they got last year that they haven't seen since Christmas Day (which makes me less tempted to buy them lots of new stuff, too). I don't know if that's going to fly this year, since they are more able to remember things from one day to the next, but I'm still going to keep the "in-out" rule.

As far as keeping them interested in what they already have....
It can really help to put nearly everything away and just leave a few things in sight. I have great success with cleaning off the top of the train table and then just leaving a couple of things there -- they go right to them and start playing. If there's too much clutter and too many things to choose from, they get overwhelmed just like we do.


M&T's birthday is mid-January, so we have almost the same problem.
We got the above advice here some time ago, and we have found that it helps. It also helps when they get a big older, and they start having their own preferances of what they want to play with.
When things get really, really bad with boredom, I haul out every single little people toy and accessory they have and take a few hours after they have gone to bed and make them a little people town and country. Blue blanket for the lake (pirate ship and noak's ark) and use their toy mat as the town. The barn and zoo get set up, corals and everything. I take everything, including the dining room table out of the room, and they can have at it for a few days. It's almost like they are seeing it new. I love seeing their faces when they realize what I have done. Almost like Christmas again
Then by the time they are bored with it, they are "seeing" their toys again like they want them and play with them.

 

QUOTE(carmenandwhitsmom @ Oct 24 2008, 03:06 PM) [snapback]1040591[/snapback]
Generally, only at their birthday and Christmas. I will buy puzzles periodically and always buy books because I get bored reading the same ones.



Ditto. We buy books but I rarely buy toys. They've already got too much! Their is not enough time for them in the day to play with what they have, go outside, read, etc. I think too many toys can be overwhelming.

 

We seem to be the opposite. Our two don't really get presents for Christmas or Birthday (we live in Israel far away from family). But occasionally throughout the year they'll get something. Like when we go to visit my folks in England and my friends and family give them something. Or if I happen to see something they'll really really like, I tend to dither for a few weeks / months and then buy and hide it until an appropriate time - usually when we've got to entertain them alone for a few days straight or when I'm working long hours and DH is alone with them.

I found that soon after they turned two they seemed to grow out of some of their toys and it was time for a clear out and gradual restock - not the art stuff or stuffed toys, but the more babyish things. All their stuff is always tidied away in draws (oddly the only things which are organised and tidy in our house) and they only play with one or two things a day plus drawing / gluing / modelling so they really don't get bored of their toys. Plus I have a few things hidden on top of a cupboard (usually because they don't fit in the drawers) so these are a real treat when I remember to bring them out.

They don't really have so many toys. But they have LOADS of books, quite a few stuffed animals who feature in their imaginative play, lots of drawing stuff and we take them out walking / swimming / shopping most days. Also they're at a childminders so that lessens the need for toys at home.

 

We also have an "In Out" policy. I brought a bunch of stuff to good will and will probably bring another load before christmas (or give some to my cousin who has a 5 month old). We keep a big tub of toys in the office that we rotate out to the den too. DH or I will occassionally buy them something new if we happen to see something we think they'll like (sometime small like a shape sorter, magnadoodle or blocks). We also have an entire box of brand new toys in the shed from their birthday last March! My kids also love to play with non-toy toys. My mom had a bunch of plastic coffee containers and lids of different sizes- OMG they STILL love these months later! We got them new shoes and they love to play with the boxes! They hide stuff in (or sometimes I do) and then they love opening them and finding whats inside. Also my girls are finally really starting to appreciate art projects. Coloring, stickers, etc etc. So I bought some new stuff from the craft store this weekend for both us and the sitter.

I guess the whole point of this rambly post is we have no rules about new stuff, as long as we donate things as we bring new stuff in (exception for books- because I LOVE books!).

 

Just bdays and Christmas, they get SO much stuff I just rotate it out of there play area. Every once in awhile DH will come home with something, or Ill have a little extra and get them something small, but other then that they get enough from us/family/friends they don't need anything else!