Since Drake started school this year, he has been invited to numerous birthday parties from his classmates. His class was very small this year — only 6 other kids besides him — but we ended up going to many more parties including those of family friends and friends from other classes we’ve made. Next year Drake will most likely have a larger class and starting Chinese school as well, which will probably bring even more parties. So I started to devise a go-to birthday gift list that would work for either sex and would be age appropriate for most kids Drake’s age. This is what I have come up with for this year:


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1) Kinetic Sand– Drake received this for his birthday and has become obsessed with it. I think it’s pretty neat and I love that he gets to play with sand and my house isn’t covered in it. It also seems to be the hot toy this year so you can easily find it and variations of it. Add in a few sand toys and it’s a wonderful gift.

2) Books – I love gifting books since both Drake and I love receiving them. There are so many wonderful picture books and series for preschoolers and nothing can beat the gift of imagination. Right now Drake loves Octanuats, the Give a Mouse a Cookie Series, and a slew of other fun picture books that we pick from when gifting. Story cards are also great for expanding literacy and story telling skills.

3) MagnaDoodle – Perfect for travel, entertaining little ones at restaurants, or just a way for them to draw at their leisure. This continues to be a favorite toy of Drake’s so we love gifting them. It’s nice to have a quiet toy sometimes!

4) Magnet Sets – I love how these toys are open ended. They do have cards that kids can create shapes and forms from, but you can build and make something from your own imagination as well. The pieces are magnetic so it’s great for travel as well.

5) Stickers, stamps, & other art supplies – What kid doesnt love stickers and stamps?  We also love spin art and spiralographs as well as craft sets. It’s easy to mix and match and make the perfect gift for any kid this way.

6) Board Games – Preschool is when kids start getting the concept of board games. We have received a bunch of new ones this last year and it’s been fun playing them with Drake. We love cooperative games like Busytown and Hoot Owl Hoot, and interactive ones like Dr Seuss, and memory ones!