There are 3 of us that blog here at Thrifty and Thriving and between all of us we have 10 kids.   We have purchased our share of preschool toys and we wanted to share some of our family faves that have stood the test of time.    Most of these have been used kid after kid after kid.   So here are some of our favorite brands that would make great gifts for the preschool crowd.

Learning Resources

My kids have loved every single one of the Learning Resources toys we have ever purchased.   I love that they are fun and educational.   The cash register was a particularly big hit at my house.   Here are some of our faves, make sure you check out the entire Learning Resources line for other fun items.

Learning Resources Farmers Market Color Sorting Set

Learning Resources Pretend & Play Calculator Cash Register

Learning Resources Gears! Gears! Gears!

Peaceable Kingdom

The Peaceable Kingdom games are all highly rated and have won many awards.   Another great thing about these games is the packaging is all designed to be frustration free – naturally!

Hoot Owl Hoot! Award Winning Cooperative Board Game

Stack Up! Award Winning Preschool Skills Builder Game

Feed the Woozle Award Winning Preschool Skills Builder Game

Melissa & Doug

I haven’t met a family that doesn’t love all things Melissa & Doug.  Every single one of the Melissa & Doug toys I have purchased (there have been a lot) have been a big hit at our house.

Melissa & Doug Deluxe 10-Piece Magnetic Fishing Game

Melissa & Doug Beginner Pattern Blocks

Melissa & Doug Cutting Fruit Set

Building Sets

There are several brands we love when it comes to building sets, LEGO DUPLO has been popular at our house since our first child was born 21 years ago.    In fact, we still have the set he got for his 3rd birthday.   The Mega Bloks First Builders sets were played with a ton at our house too.  If you want to buy some great blocks that will get years of use try out the Tegu brand (they are a little spendy, but totally worth it!)

LEGO DUPLO Creative Play Creative Ice Cream

Mega Bloks First Builders Big Building Bag, 80-Piece (Classic)

40 Piece Tegu Explorer Magnetic Wooden Block Set (Tints)

Make sure you also check out our Gift Guide with some of our favorite Board Books for little ones too!

The links in this post direct you to Amazon where I will earn a small commission if you make purchase. 

The post Best Gifts for Preschool Kids (Gift Guide) appeared first on Gather Lemons.

I love to fill my kids stockings with books, the main reason is because books are awesome! Reading is huge at our house and I love it when my kids get into books. Secondly, books take up more room than little trinkets so their stocking fills up faster. : )

I’ve scoured Amazon for some of the best books to stuff into your kids stockings.   I always check reviews and in this case I checked prices because we don’t want to spend a ton of money filling those stockings.    I hope you find a book or two your kids will love!

First 100 Words $3.30

Animals (Baby Touch and Feel) $3.43

Little Blue Truck board book  $4.28

Paris: A Book of Shapes (Hello, World) $5.24

Where Is Baby’s Belly Button? A Lift-the-Flap Book $3.56

The Going-To-Bed Book $3.10

May I Please Have a Cookie? (Scholastic Readers, Level 1) $2.58

Scholastic Reader Level 1: Silly Milly $2.30

I Like Bugs (Step-Into-Reading, Step 1) $2.41

Eva’s Treetop Festival: A Branches Book (Owl Diaries #1) $2.25

The Bravest Dog Ever: The True Story of Balto (Step-Into-Reading) $2.25

Eva’s Treetop Festival: A Branches Book (Owl Diaries #1) $3.79

Laugh-Out-Loud Jokes for Kids $2.67

Journey to the Ice Palace (Jumbo Coloring Book) $3.45

Ultimate Sticker Book: Frozen (Ultimate Sticker Books)  $3.63

How to Draw People (Dover How to Draw) $2.97

Dover Creative Haven Art Nouveau Animal Designs Coloring Book  $3.86

Creative Coloring Inspirations: Art Activity Pages to Relax and Enjoy!  $6.56

Never Girls #1: In a Blink (Disney Fairies) $4.20

Diary of a Wimpy Kid #10: Old School $7.92

The Eye of Minds (The Mortality Doctrine, Book One) $4.94

The Eye of Minds (The Mortality Doctrine, Book One) $6.28

Cinder: Book One of the Lunar Chronicles $6.35

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children $5.71

Keep in mind that Amazon prices can change at anytime, these prices were valid when posted.   I’d love to hear about some of your favorite books to gift.

The post 25 Books that Make Great Stocking Stuffers appeared first on Gather Lemons.

We’ve compiled a gift guide of some of our favorite kitchen gadgets and tools.  A few items on this list are things I would love to own myself. All of these items get great reviews! I’d love to hear your suggestions for your favorite kitchen items.

Progressive International Ultimate 19-Piece Measuring Cup and Spoon Set – I love that this set includes hard to find measuring sizes like 1/8 cup, 2/3 cup, 2 cups, 1/16 tsp and so much more.   They’ve thought of  every measurement and made a cup or measuring spoon to go with it.

Creative Co-Op Ceramic Measuring Cup Set  – I have a small obsession with anything with polka dots and I think these measuring cups are the cutest.  I also love the fun bright colors.   I think they would make baking so much more fun!

Progressive International Stainless Steel Magnetic Measuring Spoons, Set of 5  – I personally own this set and I can’t rave about it enough!   It seems a little weird to gush about measuring spoons, but trust me…these are gush worthy!   They are magnetic, I love that the same measuring size is on both ends (I used one for dry and one for wet ingredients a lot of times).  I’m not the only one that loves these, check out the reviews!!

Chef’n VeggiChop Hand-Powered Food Chopper – This is on my wish list, I have a friend that ones one and she gives it rave reviews.   Super easy to chop up small things with it.   So much more convenient that dragging out the food processor for small jobs.

Cake Boss 7-Piece Melamine Mixing and Prep Bowl Set –  Again, this made my list because of the fun colors and cute polka dots.   I love the whole set.  I especially love that the bowls are nice and tall to prevent splashing.

Silicone Baking Mat Set (2 Standard Half Sheet) – These are one of the items I think every kitchen needs.  They really are the best thing ever.  I use them a lot when I bake but I especially use them whenever I have a recipe that requires parchment paper, I use these instead.   They are used every time I make my Homemade Soft Pretzels

OXO Good Grips Medium Cookie Scoop – This is another item I can no longer live without.   I didn’t think it would be something I would use a lot, but I was wrong.  It’s perfect for scooping cookies, cupcake and muffin mix and so much more.   I actually own this one in several sizes.

Emile Henry 6-Ounce Ramekin (Set of 4) – I love Emile Henry bakeware, it is spendy but the quality can’t be beat.   These cute ramekins were one of my first Emile Henry purchases and I use them all the time.  You can find cheaper ramekins (a lot cheaper actually) but I love the quality of these and they hold up really well.

Super Absorbent 100% Natural Cotton Kitchen Towels (6 Pack) – You can never have enough kitchen towels, at least you can’t in our house.    I love the classic look of these and that they are 100% natural cotton.

Flirty Aprons Women’s Marilyn (Sugar n’ Spice) – Working the kitchen is so much more fun when you have a fun apron to wear.  I love the Flirty Aprons because they are just so cute.  I don’t think I would mind running to the store with my apron on if it was this cute.

100 Days of Real Food Cookbook –  This is another one of my wish list items.   I think cookbooks in general make great gifts, every year that is at least one cookbook on my list.    You will find a book for everyone, those who like to bake, grill, eat paleo, etc.

DeBuyer Mineral B Element Iron Crepe Pan (9.4-Inch Round) – If you have someone on your list that loves too cook I recommend giving them a crepe pan.  It’s one of those items that you can’t really substitute something else for, if you want to make crepes (and trust me – you do!) you will need a good crepe pan.   Skip the non-stick and go for the true French crepe pan.   I hope to share a crepe recipe on the blog soon.  My favorite crepes are filled with Nutella and berries.  YUM!

Make sure you check out all our other gift guides we have published so far!

• Board Books for Little Ones
• Best Gifts for Preschool Kids
• Gift Ideas for LEGO fans

The links in this post direct you to Amazon where I will earn a small commission if you make purchase. 

The post Kitchen Gift Guide for those that Love to Bake & Cook appeared first on Gather Lemons.

LEGOs are probably the most favorite toy of all time at our house. If you have a LEGO fan too, here are some suggestions of gifts they will love.

LEGO Kids’ Star Wars Darth Vader vs. Obi-Wan Kenobi Watch with 2 Minifigures – I love this fun watch for kids that they can put together.

LEGO Life Of George – We own this one and it has been a HUGE hit at our house.   An iPhone or iPod is required for this one because there is an app with it.  An image will pop up on the app, your kids recreate it and then take a photo.   They race to see how quickly they can recreate the image and get a score based on their time.   Seriously fun!!

LEGO Crazy Action Contraptions – If you already have a bunch of LEGOs around your house this is fun because they can create fun LEGO cars, catapults and more with the extra LEGOs that come with this fun book.  We personally own this one too!

Steampunk LEGO – I am so excited for this book!  It is currently a pre-order and I am picking it up for my son for Christmas.   The designs in this one look stunning.

LEGO Books by DK Publishing – We own many of the LEGO books from DK.  I can’t recommend them enough, they have ones for Star Wars, Harry Potter, Ninjago and many many more.   You won’t regret any of these!

The LEGO Neighborhood Book: Build Your Own Town! – This fun book teaches you how to build your own LEGO town.   Looks awesome!

LEGO Video Games – You can’t go wrong with any of the LEGO video games, they have all be a big hit at our house.

LEGO Minotaurus Game  – What is cooler than a game you get to build out of LEGOs.   Once again we own this one and several other LEGO games and they are played with frequently.

Neat-Oh! LEGO Star Wars ZipBinBattle Storage Case – This fun case not only stores LEGOs but it also turns into a fun playing field when you unzip it.

LEGO Creator Sets – Every LEGO fan loves getting more LEGOs!   The LEGO Create sets have always been some of our family faves because they comes with instructions for 3 different set in one box.

LEGO Star Wars sets – My boys favorite sets have always been the Star Wars ones, they have fun trying to collect all the different minigiures that come with each set too.

LEGO Friends Sets – I am thrilled that LEGO finally made some sets aimed directly for girls, it took them long enough, didn’t it?    You can build a whole neighborhood with all these fun sets.

Please check out our other gift guides too:

• Board Books for Little Ones
• Best Gifts for Preschool Kids

The links in this post direct you to Amazon where I will earn a small commission if you make purchase.

The post Great Gifts for LEGO Fans (Gift Guide) appeared first on Gather Lemons.

We are compiling a several gift guides for you and we are kicking it off with some of the items that I think make the best gifts…BOOKS! We have given each of our children at least one book every Christmas, even when they were very little. These fun board books would make great gifts or stocking stuffer for your little one. Some of them are as low as $3.30!!

Dear Zoo: A Lift-the-Flap Book $5.76 – Super cute and funny story.  Lift-the-flap-books were always favorites of my kids.

Little Blue Truck Board Book $3.97 – Farm animals are always a hit.   This popular books get 681 5 star reviews on Amazon.

Giraffes Can’t Dance $5.47 – The illustrations and story are fabulous

Dancing Feet! $6.88 – Seriously cute rhyming text and photos that make you smile.

Goodnight Moon $8.06 – This classic book is a must!

Star Wars ABC $10.48 – All little ones must start out with the proper training.   I’m totally talking about Star Wars and not their ABCs.

Touch and Feel: Farm (Touch & Feel) $4.00 – We have owned several of these DK Touch & Feel books and they were loved

The Going-To-Bed Book $5.17 – This one is a family fave!   I always gift this book when I go to a baby shower.

Blue Hat, Green Hat (Boynton on Board) $3.30 – This is another Sandra Boynton book that is well love.   You cannot go wrong with any of the Sandra Boynton Board books, they all are a delight!

The links in this post direct you to Amazon where I will earn a small commission if you make purchase. The prices in this post were valid when it was published.

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