Beginning Thanksgiving week every year, daycare receives one new toy each week until New Year's. Since kids spend a fair amount of time at daycare each week, I've always felt it was silly to give them a gift to take home that they couldn't bring to daycare. So instead, daycare receives the gifts and the kids all get to enjoy them each and every day! Of course, at this point it's getting harder and harder to find toys daycare doesn't have (or have had in the past that have gotten broken).
With a variety of ages to please, I think carefully about which toys I purchase. Usually I welcome back bigs during Christmas break, so I try to have one or two new toys just for them and the rest I buy for the preschool and younger crowd. This year there's a few things the littles receive that the bigs will enjoy as well (felt body parts, sensory items and that giant Rock a Stack will likely be used as a toss game at some point), but judging by how much the littles are already enjoying the gifts daycare has received so far, I think I did good this year!
1.) Giant Rock a Stack (yes, the dog thinks this toy is for him. Also, the littles enjoy wearing them as ankle bracelets, which is quite the sight to see!).
2.) Cardboard gingerbread house with new paints
3.) Building dinosaurs (I will say, the three and five year old had a difficult time with these, so the older kids built them and the younger kids played with them)
4.) Christmas Play Doh and scented sand
5.) Ticket To Ride Europe Edition
7.) Popper Puzzle