Connor's favorite things 2009!

It's almost Christmas again and here we are counting down some of our favorite holiday reviews from 2009! Regardless if your still looking for the perfect holiday gift or if your looking for something as a birthday gift for the upcoming months we pick our holiday gift guide items, like items from all of our gift guides, based on our own personal experiences. Only the toys/gifts we would really love to get ourselves make it into our guides! This year I really wanted to focus on more budget friendly gift ideas so most of our gift items are under $30.

Gifts for Kids :

Step2 Lifestyle Partytime Kitchen - Actually any of the kitchen sets from Step2 would make for a fabulous gift for a boy or girl on your list! I knew this year was the perfect year to get Connor his first kitchen set as he's been bringing me make believe Diet Coke's for weeks now on little make believe platters. I can only imagine what amazing meals he is going to cook up for us on his new little kitchen. This is the actual kitchen Connor will be receiving from Santa this year and we ended up choosing it based on its size. We wanted a full kitchen set but space is at a premium and I love the compact design of this kitchen and the fact that it still includes all the features of some of the bigger sets!

Learning Resources Play Food - What kitchen set would be complete without some fabulous play food to cook in it? We went to a major toy store and was just heartbroken by the quality of some of the food sets we saw. I really like to buy toys that I feel will last and seeing as we are about to have a second little boy in the house we need them to last through at least two little ones. Learning Resources offers a awesome selection of pretend food and the quality is fabulous! We recently did a review of the Pretend and Play Sliceable Fruit and Vegetables set and fell in love.

Cabbage Patch Pop N Style - What is better, the classic charm and nostalgic value of the Cabbage Patch doll combined with a really cool and unique hair styling system. No little girl on your list will be able to resist them, or that fabulous baby powder Cabbage Patch smell! Each Cabbage Patch Pop N Style come with three interchangeable hair clips which pop in to change the look of the doll. Plus you can buy extra hair clips to make even more styles!

Olive Kids Mealtime Sets - If you spent five minutes in my house I bet you could spot at least a few personalized creations from Olive Kids. Our recent addition has been a lifesaver as not only has it helped convenience Connor to eat his dinner but it gets him excited about the whole process as well. What kid wouldn't love to eat their dinner off their own personalized plate and place mat. Wait... so would I!! Where are all the "mommy" place mats?! heh.

VTech V.Smile Motion - The ultimate affordable video game system designed just for the preschooler through school aged child. No need to spend a zillion dollars on a video game system when the V.Smile Motion is priced very reasonably at under $50! As well kids are encouraged to move, learn, and have fun and the system is totally compatible with all the other V.Smile game cartridges! For ages 3-7 it will have a very long life in your household, and we recommend you buy an extra controller and a set of rechargeable batteries as well.

Alex Toys - Monster Play All Day Set - I had been looking and looking for a board game that Connor could play on his own. Though this isn't exactly a board game it certainly fits the bill and Connor couldn't be more thrilled. Actually I almost can't remember what my living room looks like without monster cards all over the rug. The Monster Play All Day Set comes in its own cool carrying case and includes a very sturdy and cute memory game, mix and match monsters game, and card game. All of which are toddler/preschooler friendly and durable with the exception of the card game which we put aside for when Connor is just a bit older as I was afraid he would tear the cards. The best part is it all stores in its own carrying case at the end of the day!

Mighty World Play sets - I'm without a doubt a huge Mighty World fan. Actually the only problem I have with Mighty World is that I don't own the entire collection. We've shared in the past that Connor's daddy is a police officer and Connor is absolutely fascinated with anything involving police cars or even fire trucks. Mighty World gives us a opportunity to really get in the action of what Daddy does for a living and have fun in the process. Plus as he gets older he can customize his Mighty World cars as many of the pieces are interchangeable, a point that I haven't really brought up to him yet as he is still a bit young. Whatever your into, be it construction, emergency vehicles, or even just around the town play there is a Mighty World play set for you! For those with little girls check out the equestrian play set, I know I want one!

YooKiddoo - Flow N Fill Spout - YooKiddoo's line of toys from International playthings are incredibly unique and I'm determined that at some point we will own all of them. However there was one in particular that we have been waiting on since the day we saw the press release. Connor loves water, and he loves bath time, the only problem is he's heartbroken the moment you turn off the water as his favorite thing on earth is to "wash" his toys and fill up his cups under the running water. Without going broke on my water bill I can only allow this to go on for so long. The Flow N Fill Spout is a total lifesaver as it provides Connor will a constant stream of water to play with while in the bath and my water bill will not suffer. If I had to recommend only one bath toy in the entire world, this would be the one hands down.

Gifts for the Grownups :

Mimobots - I love this one so much I brought it back from last year's gift guide. Actually I'm reminded on a daily basis just how amazingly cool Mimobots are as my own little Mimobot keeps me company at my desk all the time. He's actually been my faithful companion back and forth to school all of last year and I never go anywhere without someone asking what he is! Mimobots are quite simply the coolest USB drive you will ever own and anyone on your list would be excited to have one. Though if your looking for something for the dads or men on your list you should really consider the new Star Wars Mimobots. We scored a Darth Vadar and he is quite simply the coolest thing ever. When you remove the cap, or Darth Vadar's helmet that is, you expose not only the USB adapter but Darth Vadar's face. Now that's stinking cool.

Little Missmatched - I don't care if the girls on your list are three or thirty three. Little Missmatched will make any girl or mom on your list feel giddy inside. We recently had the opportunity to review the Little Missmatched arm warmers and with winter in full swing down her in the south finally they couldn't have come at a better time. One size fits all and I do mean all on these arm warmers as they are very stretchy and they fit actually quite comfortably on Connor's arms (though a little baggy) and perfectly on mine. I absolutely love them and keep the min my jacket pocket at all times!

Tony Hawk Ride - For those of you that knew me in High School there was one thing I always wanted to do, and quite simply just could never master. Jump horses over fences taller than I can see over, done, but master a skate board? Noooo. Can I master a skateboarding game? Prol not, lol but seriously its far less embarrassing to bust my butt in my living room verses out in the open. Tony Hawk Ride gives those who absolutely love the new trend of what I consider "live action" video games, ie video games that you actually have to get up and move to play, a whole new experience. I couldn't be more thrilled and I know all the boys on your list will be as well. Move over rock band wannabes... I wanna be a skateboarder!