Birthday presents. Hmmm…

Posted at 9:07 pm on July 21, 2010 by Catherine

Sometime time has passed and time and time and time and suddenly my baby boy is about to turn four.  How can this be?  I have no idea.  I could wax on nostalgically like I have each year before in the days before his birthday; or I could go on about why I’m not waxing nostalgically this year at all.  But tonight, his last night of being three, his final hours before turning four, I have bigger fish to fry.  I need to buy his birthday present.

When he was a baby, I avoided buying birthday presents on principle.  Everyone else was going to buy him something, I provided for all his needs, and he was too little to know the difference.  But this year, he’s old enough to know that one way you love a person is to give them gifts.  And he’s old enough to know if the pile of presents in front of him are from me or not.

But what does one buy a four year old boy?  How am I supposed to know that when I have never been one and never had one?  I could walk up and down the aisle’s of ToysRUs to see what strikes our fancy, but I’ve been too buys unpacking boxes and swatting at roaches.

Luckily, a few new toys have made their way to my house, hoping I’ll love them and write about them, persuading you to do the same.

The first box of toys comes from a line called Backyard Safari Outfitters.  It comes with an adventure cargo vest, a bug vacuum, and a megaview periscope.  I’ll be honest, this makes a good impression.  The cargo vest is super cool, and a bug vacuum??!! We vacuum up bugs and then look at them in the magnified walls of the thing.  Its pretty much up a little boy’s alley, if not his mommy’s.  I was initially most impressed by the megaview periscope but to be honest, I’m not sure what to do with it.  So I’ll give Backyard Safari Outfitters an “A” for the bug vacuum, and at least a head nod for the other things.

My second box contains a brightly colored toy set from Pop On Pals, the “Amusement Park Deluxe Playset” to be exact.  The target age for this one is 2 and up, so probably not something my 4 year old will be too excited about.  It looks sort of like the “Little People” toys, and promises “A World of Endless Possibilities.”  What strikes me about it is the various different cause-and-effect possibilities that it offers – put the Pal on the ferris wheel and it spins; put Pal on the roller coaster and it zooms; put Pal on the dragon boat and – well, you get the idea.  I can clearly imagine my 19 month old sitting and doing this for a long, long time.  Or rather, asking me to do it for him for a long, long time.   Brightly colored and fun, my interest is perked; though I do think its a take on the “Little People” idea of toys.

There is one more box coming my way, though due to a shipping snafu it won’t be here in time for my son’s birthday.  But this is the one that I’m guessing will contain his present.  As I considered bug vacuums and Pop on Pals, I realized that I wanted something not just fun, but something that represents what a big boy he is now.  I wondered – might he be old enough for a scooter?

Yup, assuming it actually manages to get to me eventually, I’m hoping to give him a Shred Sled Shox Scooter.  The materials I received said that Shred Sled is a “company specializing in extreme sports products for children.”  My first thought was “oh, my son is totally an extreme sports kind of guy.”  My second thought was “oh no…..”

So, that’s what I’m getting him.  But don’t tell!  What gifts do you recommend for a four year old boy??

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