WFMW: Gifts to Spark Their Imagination!

Today's Works-for-Me-Wednesday is the "The Toys Worth Buying Edition".

A couple of years ago, I hit all the after-Halloween clearance sales and bought LOADS of costumes and accessories to make the ultimate dress up center for my kids and gave it to them for Christmas. I found funny wigs for $2, light-up superhero costumes with built-in "muscles" for $5, and much more! We have had the BEST time with this. Not only do they have SO much fun with their dress up center, their imaginations have been sparked like never before. Here is a partial list of what they have:

dinosaur
doctor
soldier
knight
unicorn
princess (2 different dresses)
gladiator
Superman
Spiderman
Darth Vader
Batman
cat
dog
Power Ranger

Plus many awesome accessories:
black cape
various hats
Elvis wig
several long-haired wigs
opera singer wig
clown wig

I cannot tell you how much fun we have had with these things. The kids will literally spend hours playing pretend.

To present the gift, I bought a clothes rack to hang the costumes, an over door shoe rack for the wigs, and a large plastic tub for the accessories. After setting up the area in a corner of the playroom, I taped large pieces of giftwrap from one wall to the other. The kids had a ball ripping it down to see what was in the corner!

I found that even though there were two Wal-Marts in my area, one of them had way better clearance prices. Toys R Us had a lot of unique items, including some foam wigs that looked like cartoon character hair. Nearly every costume I bought was $5 or less.

Her is a pic of Drama Queen modeling several pieces:


I have two other great gifts worth mentioning:

For ages 8-adult: 20 Questions
This handheld electronic game is addictive! Think of something specific, such as a shoe or a bowling ball, and then answer the yes or no questions that the game asks. It will often "guess" what you're thinking - it's freaky! It has even guessed items like "utility pole" and "light switch cover"! People can't put it down. It has been a humongous hit with everyone I've ever given it to, and it is my all-time favorite go-to gift for anyone.

For toddler girls ages 2-4: Fisher Price Snap 'n Style Dolls

Screech LOVES her "snap dollies". Little hands can easily change the clothes, unlike other dolls. (Barbie, anyone?) They have rooted hair and are positively adorable. You can also buy different clothing sets for them. These dolls are hard to find; the only place I have seen them is Toys R Us.

Here are my previous WFMW posts:

Reading Motivation
Finding a Babysitter
Charging a Cell Phone
Swim/Shower with a Cast
Free Tech Support
Calming Injured Children
Choosing a Phone Number
What NOT to Soak Contacts In
Broken Glass Cleanup
Cheap Rolling Cart for Conventions
Chocolate Recipes
Tooth-Tugging Tip for Terrified Tots
Handy Earache Relief
Uses for Leftover Bread
Leaky Diaper/Pull-up Fix
Snack Mix Recipe (at the end of the post)
Awesome Stain Recipe (at the end of the post)
"Fun"damentals of Family Life
Removing Wite-Out from Everything
When NOT to Save Money
Public Service Announcement

For more WFMW tips, stop by Shannon's blog!