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Toys

Friday, November 30, 2012

Gift Guide: Hours of Fun with These Top Christmas Toy Picks

Every holiday season, the mailbox fills with the latest toy catalogs. But what to get the kids in your life? Patch is here to help.

Every holiday season, the mailbox fills with the latest toy catalogs. Children peruse the pages as they scribble their lists, daydreaming about what they will find under the tree come Christmas morning. Parents pull out their pocketbooks, spending hard-earned cash as they anticipate the joy on those little faces. What will be the runaway favorites this year is always a guess, but here are some of the latest trends, mixed with tried-and-true perennial favorites. Most of these toys can be found at Minnetonka's Target on County Road 101, Target near Ridgedale, Walgreens, Toys R' Us and Ridgedale Center. jChews Smartphone teether by Jellystone No tears for parents or babies. Babies love nothing more than to gum Mom and Dad’s cell phone, but …

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Parents Talk: Helping Your Kids Create a Reasonable Holiday Gift List

Kids have started making their lists and checking them twice. How do you help them make their lists?

When I was a kid, the excitement that would blow through the Burgess home as the holiday shopping season began can be pinpointed to one thing: The Toys-R-Us catalog arriving. My sister and I would pore over the pages, carefully dog-earring them to call special attention to the items circled therein. We would proudly hand it to our parents, believing we had done them a great service. (There would be no way they could disappoint us if they took our direction on the gifts.) Of course, I never got that electric Barbie car. (Sigh) A paper catalog seems a little old school now with the Internet and so many shops to choose from. So, how do you help plan your kids' gift lists? Do you take them to the store? Supervise them online? Or do you wait …

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