May Palacpac, Storyteller

I received an invitation to Bankee’s Toy Trade Fair last September 5. Since the venue was near and I wanted to see if there’s any new toy we might want to buy our kids, I went as soon as I logged off from work. 

I didn’t bring any of my boys like I did the last time because I wanted to have more time inspecting the toys and to take notes on what would be interesting buys this Christmas season.

I don’t know about you but I like seeing a child’s face light up when he opens a gift containing a toy he likes. It would be such great joy to be able to give nice gifts to all the kids we love, ours included, this Christmas season.  That’s been a prayer goal for some time now. 

At home at the toy store

We’re frequent visitors of the toy stores nearby. We don’t buy all the time but we take our kids to look at the toys and keep ourselves tuned in to what interests them. 

Pablo had been a Transformers fan for years, in fact, it was only this year that he expressed interest in other toys like Godzilla, which is what he asked for his birthday this year.

Lukas, on the other hand, seems drawn to the architecture of the houses of the Sylvanian Families but on our most recent visit, he rolled around the toy store in one of the scooters and asked to bring it home. 

We haven’t bought the scooter because we’re still trying to decide whether scooters are better to buy than bikes, or if we should just buy them the puppy they’ve been asking for. 

Judah is still into toys he can tinker.

He likes toys that have sounds but we’re still pretty careful in letting him handle the toys in case he decides to throw them just to see what would happen or take them apart when we’re not looking. 

Old & New

We’re pretty familiar with many of the toys distributed by Bankee. I recognized some and was delighted to see new ones, too. 

Leap Frog’s got some new cool products coming  and well, being the girl that I am, my attention went to the Ice Cream Maker in the middle of the room.

I went over to the aisle where the Gundam toys were displayed because I remember my eldest being curious about it. I was told that it might be too hard for younger kids and that it’s more ideal for 12 year olds or so, and looking through the pieces in the boxes, I sort of agreed. It looked hard to build.

I got a small one in my gift pack and I had second thoughts about giving it to our 9-year old, so I kept it aside that night, but decided to ask the babysitter the next morning to hand it over to him when he wakes up.

Jay and I were leaving for the Homeschooling Conference and will be gone the whole day, but I figured he’d ask our babysitter’s help if he can’t do it. 

Apparently, he was able to build it by himself and told me, “it wasn’t what I was asking for but thanks mom”. 

And with that, we’re now considering getting him one of the bigger ones but it’s something Jay and I will have to discuss first.  

Toy review series

There were a lot of great toys for both girls and boys of all ages at the trade fair like this Doc McStuffins doctor’s bag set. They have a diary set, too! 

I think that one post about these toys won’t be enough so expect me to blog about the really good ones I saw at the Toy Trade Fair in the following months. Some of the toys will cost you a fortune but they won’t be a waste if they’re the right ones for your children. 

I’ll leave you with this thought.  A friend of mine, a fellow mommy and home schooler, once said to me, “If you will buy your kids gifts, give them toys. They love toys. You can always buy them books and other educational materials throughout the year, and friends will give you that. Give them something that will make them truly happy.” 

What about you? What Christmas gifts do you plan to give your children this year? 

(Note: Although I have been given a special invitation to the trade fair, the opinion expressed here are my own and are in no way influenced by Bankee staff and organisers.)