Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

What to give a Child

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A list of gifts to give a child:

1. Spools of thread and a needle.
2. A flash light.
3. Watercolors and a stack of paper a mile high.
4. A tea set.

5. A wallet with a photo of the two of you together, an old credit card, a band-aid, a packet with a moist tissue, some one dollar bills, a discontinued checkbook…some stickers…

6. A date to have a water balloon fight.
7. A chunk of wood, a hammer and some nails.
8. Rolls of wrapping paper, a box and a roll of scotch tape.
9. Walnuts and a nutcracker.
10. A harmonica and tap shoes.

A snowglobe. An apron. A butterfly catcher. Mod gifts. Vintage toys.

What was your favorite toy as a child?

Comments

54 responses to “What to give a Child”

  1. Jeanne

    I love my real life animals the best……the very best companions…………
    I had a few special dolls too.
    My Sister and I had a tea party set and a small table and chair set we loved to play tea party.
    Blessings.
    Love your list.
    The best thing to spend on your child is time!
    Blessings!

    Reply
  2. shabbyinthecity

    My red wagon went everywhere with me. It carried home injured animals and gave me a place to sit in the backyards of friends. I treated it like my little mobile home!

    Reply
  3. Di Overton

    I don’t believe this. My two favourite toys when I was a kid were my taps shoes and a harmonica. I took both into the bath one day (it was empty) the tap was really loud on the cast iron tub and I danced merrily for ages. When I had finished the bath was a mass of scratches. There was bother in the house that day!

    Reply
  4. Paris Parfait

    Great ideas for gifts, depending upon the child’s age of course (safety about the hammer and nails). My favourites as a child were probably my dolls and Barbie house and my bicycle. I also liked the jumprope and playing games like Clue.
    Corey responds:
    Jump rope! Do you remember any of the songs you use to sing?

    Reply
  5. Sigrid

    Nice ideas! My 4-year old son would add to that a needle tool and felt for creating needle images like this one:
    http://www.labbe.de/shop/bs.asp?f=pricknadel&x=0&y=0
    (not associated with this shop, just don’t know how to call this in English…)
    My favorite toys were a doll house my parents had made themselves, all decorated in the nicest 60ies’ shapes and colors, and a Strickliesl like this one: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strickliesel

    Reply
  6. Di Overton

    Hey I have just noticed that snow globe goes to me – thanks. Love the vintage toys pic – fabulous

    Reply
  7. Nora

    I had a doll with hair that grew (by pressing her belly button or something similar) and a bride doll that walked. Oh, and my animals.

    Reply
  8. clarice

    Good list, alos lots of glue (for those creative ideas) and big silk scarves. Thay can be anything, a cape, grass, tent, ect. Clarice

    Reply
  9. berrie

    oh my gosh! You’ve just listed some of my daughters favorite things:) I liked dolls!

    Reply
  10. rel

    Corey,
    They don’t really classify as a toy, but my favorite thing as a kid was my pair of brand new U.S. Keds sneakers. Let me tell you, I could literally fly and jump a mile high in those babies!
    😉
    rel
    Corey responds:
    That is so funny, because my daughter Chelsea loved her red snickers too! She asked for them for Christmas when she was three! Red hightops!

    Reply
  11. Francoise

    mon jouet préféré quand j’étais petite ?
    ma boite de peinture (tubes de gouache) avec un pinceau et une feuille de dessin !
    ma boite de crayon Caran d’ache !
    du tissu, du fil, une aiguille et des ciseaux …
    et toi corey ?

    Reply
  12. Penny

    My two favorites: my roller skates — with the key to try and keep them attached to my shoes (yes my age is showing here) and my jacks with the perfect hard rubber ball.

    Reply
  13. Shannon

    OMG, I LOVE this list! Don’t forget balloons. My kids are absolutely crazy about them.
    As a kid, my favorite “toy” was a small Swiss Army knife and a stick. I would whittle away for hours, LOL.
    Some more ideas:
    flour and water (my kids love to mix)
    a spoon and a patch of dirt outside (my grandmother would give me a spoon as a kid and I’d try to dig to China….literally)
    aluminum cans and some string (to make stilts)
    a paint brush, a bowl of water, and a front porch
    rocks and a pond
    a cassette tape and a tape recorder.

    Reply
  14. patpaulk

    Water balloon fights, my favorite!! Anything I could get in trouble with.

    Reply
  15. nel

    wonderful, imaginative gifts…I loved being outside riding my bike or climbing trees, throwing the ball…and I loved my thumberlina doll and tea parties…lovely post!

    Reply
  16. constance

    Great idea’a Corey, even for adults! I gave a little lunch at my Moms house last Spring. I assigned each guest a little task. One woman was to bring a game to play after lunch. In my mind I was thinking a word type game. She showed up with a pretty beach bag filled to the brim with colorful water ballons, and a hula hoop. We played a ridiculously funny game in the back yard. I laughed so hard it made me cry. It still makes me smile to think of ladies our age playing with water ballons!

    Reply
  17. susanna

    That IS a great list, Corey. My favourite toy as a child was a little stuffed rabbit that I oh so imaginatively called Rabitty. She/he (still can’t tell the gender) is well-loved by now…faded velvet ears, a nose that’s been resewn several times over, scruffy fur… 🙂
    My sister had an Elephanty.

    Reply
  18. susanna

    That IS a great list, Corey. My favourite toy as a child was a little stuffed rabbit that I oh so imaginatively called Rabitty. She/he (still can’t tell the gender) is well-loved by now…faded velvet ears, a nose that’s been resewn several times over, scruffy fur… 🙂
    My sister had an Elephanty.

    Reply
  19. Mountain Dweller

    What a gentle list. You are right, some things are timeless. Thanks for the link by the way.

    Reply
  20. naturegirl

    Some childhoods are better not remembered..I always had the comforting purzzz of my beloved cat.Your list sounds like a childhood to remember.
    hugs NG

    Reply
  21. Paula

    For me it was my bicycle with the basket on the handlebars. Oh my gosh, I’d make a sandwich and take off to a place nearby where the water ran, and the trees seemed to reach beyond the clouds. I sit on that squeaky bridge and dream the day away. I just loved those adventures. Still do as a matter of fact.
    I remember holding one of those round oatmeal containers and thinking about all the wonderful things I could create ~~
    Thanks for stirring up some fond memories.
    I loved the wallet you listed….now that sounds like so much fun !!

    Reply
  22. Beachy

    So many of these items I have given to my own children, and so many were also given to me by my parents! I think my favorite toy of all time was a wooden dollhouse my father made for me, which my daughter now uses!

    Reply
  23. AnnieElf

    Pure inspiration Corey. I love the idea of #5.

    Reply
  24. candy.gilbert

    Brilliant!! Every last one of them – Brilliant!

    Reply
  25. susan

    always always, the favorite toy/gift was reams of computer paper my dad would bring home. that was all i needed.

    Reply
  26. cruststation

    Wonderful list! My favourite toys were my Barbies, tea sets and miniatures. But we were also very creative so we made skipping ropes out of elastic bands, paper dolls and houses that ensured hours of fun!

    Reply
  27. martina

    Creepy Crawlers, a pocket knife from my Dad, an old doll that had belonged to a favorite aunt and…don’t think live animals count as a toy, but my wire fox terrier-Perky. She was my constant companion, confidante and playmate.

    Reply
  28. Amber

    Don’t I wish it were still so simple? lol
    I loved paint and paper. Or books. Or pens.
    🙂

    Reply
  29. Cheryl

    Corey, I love your blog!
    The best gift I gave to my oldest son was a ten mark bill to shop with at the German flea markets, along with a couple of rules. 1) You must use all the German you know, 2) You must bargain, even if they don’t come down in price. The best thing I ever gave my youngest son was a bunch of playdough with old kitchen tools from thrift stores…endless hours of creativity. The best gift to give any child…the freedom to use all methods of creativity without squawking (too much) about the mess!!

    Reply
  30. risa

    i was one of those kids who enjoyed playing with the packaging more than the toy. my ideal gift as a child? a refrigerator box with some crayons, markers, and/or paints to decorate it. also, old pots and pans. toy food. puppets and a puppet theater. picture books. especially pop-ups. a trip to the museum of natural history. astronaut ice cream. origami paper.

    Reply
  31. risa

    ps-thanks for the link. 🙂

    Reply
  32. Star

    Snow globes have always fascinated me but I’ve never owned one.
    This is a wonderful list and brings back fond memories of playing back in the days before television became the babysitter. I would also add dominoes (not necessarily to play dominoes, but to line up and tip over).

    Reply
  33. kristin

    what an inspiring list you’ve created. thanks for all the links.
    my favorite thing to play with as a child was a gift from my mother. a lovely stack of paper, glue, and about 20 little jars filled with a variety of dried beans-each a different shape, texture and color. i spent hours creating mini mosaics and pictures.

    Reply
  34. Orama

    Handcuffs

    Reply
  35. Britt-Arnhild

    I could never get enough books. The birthday gift I best remember is Mary Norton’s The Borrowers which I got at my 8th birthday.
    My youngest daughter can’t resist art supplies.

    Reply
  36. carolyn

    Well I just loved soo many different things, dolls and stuffed toys mostly.

    Reply
  37. cheeky

    Again Corey you just bring it! Another wonderfully, unique and creative post. I want to be a kid again, for a day anyway!
    What came to mind for me was not a specific toy, but the sheer pleasure of play. The days where we played outside (forget the tele), ALL day, all night (if we had it our way) until we were coaxed (sometimes threatened)to get inside now! Remember how disappointed you were when the street lights came on. “Mom just a little bit longer, pleeaaaseee …..”
    Those were the days!
    With all that said, I loved my roller skates, bicycle and the pogo stick. I can still pogo.

    Reply
  38. Rue

    The best present I got was a KITE. In Ks. you can always use it. I(the Easter bunny) would give my kids kite. We would play for hours. This Easter my daughter is giving my grandson one.

    Reply
  39. tut-tut

    Goodness! An inspiring post certainly reaps rewards!!
    I’d have to say what I enjoyed most was making things; first from kits, then on my own. As a little child, helping my mother make ornaments by gluing sequins to pinecones. These kinds of things!

    Reply
  40. CGS

    Hi Corey,
    I have to insist on Bubbles
    too…I still buy them myself!

    Reply
  41. Veronica TM

    what a wonderful, delightful list! it is so obvious you have a young spirit, corey.
    i have to say, i loved my dolls, their clothes and i loved, loved dancing and music.
    {thanks for the link}.

    Reply
  42. Blue

    My skipping rope!!!

    Reply
  43. Gypsy Purple-Chamara

    What inspiration….oh how we played….I was a “trashy” child (hee-hee) collected all junk as my “treasures” and played make believe games with them….had them stashed away and buried all over the place…and then my books

    Reply
  44. Gina

    Wonderful, and I so agree! We all need tools to explore, so that we may develop and realize our mind is a tool that we can use to build our world. What a wonderufl and sweet post!

    Reply
  45. Liz Ness

    Indeed! Love the list…it IS perfect.

    Reply
  46. Mountain Mama

    My rubber doll.

    Reply
  47. mary ann

    everything on your list PLUS BOOKS!!!!!!!!! books are the gateway to imagination, n’est ce pas?
    hi corey! hope you are well…i’ve been away… i’ve come by to say “bon jour!”
    hugs, mary ann xo

    Reply
  48. Acey

    old costume jewelry, scraps of lace and pretty buttons, a little blue willow china set and the antique cupboard my great grandfather made, where the china lived.

    Reply
  49. frieda

    I can’t imagine the kids these days will get excited over this list 🙂
    I did not have much toys..but I loved my bike, i felt so free riding my bike.

    Reply
  50. parisbreakfasts

    WHAT A WONDERFUL POST!!!
    WOW
    Hey you did not mention a dollhouse?! A whole world for the imagination to play with…
    Does anyone play with paperdolls anymore? I loved them too.
    Merci Corey 🙂

    Reply
  51. Catalina

    It is still….pencil colours, books (children’s specially…) tissues to saw, little stones and snails “coquillages” from the beach.
    wonderful post!

    Reply
  52. Merisi’s Vienna

    Next to my childhood home we had two Lindentrees, whose roots were partially exposed and we kids love to create whole landscapes there, tiny houses and forts made of wooden sticks, water mills and bridges over the little creeks we dug out and watered. So, wooden sticks it is, my favorite childhood toy. I once used a larger one to pretend I had my own washing machine, swirling the dolls’ cloth round and round in a pale of water.

    Reply
  53. CathyC

    LOVE this post, Corey.
    I loved everything on your list plus:
    Etch a Sketch
    Legos
    magic markers
    crayons
    portable soft dollhouse
    balls
    marbles

    Reply
  54. lauren Mumford

    The perfect list of childhood treasures! With these things a true childhood is built. Although my list would include a stack of books a mile high. We would pick them up (still do) at every garage sale and thrift store we went to. Plus, the treasured volumes picked out on frequent book store excursions.
    lauren

    Reply

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