Cool holiday-themed toys

December 12, 11:02 AMEarly Childhood Parenting ExaminerAngele Sionna

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Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah or just enjoy this festive season, there's lots of holiday toys that can help make the season special for your kids. Here are a few ideas:

Who’s that up on the shelf watching the kids and reporting back to Santa? It’s your very own Elf on a Shelf. This is the first year we read this book and put our elf on the shelf. My girls love it, particularly my almost three year old. She runs out every morning to see if he’s in a new spot after coming home form reporting to Santa at nighttime. She even picked out his name – Choo-Choo-Skye the Elf. Really a fun tradition.

Taggies make really cute, high quality, soft items that little babies love, including this cute Taggies Sleigh Friends Plush and Jingle Bells Blanket. The secret - they have soft ribbon tags on them, whether they're blankets, clothes, hats, books or toys. Babies love them because their little fingers like to manipulate the little loops. They also like to chew on them. Taggies also has holiday gift baskets that are sure to please!

My Little Pony holiday ponies are about $5 and lots of fun to play with. The My Little Pony holiday collection has three horses all dolled up for winter, but with no specific religious affiliation, so they're great for every tot. They're recommended for children three and up, but I let both of my girls play with them. Just make sure no one's chewing on their pretty pony manes. You can find these guys at Walmart, Target and Kmart.

Gund's 'Twas the Night Before Christmas bear is cute and cuddly and reads the classic Christmas tale to kids. This little guy amazes my girls. He moves his mouth and head while he "reads" the story.

If you are looking for a winter bear that isn't limited just to Christmas or Hanukkah, check out Tedde's winter bear with a scarf called Sherwood Burton. Tedde makes really unique teddy bears with fine construction. The Sherwood bear is handmade in Maine. They have lots of other cute designs too.
The personalized reindeer plush toy from spreadshirt.com is a unique option. You can add a name or a short greeting to the reindeer's shirt. He also comes with a Santa hat.

Christmas finger puppets are a fun way to tell stories and little ones love them. Shop.com has felt sets of Frosty, Santa, a penguin and an angel listed in their Christmas section, along with lots of other holiday-themed toys. These finger puppets would make great little gifts to give to classmates in preschool.

Little People's Christmas Parade Train is lots of fun. It comes with several figures plus a train. For a more religious version, check out Little People's Nativity set and Little People's Hanukkah set.

For Hanukkah, check out Rite Lite's My Soft Chanukah set. It features a plush menorah, candles and more. It's recommended for 18 months and up. The deluxe version adds on a plush dreidel too.