Are You Cleaning Bath Toys Often Enough?

Weekly. That’s how often I clean our bath toys. They build up grime and mildew if we don’t. Look closely at your toys and evaluate. Try not to puke.

In a clean basin, tub or sink-soak the toys in a mixture of dawn soap and vinegar. Dawn works wonders. I also like to use sterilization tablets. These are leftover from bottle days and help even more. If you don’t have them, no biggie.

After scrubbing and soaking; empty all water from toys and let toys dry.

As a rule I don’t allow squeezable toys. The ones that suck up water and squirt it back out-those harbor mold and cannot really be cleaned. Some people super glue the hole shut on those but I don’t have time for that.

I scrambled for the ‘It’ toy

Picking the perfect gift. It’s hit or miss. With kids, getting the ‘it’ gift elevates things and I become frenzied. Welcome to champagne problems 101.

The ‘it’ toy of 2017? It is the swinging monkeys, aka fingerlings.
Been there, done that. I beat everyone to the punch.
I have already bought and given the ‘it’ toy of this Christmas and my kids, they don’t even care.

I bought the toy back in October as a birthday gift. I thought I was ahead of the game; that my kids would be begging for these; I thought I’d be super mom when I gifted them as birthday gifts.

Nope, my kids are were not all that impressed, at least not anymore. Short lived. Just like the battery inside the fingerling.

Of course, every year there is always a surprise ‘it’ toy that no one saw coming. It always seems to leave retailers scrambling and moms scrambling too.

Even when I think I’ve hit the mark, I’m often side swiped by what my child thinks is the better gift of the bunch.

The ‘it’ gift can end up being some last minute item I threw in the mix. All the hours researching the best toys for their age, finding the best price, purchase paralysis, review reading- down the drain- all for null. Sure, sometimes the random gift I put no effort or thought toward, wins Christmas.
But, a win is a win.

What about when it’s the wrapping that holds their attention longer than the gift? This is especially true if there is bubble wrap involved.

Pots and pans and Tupperware have kept my kids entertained for way longer than any fad toy. Hammering nails into old pallets has given my boys weeks of entertainment and imaginative play. Heck, simply rearranging existing toys can bring hours of fun over the minutes the fad toy may bring.

I know this.

Yet, I continue to scramble year after year for the ‘it’ thing.

Why? Because it’s Christmas and it’s magical.
Because, of that sweet baby face. The smile, joy and excitement felt all around. I scramble to see the dropped jaw and raised brow when my kid gets a gift they’ve been pinning for.
I scramble for the moment when my kids fall hard and fast for a gift they didn’t even know they wanted; until I placed it in their hands. Even if it is bubble wrap.

After all; it is better to give than to receive.

Do you indulge in finding the ‘it’ gift on the holiday? Do you get scramble searching and picking perfect gifts? Tell me all about it.