A Mighty Girl's 2012 Holiday Gift Guide

Hi, I'm Katherine! You've seen my work before on A Mighty Girl if you've browsed the music section -- as a former orchestral performer, I was very excited to help Carolyn put together music that empowers girls. I have two children, Ben, who's 3 1/2, and Alicia, who's 22 months. Helping out with the toy section was great fun for me, since my kids are just starting to get into the big wide world imaginary play! Here are my top 10 favourite toys featured on the site, in no particular order.

Skwish Color Burst

This wooden manipulative toy can be pulled, stretched, and squished -- but it just springs back into shape. Lots of fun for infants and young toddlers; I originally got it for Alicia but Ben often "borrowed" it while she was napping!

For more toys like this one, visit our Rattles / Teething section within For Baby.

Boomwhackers

These plastic tubes are made to produce a particular note when they are whacked with a hand, knee, or stick. They're color coded so kids can start learning the concept of reading music. It's an easyand fun way to explore music alone or in a group.

For more toys like this one, visit our Music / Instruments section within Arts / Crafts.

Playmobil Judo Competitors

This is from Playmobil's high performance athlete line that was released for the 2013 Olympics. I love how ungendered Playmobil is in general, but it's especially nice to see a woman judoka presented in this toy.

For more toys like this one, visit our Pretend Play section within Imaginative Play. To view many more great Playmobil toys, visit our Playmobil Collection

Melissa and Doug Sushi Set

Most slicing play food is pretty basic fruit and veggies, so it's really neat to see this sliceable sushi set. It's been easy for Ben to put them together and fun for him to slice them apart.I was especially pleased to find a wayto introduce world cuisine to the kids.

For more toys like this one, visit our Kitchen / Cooking section within Pretend Play.

Wood Castle Blocks

These wood blocks feature bridges, turrets, towers, and lots of other architectural features for building your own castle. Beautiful pieces that I'd play with as much as the kids would.

For more toys like this one, visit our Building Toys section within Toys / Games.

Rory's Story Cubes

This set of story cubes are like dice with pictures; you roll the cubes and then create a story based on what you see. My kids are too little for this, but I can't wait until we can turn their fertile imaginations to these dice!

For more toys like this one, visit our Board Games section within Games / Video Games.

Princess Merida doll

I'm a huge fan of Brave, and this is Merida as she ought to be, with bow and arrow in hand.

For more toys like this one, visit our "Merida Collection" within our new Character Collection. To view our complete selection of dolls, view our Dolls / Action Figures section.

Lego Katniss Everdeen figure

The Lego minifigures line has too few women, but a Lego Katniss helps make up for that a bit! Great to see a strong woman represented in the minifigures line.

For more toys like this one, visit our Dolls / Action Figures section within Imaginative Play. To view everything Katniss-related on A Mighty Girl, you can also visit our Katniss Everdeen Collection within our new Character Collection.

Step 3 Lifestyle Deluxe Kitchen

If you've got more than one child (or frequently have playdates at your house) a large play kitchen is so much fun. I love watching Ben act out the cooking and baking he helped me do earlier

For more toys like this one, visit our Play Kitchen / Markets section within Kitchen / Cooking.

Money Savvy Pig

This piggy bank is divided into multiple sections to help introduce kids to spending, saving, donating, and investing with different percentages of their allowance. Great way to teach kids critical financial skills that they often miss out on otherwise.

For more toys like this one, visit our Life Skills Toys section within Toys / Games.