By Meagan Hansen
Toy stores are crowded, commercials for video games and dolls are all over television, and kids everywhere are finalizing the wish list for Santa.
Christmas day is quickly approaching and parents are facing daunting task of shopping for their children.
But with so many different toys to choose from, many parents question what exactly to buy for their children.
'My six year old is easy to shop for,' said Chantel Rhodes, 29, senior majoring in public relations from Provo. 'She wears her feelings on her sleeves and gets excited when she sees something she likes. But my four year old is the queen of the poker face. We aren''t sure what to get for her.'
There are no clear cut guidelines to follow when buying Christmas gifts for children, but Shawn Reynolds, store director for Toys''R''Us in Orem, offers a few tips for parents.
'A lot of people bring in a list, that way they know exactly what they are looking for,' Reynolds said.
Parents can also gather toy ads from the newspaper and from toy stores, give them to their kids, and have the children cut out pictures of what they want, he said.
'This is good for children who can''t read or write, and it works really well,' Reynolds said.
Another way parents can get gift ideas is to simply bring their children to the toy store, walk around, and ask them what they want Santa to bring them.
When shopping for specific items, Reynolds councils parents to shop as early as possible.
'The earlier the better,' Reynolds said. 'There are a few hot items we are out of and are hard to find now.'
The last advise Reynolds gives parents is something little but that most parents forget.
'Make sure to buy batteries for you items,' he said. 'A lot of our Christmas Eve shoppers are coming in for batteries. You don''t want to be at 7-eleven Christmas morning paying $12.99 for a four-pack of batteries.'
Buying what you children want is important, but other things need to be considered, said Eveyln Peterson in a newsletter written for National Parenting Center.
When shopping for children, you need to take into consideration the personality of the child and their interests, Peterson stated.
'When I am shopping, what I buy depends a lot on the personality of the child,' Rhodes said. 'When we walk through a toy store, I watch to see what look at. I watch them to see what they like when they are playing.'
Peterson advises parents to be realistic when Christmas shopping for their kids.
'Don''t give your kids anything and everything they want,' Peterson said. 'Teach them about delayed gratification. In real life we do not get all good things immediately just because we want them.'
When money is tight, be honest and let you kids know, she said.
Also be practical with the gifts you buy.
'Try to buy ''open ended'' toys and activities that are failure proof and that grow with the child,' Peterson stated. 'Art and construction materials increase motor, thinking and creative skills. Gifts such as blocks (many kinds), Legos, Tinker Toys, Lincoln Logs, paints, crayons, paper, clays, board games, and books are tried, true and timeless.'