Battery-Free success!

The chaos that is Christmas is over and the new year has begun.  Christmas wasn't actually that chaotic for us this year, partly due to the fact that we stayed home but mostly due to our 'Battery-Free' Christmas gift rule (for the kids).  Santa complied with this rule well, and only bought one noisy no-brainer toy for each of the boys, the rest were non-battery operated ones. The grandparents also generally bought battery-free, though a couple of noisy, non-challenging ones slipped through :)   I thought it was going to be a little bit challenging shopping for toys that don't use batteries but I was pleasantly surprised!  Here are some of the toys that the kids got....

• Lego trucks & cars (Lego is always a winner!)
• A book that folds out to a Wiggles car (that you sit in)
• Transformers
• Beautiful Books
• Medical play set
• Gardening trolley (with all the rake/broom/shovel etc attachments)
• Bbq trolley (with little sausages,pickles,buns, tongs etc)
• Cameras (need batteries but are QUIET & encourage creativity)
• Skateboards, knee & elbow pads
• Skuttlebug (3 wheeler bike without peddles)
• Ramp to ride,skate,run over
• Huge airplane car transporter
• Barbie doll & horse
• Princess dress-ups
• Tea set
• Jigsaw
• Barbie 'hairdresser' doll head
• Assortment of sparkly shoes for dress-ups
• Toy story & Cars beach towels
• Goggles,snorkels
• and more that I can't remember right now!!

So, as you can see, not only were our children were very lucky with all the gifts they received but we were very lucky because we could enjoy watching them play with toys that made them think or run or jump, and not just sit and press the same button over and over and over....
I highly suggest that every family try this concept at least once whilst your kids are young! You might be surprised at the wide range of awesome battery-free toys there are out there and you will definitely be rewarded with watching the excitement on your child's face when they master a move or figure out the best way to use their new favourite toy!  Be kind to them and their little growing brains and try it!
For some ideas check out these sites
http://www.windmill.net.au/

http://www.peanutgallery.com.au/

http://www.chalk.com.au/

I've seen whats out there now and I'm hooked! We'll definitely be doing it battery-free from now on!