The Official Bub Hub Blog!

We already have too many toys.

Between them The Children have only been around for five gift-giving occassions - but already I'm thinking I'm going to have to a) do a serious cull or b) buy a bigger house.

Our guest room is now the 'train table room' and we have a small trampoline in the corner of our bedroom (which sounds a bit Samantha-from-SATC-ish but couldn't be more different).

When my nan visited the other day she said more than once: "I can't believe how many toys they have!". Not in a nasty way - I think she was genuinely happy for them. She once told me that all she got one Christmas was a book about famous Australian women. Which made her sad at the time but makes her extrememly knowledgeable on the subject now. What that woman doesn't know about Caroline Chisholm ...

So I've decided on three mottos to help me though the next 10 or so years of inevitable toy invasion.

This is pretty self-explanatory but in general I want to buy my children long-lasting, classic toys that make some sort of positive contribution to their development.

And I want all those toys to have a "home". I want to be able to say "put that back where it belongs" and I want everyone to know where that is. I want Lego so I can put it in the "Lego box", a bike so I can put it "under the house" and play furniture so I can put it in the cubby house. Obviously I'm going to need a cubby house at some stage too.

And at every toy influx I want there to be some toy revision. Broken toys will be fixed or thrown away. Toys no longer played with will be given to charity. Noisy and messy toys will be hidden in high cupboards.

So it is with these three principles in mind that I peruse the toy catalogues that have appeared in my driveaway overnight.

It is Toy Sale time and if I want high quality toys from my children then I should probably buy them when they're on sale.

Here are the details of the 2012 toy sales. Happy shopping everyone.

Target - Australia's Biggest Toy Sale - Thursday June 21 - July 11, 2012
D1ck Smith Toy Sale - Tuesday June 19 - July 9, 2012
Kmart Toys - Thursday June 28 - July 15, 2012
Mr Toys Toyworld - Super Sale - ends July 12, 2012
Myer - Myer toysale - Thursday June 21 - Sunday July 22, 2012
Big W - Giant Toy Spectacular - June 28 - July 11, 2012
Toys R Us - Wednesday June 27 - July 17, 2012
Aldi - Toy Spectacular - Wednesday June 20 - while stocks last

What will you be getting for your little ones? Are you Christmas shopping already? Do your kids have TOO many toys? What am I going to get my nan for Christmas?