Confession time. I really feel I should get this weight off my chest before I show you the wonderful gifts you can get.
I used to be the person who pitied the parents with kids dressed up like a movie character.
I thought it showed a lack of imagination. If kids had dress up things EXACTLY like the movie then they wouldn’t have space for real imagination.
Yes, really.
To the point of sounding like a negative old woman… “In my day, we didn’t have those things… we used our imagination! All we had were bits of material and cardboard…”
More fool me!
With 2 kids I now get it. They want to often dress up or behave just like their favorite hero or princess or dragon. [My friend has a daughter who always wants to be Toothless the dragon at every opportunity – I respect that choice!]
And it goes further.
My son uses “the yellow school bus” Cars 3 movie toy from a chocolate Kinder surprise egg very happily since I refused to buy him anything larger.
[Clearly, I am a mean mother who does not provide for her children. The fact that he has over 100 other vehicles of varying shapes and sizes does not count. Of course.]
Honestly though, it doesn’t matter to him that it is not the same size as his other Cars movie vehicles. It is the correct vehicle and that’s all that matters to him. His imagination makes it the right size… and fills in the storyline as the cars race around doing whatever it is that cars do when they have feelings and faces and talk and all.
So now I encourage any imaginative play. And if that means special vehicles to help it happen, then I don’t mind!
Vehicles
So let’s start with the vehicles since that is the most important.
First up it must be the hero of course.
And a race track. So Lightning McQueen can win again and again… or not.
If you have read any of my other posts here you will know that I am a big Lego and Duplo fan. So this Duplo Piston cup race looks perfect to me!
My now nearly 6-year-old son has this Lego set, and after a year it is still a favorite. He has enjoyed building it and rebuilding it, and making sure that Cruz is nicely tuned up and ready for action… It really is a good bridge between Duplo and “big kid” lego.
Now this set is for those kids that really want to be mechanics. There are all the tools to fix Lightning up as good as new if he crashes while racing!
My son loves “the school bus” from the third movie. He would adore this.
The faster the cars go, the better they are (so I am told – what do I know driving the ultimate family car that smells and is complete with unknown sticky substances for you to accidentally put your hand into when trying to find your kid’s seatbelt).
This would definitely be a winner on the speed front!
And of course a garage will be very necessary.
With the cars to go in both, of course.
Mack is probably my favorite character. Although to be fair, it is very hard to choose from a great line-up. This version of Mack transforms into a raceway. Even I want to play with it.
My nephew prefers Jackson Storm. I think it may be the color. Either way he would love to open this on Christmas day.
Games
There are some really inventive games out there, using the Disney Cars characters. I was really impressed. I hope you like this selection. Any of these would make my kids so happy!
Books
I found a selection of books that I think any fan would enjoy.
Of course, this list has to have a book that makes sounds.
But I put in a warning here: do not buy this for a child who has parents who can repay you in any way. The sounds could drive a tired parent to insanity. And then they may want to give you a similar kind of gift… or make you keep it at your house for the kids to play with when they come to visit. [I did that to my parents… hehehe!]
Clothing
No little Cars fan can be happy without suitable clothing to wear with their awesome vehicles.
Let’s start with sleepwear.
After which we can move on to day wear…
And outerwear.
Socks…
And finally, accessories!
Tattoos for the ultimate accessory 😉
For those fathers who want to support their kids, or who also really like the movies, there are these that you could use to make for some cute father and son gifts.
Don’t forget Mama!
I think that just about covers everyone for something to wear 😉
Bedroom
Now to move on to the décor. After all it is very important to have everything looking the part. Lightning McQueen has his number and colors all over his things so you need to do the same for little Lightening McQueens, or Jackson Storms, or Cruz Ramirez.
For your bed
To decorate your room.
Don’t forget the curtains!
Extras
I am sure you may have had enough of Lightning McQueen by now… but I could not resist adding in this. I love baking and I already have requests lined up for 10th birthday cakes – and my kids are 4 and 5 years currently! They read my recipe books to decide what cakes they would like me to make them…
But if they saw this cake tin, I suspect that it would win for the next 2 birthdays at least.
And there are candles to match! It’s so cute!
So now I feel I can leave you having given you some awesome options for any kids addicted to the Cars movies.