I bought a bunch of toys on clearance after Christmas last year and I shop throughout the year and keep those toys in my gift closet. I have done games like Candy Land or age appropriate games for the 3yrs, I have a collection of boy & girls things. Crayons or Play dough are good too.
Parents get quite a few homemade crafts/pictures of their kids, handprint ornaments etc.
My kids get toys that do not go to the daycare area until they are tired of them. One example for my 6 yr DS are the small lego's, I can't keep those in the daycare area because of choking hazards. I figure out what their favorite things are/favorite cartoon or movie characters and then buy those. Another example is my 10 yr DD has been asking for her own pair of chopsticks and she loves pokemon. I found her pokemon chopsticks! She will love it
