"Wish list" of toys

Toys, games, books, arts and crafts help make patients' time in the hospital brighter and allow them to feel like kids while away from school and peers.

Donated items must be new to ensure safety for our patients who may have compromised immune systems and should not be gift wrapped to enable easy distribution to the children.

A great place to buy toys is Kohl's, which sells special Kohl's Cares for Kids® toys and books for just $5 each and donates 100% of the Chicago area net profits to Children's Memorial!

Small is Beautiful!

We especially need small gifts and toys that can be given to many children on a regular basis. In many areas of the hospital, patients are given the chance to pick a prize after a particularly hard day or on a special occasion, such as finishing a round of treatment. In addition, our Skylight TV network hosts several in-house television game shows each week, with the philosophy that "everybody's a winner!", so the need for small prizes is ongoing. And keeping your gifts small and portable helps us share them with more children in more areas of the hospital.

Suggested small prizes

Card game decks - Uno, others
Handheld games - 20Q, Yahtzee, others
Jewelry or bead kits
Matchbox cars
Art or craft kits for kids
Cartoon figures - Spongebob, Spiderman, My Little Pony
Bionicles, small Lego kits
Disposable Cameras
Small Etch-a-Sketch or DoodlePro

Other suggestions, by age group

Please note that our greatest need is for the infant/toddler age group

Infants (0–18 Months)

Baby blocks
Books — cardboard or vinyl
Duplo blocks
Music boxes, musical radios
Push toys, carts
Puzzles — simple
Rattles
Shape sorters
Stacking rings, cubes, cups
Strike-A-Ball
Teething rings
Toy telephones

Toddler/Preschool (18 months–4 years)

Blocks
Books, especially Spanish language
Bubble tumblers (non-spill)
Dressing dolls
Duplos
Farm animals
Infant dolls — all ethnicities, both genders
Linking toys
Little People sets
Musical toys, instruments
Peaceful Aquariums
Play food and kitchen toys
Play medical kit
Pop-up books
Puzzles of 10 pieces or fewer

See'n'Say

School age (5–12 years)

Activity books (Where's Waldo, Eye Spy)
Beads and jewelry making kits
Board games
Books, especially Spanish language

Bubble machines
Cars and trucks
Coloring books — non-violent
Crayons, colored pencils
Dinosaurs Geo Safari and game packs
Handicraft kits
Handheld games
Modeling clay (air-drying)
Nerf Ball games
Paints (tempera and watercolor)
Play-doh Fun Factories
Playing card games
Puzzles, 25–100 pieces
Science/nature model/craft kits
Stickers

Adolescents (13 years and up)

Back packs, tote bags, coin purses
Books, including Spanish language
Calculators (hand-held battery-operated)
Cameras (35 mm, disposable, instant)
CD players - portable with headphones
Computer games (E rating)
Hand-held game units
Gift cards for music, department stores
Jewelry kits
Key chains
Magazines (teen, fashion, sports)
Magic Wands
Make-up starter kits
Model kits — challenging
Painting sets
Picture frames
Playing cards
Posters Puzzles, 300 pieces
Sports paraphernalia — t-shirts, cups, posters
Stationary, diaries, notepads, calendars
Stress squeeze balls
Toiletries (nail care, brushes, combs, pins)

Movies/Music/Video Games

Gift cards from iTunes

Latest releases of DVD movies with G or PG13 ratings, nonviolent. Movies for teens are especially needed.

Nonviolent video games for Playstation 2, X Box, X Box 360 and GameCube.

Arts & Crafts

Art Kits
Glitter pens
Craft sticks
Pipe cleaners
Glitter/sequins
Self-drying art clay
Stickers
Watercolors
Play-doh
Markers
Paints/brushes
Safety scissors
Beads