Chrismas Gift Ideas for Kids

Because my camera is so LAME and decided to die on me, I’m resorting to whatever photos I can pilfer from the Internet to complete this post.  *sigh*  I thought I’d share a few gift ideas that I’m planning for  Christmas 2008.  My boys are almost 4 and almost 2 and I can’t believe it.  Where’d my babies go?  I’m trying my best to be economical this year: one big Santa gift, a couple of smaller presents for under the tree and some little things for their stockings.  Last year was insane.  We had so many toys that I put some back for later in the year.  My boys also have December and January birthdays so this time of year brings all sorts of gifts.

First up, the Thomas trundle train table from All Aboard Toys!  How cool is this?  Cutie Pie is forever in Wildman’s room playing on his train table.  J and I figured he needed one of his own.  And the fact that it slides under the bed makes this one all the more awesome.  I got a really good deal on it last week.  It was on sale for $159.  I see it’s been marked up to $199.97 and is sold out.  Looks like a lot of parents were taking advantage of that sale.

I found this cute little playset from Toys R Us to go with it.  What’s the deal with the wooden Thomas stuff being so darn expensive?  And this is a relatively inexpensive one at $40.  Crazy.

I know I totally ragged on this last year…  But I’ve totally kind of changed my tune.  It seems the Bilibo seat is a hit with Cutie Pie.  They had them at Lab School a couple of weeks ago.  OMG!  I couldn’t get him off of them.  He kept saying “hat, hat” in reference to the Bilibos.  I’m getting one for each of my boys.  Wildman might be orange and Cutie Pie might be blue.  Although the green is nice too…  I’m pretty sure they’re going to be new favorites around here.

And because Wildman loooooves the weather… I’ve decided to get him this kit from Scientific Explorer.  He’s totally into the Doppler weather map on the computer.  He’s curious to see if green, yellow or red rain is heading our way.  He’s curious about hurricanes and tornadoes too.  I’m all for encouraging a love of science.

Ainsley and Oswald at Etsy.com is a great place for I Spy with my Little Eye bags for kids.  I purchased one of the bean bag games for my little cousin’s birthday.  It was a such a hit that I decided to pick one up for my boys for Christmas.  How cool are these?!  They are double stitched so the plastic filler doesn’t escape.  The list of treasures burried inside is laminated and attached to a little strap on the bag.  It’s a terrific toy for the car and for $18 it’s a great handmade gift idea!

Wildman is totally into trains too so I picked up this Geo Trax play set for him.  He’s also into bridges.  This playset has both so I’m expecting a very happy Wildman.

I want to make some gifts for my friends kids this year.  Homemade gifts are so much more meaningful, aren’t they?  I’m currently working on a bunch of felt boards and accessories.  Wildman already has one that I put together this summer.  He loves it.  It’s just like the one that they use at the library’s story time.  I wish I could show you a photo…

I’m also going to make batches of play dough in a rainbow of colors.  Then I’m going to wrap it like candy in clear plastic and ribbons.  I’m planning to attach a cookie cutter and the dough recipe.  This might be what Wildman takes for his preschool friends…  Again, I’d love to take a demo photo for you but, alas, no camera.

Stay tuned for a post about gift ideas for the adults in my life.  🙂

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Bits and Pieces

I’ve got a few thoughts swirling around in my head that I want to get down. So, there’s no real overarching topic for this blog post. It’s all about randomness today, baby.

• We’re trying to cling to the last several days of summer break. Preschool begins next Monday for Wildman, Lab School begins for Cutie Pie on September 3rd and I’m sure that our schedules will pick up again. Our summer has already been crammed with lots of fun activities. A break from all the rush would be so nice. That’s why I’m enforcing a “slow down” this week. We’re sticking close to home and doing fun projects like experimenting with water colors and making a felt board complete with fun shapes. The only place we’re going is to a pool to swim. I think the gift of time is the best thing I can give my boys.
• On that note, have you heard the findings about vitamin D? I feel pretty good about taking the boys out into the sun. Slathered in sunscreen, of course. *sigh* It’s a balancing act, I suppose. Too much sun could give you skin cancer, too little sun may deprive you of the health benefits of vitamin D…
• My computer is such a dog lately. It takes forever to open Firefox or my e-mail… I’m going to have to speak with tech support (read: J) about this issue. It’s driving me nuts.
• Because I’m a planner, I’ve been tossing around some ideas for Halloween costumes for the boys. Since we recently attended The Backyardigans: Tale of the Mighty Knights, I thought it might be cute to dress Wildman as a knight and Cutie Pie as a dragon. I found an awesome set of play armor complete with a ‘battle sounds’ sword on sale at Target last week.
• I need a new book to read. Aileen sent me a few books a while ago that I’m just now getting around to checking out. I have to admit that none of them really inspire me. I tried to force myself to get through a truly horrible book that my mother-in-law gave me. She forewarned me that it wasn’t very good. I’m not the kind of person to quit something so I gave the ol’ college try. But I just could not finish the book. I figured that I was wasting precious hours of my life reading something that I couldn’t stand. In the end, I decided that it wasn’t worth it. I threw the book away. I know that I should have donated it or something but it sucked that bad. I didn’t want to pass it on. It was very liberating.
• Randy Pausch inspires me. What an amazing person he was. I want to read his book but it’s still in hardback. I can’t bring myself to pay retail for a hardback book. Amazon.com has it at a pretty reasonable price so I might have to pick it up…

• I bought the cutest little “I Spy with my Little Eye” game from the Ainsley and Oswald esty shop! The little boy who will receive this game for his birthday is going to love it! Go check out her handmade toys. They are so precious!

Blah, blah, blah 🙂