Comments on: Holiday Gift Ideas?

By: Shane

Shane — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:51:05 +0000

Best gift received was the TiVo from Ava — we’ve gone through 2 other units since then, but I still think of that gift each christmas. a year later we gave them to our families and they still love them!

G has been into this Music Cube lately and the music is nice and doesn’t drive us crazy: http://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-3106-Mozart-Magic-Cube/dp/B00004TFLB/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1257655342&sr=1-1

The walking toys are really in heavy use as he learns to actually walk.

the plastic storage bins (like a Rubbermaid or Sterilite ones) has a GREAT toy. cheap! It’s a walker, put the kid in and slide around the room, he can play in it, hide under it, put stuff in-take stuff out. it’s great.

As for what I want: I’ve been eyeing a The Energy Detective (TED)to use along w/ Google Power Meter to monitor electricity consumption of our home. I’m a data junkie so that idea of tracking this stuff is fun. And it’s hard to control things you can’t measure: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/google-powermeters-first-device-partner.html

By: Dawn

Dawn — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:51:51 +0000

When Noah was one he loved the big, chunky blocks. They look like enormous, platic Legos and are great for building. At two he really enjoyed GeoTrax. Unfortunately he has grown out of them and doesn’t pay much attention to them now. Now, at three, he loves puzzles. The problem is the mess they make. I have puzzle pieces all over my house. This may totally be my fault and our generally disorganized housekeeping style but it drives me crazy. Noah also loves http://www.starfall.com. We are fortunate to have several computers, enough to allow him exclusive use of our laptop. It’s an extravagant gift but an educational outlet (Starfall is free and amazing!).

At one Kate is loving Magnadoodles and similar items. She loves to draw but still eats crayons so this is a great solution for us.

I have found great gifts at uncommongoods.com, etsy.com, Swoozies (do they have a .com?), exposuresonline.com and redenvelope.com. For kids I love to give a small toy and a clothing or personalized item. Many families have a ton of toys, some don’t want a ton of toys and in this economy a lot of families participate in a toy swap or need items for their children other than toys. I love the personalized pillows from http://www.lilsugarpie.com (not shameless, I pay for them and kids love them – I swear!) especially because they coordinate with the kids’ room colors and make an awesome first pillow. For a more expensive, practical kids gift I love the anywhere chair from Pottery Barn. For hostess gifts I love personalized items. For holiday hostess gifts I love to give ornaments (to those who celebrate Christmas). I also find that anyone worth visiting with the kids loves photos of the kids. I’ve framed some, done books at blurb.com and put together albums from kolo.com.

I love this idea and can’t wait to find more unique items to gift!

By: Lauren

Lauren — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:17:53 +0000

Great post! I don’t really have any ideas to share, my son will be 6 months old in December…but I would LOVE some gift ideas for him. Right now he spends time in the swing (which I don’t think will last too much longer before he outgrows it) and the play gym on the floor. He’s my first so I have a lot to learn. Suggestions on a few things we could get him that will hold his interest and grow with him over the coming months would be great!

By: Jaimie

Jaimie — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:53:36 +0000

My hostess gift idea: I like to give Williams-Sonoma “Winter Forest” dish soap. It’s a little splurge that you probably never do for yourself (11 bucks for dish soap?) but it smells really nice and the packaging is pretty too. Would be extra nice with some red or green striped dishtowels.

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/h466/?pkey=csoaps-lotions

By: carolyn

carolyn — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:51:07 +0000

I just bought my son a learning tower for his 2nd birthday https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001ECHXVC/ref=oss_T15_product. The first weekend we had it we made pumpkin muffins together, which was fun and kept him occupied for a good 40 minutes. I like that it allows him more independence now that he can reach the kitchen counters and sink.

My one month old daughter likes being carried around in the Moby wrap. She also likes being bounced on a big yoga ball – it’s the best thing to get her to fall asleep. (Thanks Ariana for posting this tip!)

I covet the black onyx and gold starburst bracelet by Mizuki http://www.cornellsjewelers.com/shop3.cfm?subcat=32&bycategory=15&myproduct=4272. But what I’d really like is to have a year-long maternity leave so I can enjoy parenting at a more leisurely pace – and to postpone just a little bit longer the demands of juggling a full time job, a marriage, and two little ones.

By: Amy

Amy — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:58:52 +0000

we got our little friend this:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001E80F1Q/ref=asc_df_B001E80F1Q955539?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=googlecom09c9-20&linkCode=asn&creative=380341&creativeASIN=B001E80F1Q

when he was pulling up on things but not yet walking. he loved it!

By: Mrs Brown

Mrs Brown — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:05:18 +0000

Ellie is 11 months, she loves this leapfrog Brightlings explorer station:
http://www.amazon.com/LeapFrog-10500-Brightlings-Exploration-Station/dp/B000NRX5X4

We always get the great-grandmothers salon gift certificates because the LAST thing they need is more stuff.

This year I would LOVE a spa day to get a pedicure and my legs waxed! (and for hubby to arrange child care so I could actually go) I never seem to have time for myself. OK, so what I would really love is Ariana’s camera gear. But not in this economy.

We usually give experiences to the grown-ups in my family. Rounds of golf, art (or other) classes at the local community center, I make my mom a new journal every year.

By: Samm Ivri

Samm Ivri — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:44:33 +0000

1. Mia moves quickly from toy to toy. Its hard to keep her attention too long. But the things that interest her most at (almost) 14 months are the Sit-to-Stand Alphabet Train by Vtech and Elmo’s DVDs.

2. For me? Camera related stuff. Perhaps a photoshop upgrade.

3. I have given my husband trips that include hotel and airfare. He’s always loved the idea. I usually use a prop (like a hiking backpack) to make it look like a regular gift and put the itinerary inside.

By: chantal

chantal — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:51:23 +0000

Last year I made my parents a Blurb photo book of Annora and her (one month younger) cousin. They LOVED it I’m making them another photo book of Annora, starting with pictures from where the last one left off and continuing until her first birthday. They don’t do photo albums so this is a great gift for them and I know they look at it a lot.

Annora is all over her shape sorter toy right now. She uses it to sort the little toy shapes but she also uses the shapes as pretend food she stirs in mixing bowls. Awesome toy. She’s 15 months old.

I want a body with a smaller waistline, firmer abs and less droopy boobs. Know where I can buy one of those on sale for a decent price?

By: Susan

Susan — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:57:09 +0000

@Alicia – I have the Wacom bamboo fun tablet and LOVE it!!! As a bonus, it came with Adobe Elements, Corel Paint, and a coupon for a free photobook from Shutterfly. I highly recommend it!

Emily is 12 months old and loves her Little People circus animal train. I also had a board book printed for our mommy and me group on mycustomstory.com and she drags the book around endlessly. I’m planning on a small table and chairs for her for Christmas.

I have NO ideas for anyone else and I just want some free time, lol.