I am practical. I like gifts that are functional. You give me a choice between getting the gift of clothing or gift certificate? I'll take the GC anyday. I know, part of the gift is the 'thought'... but the really practical side of me will always win - if I don't use it, then.... well.... it'll just collect dust.
So, in light of the fact that I am one of the most difficult people to shop for, I have recently come across some great gift ideas that I would rather have than cold hard cash. I do, have to tread carefully though - I know that my dearest MIL will peruse this will use this as a springboard to buy Colin and Cara everything on here - but as a disclaimer just to my MIL: I either have these things already, or they are local so it is much cheaper for me to buy it here than for you to purchase it, ship it to HK, and then mail it back to our house ;)
Okay, so here goes (in no particular order) my great 'out-of-the-box' gift ideas for children, if you ever needed some!
1. Padraig Booties
These little booties are actually made right here in Vancouver (North Van to be exact woot woot!!), and they sport the perfect combination of warmth and style. It's like if you wanted to define a Vancouver baby... it would be these booties. It's West Coast trend, but with the great function of a slipper so that you're not cramming your poor little one's foot into a stiff shoe - and it keeps their bare ankles warm too.
But, like any gift that will be worn by baby - be very aware of when they'll actually need to use these boots - don't buy a June Baby the NB size! But if you go to a shower with this in your tote - I'm sure you'll be the envy of the crowd, cause it'll seem like you searched high and low for the 'perfect' gift.
On another note, I do plan on slapping these on Cara while we're in NYC, so if these suddenly take off because some celebrity I end up bumping into at the Central Park playgrounds asks me about it - I'm going to ask Padraig for royalties.
2. Parade Organics
I usually am very wary of giving t-shirts, or clothes to other kids for presents only because I'm not sure if mom will 'love' it. But these definitely fall in the 'must-love' category. I think they're another Vancouver company, but I can't confirm just based on the site info - but regardless I'm a proud mama when I dress up my kids in these.
It's got 2 of my favorite elements: simplicity, and character. If you see the different products, there is a picture unique to your little one, whether it is Sprout, Bean, Cupcake... the list goes on
- but you are bound to find one that defines your little one. With onesies, kimonos, t-shirts, hats... and more, it makes a great gift around the $20-$30 range
3. Threadless T-Shirts
Hmm, I find it oddly strange that my first 3 great gift ideas are clothing. Especially when I personally think it's tough to give it as a gift to people like me. Ah, but then there is Threadless. These cute t-shirts are not just for kids, but it's mainly an adult site with far more outrageous prints. But the kids ones are especially cute. You'll be able to find a few, and then realize your cart is over a $100 easily, and then find it tough to backtrack.
One of the best things about Threadless is that it fosters creativity, and the prints come from artists all around the world. I bought this particular one for my nephew and my brother-in-law as matching dad/son t-shirts because dad loooooves his cookies. Well, I also bought it because my sister loooooooves to buy matching clothes for dad and son, so I may as well have made all of them happy! But because they do have most of the kids prints in adult prints, it's a great way to match them - and not in a dorky way.
4. Signing Time
Finally, something edu-muh-cational. Sign language. You've heard about it, but when you're a mom - you don't even realize it but you are signing with your little one every single day. Shaking your head for 'No', or smiling for 'happy', and don't forget those angry eyes = 'angry' (they usually see that one applied to dad).
But signing is a great way to communicate with your baby. They understand so much - you'll realize this when they perk their eyes a bit, start nodding yes back... etc. But they just can't verbalize. That's where signing comes in handy. I used signing with Colin a bit - and really it took a lot of stress off. When he saw things that caught his attention, like planes, trucks, boats, animals ... etc - instead of grunting like a caveman, he was able to 'tell' me and I was able to reciprocate that I understood him. Even letting me know if he was tired, or hungry... simple things like that take a lot of stress out. We enjoyed our time together learning the sign language, and Signing Time is chalk full of catchy songs, colours, and very easy-to-learn teaching. It would be the gift that keeps on giving - really!
5. Easy Daysies
I've posted about Easy Daysies recently, but it deserves to be on a great gift list. As a former SEA, I cannot promote visual schedules enough times. If you're not crafty, or have a laminating machine, or obscene amounts of time to make such a thing.... this is the only one I've ever seen made for purchase.
For the price of $25.99 (starter kit), I'm telling you - each one I made with my sweat and tears, hours upon hours for my special needs students ... makes each of those personalized schedules worth more than $25.99. It's a steal at this price. It really is.
6. I See Me! Children's Books
My friend 'Tuna' bought this for Colin when he was born. It was the best gift ever. You plunk in some names, dates... and Voila! You've got a personalized book, with great art and story. I mean, yes, at 2 weeks old he was a little too young to 'read' it... but I treasu
red it from the beginning. And then Colin started loving it - all the animals, and now when he reads he's so so very proud of his name!This is the particular version I received as a present, but they do have other stories, and templates! Love love love. Thank you Tuna.
7. Baby Gourmet
Alright, and last but not least... a food item. It may be strange... and well, yes, it would be strange to give the gift of mushed up fruits and vegetables for a birthday or Christmas gift, but just keep this in mind if you wanted to give a gift to any mom.
I was at Superstore a while back and while stocking up on some baby goods, I came across this. I had heard about a similar product from another mom, so I was interested. But boy... I was obsessed. I came home, did a little research, and at $1.47 each at Superstore I was getting a pretty good deal.
Now, what's so great? I don't feed this to my child everyday, but I do go out - and fairly unexpectedly, or for long periods of time. I pop one of these in my purse, and I just squeeze it into her mouth for meal times. No bowls, no spoons... just pureed goodness in a bag. And I was thinking - this will be my sanity on the airplane. So, in good old crazy Chinese fashion, I went back and took every single last one off the shelf because I thought it was too good to be true. Well... I was wrong, because it wasn't on sale - it's just regular price, which made me kind of happy... but not that happy since I felt like I didn't get a 'steal'.
Regardless, a great product for the mom on the go, so stick a couple in the gift bag along with one of your other gifts and I'm pretty sure mom will be happy you are helping her feed her child with ease!!
So, this is my compiled list - I hope that I have alleviated some of your future Christmas shopping stress, or introduced you to new products that you'll love too. I am not sponsored in anyway by these products, and I'm just giving my 2 cents on the goods that are out there!! Enjoy :)
I laughed so hard when I saw that you posted about christmas! You beat me! I was just thinking of posting about presents too :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tuna shout out too.
And yes, you are STILL difficult to buy presents for!