The top gift is the personalized book made by Brenk Personalized Children’s Book. The selection is fantastic. The book I like for Quinn age 2 ½ is “Dinosaur Land.” This book allows you to enter a child’s name strategically throughout the 22 pages of the book. It is an adventure book where your grandchild, Quinn who likes dinosaurs is taken on a mystery fantasy tale of the days when dinosaurs moved around the planet.
I particularly like this book because it teaches the child where he lives, his friends name and a variety of personal items that bring him into the story. It becomes his story and thus encourages reading and exploring. There is a fast turnaround from this merchant, and it ships within two to seven days. As the holiday season becomes closer I would think there may be a mad dash for this item. The book is 9″ by 6″ and sells for $12.99.
The next item for all the grandchildren is personalized Christmas ornament. I found a great merchant Happy Kids Personalized gift that will allow you to select and have inscribed your grandchild’s name on the ornament. I found a really cute pink stocking style ornament for Grace age one that allows you to put her name on it and the year if you desire. The cost is reasonable, around $7.50. There is a large assortment for boys and girls. So all the grandchildren, Quinn, Grace and Owen will get their own personalized ornament.
Baby music is stimulating the baby’s brain and around the holidays it is fun to include the youngest member in the family the newborn to one year old in the holiday spirit. Raimond Lap has developed a great Christmas cd for babies called “Baby Christmas.” This is the holiday album in the series of traditional and composed by Lap, Lovely Baby Music. These musical collections are rated very well by Parents Magazine and other children product reviewers. The “Baby Christmas,” sells for $17.95 and includes postage.
Traditional slippers and sleep wear from Grandma is always in the top ten of all gifts. I like L.L. Bean’s selection. The fleece lined slippers are in various colors, but I like the Animal Paws collection. The selection is brown bear, penguin, dog, lamb, raccoon and bunny. They are totally cute and cost $14.50. The fit is great and the soles are made of durable material in case the toddler makes a dash for the outdoors. The other items L.L. Bean has is a full line of one piece or two piece sleep wear. The sizes range from three months to 18 months in the smaller size and toddler sizes are available. The costs range $22 to $26. The reason I like L.L. Bean is their guarantee of satisfaction, and the product line durability. http://www.llbean.com/
Toys are always on Grandma’s list, but toys that can be played with over and over again without breaking is a toy to find. There is nothing more disappointing to a child than to receive a nicely packaged toy and then have it break up because it is so flimsy.
Quinn, the builder and 2 ½ year old will love the Lego Small Quatro Bucket. This toy is nominated as one of the best toys of the 2006 season in the category of preschool education by the Toy Manufacturing Industry. It is durable and easy to handle by the toddler. The Lego bricks are four times the regular size and therefore make building fun and not frustrating for little hands. The Lego Small Quatro Bucket costs $10.50 and may be less as Christmas approaches.
Owen, who is a newborn likes warmth and comfort. He definitely will enjoy the surf someday. I found a really cute item from Infantino. It is the Whale of Fun playmat. This mat is perfect for newborns. It has soft pillows to push up against, soft rings and a colorful shape of a whale. It can be found at Wal-Mart for $19.67, but may be priced lower as the holiday season progresses.
For Grace, who will be almost one year old when Christmas rolls along I wanted something with sound and objects that she can manipulate and laughs her contagious laugh. She is sitting well on her own, and she loves being in the kitchen with her mom, dad and brother. I found the great “Little Tikes Discover Sound Kitchen.” This toy is really great. It has songs, lights, familiar foods and objects and provides opportunity for Grace to experiment in a familiar setting. The toy is well priced and may be found at Wal-Mart or any popular toy store. It is 15 ½ inches long by 15 inches high. The current price is around $25. It does require batteries to make the sound’s portion operate.
Janie and Jack’s Specialty shop for children ages 0-5 has a fantastic selection of unique items for girls and boys. I love the Quilted Earflap Sherpa Hat for the cold months in the Northwest. The Sherpa hat is $20. The specialty shop has personalized gifts with a selection of embroidery patterns. It is a Grandmother’s dream of a store.
The Montana Historical Museum in Helena has a really great selection of animal related books and items for children for Christmas time. One fun book is “Who Pooped in the Park,” it is a great book for toddlers who are very interested in the subject. Some other items involve moose bean bags and discussions of teeth brushing and other areas of personal hygiene. The Who Pooped in the Park book costs $9.95 and Quinn will love it as he just returned from Yellowstone.
An item which is very unique is the medallion which depicts a section of the very large copper relief entitled “We Proceed On,” by California artist Eugene Daub. The tremendous copper mural relief will be installed in the State Senate in 2007. The weight and the work effort to depict the early explorers Lewis & Clark is a mastery of design and workmanship.
The commemorative medallion which depicts the two explorers on one side and the noble Montana bison on the reverse can be purchased for $80. The proceeds will go toward the Montana Historical Societies expenses and cost of the monumental project.
This is my list of great gifts for the holidays and maybe you may think some items are interesting..
Reference:
- www.ennekings.com/DinosaurLand.html. www.happykidspersonalized.com www.lovelybabycd.com/babychristmas.html www.llbean.com/ www.his.state.mt.us/departments/store.
