Christmas 2010: Gift Guide for the Kiddies

In addition to the the items on Ember's wish list, these are favourites of mine this Christmas.

Ikea kids' section.
Dude, it's worth checking out. They have some pretty great toys and since it's Ikea, you know the price doesn't is completely reasonable. Affordable and cheap even. From plush fruit and veg, to mini kitchens and all its accessories, to art easels and other great wooden toys, Ikea is a great place to check any child, of any age group off your list. I think the wooden block set with wagon is pretty fantastic for $14.99.


Koo and Poppet
Recently, I properly introduced you to Ruby. Wanting to keep the attention on dear, sweet Ruby I didn't gush about Koo and Poppet quite as I should have. From the enviably creative mind of Sarah MacNeill, incredibly stylish stuffed animals have been born complete with irresistible personalities. I want to adopt them all. I may or may not have ordered Ruby Heart Bear for a small red head. Who says you can have too many Ruby's? And, I've always had a soft spot for Black Bear Liam who likes caves and dislikes getting stuck. Melts my heart.
In addition to these delightfully kooky animals, there are accessories for your home and child in the way of pillow and scarves.


Cute Bunny Milly
likes: snowflakes
dislikes: toothaches

ClementineArt
These are art products that you can feel good about. I love that they are eco-friendly company producing non-toxic products made with natural and wholesome ingredients. Check out the ingredients glossary: I really appreciate it when I can pronounce everything on an ingredients list, especially since no matter how fastidious I am, Ember will inevitably taste test all that she holds. Aren't the soy crayon rocks a great idea for little hands? These art supplies coupled with an art easel from Ikea will mean special, one of a kind artwork for many years to come.


Stonz Booties
These are freaking awesome boots for the 3 & under set. Not only will they do the job and keep your kiddie's feet warm while allowing them to walk naturally, they stay on!! My girl is a Houdini of footwear and the double toggle on these means she can't escape. Plus you can get the warm and fuzzies considering they are Canadian designed and made company. Ember sports the Daisies and I really groove on these pink skull and crossbones.


Tip Toey Joey
Combing style and support for the developing bones of your wee one's feet, these shoes made of soft leather are fantastic. They offer three different lines covering the ages of 9 months - 8 years aiding your furniture cruiser to your budding Donovan Bailey, they are made to encourage your kidlet's developing peds. I love that the girl's shoes are feminine without being the requisite bright pink. The lads' shoes are pretty adorable too, yes?



Lego Creationary
What kid doesn't love Lego? For the age appropriate, Creationary combines game play with Lego brick building. Roll the dice to find out what you're building and have the other players guess. The dice is even buildable, and rules changeable which means you can play a different game each time you play. Lego recommends for ages 7-12 but I'm thinking this is good for those aged 7-12 at heart. Read: husbands. What? Ember will grow into it.



Bananagrams
I freaking love Bananagrams. I was given it a few years ago and I'm always nagging Andrew to play it with me. It's an award-winning word building game that is played without a board which doesn't require a pencil or paper and fits into a case the size of a big banana. Hello, awesome! There are oodles of way to play it, it travels well and would make a great stocking stuffer. The company has also come out with Appletters and PAIRSinPEARS, two other wordie portable games. Maybe you could give someone an educational and fun (that's not an oxymoron) fruit bowl this season. Ha! I'm a dork.