Christmas 2010: Stocking Stuffers

So, it turns out I'm the kind of mum that approaches stocking stuffers with an air of practicality. I mean, there should be more than just chocolate in them right?

Well, in everyone's except mine.

Here are my favourite non-chocolate items this year:

Boon Flo

...because my child always seems to come thisclose to bonking her head on the faucet.


Alex Jr Farm Stickers for the Tub

...because the acoustics in the bathtub are all the better for moo-ing.


Life Factory Multi-Sensory Teethers

...because they can double as snazzy bracelets for me and they work!


Weleda Children's Tooth Gel

...because my toddler needs to get those chompers clean.


Educo Early Melodies Tambourine

...because she will love it and it will make her smile so big.


Nuby Sippy Cups

...because out of the few we have, this is Ember's favourite and basically we need another one.

Socks and toque will find their way in as well. What are your favourite stocking stuffers?

Christmas 2010: Ember's Book Picks

The Knuffle Bunny series by Mo Willems
The series follows a little girl named Trixie and her beloved Knuffle bunny. They are so good. The series begins with pint sized Trixie in A Cautionary Tale which tells of a trip to the laundromat with her dad that goes bad for somebunny. Next in Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity, Trixie takes her best friend in for show-and-tell to discover a classmate has the same bunny! Rounding out the series is Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion, that sees Trixie and her bunny go overseas with a slight detour for a long eared traveller. All three picture books feature black and white photography layered with Willems' colourful illustrations. This lends itself to Ember's age group while the strong, hilarious tales are good for grade school level readers.

Duck! Rabbit!
Can you go wrong with Amy Krouse Rosenthal? Honestly, I want her brain. In this bright picture book, she couples with Tom Lichtenheld to debate whether the nondescript illustration is indeed a duck or a rabbit. I love bringing the two "off screen" debaters to life with radically different voices which always seems to make Ember smile.

The Scaredy Squirrel Series by Melanie Watt
Canadian author Melanie Watt has created a hilarious series centred around Scaredy Squirrel who, get this, is afraid of pretty much everything. Since the first book in which Scaredy Squirrel conquered his fear of leaving his nut tree, he has had made a friend, gone to the beach, and overcome other fears. The humour is still very much over Ember's head and often wanders off during storytime though we always finish reading because we enjoy them so much.

Oliver Jeffers
British author Oliver Jeffers is brilliant. Basically, I adore all his work so he makes Ember's reading list as opposed to just suggesting one book. When I was pregnant, I learned of The Incredible Book-eating Boy which I promptly took out of the library and read to Ember in utero. (Yeah, we read to my belly. I was determined to have a reader, but that's another story.) Since then, we have gone through the Jeffers library and own many of his books. The illustrations are beautiful and the writing clever. For younger kids, I like the Boy and Penguin series which now includes four titles: How to Catch a Star, Lost and Found, Way Back Home and Up and Down. For those a little bit older, I'm sure The Incredible Book-eating Boy and The Great Paper Caper would be a hit.

Sandra Boynton
Definitely known for her board books, Boynton is an author is very popular in the toddler set. I'm sure every child has their own favourite and Ember's is hands down Fifteen Animals. A story about 14 animals named Bob and one turtle with a very different name always holds Ember's interest. A great thing about this book and all of Boynton's for that matter, is how easy it is to re-purpose the book. When Ember is keen to turn the pages quickly, we do colours instead or we count, or we name the animals and their sounds. The simple illustrations and bright colours make this really easy and engaging. Other favourites include: Moo Baa La La La and Blue Hat, Green Hat.

My Friend Rabbit by Eric Rohmann
This Caldecott Honour award winning picture book is one Ember will unwrap this year. It's all about Mouse and his best friend Rabbit and the trouble they encounter when Rabbit gets Mouse's airplane stuck in a tree. The method Rabbit employs to reclaim the plane is hilarious and where the story really takes off. (No pun intended). Rohmann relies solely on illustrations at this point which allows the story to become as wild as your child's imagination. Of course, Ember is too young to write her own tale but she loves the way Andrew and I tell it and points at the brilliant illustrations. Mouse is loyal and not at judgmental of his best friend Rabbit despite his questionable choices at times because Rabbit always means well. It really is a lovely book.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
At the risk of being painfully obvious, I'm including this. To date, it could be Ember's all time favourite book so I would be remiss if I didn't throw it in. She always smiles when I'm reading it. It's the only book that she never walks away from. It's the only book where she waits for me to turn the pages - she doesn't want to skip ahead. And, I apparently read it the exact same way every time because she mimics my actions when reading it - gesticulates and shakes her head. To be clear, we read it at least once a day and we've been reading it since she was three months old. Already, it's been decided that Ember's second birthday party will be the theme of the Very Hungry Caterpillar. It's a pretty big deal in this house.

Happy reading! What are the favourite books and authors in your home? I'd love to hear your recommendations!

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.

Holiday 2010: Ember's List to Santa

Obviously, Ember can't write to Santa yet, so I am penning her list this year on her behalf, with her best intentions in mind, rest assured. My outlook on toys for Ember: I want her to play with the toy, rather than the toy playing with her.

My friend Kim taught me this; it is her criteria for her girls. Much to her chagrin, it's not a concept I fully appreciated until having Ember. For Kim's daughter A's first birthday, we bought her a Fun Time Tractor. While I believe it to be a fine toy - there are animals, there's a happy little farmer, there's a tractor and wagon - there is one reason I wouldn't buy it for Ember: it takes batteries.

You have to be cautious of toys that require batteries because quite often they are the toys which will do all the work leaving your kids in a vegetative state, but more so - toys that take batteries make noise. I distinctly remember a voice mail Kim left us some months after A had unwrapped that tractor. "You hear this? I have been listening to it for an hour straight this morning. I just thought you should have to listen, too." In the background was a jolly Old MacDonald E-I-E-I-O-ing his little heart out.

Ember has exactly one toy that requires batteries - a little attachment on her Exersaucer - a chicken/weather vane thing. When the weather vane is pushed, one of five instrumental rhymes start playing with a country twang. I remember how proud I was when Ember learned that music came as a result of her pushing that chicken on vane but now I want her to forget! Each time she presses that thing, she looks at me, beaming with pride, starts dancing and looks for me to sing. And I do, each and every time. Why? Because it's not her fault I didn't take those batteries out in advance.

Anyway. All of the items on the list to Santa this year are items that I would happily give my child without regret. I would also give any of them to Kim's girls knowing that I won't come home to voice mail full of disdain.

Plan Toys
I love this company! They are all about promoting a child's development, both physical and intellectual, while being ecologically responsible.
Favourites of mine include: the Cone Sorting, Sorting Bus, and the Dancing Alligator and the Clatter.


The Early Years Farm Friends Bowling Set
We picked this up for Ember while in Vancouver in October. She actually played with it once before it went into hiding. It was a big hit! There are animals, chimes in the pins and ball, numbers and colours and it encourages play. I look forward to rousing game of five pin on the 25th.

Bilibo
To me, the Bilibo is everything a toy should be; it can be anything that your child would like it to be, the only limit is their imagination. Awesome. I love both the Game Box and toddler sized Bilibo. The Game Box has six mini bilibos, coloured chips and more that I think Ember will really benefit from this year. She can learn colours, invent games and whatever else her heart desires. I know that those mini bilibos would pretty quickly transform into little cars that she pushes around the floor. Vroom!

Blabla
Hand made by Peruvian artisans, Blabla is a line of beautiful creations for little people. I am quite fond of the Classic blablas that are soft dolls that are of many ethnicity and creature. There are monkeys, frogs, mermaids, dolls and more in a wide variety of colour scheme which makes them a great gift for either gender.




Fropper Ride On Trike
Ember already motors on foot and come springtime, I'm sure she would love this boogie around on. Considering her birthday and Christmas are back to back, I believe we need to give her one or two things that she can grow in to in an attempt to pad our pocketbook through the spring and summer months.


Ember won't be scoring every item on this list from us (or Santa) but this is the list I'm working from this Holiday for her. They are things I know she will like and favour for some time, which is imperative for every parent, right?

Tomorrow, I'll be featuring a gift guide of items I love for kids of varying ages and some of my all time favourites that we've been gifted. In fact, all this week I'm focusing on the upcoming holiday. Stay tuned!

--Companies in this post have no idea who I am; I just really like their products. I'm sharing on my own accord. I am not being compensated in any manner.--

I'm Dreaming of a White, and organized!!, Christmas.

Last year, when our little spark went overdue into December, Andrew and I declared that Christmas wouldn't arrive in our house until after our wee one's birthday. So with that, no twinkly light, festive carol, or jolly elf shall grace our home until midnight on December 2nd, when the clocks chime us into the 3rd.

But that doesn't mean I can't shop and plan!

And considering that Christmas started in the stores November 1st, my mind has been whirling about ideas to make this our best holiday yet.

A beautiful Christmas Eve buffet, don't you think?
Photo: Frog Prince Paperie

I have always been a bit of a slacker where Christmas organization is concerned. My enthusiasm is always amped for the holiday and I put loads of thought coming up with ideal gifts for all on my list but they don't usually come to fruition until the 20th of December. To be honest, I think Christmas will always be a little rushed for me and I really enjoy the hustle and bustle of the season. Part of the fun of Christmas is feeding off the energy of other hurried shoppers at the mall, don't you agree? Just a little bit?

This year though, I really need to make a concerted effort in getting my ass in gear earlier. Ember's birthday is December 2nd. This means I need to strategize a game plan, purchase gifts for two occasions and ensure that the stockings are hung with care before December 23. (Of course, I may have to wait until Christmas Eve because Ember could yank them down off the mantle.) I realize that Ember is still wee, and this won't be a blip on her radar but for Andrew and I, this is our first real Christmas as a trio.

Last year, Ember was just three weeks old when Santa came to visit. Running out to buy gifts for anyone was tricky. I actually did all of my Christmas shopping December 22nd. Ember was so new that buying presents for her seemed silly and we were content to savour the joys of our new family. I made a full turkey dinner for my family and that was accomplishment enough for me.

Suffice it to say, this Christmas is a big deal for me. I plan on making cookies, carefully choosing gifts, wrapping them all pretty like and starting many traditions as a family.

Are the holidays into full swing in your home already? Are the hiding spots of your house full of special pressies for all on your list? Or, do you thrive on the hustle and bustle of shopping after December 20th? Let me know.