10 Gift Ideas for Preschoolers

In honor of my kids' birthdays this month, I thought I would share some of our favorite gift ideas--things that we have given or received that were especially enjoyed!

Here are some fun gift ideas for the preschool set. I linked many of them to pictures on Amazon to help people locate them, but some of them might be more affordably purchased elsewhere.

1. Goldilocks and the Three Bears Read 'n Play Set- My daughter received this adorable little house a a gift, and she has spent hours imagining little stories for the inhabitants. This toy is also very popular when other little girls come over to play.

Everything zips up inside the little house, so it's easy to bring it along to play with during 'boring' errands or meetings.

2. Richard Scarry Busy Town Board Game- If you are looking for a board game that is a bit more complex than Candyland, this game is a nice choice. It uses a nice combination of competition and teamwork, along with some searching for detail, to get all the characters to a picnic on the island before ants eat everything in the picnic! This game is simple enough for preschoolers to enjoy while also keeping the interest of older players.

3. The Ladybug Game- This is a counting game that is a little more entertaining and complex than Hi Ho Cherry-O! My favorite part is that it doesn't have any tiny red cherries to get strewn around the house seconds after opening the box!

4. Battat Take Apart Crane- This adorable crane has large plastic bolts and nuts that screw together with a battery operated drill, almost like a three-dimensional puzzle. Both boys and girls are fascinated with this interesting toy, and it can be played with as a truck when it is fully assembled.

5. Melissa & Doug Wooden Picture Frame - DYO- This is a gift that keeps on giving! I gave this to my daughter, and she painted it, then we added a snapshot of her with her friend and she gave it as a gift to her friend. The completed project can be given to a parent or grandparent as well. The frame above is painted, but we haven't yet added the stick-on jewels... and I am not sure where they are, to tell the truth... I think we have completed at least 3 of these frames for different people so far.

6. Tangoes Jr.- This set has kept both my kids occupied for long periods of time. They are fascinated with the challenge of fitting the shapes together in different patterns. Unlike other sets that come with a ton of shapes, this set has only 7 magnetic pieces that are easier to keep track of, and contains a handy sliding storage tray so that the pieces have a home and avoid getting lost.

7. Crayola Telescoping Pip-Squeaks Marker Tower- These markers are stored upright in this clear tower, which makes it easy for my daughter to select colors... and also to put them away all on her own! She likes to sort the similar colors together and keep them organized (they are jumbled right now). When we got this set, I also purchased the Crayola 150-Count Telescoping Crayon Tower, and I put away all the other crayons and markers. It's amazing--crayons stay together and are easy to find, marker lids stay on... all because the kids have a specific, easy place to store them! When popular crayons get worn down or broken, I can easily replace them from a few extra 24-packs that I have on hand. Tip: I've found that the most affordable way to purchase these sets is to buy them at Michael's and use a 40-50% off one item coupon, which are available regularly, which lowers the price to less than $10.

8. Deluxe Card Holder Set- If your children like to play cards, this card holder set will come in handy to help everyone hold his/her cards. The holders are sturdy and can hold quite a bit, which is very helpful when you are playing Go Fish, Rummy 500, or Uno.

9. Real Tools For Kids Round Point Shovel - We bought a 'real' shovel for my son when he was 3, and he has really enjoyed using it. He digs up worms in our yard, and we use it at the beach for serious digging in the sand. It makes sense to me to get a sturdy shovel that can hold up to real use rather than a plastic shovel that breaks quickly. It's great practice and exercise to learn how to use a real shovel, and the kids like using one that is the right size for them!

10. My daughter is obsessed with dogs, so here are two ideas for puppy lovers:

Pucci Pups Dog with Carrier- My daughter loves her puppy carrier sets. I'm ashamed to say that we have two of these bags: one with a mother dog and puppy, and one with just one pup. The sets come with collars, leashes, dog treats, outfits, hairbows... and my daughter plays with them all the time. She loves to pack the carriers full of all her pets and go on 'trips'.

Nursing Nana Dog- This fantastic plush dog comes with three puppies who attach to their mother with magnets to nurse. It's so cute, and my daughter loves to play with it!

Now you know some of our favorite preschool gift ideas! Linked to 10 on Tuesday.

My Thank You Note Tracking System

Long, long, ago, I married my husband and became the grateful recipient of many lovely wedding and bridal shower gifts. Unfortunately, I only made it about half way through my thank you note list before the list disappeared.

For many, many, months, I believed that my husband threw the list away. You can imagine how vindicated he felt when I FOUND the list... in a pile of papers, on my desk, at my office. (Fortunately, he's a nice guy, so he didn't rub it in much.) Yes, the paper organization at my desk was a little out of control. Do I have a picture? Let me see.... here we are on a good day:

Anyway. I feebly attempted to resume my task of writing out my wedding thank you notes. This was challenging because I was having a lot of trouble staying awake. I could manage to crawl out of bed each morning and drag myself to work more or less on time, work 8 hours, and then drag home and fall asleep on the couch. I was having to take little naps in the parking lot of the grocery store before going in to shop--and when I did muster the energy to go in, I would try very hard not to throw up.

Yes, I was expecting a baby. A Big One. It was all I could do to do my job, sleep enough, eat enough, and do all the things I needed to do to prepare to be a parent. Things that fell by the wayside included the wedding thank you notes, unpacking in our new house, cleaning our new house, and paying any attention whatsoever to my poor husband (usually I was unconscious on the couch when he arrived home).

Then, of course, when my son arrived, there was a new round of lovely gifts, meaning a new list of thank you notes needed to be written. I am proud to say that I managed to keep up with these, but I never managed  to completely complete my wedding thank you note list. I regret it to this day. (No, I don't know where the list is now... Argh!)

As a result of this sad story, I decided to set up a system in my calendar/address book to track thank you note writing. It is a very simple system, and it has worked well for over 6 years now! Any gift recorded on the list eventually has a note written for it.

How it works:

I keep a tabbed section in my planner with a set of paper titled 'Gift and Card List' (any lined paper will suffice). I simply write the person's name, the gift they gave, and the person in our family who received the gift. When the thank you note is written, I check it off on the list.

The list is impossible to lose because it's in my planner! The list is conveniently stored with my tabbed address book within the planner, so when I write a thank you note, the address that I need is immediately on hand. I can even look back and figure out who gave us a particular gift if I need to know, for instance if I want to ask a person where they found a particularly unique gift.

Thank you note tips:

• Combine them when possible. My children were both born in August, so I am not ashamed to report that I wait until September to write thank you notes for their gifts, and combine the gifts given to both children in one note (this is changing as they are old enough to write their own notes; see below). This also works for me in December; I combine notes for my birthday and Christmas gifts from the same person.  

• 4 year olds can write thank you notes. I have some fill-in-the-blank thank you notes that my 6 year old had been using, and I discovered that my 4 year old can write them (almost legibly!) if I spell the words letter-by-letter. This is a great way to keep her entertained when I'm working in the kitchen. She draws a puppy picture on the back of each one.
•  Avoid keeping your list on scrap paper that can be lost easily. I keep my list in my planner so that I can't get lost in a pile. I can open the rings and remove one sheet to lists gifts given at a party, and it's always conveniently located next to my address list in the planner, which I always need when writing the thank you notes.
• A gift bag works well as a tote to store all your note-writing supplies. This tote contains the cards and envelopes that the kids have been using to write their notes, as well as the special stamps they picked out: My son picked The Simpsons (no longer available), and my daughter picked Puppies and Kittens.

This is what works for me!

And to everyone who did NOT receive a thank you note from me for our wedding gifts, I apologize. Your gift was and still is greatly appreciated. :)

Have an Empowering Mother's Day

When you are making preparations for Mother's Day coming up this weekend, don't forget the most important person you should prepare for: Yourself. If you have children, of course.

Some people don't do much of anything to celebrate Mother's Day, and that fact doesn't concern them too much. Some are married to enthusiastic holiday planners or giftgivers who never fail to express their love and appreciation. Others approach Mother's Day with secret anticipation, hoping their partner or children will acknowledge them and thank them in some way, yet end up feeling vaguely disappointed if their needs for appreciation aren't met.

I used to do this, and inevitably I would end up feeling dissapointed and unappreciated. This wasn't because my spouse and kids didn't appreciate me, but because they didn't know what I wanted for Mother's Day! This was because I didn't know what I wanted for Mother's Day, either. My kids are too young to take initiative on their own, and my husband has major psychological issues surrounding potential gift-giving events. (Hmmm... I'd better check and be sure I'm allowed to write that. He says yes!)

Things have gone much better since I thought out what it was that would be meaningful to me on Mother's Day; in a sense what my ideal Mother's Day would be like. Once I had a clear image of the day in my mind, I could share that with my family and put a plan in action.

• Plan in Advance. The best plans, even if they are simple, seem to go more smoothly if they are thought out in advance. Don't wait until Sunday to let your family know what you have in mind, especially there is a possibility that they have an alternate plan in the works. This also gives time for advance preparation, such as food, day trip packing and planning, reservations, child care arrangements, mailing cards to mothers/grandmothers, etc.
• Celebrate with extended family (grandmothers, etc.) on a different day if possible. Can you tell that we like to celebrate Mother's Day in my family? In years past I've figured out that it can be too much to try to celebrate at a family get-together AND celebrate with just my own kids on the same day. At the same time, I don't  want to forget my grandmothers nor my own mother. This year my grandmother's will receive Mother's Day wishes in the mail, and I will see my own mother on Saturday.
• Make it Doable and Fun. It may be tempting when your spouse asks what you want for Mother's Day to annouce that you want him to finish that home project he's been dragging out for 6 months, or for the entire family to help you clean out the garage. I think it's better to keep expectations moderate and make your request more about being a celebration and family bonding time. (Unless, of course, you your family booked a spa appointment. In this situation, defer family bonding time to a more convenient time, such as Father's Day, and head to the spa immediately.)
• Make it a Tradition. If you celebrate in at least a similar way each year (remember, first you have to decide how to celebrate so that the day is meaningful to you) at some point your family members will notice the pattern. They may start spontaneously adding to your plan, or be willing to do more of the advance preparation since they know what to expect.
• Do for Yourself. Do you want your children and spouse to give you cards on Mother's Day? What's stopping you from purchasing them yourself? I have done this in the past. Everyone signed their names on the cards and 'gave' them to me, and it was cathartic to open them and read them despite having selected each one out at the store. (Amazingly, each card said just what I needed to hear!) What can I say? I was feeling hormonal that year. Don't feel embarrassed about doing for yourself what you need. Think of it as teaching your children your Mother's Day traditions. If you don't care about cards, don't buy/make them. This is just one example. Bake a cake with your kids, or pack a picnic, or whatever it is that is meaningful and enjoyable to you that you would like to pass on to them as a tradition or memory.
• Do for Someone Else. It goes without saying that you should do something for your own maternal relations on Mother's Day. In addition, if you know a mother other than your own who is unlikely to be acknowledged on Mother's Day, do something meaningful for them. Usually the unacknnowledged mothers are the ones who need a Mother's Day gift the most.

Now that I've empowered myself and figured out what is meaningful to me on Mother's Day, we are building a tradition as a family. Since I do almost all the cooking, it's nice to have a break and go out to eat. We have young kids, though, which makes it difficult to deal with crowds and long waits, so we go to brunch first thing in the morning right when the restaurant opens. This leave plenty of time for a family bike ride for most of the day. After that, things are less structured, but usually some sort of carryout or delivery is involved at dinnertime. I haven't decided on cards yet; I might take the kids to pick out cards for me as my son is reading now. Or maybe we'll make some?

Whatever works for you on Mother's Day, I encourage you to empower yourself and make it happen!

Frugal Flowers during Winter Months

One of my favorite projects to do with my kids each winter is to force paperwhite narcissus bulbs in small containers. My daughter and I put these together today so that they will bloom for the brunch we are hosting in a few weeks. They are striking when planted individually or in groups, and have a fragrant scent when the flowers bloom. These also make fantastic affordable gifts for relatives, hostesses, or teachers.

Gather your materials and prepare to plant the bulbs about 3 weeks before you want them to bloom. You will need:

• A Small Assistant (optional)
• Small votive candle holders: here is an example of the size I use to plant one bulb per container--one bulb is all you need! I prefer a round rim shape to hold the rocks inside. I am in love with some votive holders sold at Michael's that have crackled glass and are painted gold around the rim, I believe those are approximately $3 apiece, or the plain glass ones such as the example are around $1 each. You can also put up to 4 bulbs in a slightly larger glass container; the 3 larger containers you can see in the photos were also $1 apiece.
• Paperwhite narcissus bulbs: I can usually find these at local garden centers for about $1 apiece in November. You can also purchase them in larger quantities online for less per bulb. Home Depot sells kits for $4.99 that come with 4 bulbs ($1.25 apiece, but you don't need the container etc. that they include with the bulbs) they may still have them in stock and discounted now. They are 'in season' at stores in November. I bought mine in November online and saved some in the garage so they stayed cold and fresh. You can also find them online at this time of year, but you will have to hunt around for a good price and watch out for shipping costs.
• Small glass rocks or aquarium gravel: I like the flat round decorating rocks sold at Michael's and similar craft stores, but I have also used beige aquarium gravel in the past. I reuse the rocks/gravel each year (unless I give the votive away as a gift!)
• Small watering can: if a young person is helping you!
• Sunny spot by a window

Steps:

1. Place a small amount of rocks or gravel inside the votive holder. Place a narcissus bulb in the center with the stem facing up and surround the bulb with additional rocks to hold the bulb upright. If you're using a larger container, position multiple bulbs with stems facing upward, placing rocks between and around bulbs.

2. Add water to almost fill the votive. It should cover about 3/4 of the bulb or so.

3. Place votives in a sunny place. Check water levels every few days and add water as needed.

4.Withing a week or so, the bulb stems should turn green and start to grow. The flowers bloom in about 3 weeks. STOP WATERING just as soon as the flowers bloom; this will keep your paperwhites standing upright. If you continue to water, the stems will be too heavy and the paperwhites will fall over.

I find that my paperwhites will smell nice for about a week after they bloom, then the flowers will dry but the stems will stay green (without watering) for about 3 weeks after the flowers dry out. The paperwhites in the first picture are over 6 weeks old and bloomed over Christmas. My daughter and I took the old bulbs out, composted them, and put the new bulbs in.

Using a $1 votive and finding the bulbs for $1 can make this an incredibly affordable gift--you can use any small container you have on hand if it will hold water to reduce the cost even more. The only additional cost would be for the rocks or gravel placed around the bulb. Today I reused votives and rocks that I've owned for years, so the only cost for this project were the paperwhites, which I paid $.63/bulb (23 bulbs = $14.49). This made a total of three 4-bulb containers and eleven single-bulb containers: 14 potential gifts! I'm keeping most of this batch, though.

After the paperwhites are growing steadily, I'll place them around the house: single votives in the bathrooms and clusters of 2-3 votives on tables around the main living areas. I won't feel the need to buy cut flowers for the brunch, and we'll enjoy the paperwhites until March!