I am going to try to get all my shopping done before Thanksgiving. It is highly unlikely that this will happen, but making the list is the first step.
The List
Mr. A: Mr. A has been begging for Democratic party cufflinks for about a year and a half. I think buhing work clothes fore Christmas is lame, but this year I give up. The selection of Democratic party cufflinks is pretty lame. I think I am going to go with these vintage ones:
I have also been jonesing to buy him a Mr. Bento, but after further research (and cheapness) I think I am going to buy him this Thermos Nisson Lunch Tote instead. It is a lot cheaper, looks cooler and is basically the same thing, even though it lacks a tote bag.
M: M is getting a lot of things I would have bought for her anyway. I am hoping to find this wagon at a thrift store.
She is also going to finally get It’s Not the Stork: A Book About Girls, Boy, Babies, Bodies, Families and Friends, because I am a firm believer that it is never too early for sex education. I absolutely LOVE Robie Harris’ other books and I can’t wait to read this one too.
M also really, really wants this Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly doll that she saw in a catalog. Any toy that eats spiders is something I can’t pass up.
I am also looking for a dress-up doll and some other toys and games that M can use for her Chinese lessons, but I don’t know yet, what I will buy. I will probably also try to find a couple music CDs that don’t make me want to stick pencils in my ears.
The HFC: Even though it might jinx me, I have bought a few things for the HFC. I figure that maybe the jinx will cancel itself out because I am buying equal amounts of boy things and girl things. I was also careful that anything I bought could also be gifted to relatives’ or friends’ babies (thus jinxing the jinx).
In Philly, I found a discount store with a bunch of Zutano stuff on sale. I bought this sweater in two sizes and colors for the HFC and in an orange size 5 for M for next fall. It is very cozy.
I also bought a Zutano boy’s jacket and pants which I can’t find pictured on line. And a sleepsack since I couldn’t locate any baby pajamas when I was looking in our boxes of baby clothes. I am also going to buy a stocking for the baby this year. I figure even if we don’t our referral by Xmas, the baby is already born, so it needs a stocking.
Baby S: For A’s sister’s daughter, we already ordered a name puzzle. M always loved hers, so we figure it is a safe bet.
A’s Family: They are tough to buy for. We will probably give his younger sister a gift card in lieu of cash. His dad will probably want clothes from Sears. We will buy something expensive looking or with a fancy name brand for his mom (past years = cashmere sweater, Chanel #5), and I don’t know if we are supposed to buy presents for his older sister & BIL.
My Family: I don’t buy presents for my sister & BIL. I need to find something for my 3 year old niece. If my sister will go in on it with me, my mom might get a Light Box because she works nights every other week. My dad wants a new battery powered drill or a digital picture frame, but that is a little pricey.
Other People: A’s secretary will get a gift card, probably for one of the malls around here. M’s teachers will probably also get gift cards. Gift cards are lame, but they are better than trying to buy a gift for someone I don’t know at all.
What is on your list this year? Is there something that is SO COOL, I should add it to my list?
If you haven’t already, try the Sara Hickman children’s cds. There are three: baby, toddler and big kids. We have the last two and they are great. The toddlers love them and the teenagers keep stealing them out of the cars.
Right now, there is nobody/nothing on my list. Now, three days before Christmas, that’s a different story…
(I am in awe of your awesome organisational skills.)
I’ve got a couple of questions, hope you don’t mind me asking:
- How are M’s Chinese lessons progressing? (I’m currently teaching EFL to Chinese children, so I’m interested in children’s acquisition of foreign languages.)
- Are you going to present the ‘emotionally-repressed-Midwestern-folks’ post you teased us with a while back? (No professional excuse there, just plain nosiness. Feel free to ignore.)
THAT wagon is amazing- my favorite thing to tote two kids around in….we bring it everywhere and would recommend getting it full price IF you can’t find it at a thrift store (I always check them first!!!)…….it is seriously that good!
Meg
Where can I purchase the cufflinks pictured – I know someone who would find them fun and funny!?!
Oh my God, I can’t believe somebody else knows about the Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly doll! That’s been hanging around our library for years, but nobody (myself included) will actually use it in a story time because the song is so damn long, and you have to say “Perhaps she’ll die” over and over (which might be traumatic for some kids), and then at the end of the song, it’s not like you’re off the hook because she does die! BUT every time someone takes it out, we feed her the animals and bugs over and over again, just because it’s fun.
For the HFC, I am a big fan of a cd called lullaby berceuse or anything by Pat Carfra, because it helped to teach me lullabies that I could remember and sing to them.
What we do for all the people on our list is make up gift baskets.
This is actually really simple for us. I buy a bunch of organic stuff, nuts and candy and dried fruit in bulk and the kids and I bag them up in pretty holiday theme bags and ribbon and stuff them into thrift store baskets with usually some baking and/or tea or bath salts or other stuff my kids have made. My seven year old is making rolled beeswax candles this year and that will go into each gift basket.
I love the old lady doll and am seriously tempted to buy it for my youngest, except that she is only slowly beginning to accept that spiders are anything other than icky and scarey.
I LOVE that old lady/spider doll. How cool and gross. And: doesn’t Mr. A read your blog?!? What about surprises???
I am also duly impressed about this shopping-before-Thanksgiving thing. I always say I will, but never do.
some really amazing kids music is by this guy named John McCutcheon. the cds Mail Myself to You and Howjadoo are the best, but they are not new and possibly hard to find in a local music store. those were recorded about 20 years ago (i grew up on his kid music) and released on a super small folk music label. but you can find all of his stuff for sale here: http://www.folkmusic.com
trust me, it’s totally worth it.
Wow, I had no idea what to get for Rain but now I have quite a nice list!
Thanks.
If you like their kind of folk music, I’d recommend Trout Fishing in America’s kid’s albums. We caught their kids’ concert instead of their adults’ concert at a festival once because of the timing, and I bought cds for all my friends with kids, because it seemed like music that wouldn’t drive parents crazy.
The plastic on the Nissin lunch tote is brittle (mine broke) and the utensil holder is for really skinny, weird utensils. I’m not saying not to get it, I’m just saying I got to use mine a few times, and now all I’m using are the little round containers that fit inside the thing, because the thermos itself was not all it should have been given the price. I think I dig the Lunchbox Bento with the soft-sided briefcase and the chiller insert. Very organized. Of course, I’ve been using the little bento plastic things from Container Store altogether, because I’m just not cool enough for either.
LSP aka The Child Who Needs Nothing….books and music mainly and no doubt some Elmo stuff just because the way she says Elmo is so goddamn funny. I’m not posting J’s gift – y’all have to wait til after Christmas. I got LSP a matching set of whatever it is I got him. And I got LSP some Paul Frank pjs because she loves mine so much and orders me to wear them every night. But she might get them ahead of time. I want to see if my siblings will pitch in to get my parents a TomTom because my mom thinks mine is the coolest thing ever and my parents are terrible at reading maps but great at fighting in the car.