I know it’s a little backwards to do a gift guide of sorts after the holidays, but I actually think its a great way to guage gifts because you know what got used and played with and what didn’t. Besides, with birthdays and whatnot there are always gifts that need to be purchased. And since I was a little surprised by what some of the best gifts ended up being–best meaning they received the most attention–I thought it would be nice to do a round up of what my people really seemed to love this year. One of them is even a super easy DIY.
My Miniature Library
I can’t remember where I first saw this but I thought my girls might like it. It’s a little quirky and different, but I was wrong… My girls LOVED it. I ended up giving it to just one girl for Christmas and it has now been requested for a birthday gift by a different daughter. It’s a craft (you actually make the little books!), it’s miniature and a lovely little keepsake all in one–the books are the perfect size for a doll library. Shoot, I kinda want my own miniature library! Also, they have a miniature fairy library too!
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Let’s Color America Coloring Poster
I was pleasantly surprised by how much time my girls spent coloring this map over winter break. I love having maps around the house to help my kids have a visual for where they live–it’s like you’re able to feel yourself in time and space if you can see it, you know? Also, coloring is such a great way to connect with your kids, and for them to connect with each other. I specifically remember this child psychologist on Oprah who was a regular for a while, and he always colored with the kids as he talked with them because he said something about coloring really helps them open up, as opposed to if he were just sitting there with them asking questions. That’s intimidating for kids right? Just like when our kids hop into the car at the end of the day and we say, “How was school? What did you do? How are your friends?” You’re likely to hear crickets chirping when you ask direct, pointed questions. But something about sitting together and coloring… the conversation just flows. Kids can let their guards down and just talk. You could also join a coloring page subscription from one of my favorite illustrators Roxy Marj! I love her work.
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Dad’s Easy No-Sew DIY Blanket
Lamp had an activity with our church one evening where they made blankets for kids in hospitals. She enjoyed making them so much and said, “Hey we can make one for dad for Christmas! He loves taking naps.” The other girls agreed. So I went to Hobby Lobby while they were at school and bought 2.5 yards of a plaid fleece material and 2.5 yards of a super soft black minky–thankfully I got to do this by myself and pick out the least offensive colors/fabrics. If you’ve never made a tie blanket before, it is SO EASY. I helped the girls with all the cutting and did a few knots with them, but they did the rest! You simply place the two fabrics together, cut out squares (5″x5″) from the corners and then cut 1″ wide, 5″ (approximately) long frays all around both blankets and then simply tie each of the frays from each blanket together all the way around. Here is a tutorial where you can actually see how to do it. We just tie them together twice making knots, but there are other ways to do it —this video shows 4 different ways to tie fleece blankets. You can even “braid” it! To be honest, tied fleece blankets are not exactly my aesthetic, BUT when it’s a gift suggested by my daughters and something they could 100% do with minimal help from me, I will bend over backwards to make that happen. This is something their dad will treasure all his life, I know it.
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Watercolor Brush Markers
I know something is a hit when one of my girls gets a gift and immediately one of her sisters wants to use her Christmas money to order the same gift! That was the case with these watercolor brush markers, which were also fantastic to use with the huge coloring poster because for being so big there are some tiny, TINY little things to color and these fine point markers made it so much easier. Also, they really can work like watercolors… they come with a brush tip and a water pen for blending. My girls LOVE them.
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Polaroid Snap Instant Digital Camera
This was another gift that was given to one child and then immediately purchased with Christmas money by another child. There are a lot of fun instant cameras these days, but the main reason I chose this one (as opposed to the popular Fujifilm Instax mini version) is that it has a thread base on the bottom, so it can be mounted on a tripod. An instant camera was high on Lamp’s wishlist, and so I figured (correctly) that it should be tripod compatible. But it turns out it also has some other great features the Instax doesn’t–you can choose between color, b&w or vintage color photos, as well as having a boarder or going boarderless. Now all my girls have instant digital camera and I love seeing the moments they choose to capture. In particular, they’ve taken photos with some of their favorite adults–mostly sitters–that they don’t get to see too often. So they take 2 photos, one for them and one for the sitter to take. It’s really sweet.
