As Hanukkah and Christmas approach, we’re all thinking about what to buy for the people on our shopping lists.   Whether you’re looking for eco-friendly gifts, or general Christmas gift ideas you’ll find something perfect here. Little Butterfly Kiss has a great selection of items for the moms and dads on your list.

Over the last several months I’ve written a number of articles on our boutique and the items we carry. Here’s a list of these posts for you to check out and get some baby gift ideas.

• When is a Purse Not a Purse? When It’s a Diaper Bag-  Our newest collection from OiOi is featured here.

• Gift Ideas for New Moms- Ideas for pampering a  new mom with unusual treats.

• How to Choose a Unique Baby Gift – Suggestions for gifts from Little Butterfly Kiss as well as other ideas.

• Organic Gifts for Your Baby-  We have a great selection of baby blankets and bedding in sumptuous organic cottons.

• Nursing Covers for Practical, Stylish Breastfeeding- Our nursing covers come in great colors and fun patterns.

• Infant Car Seat Covers Rock! Who Knew- Car Seat covers.

• Fun New Cotton Tale Design Items for the Nursery-  Cotton Tale is one of the tops brands, this post reviews some of our cutest baby bedding and accessories.

If you have any questions, drop us a line or call and one of the staff members will be happy to help you. And, happy shopping!

Walker

photo by Dave416, Flickr.com

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Christmas is in the air, and  the rush for the best toy has officially begun. Do you know which toys for toddlers will be the most popular?

Toy Fair 2010 is a huge event for retailers,  setting  the trends for the year in toys for various age groups. Who would have thought that out of 1200 companies showing off their wares, we’d be going retro?

Babble, a website dedicated to children and parenting chose their fav five after attending the show!  I thought you might get some holiday gift ideas, or at least an idea of what is trending right now. Their first toy is so retro that I’m a little surprised. It’s a $69 dancing Mickey Mouse. Mickey Mouse starred in his first film, a silent film by Walt Disney in 1928. And, he’s still here-albeit with a few hip swinging moves and an up to date music selection. As I read the description I found it more appealing than I would have thought. But, I have no intention of spending that kind of money for a mouse that does James Brown vocals and moves. Really. (Now maybe for my 29 year old!)

Another one of the choices is something from my children’s childhood as well. A Thomas the Tank Power Wheels. I like this much better than the older version of Power Wheels, the low slung racy looking bike we used to have. Thomas is battery-operated!  Apparently Thomas is back with his own TV show, which does retain some of the simplicity of the original book.

My favorite of the list is the Harley Davidson Roaring Rocker- it’s a rocking horse! A purple and black, and chrome of course, model designed for your budding biker kid! This cutie is about $150 and comes with a ‘sound’ version  or one that makes no noises. I”m trying to envision my mother buying one of these for her grandchildren? Just can’t see it.

All of these toys are touted as the next biggest thing in trends for this holiday season. Or at least a few of them are. And, it sets off that gotta-have-it mentality. I do recall one year when we searched high and low for the one gift my son was so eager to have. And, it was not an easy chore, though ultimately we found it in a second hand store. The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from the Ghostbuster movie- he absolutely had to have it.  Other than that one toy, I’ve never spent time trying to find a specific gift or stood in line at the toy store waiting to buy a particular item. And I don’t intend to start now.

The website has lists for other age groups as well and an interesting selection of comments on the toys which is fun reading.

How will you handle the must-have toy? Are you already seeing lists and requests for certain toys for your little ones? I’d love to hear how your family handles the giving of presents for children.

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Gift giving remains one of the biggest challenges of the holidays, especially when it comes to getting the right gift for children. I haven’t done any holiday shopping yet though I’m certainly being inundated with ads and reminders that I should be spending lots of money. I’m shopping for Christmas; if you’re shopping for Hanukkah then you are probably well into the process by now.

I’m making a pledge this year to not buy plastic. By that I mean that I won’t be buying synthetic, breakable toys, but I also define the word ‘plastic’ as fake, overly marketed and commercialized toys.  When I go out to buy toys for the kids, I will look at wooden toys and educational toys as possibilities. Though now days there are so many ‘make-em-smarter’ toys masquerading as educational, which are really thinly veiled children’s shows tie-ins (Dora pops to mind).

I think that a two year old and a four year old should be encouraged to explore and play without any pressure to “learn”. They don’t need that pressure, not yet. I want toys that offer wide open possibilities for creative play. And, I prefer gender-neutral toys.

I’ve got a few ideas but I’m going to have to do some browsing and thinking about this soon. By Black Friday the stores are in a frenzy and I prefer not to shop at that point.

Creative and Fun Toys for Young Children On My List

• Furniture for a doll house-they just got a doll house so this would be fun. I wonder how to make that gender neutral?
• Books – always. I love to give books and wrote about my holiday favorites recently.
• A train table – I have the Brio train set of their father’s for them to play with here at my house.
• Jigsaw puzzles, one of my favorite recreational pastimes. This one from Melissa and Doug might be perfect for the younger one
• A bead set, for the older grandchild. Beads are fun and these cute Melissa and Doug beads are big enough for little fingers.
• A video of a child-friendly nature show. I don’t know what that might be yet, but it would be different from the typical kiddie movies.
• A door placard- it’s needlepoint, with a cute pink and purple heart and the word Love. I stitched it myself, just for the two of them. It’s cute and bright and something they won’t really appreciate now but in later years…hopefully.

And, while this isn’t something I can wrap up or adequately express to a two year old, the gift of my time and love.  I want to create the kind of memories I have of growing up.  I want to be the kind of grandmother who reads them books, and sets them up at the kitchen sink with a sink full of water and toys for play without worrying about the splashing. I want to teach them to cook with me, helping decorate cookies and plan our family meals. I’ll sit with them as they play in the sandbox I bought this summer and we’ll take walks through the woods.  Those are the kinds of gifts that you won’t see on TV or in the stores-but they are the best gifts of all.

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Words can be a powerful tool in shaping your child’s sense of self as well as their language, behavior and  attitude towards life. It’s daunting to think about how much control we have over our children, but it is true. As infants and toddlers parents may be the only people children interact with, the only people offering any feedback.  Just as children learn languages by hearing adults talking to them, so they learn to love themselves as reflected by the love and affection they receive from adults.

In the book I’m reading right now there is an aloof, self-absorbed mother, a two year old, and their  perceptive maid. The maid (the book is set in the Deep South in the 60′s) has set a goal of making her young charge feel loved. Every day she tells the little girl, You are kind. You are loved. You are beautiful.  It’s sad that this love is coming from someone other than the parent, but at least this child has someone offering her affirming words.

When was the last time you told your child you loved her? I don’t do it as often now that my children are adults, they’re men and that kind of language is a little too sentimental for them to hear too often. Because I grew up in a family that didn’t display emotion, verbally or physically, I knew  I wanted to change that with my own children so I made sure to show lots of  love and affection.

I tell my granddaughters all the time how smart and funny, how sweet, how helpful they are. I don’t use the ‘pretty’ word as much as looks aren’t the most important message I want them to have. But, I do love the feeling that I’ve praised them.  We all need it, even now.  From our partners, family, bosses and co-workers and  it just doesn’t happen often enough.

The way we talk to our children is so important as are the words we use. I think we often fail to hear ourselves or understand  what message we’ve just passed on in a moment of frustration, anger, or fear. There’s all the difference in the world between calling a child “bad boy” versus saying, “no, we don’t color on the living room wall. “  Addressing the behavior not the individual puts the focus in the right place.  And, even better would be the moment where you can catch him playing nicely and walk in the room with an unexpected compliment of how well he’s behaving.

We know our children are smart and wonderful individuals, we just have to make sure we tell them. Words mean everything.

Listen to this Stevie Wonder  song, its got a great message;  I Just Called To Say I Love You.

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