Gift Ideas for Babies and Children

New Adorable Ceramic Name Tiles!

Administrator — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 18:42:55 +0000

It can be difficult to get ideas to decorate your child’s room. There is just so much out there that it can be overwhelming. Little Worm and Company just added these great ceramic name tiles to their line of adorable personalized children’s gifts. They also have the most adorable personalized ceramic plates out there. These name tiles make an excellent gift for a newborn baby to add a personal touch to the nursery. They will also be great as a birthday gift for the older child. What child, or mom for that matter, wouldn’t love to see their name beautifully decorated on their wall? Each one is hand painted and personalized just for you. Check out the pictures below to see just how much detail goes into these great name tiles. The best part is they are a very affordable gift!

Finding a Nanny

Administrator — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 02:03:54 +0000

Okay, this post isn’t exactly about gift ideas for babies and children, but I thought I should mix it up a bit and talk about some personal things once in a while. I’m sure some of you can relate!

Has anyone tried to find a nanny/caregiver for their small children? I have been trying for about 6 months and I have really ran into some trouble. What is the deal with people now days? I signed up for two different web sites to help us find a part-time nanny for my two girls. I opted for these services because I could post the position and then the interested nannies would come to me to apply for the job. Well, I had a lot of people apply for the position, but then as soon as I replied back asking more about their schedules and such, they would just not respond to me. I got really tired of this. They applied for the job in the first place!

Another thing that really bothered me about my nanny search is that the first thing some of these girls would ask me about is how much I was going to pay them! Well, how can I possibly answer that question when I know absolutely nothing about you at this point! The only thing I know is that you are breaking the number one major rule in looking for a job. You don’t apply for a position and then get to the interview and ask about money immediately. The money chat will come once we have sized each other up. That’s the way it goes.

The last issue that really irked me is that we had several nannies show up late for the interview! How can we possibly hire you if you can’t even show up on time for the most important part! One nanny we interviewed was actually 30 minutes late. At that point we didn’t even want to carry out the interview. We actually ended up liking her during the interview, but there was just no way we could hire her just based on principle.

Anyway, I just wondered if anyone else had any horror stories they would like to share about searching for a caregiver for the children. Phew, thanks for listening . . .

Introducing Bur Bur & Friends!

Administrator — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 17:41:31 +0000

I am so happy I discovered the Bur Bur & Friends series of books. They are so much fun and really have a great message behind each of the books. So far, there are 4 books in the series. Each of the books involves a multicultural cast of characters to help teach children about our diverse population. They also focus on getting kids out and doing something active, such as boating, fishing, hiking and playing baseball. This series of books is very refreshing considering all of the hype surrounding movies and video games these days. Our children need to learn more about staying active and getting outside to enjoy the outdoors. These books do a great job of doing just that. My two girls, ages 2 and 4, actually wanted me to read one right after the other when I received these books in the mail. They are hard cover with great colorful illustrations. The books are only $14.95 a piece which is great deal for the quality of book you are getting. You can also get the adorable Bur Bur and Anna dolls and a fun little Bur Bur & Friends puzzle.

The books have received the iParenting Media Award for their creativity, appeal to children and colorful illustrations. The Bur Bur & Friends Boating ABC’s also won the 2008 Teacher’s Choice Award.

The books are written by JoAnne Pastel and Kakie Fitzsimmons with Farmer’s Hat Productions, a Minneapolis based company. Both of the authors are mother’s of bi-racial children. They found that there wasn’t enough books out there depicting mulitcultural children, so they decided to create their own.

Check out Bur Bur & Friends Series of Books to read more about each of the books. You can also purchase the books at that link.

Personalized Christmas Ornaments

Administrator — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 20:50:27 +0000

A great Christmas gift tradition is giving personalized Christmas tree ornaments. Every year when it’s time to decorate the tree, these ornaments will bring back special memories and create discussions among family and friends. This helps to create that warm Christmas spirit year after year. It is also a great tradition as the gift giver, because you already know that at least part of their gift will be a keepsake ornament. This can take some of the stress out of holiday shopping and gift giving.

A little history on the ornament . . . The word ornament is defined as an accessory used to beautify or improve the appearance or general effect of an object. To decorate a tree with a Christmas ornament is an adornment or embellishment. They are ornamental by nature and therefore lend beauty or attractiveness to the Christmas trees.

So that just tells us about the word ornament, where did this all begin? Well, there is a lot of controversy around how the Christmas tree ornament came about, but everyone seems to agree that it all started in the 1600’s in Germany. My favorite theory is that people would bring the tree into their homes in the dead of winter as a sign of hope for the spring to come. They would decorate the tree with nuts and fruits, things that would normally grow on trees. Eventually ornaments grew into candy, paper streamers and around the 18th century came hand cast glass ornaments. Lauscha in Germany was the home of glass ornament production. Later on silk, wool thread, chenille and stiff spun glass were used in Christmas tree ornaments.

Christmas tree ornaments made it to America around 1880. It is said that F.W Woolworth, an American retailer first sold imported glass ornaments in his shop. Decorations also included cut outs of old magazines, cotton wools and tinsel. Then World War I disrupted natural commerce and necessitated the production of cheaper ornaments with new technologies. This gave way for injection plastic molding and revolutionized the ornament making business. Now days you can find an ornament for just about anything - from toilets to vegetables to SpongeBob SquarePants!

However, one thing always rings true, ornaments beautify the Christmas tree and remind us of our loved ones and all the wonderful Christmas’ gone by. Blue Snail Gifts has many great personalized Christmas tree ornaments available for children - Personalized Christmas Tree Ornaments.

Online Christmas Shopping

Administrator — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 20:37:45 +0000

It’s so hard to believe that Christmas is almost upon us once again. Like every year, I tell myself that I want to have all my shopping done by the beginning of December and like every year; I just can’t seem to do it! Why not? Is it really that difficult? Is it my indecisiveness that plays a role or is it the little bit of procrastinator in me? I’m sure all busy moms know exactly what I’m describing! Before the days of the Internet, which I can’t even imagine anymore, we would have to load up the family funster and go out shopping for hours of head-throbbing excitement! Now I can get at least half of my shopping done online in the peace and serenity (yeah right) of my own home! You can find the most unique gifts online and if you shop around sometimes even at great prices! Many online stores offer free shipping as an incentive to buy from them this time of year. Most of the time there is a dollar amount you have to spend before you receive the free shipping, but that’s usually not hard to meet especially this time of year.

Personalized baby gifts and personalized children’s gifts are always a great way to not only give that extra bit of attention but to also receive it as the gift giver! Who doesn’t feel great when someone raves over the gift you’ve just given them. When it comes to baby and children’s gifts, this year my top pick for the ultimate personalized gift is the Personalized Storybook and Personalized Plate Gift Set. This personalized gift set is SURE TO BE A HIT!!! You can find these at my store - Blue Snail Gifts. We are offering Free Shipping with the purchase of $50.00 or more. Check out the great personalized gifts for this Holiday season . . . Check back for some more great picks for Holiday 2007!!