Hellobee

I’m right at the age where someone is either having a baby or it’s a child’s birthday. With Drake being five, Fiona being less than one, and Juliet smack in the middle at almost three, I run into a gambit of baby and kid products. I also love gift giving, it’s my love language in fact, and nothing makes me happier than finding good quality things others can use for their children and enjoy the same things we have for our kids. I’m always looking for the newest things to gift, but I also stick to some tried and true favorites too. Here are my favorite things to gift parents and kids, from newborn to age 5.

1) Swaddles – This is my number one go to gift to expecting parents, especially when I don’t know them well, as I feel swaddles are the best thing to have with new ones. Swaddling makes feeding, sleeping, and holding easier, and babies love it so that makes everyone happier too.

2) When Drake was born I only knew of Aden & Anais and I remember looking at all the cute prints they had. Nowadays the swaddle business has exploded and the range of prints and types (organic, bamboo, etc.) has also grown. I discovered Little Unicorn shortly after Fiona was born and splurged on a set for her even though we still had some from both Drake and Juliet. They feel just as soft, if not moreso, than the Aden ones I have, and I am in love with so many of their prints and styles I honestly want to buy more even though I know it’s not practical.

3-8) Teethers – Everyone knows Sophie the Giraffe by nowadays there is also Sola the Goat,  Cosmo the Dino, and a myriad of other fun animals for little ones to chew. All babies eventually grow teeth and these fun little creatures add a bit of fun and whimsy to every nursery.

9-11) Books –  I love sharing my love of books with my children and frequently browse online and book stores for new books to add to our ever growing library. You can never have enough books I say. For newborns I like these black and white books, Joyce Wan for her adorable and fun illustrations, and the Wonderful Things You Will Be by Emily Winfield for all the wonderful dreams and hopes all new parents have for their precious newborns.

1) Leapfrog Scout/Violet– We own three of these if that tells you how much of a fan I am of these guys. Since my kids were little we have always used Scout and Violet as part of their bedtime routine. Besides all the learning and song functions, they also have a bedtime function where when pressed it will play lullaby music for 5, 10, or 15 minutes. Juliet currently still uses this to help her fall asleep, and in the morning I hear her playing with the other functions and singing and talking along with her Violet. Once Fiona is old enough to have things placed in her crib, I plan on putting the Violet she received for Christmas in her bed to start the routine as well.

2) Mozart Cube – I had always heard rave reviews about this little music playing cube so for Juliet’s first Christmas we bought it for her and she and Drake were mesmerized by it. The classical music was a nice change to all the other annoying toy voices and repetitive songs and when playing with the cube you can add and take away different instruments. To this day Drake and Juliet still set this one out to dance with and Fiona is dazzled by the lights.

3-7) Books –  For this age range I like Matthew Van Fleet’s interactive books especially his trilogy set, Lick, Much, Sniff, Dear Zoo,  these amazing cut out books from Xavier Deneux, and fun rhyming ones like Sandra Boynton.

1) Go Baby Poppity Dinosaur – I remember buying this toy for Drake when he was around this age because I had wanted to start teaching him the concept of in and out and thought this dino was a fun and neat way of doing so. We recently rediscovered this old gem at my mom’s house and Juliet has been playing with it almost every time we visit and saying in and out as she plays.

2-3) Building Sets – I am a fan of Mega Blox and Duplos and think around two is about the time a lot of kids start getting the hand coordination to be able to connect blocks together. It’s good fine motor play and a doorway to imaginative play.

4-6) Books –  At this age I like a lot of word books as children are starting to talk and build their expansive vocabularies, the Gossie the Goose series for their cute short stories, and touch and feel books.

1) Laptop – I am a big proponent of both educational toys and toys that are one piece. A laptop toy is my dream come true. Around three is when kids start to learn their numbers and letters and basic songs, so toys that reinforce that are a great help in encouraging that kind of learning. It’s also a great carry along toy for car rides, waiting rooms, and eating out. Function as well as parent sanity are a win in my book.

2) Number Lovin Oven – Around three is when imaginative play really starts to take hold. We got this oven for Juliet this past Christmas when she was 2 1/2, and she has played with it every day now. She serves us all food, pretends to cook, and sings along with all the songs. This by far is our most used gift from Christmas. I have gifted it since to a few other family members with kids of both sexes and it seems to be a hit with everyone.

3-5) Books – Around three is when I usually start basic Dr Seuss stories like Are You My Mother,  bed time stories, and fun little manner books.

1) Magnadoodle– This is another household staple for us. Drake has had one since he was two. We have big ones and little ones, one for the car, one for the bedroom etc. They are great for drawing, practicing writing, leaving notes and pictures for other family members. It’s also another great toy to tote around with minimal extra pieces to lose.

2) Puzzles – Drake got this puzzle set when he turned four and I think it really helped him pick up learning how to spell as well as he can now. After we spelled all the puzzle boards he wanted to learn how to spell many more words, and with so many letters in the set it made it a lot easier to do so than sets that only contain the basic 26 letters in the alphabet.

3-6) Books – Drake loved these National Geographic Series books that have not only amazing photos you would expect from National Geographic, but also educational facts and information. At this age we read a lot of picture books, my favorites being The Day the Crayons Quit, What to Do With an Idea, and This Is Sadie.

1) Creative Sets – I love that Lego has these creative sets that are just filled with blocks but no instructions or plans to follow for open ended playing. They come in many different sizes and some have more unique pieces. This is a great starter set as well as complement to existing ones, and is a great gift for both boys and girls alike.

2-5) Board Games – We play a lot more board games these days and I love finding the ones that keep Drake’s attention best to gift.  Zingo is a classic and old favorite, but we also have come to enjoy Connect Four, Sequence, and Hoot Owl Hoot.

6-9) Books –  I started reading the Bernstein Bears books to Drake around this age and I remember loving listening to them when my mom read them to me as a child. Drake also started to like to listen to longer Dr Seuss stories like The Lorax and the Sneetches with some more deeper story lines which we like to talk about afterwards. He is also able to read many books himself so we started on some basic beginner readers as well for him to practice reading.