Didn’t we just finish Christmas and Valentine’s Day?  Panic has once again set in to get prepared for yet another round of gift giving from imaginary characters.

I remember when I was a kid, and when our kids were little, they used to have big Easter coloring contests at the local grocery stores and other merchants.  When you’d finished coloring your picture, your parents would return it to the merchant and enter it in your appropriate age category to win prizes for the best pictures.

The merchants would have an area where they would display all of the pictures, grouped by age.  Kids love to color Easter pictures, so I wanted to pass on to you a free printable Personalized Kids Easter Bunny Letters. You just enter your child’s name and your email address, and they’ll send you a link to print your free coloring page personalized with your child’s name right on it.

They also have some other fun things on this site like a personalized kids letter from the Easter Bunny. Did you know that most kids write Easter Bunny letters every year.  Yep, it’s not just all about letters to Santa.  The Easter Bunny also gets loads and loads of letters every year.

This is a fun thing to do with your child.  You can help them out by encouraging them to let the Easter Bunny know what their favorite candy and treats are in their letter, and you can even help them decorate their letter to make it extra special.

Remember, once your child sends off that letter to the Easter Bunny, they’ll be expecting to receive some sort of reply letter.  You can write and mail your own personalized kids letter from the Easter Bunny, or if you’re like me and short on time you can order one from this same site.

The letter from the Easter Bunny can be completely personalized by you so that it’s uniquely a “one-of-a-kind” personalized kids collectible signed by the Easter Bunny himself!!

HAPPY EASTER !

Of course it may not be the most exciting thing he gets for his birthday.  Face it…. kids are kids.   When it comes to birthday gifts or christmas gifts for the little ones…it’s all about the toys!   They’re always yearning for and dreaming of the  latest and hottest toys on the market.  I mean…why not!   I’m a grandma who still loves toys, so I can understand their enthusiasm over receiving lots and lots of new toys.

Despite that, sometimes it’s nice to be just a little bit different and give a unique personalized gift.  Since I do almost all of my gift shopping online , I’m constantly amazed at some of the extremely creative and crafty websites I come across.  Lots of very talented people are now online selling their crafty wares from the comfort of their homes.  They’re unique…they’re different…but sometimes they’re a little pricey….as they should be.  After all, that stay at home mom (or dad), is putting a lot of time into creating that one of a kind craft!

personalized step stools are a great project for crafters I’m personally not the craftiest person on the block…nor do I even run a close second. The other day I came across this website, Belle Plaine, where a stay at home mom went into great detail explaining how she creates personalized step stools. She has lots of step by step pictures with detailed explanations under the pictures as to exactly how she went about creating a personalized child step stool for her daughter ” Braedyn”.

Stools for kids are almost a necessity for busy working moms and dads. They give our little independent loved ones a way to reach the sink to brush their teeth without our assistance, wash their hands when we’re busy, and step up to sit on the “big size potty” when mommy or daddy aren’t available to lift them on.

And since kids love to embrace their own identity and egos, they love to see their name on things…so these make perfect personalized kids gifts for those who would like to save a little money on some home essentials.

You can get the the step-by-step to making these name stools at Belle Plaine - “Creating Memories One Tantrum At A Time” (I’ve never met Belle, but ya gotta love that quote…comes from the heart of a real mom).

If you’re like me and don’t have the skill level to create your own personalized stools, or the time for those types of projects , here’s a resource to purchase ready made personalized step stools shipped right to your front door.  They may not have the “mom”  touch that Belle’s kids stools have, but these childrens stools with your child’s name handpainted right on them make great gifts.  They also let your child know you’re really proud of them and the independence they’ve achieved.

Kidkraft Personalized Step Stools For Kids

They come in lots of colors…any name you like…and they also have storage right in the step tool for all kinds of goodies (I’m sure your children will use their imaginations as to what they can figure out to store in there…just make sure to check it frequently when the remote control is missing).

]]> http://allchildsplay.com/blog/personalized-gifts-and-personalized-kids/personalized-step-stools-for-kids-how-to-for-crafty-moms/feed/ http://allchildsplay.com/blog/birthday-gifts-for-kids/stressing-out-again-over-kids-birthday-gifts/ http://allchildsplay.com/blog/birthday-gifts-for-kids/stressing-out-again-over-kids-birthday-gifts/#comments Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:41:22 +0000 Jane http://allchildsplay.com/blog/?p=315 Most people consider “that time of the year” to be Christmas.  For me, “that time of the year” is right now.  Between our kids and our grandson we have 3 birthdays in a two and 1/2 week period…and I’m always stressing out over kid’s birthday gifts.  All of my good ideas get used up at Christmastime, so by the time February comes around the “good gift  think tank”  is dry.

When the “kids” were little it was so much easier.  You just lose touch with what they may need or want when they’re not living at home any longer.  Clothes are out because they have their own styles and tastes, video games are pretty much a thing of the past for both of them, and I hate being one of those moms who’s always buying things for the house and especially the kitchen.

These days  the best I can come up with is money or gift cards.  Boring!!!  I’m just at a total loss……..

But, for the little guy (the grandson)  the shopaholic in me really comes out!   Thank god I have a husband and credit card limits to shut me off!!

One of the things I really wanted to get for him this year was  personalized kids birthday CD.    When our son was 3 we got him a personalized birthday tape which we have played every year since on his birthday….the past few years over the phone but it’s just one of those things that we probably won’t stop doing until the good old tape player gives up on us (yes…it really really is  a tape because cd players and cd’s weren’t the rage back then).

Our daughter thought we were playing favorites because she didn’t have her own personalized birthday tape, so when she was about 6 or 7 we just had to had to get one for her.  Unfortunately hers just wasn’t quite as catchy of a tune as our son’s, and “lame” as she called it …so mission was still not really accomplished.

Our grandson loves to stick in and play those old birthday tapes every time he comes over, so I promised him that I was going to get him one of his own with his name on it.  He just thinks it’s so cool that his daddy and aunt’s names are on that music, and he remembers every word of their songs and directs and guides us all through the singing of the songs.  Ya gotta love that age…so innocent!

Oh…and 23 years later we still call our son and play the good old Captain Zoom birthday tape for him over the phone.  He thinks we’re pretty weird…and I can just see him rolling his eyes and probably holding the phone away from his ear…but until the tape player gives out on us or the “Captain Zoom” tape dies…we’ll continue to annoy him every February 27th!!!

I didn’t want to get a “lame” birthday cd for Colton (like we did all those years ago when we “messed up” with our daughter), so I spent a snowy cold Sunday yesterday trying to find just the right personalized kids cd for our grandson.  Thought I’d share all of my research for those who may be looking for the same thing.

Here are the sites that I found which had the best prices…best songs…and largest selection of names.  Our grandson’s name is Colton..and I promise you I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to find one with that name (thought it was an unusual name at the time…but guess not!)…but these sites had names galore!!!

My Music CD

A Special Gift

Captain Zoom

(this is the one that started it all with our son …can’t believe that Captain Zoom still  exists almost 23 years later….It’s a goody!!)

That was the case this morning.  On my way home from the grocery store, I was stopped at a red light.  In the car in front of me, there were two kids staring at me through their rear window.  As I was watching them, they both…almost simultaneously started picking their noses and eating it.  Yuck@!!  I thought I was going to throw up in my car.

That light couldn’t change fast enough for me.  It was one of the longest red lights I’ve ever sat at.  I wanted to berate the mother (who was sitting in the front passenger seat).  First, for not buckling those kids in, and second for not teaching them better than to pick their nose and eat it…especially in public.

When I got home and told my husband  the story, he reminded me that our own grandson (soon to be 3 years old)  has been on a bit of a nose picking jag himself.   Guess when it’s your own flesh and blood it doesn’t bother you as much.  But g _ _ forbid that someone else would ever have to be as grossed out by our grandson as I was by those two kids.

We have reminded him several times not to pick his nose and to go get a tissue and blow it.   That works about 10% of the time.  The rest of the time he just gets too busy to take take out for a tissue, or he doesn’t even seem to know he’s doing it.  To be honest with you, I don’t know what he’s doing with those bugers.

He does have allergies, and I have read that kids with allergies tend to pick at their noses a lot.  Not an excuse…just a potential reason.

So why do kids pick their noses and how do you stop them from doing it.  And further yet…what possesses them to want to eat it?

If you have any suggestions or tricks on how to stop this nauseating behavior, please leave a comment below this post.  I love my grandson, but I don’t want him to make anyone else sick and gagging like I was this morning.

There are lots of toy testing “gimmicks” sold to help you determine whether or not a toy is a choking hazard for a child under the age of 3.   Save your money!!

Here’s a cheap, quick test that anyone can do without any special equipment, and the results will be the same as those of a tester you purchase.  All you need is a toilet paper roll (yea…we all have those around).  If the item will slip completely through the roll while you’re holding it upright, then the toy is unsafe and a potential choking hazard for children under 3.

There ya go!  No special trips to the store and no money required.  Keep your children safe.  If you see this

then don’t take chances of purchasing this toy for children under 3 years!

Apparently they feel that there is color gender bias in the toys that the Early Learning Center is promoting as educational toys that help children to reach their full potential in life.

That article led me to another post and another article and another news clip and …well you get the idea.  There were all kinds of feminists joining in the conversation and agreeing that giving our little girls clothes and toys the color pink will somehow teach them that they are less valuable than boys, which in turn leads to unequal pay and status in the working world.

Christmas shopping got put on hold as my ‘ire raised over the thought that people really do think the color of clothing kids wear, or the hue of the toys they play with actually determines a child’s potential.

My fullout response to these two moms and their campaign labeled “Pinkstinks” is….”GIVE ME A BREAK!”.I

As the mother of two grown children I believe that color choices in clothing and toys plays a very very very …can I say it one more time…VERY small part in a child’s own self worth!  If a parent determines to tell their child that the color pink is for girls and sissy’s, then it is that parent who is telling the child that loves pink, “you’ll never grow up to be as good as boys”.

My daughter is the most determined, motivated, outspoken child I know.  She is a 4th year pre-vet student with a 4.0 and on the dean’s list at college.  She’s fighting her way through what used to be a  male dominated vocation…all the while still loving the color pink.  She raises the bar and the curve for all the “boys” on tests in many difficult classes…and some days she’s even wearing pink while she’s doing it.  Those silly boys probably think she won’t do very well on the test because she has a pink shirt on.

Guess those pink cowboy boots that she insisted on wearing to school every day during 3rd grade should have held her back….BUT THEY DIDN’T!  Or maybe I should have thought twice about buying her that pink Barbie house that she and her friends played with almost daily for almost 2 years.  I just didn’t realize the pink house was telling her she “wasn’t worthy”.

She’s bullheaded and stubborn and knows exactly what she wants, yet she has just the right amount of feminine qualities that make her sweet, adorable and attractive to men.  Don’t we all want that?  Do we want to all together abandon the color pink because it’s too feminine?

Did I fret about her earning and learning potential when she recently decorated her bedroom in her new house all in red-black-and …your guessed it…PINK!  Heck No!  It never occurred to me to be fearful that my daughter was stereotyping herself and devaluating her income potential by putting some pink into the mix of things.

Oh…our daughter is also only 5′1″ and weighs all of 100 lbs.  In addition to not giving a hoot or care about her pink days…we also never let her think she would always be an underachiever because of her size.  For that matter, she played competitive soccer for 9 years.  Guess we also forgot to let her know that she’d never be an accomplished athlete because she was too small?

Between her preference for the color pink and her size it’s amazing she’s doing anything other than sitting around whining about her destiny because she’s “not good enough”.

I’ve tried not to influence or comment on the choices my kids have made when it comes to their clothing and the color of toys they wanted to play with (that last part is almost laughable as I type it).   Those outspoken angry moms of “Pinkstinks” are simply telling their daughters that to like and chose the color pink is bad!  It’s not the color choices that are hurting are daughters…it’s the parents attitude towards their kids color choices

Remember when pink was all the rage for men’s shirts a few years ago.  It was everywhere!  Pink shirts..pink ties…even pink sportscoats.  I’m sure those men in their pink shirts didn’t walk into the office thinking they were going to get paid less that day??

Personally, I was pretty much a “blue” gal growing up.  Still am for that matter.  My mother also never wore any kind of pink whatsoever that I remember, yet somehow despite the obvious lack of pink in her life she opted to become a stay at home mom and homemaker.   As a matter of fact there was literally nothing “pink” at all about my mother.  Was it her choice of blue and red and green in her wardrobe and house that determined her she was not worthy to enter the workforce ??  I think not!!!!

I think these two moms have gotten their knickers in a bunch all about nothing and need to lay off.   They are just making excuses for whatever reason…maybe a lack of anything better to do or think about.  Maybe they should be spending more time with their children and less time worrying about what color of toys are being stocked on the shelves of  Walmart or Toys ‘R Us.

If your daughter likes pink, or purple, or red, or blue…or whatever color she likes, then let her have at it.  Chances are the only thing that will make her feel that she’s choosing an “outdated gender roll”  is how you as parents react to and respond to her color choices.  Let her like what she likes.

Same thing for your sons…just because they like to play with red firetruck toys or green GI Joes won’t automatically shove them up the payscales of life.   Liking and playing with the color blue or black will not make them any “more manly”, just as the color pink will not make your daughter any “more girly”.  COLOR DOES NOT DEFINE US!

There are some areas of our children’s lives where we need to let them decide for themselves what they like and don’t like…and colors is one of those areas.  Let’s face it…no matter what boys are different than girls, and girls are different than boys…and no matter what we are never ever going to change that!  That’s just one of those facts of life.

Now I’m off to pick up where I left off on my Christmas shopping before I got sidetracked.

Ready…Set…Go! No, you can’t bet any money on this mismatch! It’s a known fact that no matter who the challenger, mom/dad/brother/sister/grandma/grandpa, the toys are always going to win. However, you can prepare for the fight with the right equipment.

We’ll all be soon off to the races against a stronger challenger when new lightweights and heavyweights show up under the Christmas tree on December 25th.  Ho…Ho…Ho…Ho…Oh….Hoooold on!  You haven’t even gotten the last group under control and now they’re bringing in reinforcements?

You wouldn’t think these guys would be that hard to tackle and take down, yet they have their way of shuffling and scrambling and somehow managing to sneak their through all obstacles and punches we throw at them. They seem to be uncontrollable and unstoppable.

Group Together And Get Organized

The only way to fight back is to practice, challenge and most importantly be prepared to “take them out”! If you don’t organize against them you’ll never win and they’ll be taking over the “compound” known as your home. You’ll be finding them in your toilet, your bed (and the dog’s bed), the bathroom sink while you’re brushing your teeth, the washer and dryer and just about any other space that you’d prefer not to find them.

Then there’s the occasional stepping on and tripping over some of them (those darn legos) and causing bodily harm, especially when they’re hiding on the stairs.  This all results in  inhibitting you from performing your normal household duties of the day (which usually don’t all get done anyway..especially since there are always so many toys in your way) .

Fight back now moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles! Get these little innocent things, that make your children giggle and smile, under control and well behaved. Put them in their place with…da..ta..ta..ta..ta …TOY ORGANIZERS!

Yes, bring out the big guns !  The toy boxes, toy bins, toy lockers and toy storage whatever and put those little guys back in their place to bring peace and harmony back into your home.

Here’s how we ganged up against the toy rebels in our home to control our free-ranging toys (watch and see how it’s done)!

Let us know how you have united against the toys (or the kids if that’s the case) to regain your territory!  We’d love to hear your solutions to the toys taking over every room in the house.

Our Deluxe Garage Playset is loaded with fun, interactive features and will keep kids entertained for hours at a time. This exciting wooden activity set gives kids so many options, they’ll never run out of ways to play with this toy playset.

A great space-themed playset toy with 100s of pieces including dozen of glow in the dark pieces. Made of Wood. Compatible with Thomas & Friends wooden train sets and Brio wooden train sets.