We have people working in the yard today (they are clearing out a small wilderness of overgrown and uninvited shrubbery), and I cannot settle. It’s not as bad as when there are people working in the house, but it’s a similar feeling. I keep worrying they’ll ring the doorbell when I’m in the bathroom or something. And soon comes the awkward time of writing a check.
Wouldn’t this be a perfect time to clean the dining room for Thanksgiving, or work on Thanksgiving plans, or make a Thanksgiving shopping list? But here I sit, too unsettled to do anything productive. I am the princess, and the pea is working in the yard.
Shall we discuss some gift ideas? I will show you some of the things sitting in my shopping cart:
(image from Amazon.com)
Hexbug Nano Launchpad, plus I’m considering extra hexbugs and replacement batteries. This is for my six-year-old nephew. My kids had a lonnnnnnnng Hexbug Nana stage; each time we considered getting rid of the stuff, there’d be a fresh interest in playing with them.
(image from Amazon.com)
Song of the Lioness box set, by Tamora Pierce. There was a discussion on Twitter about this author that made me immediately want to see if Elizabeth would like the books. I normally just buy them ONE book for Christmas, so maybe I’ll get just the first book instead.
(image from Amazon.com)
The Mountain Catzilla vs. Robot shirt. We have a bunch of these shirts by The Mountain, and they’re so thick and nice and cottony. This is one I’m thinking of getting for Paul. He already has Krakitten and Lincoln the Emancipator in heavy rotation, but says he’d like one more.
(image from Amazon.com)
Oggi 25-ounce insulated bottle. Paul has tried many different ways of transporting his iced coffee to work, and this is by far his favorite so I’m getting him a second one.
(image from Amazon.com)
Eight-pack of clip-on bow ties. Henry is very fond of snazzy clothing.
(image from Amazon.com)
Planet Plates. I don’t have anyone on my list to buy these for, but I leave them in my cart because it seems like one day the perfect recipient will come along.
(image from Amazon.com)
Magpie Jay Cosmos Big Mug. Same with this mug: no recipient in mind, but it’s so retro and cute!
(image from Target.com)
Ava & Viv olive anorak. For me! It’s even cuter than in the picture, I think, with a cute hood.
(image from Amazon.com)
KitchenAid immersion blender. For Paul’s sister. She wanted an immersion blender, and this is the one Paul uses and likes, so I figure it’s a safe bet. Because liking things is on the DNA.
(image from Amazon.com)
The Little World of Liz Climo page-a-day calendar. For the household. Page-a-day calendars are persistently popular with the kids (and I like to put the best pages in care packages to Rob), so every year we get one cat-related one plus one other. Last year I waited too long on the Liz Climo one and it sold out, so this year I’m ordering earlier.
(image from Amazon.com)
Plague, Inc., the board game. Edward and Henry both want this, so it’ll go to the one we have fewer other good gift ideas for.
(image from Amazon.com)
This is the book written by someone I know and love, and also it is a really good book and my kids really liked it and so did Paul and I, and so I plan to keep recommending it until it eventually goes out of print.
Are excited laying: share your gift ideas here? No? Oh well. I’d like to play anyway because you just gave me a couple helpful ideas for Hanukkah. And we are going to a birthday party tomorrow and all THREE of the gifts we are bringing come from your past posts.
Death Star perplexus: my son has other ones and I thought he’d love a new one. If only he wasn’t the one to pick up the amazon box and immediately hear the balk move. Every day since then he has said: you aren’t really going to make me wait until Hanukkah to okay with the new perplexus are you?
Dancing light music speakers: not great reviews but no daughter wants them anyway.
We also have some one a day calendars. Can’t remember which ones I bought though.
Lego bb8.
Wii Mario Party 10 and paper Mario. I’m still refusing to buy a new video game platform and am clinging to what we can find for the old one.
I forget what else but this was fun.
YES, absolutely share more gift ideas in the comments section!
I am the same about the video game platform. CLINGING MADLY.
Sorry, that was supposed to read “are we playing…” not “are excited laying.” Phone typing under hairdryer at salon = bad idea.
And, I just found 10 more autocorrects in that message. So, because I can’t take it, I’m rewriting what it should have said here:
Are we playing: share your gift ideas here? No? Oh well. I’d like to play anyway because you just gave me a couple helpful ideas for Hanukkah. And we are going to a birthday party tomorrow and all THREE of the gifts we are bringing come from your past posts.
Death Star perplexus: my son has other ones and I thought he’d love a new one. If only he wasn’t the one to pick up the amazon box and immediately hear the ball move. Every day since then he has said: you aren’t really going to make me wait until Hanukkah to play with the new perplexus are you?
Dancing light music speakers: not great reviews but my daughter wants them anyway.
We also have some one a day calendars. Can’t remember which ones I bought though.
Lego bb8.
Wii Mario Party 10 and paper Mario. I’m still refusing to buy a new video game platform and am clinging to what we can find for the old one.
I forget what else but this was fun.
I LOVED the Song of the Lioness books when I was about Elizabeth’s age. I tried to re-read them recently and didn’t love them as much as an adult, but Alanna is a great heroine.
And you never know about genetics and preferences. My brother and I live across the country from each other, but recently realized we have the same favorite Starbucks order — drink and breakfast sandwich. :)
Those planet plates are fun.
I ADORE Liz Climo! Her book, Lobster is the Best Medicine, has been a go-to “just because” gift for me because it is that adorable and affordable and awesome. I saved the daily calendar squares I liked especially and still use them to tuck into cards or gifts.
THANK YOU for this! I have two boys 8 and 11 that love bow ties and fight over the two we have. The big pack can be split for their stockings. And give them more options to fight over…
Thanks for linking the plates! I think my 6-yo, super into all things space son will LOVE them!
I LOVED the Songs of the Lionness books. I think I read them in college even and still loved them. If she likes those books, the follow up series is Protector of the Small.
I empathize SO HARD with your “I am the princess, the pea is working in the yard” comment. That is me 100% with house guests. Who have been here since Wednesday and will stay through Thanksgiving weekend. They are great! They are easy! I still feel like I am the princess and they are the pea. Perhaps I should not host house guests, hmm?
I got this calendar for my husband who loves Doc Martin. https://www.etsy.com/transaction/1345853355
Here’s a better link, including one for the Poldark fans. https://www.etsy.com/shop/CornishCalendars?ref=l2-shopheader-name
Ooh – I have great book suggestions for young girls. (Mine is 7.) Check out the Princess Academy series and also the Zoey and Sassafras series. She has read and re-read the first ones and can’t wait for Christmas to get more. (I have told her we can’t buy them because there’s literally nothing else on her gift idea list.)
Anyone have birthday gift ideas for a 7 year old boy that doesn’t like crafts or read? He’s got nerf guns and such. We see him tomorrow and right now he’s getting a new soccer ball.
Taking recommendations! Books for an eleven/twelve year old boy (nephew)? First video games for a 7 year old (preferably Wii, we are also clinging to our gaming system)?
I teach reading and most boys in that age really like anything by Rick Riordan. Is it wonderful literature that will enhance their lives? No. But it usually really grabs their interest and makes them want to keep reading. Also well liked are the Five Kingdom series, E.G. Foley books, Fablehaven, James Patterson (for kids, obviously)…
I’ve been wondering if I want an immersion blender, but I looked online and got overwhelmed by the choices and thought maybe I could go on living without one. But now that you’ve picked one, I might put it on my list. My mom never knows what to get for me.
Plus, there are so many fun colors to choose from! I don’t even WANT an immersion blender and I still sat there for five minutes choosing which color to use for the post!
Do you people not purée soups? I LOVE my immersion blender. My MIL bought it for me because she couldn’t bear to see me trying to pour a pot of hot soup into the blender anymore. It is a WONDERFUL gift.
Another vote that I LOVED Tamora Pierce. I think my mom gave me one of her books for Christmas when I was 13 or 14, and they really became huge in my life.
Holy jumpin! Plague Inc is a reasonable-ish $36 on Amazon.com… but it’s listed at $117CAD on Amazon.ca! That is some big difference!
All great ideas – and I may use them for the few kids on my list. I’m struggling with ideas for a young adult not yet living on his own…
BUT, I did want to chime in about the immersion blender – my husband swears by his (I don’t know the brand). It is the one “MUST HAVE” in his kitchen and he recommends it to everyone he knows that cooks.
I’ve got Hape marble set in my basket for a family gift – we have one set already and they play with it all the time. A second set means bigger runs. Fun for many ages.
Plague looks good for my nephew. Thanks for the idea!
Tamora Pierce YES YES YES. Warrior books for girls. The Beka Cooper books are great for older teens. Adult themes in those. The Tricksters books are so good. Allana is probably a good place to start. I didn’t read those but my daughter did pretty young. Also The Circle Opens I think are also fine younger.
My 7-yo loves her super soft faux fur blanket, and we recently found a fleece one on amazon that also has glow in the dark constellations on it. Not as heavy and luxe as my daughter’s (from overstock.com) but more of a birthday party price point.
Great books we’ve recently read together include The Inquisitor’s Tale and Wonder, and she really likes the Land of Fairy Tales series though i find them only ok.
Correction: land of stories
I just added the immersion blender to my wish list!
This carbonated clay mask was a big hit recently with my 15 year old cousin. I plan to buy more for my adolescent relatives. I tried it too. Good for laughs at a girl’s night: https://www.amazon.com/Elizavecca-Milky-Piggy-Carbonated-Bubble/dp/B00MWI2IS0
I am picturing Henry in bow ties now. How adorable. I have boys approximately his age and they are not spiffy dressers. I am jealous. I just ordered the Everlasting Curse BC my husband is on book 5 of Harry Potter with the older boys and kind of over it (it does get dark and slow for that age I think). It looks awesome! Thanks so much :)
Journey to the river sea was my all time fave book at about 12? and my sister read it when a bit younger and loved it too and then I re read it as an adult and still loved it… the books barely hanging in there now! Its well worth getting if not already read.
I have a whole bunch of tricky nine-seventeen year old nieces and nephews , my own children are still much younger so I will watch your posts with interest!
Love Love Love everything written by Tamora Pierce. The Song of the Lioness are the best, I think, and then Protector of the Small. The Circle of Magic ones are good but I didn’t like their universe as much as the other one. I think I read the first one in maybe 3rd or 4th grade because I chose it at random from the school library, and from about 5th-8th grade all my friends and I were obsessed.