Christmas Gift Ideas 2014

Someone asked if I had any good Christmas gift ideas.  I don't know why they asked me, but here's what's going down the chimney in these parts.

Books (Plus a Tie-In Item)

I've given this Little Red Riding Hood storybook with an Etsy made red velvet riding hood.  I've been told they make a nice Ranger cloak too.

This ballerina jewelry box goes perfectly with these Ella Bella Ballerina books.

I talked Grandma Santa into an Etsy made replica Little House on the Prairie outfit (made-to-order! custom fit!).  It will look darling on my little Laura while we read Christmas in the Big Woods .

My teens are getting books too.

Peter is getting The Princess Bride: An Illustrated Edition of S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure by William Goldman.

Susan is getting The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by the real Maria von Trapp.

Lucy is getting A Lantern in Her Hand by Bess Streeter Aldrich.

Other Kid Ideas

This is not my photo, it belongs to CupcakeCutieKids.

I love these Personalized Superhero capes from Etsy.

Photo from AlmondRod Toys.

This Nativity Set,

Photo from AlmondRod Toys.

or these Saint blocks.

This Kathe Kruse® 14-Piece Nativity Set is gorgeous, but pricey.

My nearly 12 year old is all about card tricks and magic sets. The Melissa and Doug set is nice but we got Jim Stott's Deluxe Magic Kit for our future Gob.  The reviews are very good and it's a little more ma-tour.

Don't know who Gob is?  Watch this 13 second video.  C'mon.  It's only 13 seconds and no ad time.

Stocking Stuffers

Fun Band-aids and toothbrushes.

Paper Dolls.  Temporary Tattoos.  Dover can meet all of your needs in this area.

Real Metal Cap Guns.

Edmund has several different makes and models of these on his wishlist. He circled them all in the JM Cremp's Boys Adventure catalog. Soon he'll be too grown-up for cap guns, so I'm on a mission to make sure he gets every one now.

Plus, I love the smell of caps.

That is not weird.

This magic wand for the future Gob in your home.

Less Stuff  is More Stuff

Magazine Subscriptions

Namely, Ranger Rick and High Five and Calliope.  Calliope is a world history magazine recommended to me by a librarian friend who reads it herself.  I brought home an issue for Patrick to review for bias and he found none.

Frugal Scrooge I am, I went to the library and took coupons from their magazines to use while ordering some gifts.  It totally saved me money.  That or using Subscription Addiction.  It depends  on the magazine.

iTunes music. Email entire playlists or albums.  No wrapping, no post office. All goodness.

Experiences

Disney on Ice, Medieval Times, Theater or Concert Tickets.  Mani/Pedis. Someone around here is going to the Premium Theater that has reclining seats and serves food on his birthday.

Photo Albums.

Print the pictures.  Or order a book.  I so badly want to do the Order a Book thing, but so many pictures to upload!  How big are these books?  What's the easiest program to use?

Gifts for Grown Ups or  The Nearly Growned Up

These scarves from Accessory Concierge. Plaid is back, baby.

This Horn of Ale that Jen and Hallie linked to.

My college boy is getting a poker set.  This could be a great idea, or a really bad idea.  It's a better idea than the Horn of Ale, of that I am certain.

This year I'm giving lots of this handmade soap from RobinsOwn on Etsy.  Robin is blogger Simcha Fischer's friend and she makes a damn fine soap from goat's milk.  This soap is so good that I want to eat it. Well, I want to eat the Pumpkin Bier kind that I've got going right now.  Smells like cinnamon and love.

Personalized stuff is big again.  I remember my monogrammed crewneck circa 1982. It was probably from Lands' End. Lands' End can monogram just about anything.  These patterned gloves might be coming to some teenage god-daughters near me.

My teen girls and I stumbled upon the newly opened Altar'd State store in a Missouri mall over Thanksgiving.  They adored all the clothing and accessory items.  I was moved by the Christian music, and Bible verse home decor.  I wish they would open one by me, but until then, they have a webstore.

This photo belongs to Victory Day & Co,

As I shared on the Housewifespice Facebook page, I bought this watercolor Bible verse print for myself from an Etsy handmade shop.

It says, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. 
2 Corinthians 12:9

Jesus keeps whispering this to me on my longer, harder days.  It's right up there with Phillipians 4:13 for my-top-best-speaks-to-me-Scripture-passages.

Lots of these links are Amazon Affiliate links which pad my purse if you click through, but lots of these links aren't.  I actually try to shop Etsy as often as possible.  I follow lots of Etsy artists on Instagram and you should too.

If I'm not shopping Etsy, I'm shopping through eBates.  I've gotten several checks in the mail from them this year.  Make your 2015 a little greener by using eBates.  Also an affiliate link.

I'm asking for a peace-filled Advent for all of my readers this year.

My Christmas Gift Guide

Mary Kate has a Christmas Gift link-up.  Gifts is my number two Love Language, so I am jumping in with both feet.

Oldest to Youngest:

Peter is 17.  He wants ugly sweaters.  I am thinking about getting him  Axis And Allies because he "might" be going away to college this fall, and all the nice boys I knew in college played Axis And Allies all weekend long.

Now, there are about a hundred different versions of this game.  If anyone would care to enlighten me on what a beginner or novice-level nerd should get, I would be most grateful.

His other "toy" may very well be an Uncle Si Chia Pet Planter, because honestly, who wouldn't want one?  Especially in college!

Susan is 16, and a junior in high school, which means that sometime in the not-too-distant future there will be a Junior Ring Ceremony.  In lieu of a class ring, she has asked for a Claddagh ring.

Patrick gave me my Claddagh ring in college.  It's a James Avery ring.  James Avery is a beautiful silver jewelry company that has locations in Texas.  They also have an online store.

James Avery is still making Claddagh rings.  This one is a little different than mine, but still lovely.

She also wants a ukulele.  Fortunately, her godfather is of the musical persuasion and has agreed to take on that task for me.

And of course, she's getting clothes.  As she said today, "Clothes are fun!"

I found a few lovely and reasonably priced items at Avery Lane Boutique.  Susan specifically asked for "things with elbow patches."

Can you see the elbow patches?

Lucy is a 14 year old freshman.  Her wishlist wasn't much different than Susan's, with the exception of one item.  She asked for a crossbody hipster bag from Vera Bradley.  The discontinued patterns are on serious markdown through the outlet.

If you aren't a member of eBates yet, what are you waiting for?  LL Bean, Vera Bradley, and GapKids are just a few of the stores I'm getting cash back from thanks to eBates.  When I'm online shopping, it actually literally PAYS to use eBates.

Sending a wedding gift?  Bed, Bath, and Beyond is on eBates.  Kohls?  Disney Store?  Sephora?  They're all on eBates.

We try to give each child a book, a toy, and an article of clothing.  "Try."  I don't really consider a hipster bag a toy, so I'm considering The Resistance  board game for Lucy.

Susan got Telestrations  last year, and it was a huge hit.  She played it with family, she played it with friends, she even brought it to sleepovers and on vacation.  I'm hoping The Resistance has the same appeal.

Edmund, age 10, and brand new fully fledged Boy Scout, recently received a catalog from JM Cremps:  The Boys' Adventure Store.  He carried it around with him for over a week, and finally surrendered it to me, after circling the things he wants.

That little gem, the Estwing Sportsman's Axe, was circled A LOT.  There Is No Way That Is Going to Be Under My Tree This Christmas.  

I think it's time we did another family read-aloud of Where the Red Fern Grows.

Edmund will likely be getting some other (safer) items, such as a headlamp,

And a Mad Bomber hat, which he asked for.  You can see his father sporting a Mad Bomber hat in my header up above.

And maybe this 7 Wonders board game that got great reviews.  We like The Settlers of Catan and Ticket To Ride very much.  This seems like the same high quality.

Edmund's stocking will be filled with Rainbow Loom Rubber Bands.  He uses Susan's loom.  The neighbor kid comes over and they make bracelets for HOURS!  They had me look up YouTube videos of different patterns to try.  Edmund has even invented some of his own patterns!  It counts as a homeschooling class, right?

Jill, age 2.  The question is what NOT to get her.  Little kids are so easy to buy for.

She wants a kitchen and this Kidkraft Retro Kitchen was on sale at Costco Online in October, so that's taken care of.  It was much cheaper than the Amazon one.  I like this kitchen because it's not one unit.  We are pressed for space in our tiny toy room, but I'm hoping the sink part will fit under a window.

Jill's Disney Princess obsession is off the hook.  She has been eyeing the Disney Princess Barbies everywhere, but Santa found something a little more wholesome and age-appropriate with the Melissa & Doug Celeste 14" Princess Doll.

Though I prefer to avoid licensed trademarks on our toys, clothing, etc.  I will share with you that I bought the Disney Princess Toddler Bedding Set with Rapunzel, Aurora, Belle, Cinderella for her brand new toddler bed today.  I'm good, but I'm not that good.

It was that or Hello, Kitty, which weirds me out because of all the Japanese adult dressing-up strangeness that goes on with her.

I'll get something less polyester-y soon.

Jill and a very special goddaughter of mine are also getting copies of the MOST GORGEOUS version of Little Red Riding Hood, which is a Caldecott Honor Book and illustrated by the very talented Trina Schart Hyman.  With the books, I am pairing the red riding hoods from Etsy that I mentioned here, and if I get around to it, baskets for goodies from Cost Plus World Market.

That about wraps it up for my children, but I only covered one of my eleven godchildren.  I might have to write another post about them and link up again.

Head over to Mary Kate's for more gift guides!