8 Days Till Christmas: A Gift Idea for Kids/Families

by Emily

I just, just, ordered gifts for my extended family. I knew for several months what to give them (this isn't always so, but this year...I had good ideas!)...but still waited until the last minute to order them. I have a hard time committing.

If you still need to do this, may I recommend Amazon? If you order by Thursday, most likely your gifts will still make it in time for Christmas with their regular standard shipping. Even better, spend $25 and get free shipping! (to make sure your purchase qualifies, it should say on the banner of the page of each item you're perusing if it qualifies for "Free Shipping")


Here is a suggestion for kids/families: "The 7 Habits of Happy KIDS" by Sean Covey, with an Afterward by Stephen R. Covey. My parents-in-law gave this to us for a birthday, and it has (to my surprise) been a big hit with Ruby, who is only 3 years old. I thought it was more appropriate for 5 or 6 year olds (at the youngest) when I opened it, but we gave it a read, and Ruby loves it.

The stories are successful on many levels. They have interesting illustrations and dialogue, and the values they teach are AWESOME. At the end of each story (there are 7 stories, one for each "habit") is a "Parent's Corner" with suggestions for conversation, questions to ask your child, things to hint at or suggest about the story. It is great. I think that ever book could have this--I feel like it is a parenting "cheat sheet".

May I give an example? Tonight we read "Bored, Bored, BORED!" Ummm...is this something you can relate to? Ruby doesn't usually say, "Mom--I'm bored!" Instead she says, "Mommy? I was thinking...maybe we could watch a video?" But, it pretty much means the same thing.

Sammy Squirrel is...bored. (Habit #1: Be Proactive). The story is very interesting to Ruby. She loves the illustrations and examples of the other characters. Most of all, she loves how Sammy comes out triumphant at the end. I can see a spark in her eye when Sammy solves his own problem. It is like a victory for her!

Sample questions from the "Parents' Corner": Why was Sammy bored? Whose fault was it that Sammy was bored? Sophie's fault? Pokey's? Lily's? Goob's? Or somebody else's? Do you ever feel bored? What can you do about it? Who is in charge of the choices you make: you or somebody else?

This book has successfully taken a very common parent-child back-and-forth frustrating and annoying habit ("I'm bored! Can I watch TV?) and made an attractive story out of it that teaches the underlying principle/solution, and it's prize, victory, success, or whatever you want to call it, is contagious.

Thanks Mom and Dad. We LOVE this book. (I think I like it more than Joe.)

Another great book specifically for those of you who love the magic of Christmas: "Letters From Father Christmas" by J.R.R. Tolkien. There are several editions of this book. The most fun is the HarperCollins/Houghton Mifflin 1995 edition with illustrations and actual envelopes from which you can physically remove a letter (it can get lost--so keep this book on the top shelf to be read with Mom and Dad) from Father Christmas. The book is out of print, last I checked, so you will have to buy a used copy on Amazon or elsewhere.

The letters are amusing, short, illustrated, a little cranky, funny, and down-right honest. I mean, that is, they feel honest. It is magical.


Amazon is great--I can't recommend it enough, especially if you have to ship gifts to far away places.


A new BIG (unrealistic) item on my wish list is a Step 2 Kitchen. It rocks. Melissa has it at her house, and Ruby LOVED it. I'm not sure where we'd put it, but we'd make room. Also, to go with the kitchen, Melissa & Doug (brand) pretend food (wooden food velcroed together so that you can cut through it and it makes a cutting sound, though all you're really doing is sawing through the velcro with a wooden knife about as sharp as a door knob).

hint, hint. ;-)