Last Christmas B.C. (before children): picture taken in between pukes, 8 weeks pregnant and so sick I wanted to die, but hey, my hair was FABULOUS

OK, I find Christmas to be a tough one. While I don’t want to overload Sara with “stuff”, I do want her to HAVE Christmas. I always start out with such good intentions, and then fall apart once I realize how much cool stuff is out there. Kelly has all of Sara’s toys, so it’s really hard to justify consuming. BUT what? She shouldn’t have her own toys? Argh! How to balance plastic and shiny with educational and creative!? And please, may she not even ask for anything Dora, because I’m not buying it. If you’re looking for good 1 year old and 3 year old ideas, here’s what I’ve found thus far:

This push toy is awesome and I’ve already stashed it away for Kelly.  Of course it’s from my favorite toy store, Mass Ave Toys (which FINALLY has a website…slow to start, but they are starting to get their toys out there).

I found “Let’s Explore” today and am in love with their simple and creative toys.

Sara is getting the World Puzzle (it’s for 3 and up, believe it or not…great for Sara who is now loving puzzles, and warming up to geography, which according to Sara goes something like this: It’s 12 Barney videos to Grandmommy and Grandaddys’ house, and Italy is closer to us than China, where they have cool dragons, but Italy is still farther away than California, where everything is on fire…thank you television news for freaking out my child.  They have hospitals in Italy, because Ana Paula has been in one for a week with kidney stones while on a business trip…and Sara is unable to make sense of this, despite having asked me 500 questions as to why the hell is Ana Paula in a hospital in Italy).

The girls will share the Paint Bellows (OH GOD THIS IS GOING TO MAKE A BLESSED MESS) and The Building Cards (OK fine, I really wanted to play with these).

Sara is also getting a working stethoscope, because I’m sick of the fake sounds from the toy stethoscopes.  My heart actually makes noise without batteries.  Just listening to her own heart should give Dr. Sara hours of entertainment.  For Small Hands is hard to navigate, but they have some awesome educational stuff you’ll only find in schools.

Finally, I found additions to the girls “Pooh Thinking Spot Series” at the consignment store.  Completely unused, look like they’ve never been opened.  Sara has a few of these books that I call Pooh’s Science Stories, and I swear, if I have to read “Why Does it Float” one more time, I’ll go batty.

Is this post even useful to you?  I hate consuming, honestly, I do.  I wish I had the time to handcraft everything and have my children find it educational and fun.  I know women who repurpose out of thin air and make the most interesting things.  I’m not that Mom.  However, I can internet SURF with the best of them.