Monday, December 17, 2007

Six Months Later...

Funny that the last entry was about a lemonade stand. Right now there's about a foot of snow on the ground, it's about 20 degrees outside, and the car is basically plowed in. If anyone is dreaming of a white Christmas, come to Chicago quickly!

Speaking of Christmas... perhaps someone or more than one is still reading this blog (or will come back to it after the six-month unannounced and unofficial leave of absence) and would like to post about ideal holiday presents for kids! I've checked a number of the parenting magazines and browsed through a number of the ubiquitous toy catalogues but have only bought one thing that was recommended: a charming little wooden kitchen for Matteo. What was especially appealing about this one was that it cost less than $100 (unlike many of the other wooden ones). If anyone wants more info about the kitchen, just let me know.

There will also be some Legos and blocks. I highly recommend the wooden blocks made by Community Playthings. They are the blocks found in almost every nursery school. You can also get great wooden furniture through them (and kitchens! pricey though). Their stuff is built to last as evidenced by their presence in almost every nursery school classroom.

Send in your ideas as fast as you can! Perhaps we should also discuss how to manage kids' expectations around this holiday? Or how to create family traditions? How to make it more than Santa Claus and presents... more on that in my next post!