Christmas Gift Ideas - Abilene,TX

My mother in law told me that she used to take her kids toys and re-wrap them! I was shocked at first but it really is a good idea. If your child has everything wrap what they have. They will never know the difference till they get older.
Also the daddy doll sounds like a good idea.
Good Luck!

K., be kind to yourself. She's one year old! Take the birthday gifts that you put away and wrap them in Christmas paper! Enjoy this while you can because once they get about 4 yo, they'll remember. Stuffed toys are always a bit hit. The bean bag chair is a GREAT idea - OR, they have small 'easy' chairs, recliners, rockers, etc.... You can put a huge bow on it from Santa if you want....it doesn't have to be wrapped. Also, I know it's hard, but try not to go overboard. Try to remember she's only a year old. She will be overwhelmed ..... it's too much for her to process at her age. There will be plenty of time for bake sets, tea parties, interactive stuff. BOOKS are wonderful - they never get tired of them and it's a wonderful headstart to get her interested in reading. The typical toys - pull a string and it makes a sound (dog, cat, cow, etc.... You're SO proud of her, you want to give her everything. That day will come too soon, when 3 or 4 things won't satisfy her .... and when she gets to be 10, her toys will be a LOT more expensive, so start small.

Get her a GI Joe or an AF doll and/or plane that she can play with. He can give them to her as he leaves and tell her that to pretend that it's him and talk to him and he'll hear her, etc. Be sure to have pictures of him everywhere - her room, your room, living room and talk about him a lot. Let her draw pictures to send to him.

I don't know what kind of communication you'll have while Daddy is gone, but be sure to take LOTS of pictures . . . she will change SO much.

This is going to be harder on you than on her....she's ONE YEAR OLD. Please don't make the mistake of buying her a gift every time Daddy leaves. She will begin to look forward to his leaving because she gets new toys, etc. And I don't believe in daddy bringing presents when he comes home. The greatest gift s/b HIM!

Been there, done that!!!!!

Good luck.

My dd got a stroller for her 1st Christmas. Now little 1 yr. old brother plays with it. I would also get a cool book and have Daddy start reading it to her every night before bed. Have him record himself reading it before he leaves so she can listen to his voice each night at bedtime. Right now Kohl's has If you Give a Moose a muffin book and the stuffed animal that matches $5.00 a piece. Take a picture of Daddy, DD, and stuffed animal together and put it by the tape player.

We got my daughter an Anywhere Chair from Pottery Barn Kids when she was one. (The smaller size one.) She is now 3 and still loves to sit in it. You can choose from several colors, which come off for easy washing, and you can get it monogrammed too. Lightweight and easy for her to tote from room to room even.

I consider this a "free" year. Because I have older children I will give my 1 year something but probably some new sippy cups, diapers, socks, etc. I may wrap up some of the older boys toddler toys for him to unwrap that have been stored away for a few years. The wrapping paper and boxes will be much more fun for her than the actual gift. I think if you make your daughter her own photo ablum that would be a very special gift. You use one of those plastic slide in albums and put pictures of the family in it.

The Teddy Bear Factory has various stuffed animals you can choose and then they have the option of putting a little recorder with message/your voice in it-- that would be excellent-- Daddy's voice saying "I love you", "good night", etc! There are also books that have recorders in them that Dad could read and record so she could hear him read her a story! (you could even go to Frys or Radio Shack, etc and buy a small digital recorder and let him read a bunch of her favorite stories to her!!)!

My little one has some plush photo frames that I put a pic of her daddy in when he was working nights and she didn't see him very often.
Also, coloring books, crayons, playdough, etc. are all inexpensive ideas for your growing toddler.

The best thing you can do right now is to take a lot of pictues of dad and put them all around the house and in a book that she can carrying around. She will not remember the birthday party or all the gifts. Put some of them up for later in the year. For bedtime you can have hubby record several books and you can play them back when it is time for bed as you two sit together and turn the pages. Make sure you take pictures of her and send them to him as she will change over the year. When dad comes home there will be a readjustment period for both just be patient. You could also write a little journal of things you think of to help with the transition. Good luck to you. The other S., retired military wife

Have you thought about a magazine sybscription for her age? My Big Backyard has one for toddlers upn through teenagers.
You can wrap a bean bay in a white trash bag with yarn ribbon or a big bow, or hide it and tie colored string to it and let her follow the string to the gift. Also what about Nest Family Films. They are based on Bible stories and their are a set of them with workbooks that have mazes, dot-to-dot, coloring pages, codes, find the hidden objects, etc. I bought them for our grandchildren and give them one at their birthday and one at Christmas because every age loves them

I've seen these books that are plastic and you put different pictures in so it's a toddler safe picture albulm. I think it holds @ 10 pics or something like that. You could do pictures of daddy so she has something when he's gone. Maybe a plate/cup/fork & spoon set of her own. Or a sippy cup with her name on it ? I'm thinking a little more practical stuff - not necessarily toys or clothes. The bean bag would make a good "Santa" gift though.

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My daughter's bday is 12/27....she has everything. We do completely separate her bday from Christmas. I have a special area set aside that is birthday themed and her gifts are in birthday paper as well.

She still gets Christmas gifts and bday gifts from family and friends.

When she was younger and had bday parties, we were bombarded with extra toys, etc.

After her bday party, I would take some of the gifts away and hide them.

Around June or so, I'd start pulling a toy out every now and then so she could enjoy her gifts.

When they get so many gifts and practically have everything, it is overwhelming and it is not really noticed that something is "missing". It makes for a very nice surprise later in the year.

This worked for us because the week of Christmas is super hectic here....it is Christmas, daughter's bday and New Years is our anniversary. SO all of our major gift and celebration dates are in 1 week. It helped to spread it out over the year for her by hiding some gifts and bringing them out later. She enjoyed them more that way and they weren't stuck in a closet and never used.

Enjoy your baby....they grow up TOO fast. GOod luck!

I agree with the people who have advised you to wrap up some of the birthday presents. Also, that book from Hallmark sounds great. I am going to check that out myself.

I would get her something to do with you....ie...craft kit of some sort, gingerbread house kit... beads, etc...something simple. She will never know the diff.

My dad passed away a few years ago. Before that, my mom always had the camcorder out. I'd always give her a hard time about it. Now I'm glad she did because my kids watch the home movies of him endlessly. It keeps his memory alive. Who can replace that? So maybe lots of home movies for them to watch would be another way. I love the idea of a recorded message in a stuffed animal. Sweet!

I can help you create a personalized board book for her that includes pictures of her with daddy, and any other photographs you would like to include. It is all done digitally, and then my company, Heritage Makers, creates the book and sends it right to you. They are so cute!! If you would like to learn more about these books, please let me know. It would be an honor to help you create something so important!! ~A.~

I have a couple of ideas for you. First of all if she is only 1 a bean bag chair might feel to unstable and be hard for her to sit down in if she is holding something. Not to mention getting out of it. You might try a little arm chair made out of foam. They have these everywhere from Pottery barn to Wal-mart. most of them come in a box so you could wrap it.
Another great idea would be to get the recordable story book at Hallmark. They are christmas books and you record yourself reading each page. When the child turns the page it reads that page. This would be a good way for your husband to read her a story and for her to hear his voice every day even when he is away.
I wouldn't have a problem wrapping the left over gifts from her birthdya party either. She is going to get a ton of stuff from your other family members but that would give her something to see under the tree and open up at home.

You have received a lot of wonderful gift ideas so far! If you are still searching for ideas, my sister and I have a company called "Countless Keepsakes" and we make customized keepsake boxes, jewelry boxes, picture frames, and tote bags. We can customize to any colors, themes, etc. We also can put their initials on the box or tote bags as well. Feel free to check us out on Facebook under "Countless Keepsakes". We also do customized military keepsake boxes that have been great gifts as well. Good luck in your search and please thank your husband for his service!

How about books, coloring books with crayons, or even rewrapping some of the gifts from her birthday. She is only one and will not know the difference. Heck, she will enjoy the idea of just unwrapping more than the gift itself. That is the beauty about this age. good luck!

K.,

I understand the "don't need anything"...that's how both of my girls are because their birthdays are in sept and oct. But I do remember my daughter really liked looking at pictures around 14 months old. You could either make her a photo or scrapbook with a lot of pictures of her and her daddy that way she has something special to look at when he is gone and it gives her something to open. You could also go to build a bear and have your husband record her a message to put in a bear so she can hear his voice everyday. Best of luck and thanks to your husband for serving our country. God bless!