I live on the opposite coast from my brother and his family, so I want to give something meaningful to my niece since we almost never see them. She is turning two next month. She has a million toys from my SIL's family and a fancy wardrobe of clothes. I've sent books in the past, but want to do something different.
Any ideas?
After posting this, I thought, why not just ask my brother. He said she's really into art right now, so I'm going to get her some art supplies. Those will be easy to ship, too.
Thanks, everyone, for posting! You've given me some great ideas for other things I might include or send at Christmas.
I don't know if a 2 yr old would find it nice but I like to give Mabel's Labels for gifts - kids can put them on their stuff, parents can label the cups, plates, toys, jackets, etc. They have lots of sets.
mabelslabels.com
I got a lot of savings bonds when I was a kid. I cashed them in later, and it was like getting the gift all over, except now when I could appreciate it.
Something a little melancholy, but sweet when they were from my long-deceased grandparents, but still really appreciated.
Unfortunately they didn't (and probably don't) make savings bonds in 20 year increments. That would be the best! Imagine getting a big cash gift when you are 22!
We're in a similar boat... live a plane ride away, but Skype and travel as often as we can to stay close.
For our nieces' baptisms (twins) we gave them each a beautiful jewelry box with their monogram (Pottery Barn) and will add a small piece of jewelry for each occassion. They have big families on both sides so TONS of clothes and toys. Jewelry is special and usually has a memory attached.
How about tickets to a kid appropriate show in their area, Disney on Ice or something.
Send her a special doll or keepsake. Another is a savings bond that when it matures, she can use towards her college education.
If you are looking for something she can use now, tickets to some fun activity, show, or park near her home would be nice.
What about naming a star after her? I did this for a friends daughter, and she and her daughter went outside and my friend pointed out a star and told her that was her star. She got a print out and everything for her wall... she is 10 now and still tells her friends that she has a star named after her... she is very proud of it... and takes her friends outside to show them "her star".
Seriously, as a mother of a little girl who has too many toys and has requested that people not giving any more "stuff", I would give her a book and then give her parents a donation receipt (to Japan relief, for example) saying you had made a donation in her honor.
My two year olds would say there are never enough crayons and coloring books!
Send a nice card and a donation in HER name for the people in Japan. Put it in a nice frame and write a letter in the card. It will be a wonderful and meaningful keep sake when she is older.
Blessings.....
how about you be the aunty that always gives her lessons of some sort. Mommy and me classes, piano, dance, horseback riding...it is a gift that keeps on giving!
I was going to say tickets to an event or a membership; looks like a few ladies have already suggested it! Love the Disney on Ice idea. My nephews have all the toys and clothes in the world and no room for more, so when their birthdays roll around, I usually get them passes to the zoo, aquarium or something similar.
Someone got my daughter a subscription to the Wild Animal Baby magazine. For about $14 the child gets about a years worth of little magazines in the mail. My daughter was so excited to get the mail and then we would sit together and read them. They have infor on a different animal each month and a little song and games like find the animal on the page, etc. After about 3 years old they seem to grow out of it but at 2 I think the gift would be perfect!
My husband and I started charm bracelets with our nieces (who have everything) when they were about that age. We went with the traditional sort. This gift made it easy for gift giving every holiday thereafter. We started out with the bracelet and a charm for the first gift, then went with charms after. One of the nieces is grown and now she has a complete charm bracelet with charms from all over the place.
How about these? http://makedo.com.au/ They might be a little too advanced but maybe not. It would be something she could do with a parent (or a favorite Aunt?). :)
A family membership to a museum, zoo or aquarium near them. We join one place a year to give us something to do when we get stuck watching too much tv etc. A lot of the time a membership is only the cost of 2 trip but then they get to use it all year. Plus a lot of places have a partnership with other museums (maybe some near you) to give them a low cost visit at other places. Kids never forget their first dinosaur, or whale or steam train or wild hawk or lion.
I have asked family to give my kids bonds for birthdays and Christmas, since the both want for nothing. It may not be very personal but my kids are done with whatever they get within the week and this can help them with college or whatever they want/need in the future. My family has been very receptive to this and now they don't ask what the kids want and it takes the hassle out of shopping and returning things.
B.
My sister is the world's best AUNT! We rarely get to see her but she has done something for each of my children that even if they don't actually remember getting the gift, they know it came from her. She loves VeggieTales and feels like it's her life's mission to make sure my girls know VeggieTales. So, she has made a basket full of the latest DVDs, CDs, CDs from Chick-Fil-A (which are free when you buy a kids meal but we don't live close to one), and other VeggieTales stuff. It's her thing that she does for them. She usually gives this to the kids when they're about 2...she figures that's about the time they start really watching TV. They talk to her on the phone all the time (my kids are ages 3-9 so for the little ones, I turn on the speaker phone and they go out and "play" with her!) and she has playdates with them. She says she slides down the slide much better on the phone than in person! :-)
Make her a fun/silly photo book with photos of you, your family and your town. Maybe even add a CD with songs about your area and/or about "aunties and uncles".
Is there a membership they would use? We get our local zoo membership and Children's Museum memberships (and actually the local Arboretum membership too) for gifts and I LOVE THEM! They become free places once you have the membership, then we can go whenever we want and I don't worry if we only stay an hour.
J.
They have wonderful story books now that you can record in your own voice reading it. Very nice if you cant always visit.
