Popcorn Maker and Toys for 15 Month girl...gift Recommendations

When I started reading your request I had to giggle. Not that I'm reprimanding you on you typing, but you typed that you're getting your brother's family a "poorn maker". I'm sure your brother and his wife will love it (LOL). But to answer your request, I don't know anything about popcorn makers, but as far as the gift for the little girl, there are some large size Disney Princesses and Tinkerbelle that would be great for a young girl. Just check for any small accompanying toys (I got one for my daughter, but I can't remember if it had little birds or something with it. But it's big enough for her to walk around with and call her baby). She may also like some dress up outfits like princess skirts and fairy wings, somthing that you both can play with. I have pictures of myself wearing one of those tall princess hats, gold lame skirt, and my daughter is wearing a flapper's dress, hat and plastic high heeled shoes.

Happy Holidays!

As far as the Black Friday ads:

http://bfads.net/

LOTS of stores "leak" these ahead of time and this site collects all the info in one convenient place :-)

I have both a hot air popper by Presto and a Whirley-pop. The Whirley-Pop is in no way health conscious because you use oil to pop the corn. Yes, they tell you it uses less oil than cooking it in a pot on the stove top but I never found that to be the case. If you want a healthier alternative then I would go with the hot air popper. Both are pretty easy to find this time of year (all bets are off after the holidays!). I believe I've seen both at Sears. I know I've seen the hot air poppers at Kohl's. Walmart has them sporadically. I actually had to buy mine at a Kitchen Collection that was around for only the holidays. I believe Target sells the Whirley-Pop on a regular basis. Online the Whirley-Pop (at Target) can be had for $14.99 and the Presto air popper is $29.99.

I thought a lot of the Blockbusters have gone out of business so make sure there is one near your brother's family. Or did Blockbuster turn into a Netflix type service? Anyhoo..

Gift for a 15 month old...how about a Playskool ball popper? That is always a hit and easy to find. We also have a Playskool spin and pop arcade. I haven't seen them in the stores in a while. I know Big Lots had them last year around this time but I have no idea where to find one right now. A search online gave some store that wanted $69.99! This is a toy that should only cost $15 (and is a great 'investment' at $15). I wouldn't spend more than $20 on it.

Finally, if you search online you can often find the store's Black Friday deals. I haven't done it yet. I am thinking it might be easier to wait until the paper comes out Thanksgiving Day. (Post Gazette Thursday will have all the ads so you can map out your route after you eat your dinner!)

Happy shopping!

Here are some toys that were favorites with my kids - some held their interest as they developed:

carboard nesting blocks
board books
peek a blocks and roll a rounds
flashlights
simple puzzles (3-4 pieces)
ball popper or gumball machine type toys
plastic play food
Crayola Wonders markers and finger paints
Leap Frog dolls
musical instruments

If you google Black Friday Deals you will find handful of websites that have the sale ads. Also, amazon.com is supposedly offering Black Friday pricing on certain items NOW.

No specific poopcorn maker info--sorry.
But what about those Clippo blocks I see every 5 minutes on tv? Any blocks are great for that age!