Until earlier this week, when our electricity was restored following the wrath of Hurricane Sandy, family time was all about board games, crafts and anything that could be played by firelight. While those first few rounds of Candyland were doable, the novelty soon wore off. (I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t envisioning an escape plan–for one.) And with school closed for more than one week, I began seeing signs of brain drain I hadn’t seen since summer vacation. Before I was ready to throw my hands up, our mailman delivered a welcome treat: a trial sample of Little Passports, one of the more entertaining boredom busters we’ve seen in a long time. This subscription-based service lets kids ages 7-12 play armchair traveler [&hellip
holiday gifts for kids Archive
Both of my girls have a flair for the dramatic. Whether they’ve inherited their parents’ passion for plays or have innocently been bitten by the theater bug, they adore putting on shows and having my husband and I as their hostages…er, captive audience. And because we are always on the lookout for toys and other fun stuff that can appeal to 4- and 8-year-olds, especially ones that are imagination-driven, we couldn’t resist Green Kid Crafts’ One World Puppets. Delivered right to your child’s door, this box is teeming with all the supplies needed to fashion paper doll puppets from repurposed materials. It comes with eight recycled cardstock dolls, an entire wardrobe of cardstock clothes (we love the vintage print romper!), wood craft sticks (in a [&hellip
When it comes to holiday shopping, what do you get for the kid who has everything? I’m exaggerating, of course, but sometimes it feels like my girls have more gifts than Toys R Us. While we swap out old stuff twice a year to make room for birthday and Christmas gifts, it still seems like the stuff multiplies overnight. I don’t remember being this spoiled as a kid, but then my mother reminds me of the infamous Toy Closet, a bottomless pit of toys, dolls, board games and books that was forever busting its seams. Talk about history repeating itself!… This year, we’re on a special lookout for non-traditional gifts that are easy on space and that encourage kids to use their imagination, instead of [&hellip