Christmas Gift Ideas - Shippensburg,PA

My mother-in-law is doing a magazine subscription for my 3 year old. He enjoys doing the activities, "reading" the stories, and especially loves getting mail! Highlights Hi-Five, Disney and Me, Thomas and Friends may be some suggestions.

Dutch Wonderland offers season passes!!!

SO MUCH FUN to be had by everyone all year long!

It may be more expensive than you were hoping, but it is a great gift for a family gift.

My mom does a live show with my girls every year. It is a wonderful tradition. They go out to eat and feel like it is such a special time. My daughters are 3 and 4 and I am also buying them a combine gift the v motion game system. It is like a Wii for children with learning games.

The best gift I can think of is a little scrapbook of family pictures where you have written on the page about who they are. If you can make it all about them or all about you and your life, that is a fun gift, too. I wish I had a storybook of my Grandmother's own life now. You can buy scrapbooks at a craft sotre, but I have used the Creative Memory ones in the past and covered the pages with page protectors.

C.,
What about you and your husband take all three boys to a live show somewhere? Nutcracker, etc. It may start a great tradition of making a family time memory, instead of yet another gift/toy. I have taken my son to stuff at Pittsburgh's Benedum Theater since he was about 2-1/2. He even loved the Rockettes Christmas show--his first theater experience! Maybe a day out with the 3 boys, nice lunch and let them each pick out 1 or 2 books at a nice bookstore. I love it when my mom does stuff like that with my son. Good luck and (early) Happy Holidays!

I love the idea of a "family" gift. Like a family pass to the zoo or to a museam. I receive both and I love it and so do my boys 7 & 9. I love on a rainy day to take them to see the dinosaurs or to the childrens museam, and not have to worry about breaking the bank. A membership may be pricey for just one person, that is why we recieve them as a family gift.
good luck

I agree with the others. Time is a great gift- it doesn't even need to be a show or something on the expensive side- go to the zoo, aquarium, The Please Touch Museum just opened in a brand new building. Cater to what each of them likes. I know my son (3) loved the Academy of Natural Science. It could be a great memory and a fun time to spend together. If you are worried about disapointment while opening a gift like that- buy a small toy like a beanie baby to represent where you are taking them, then they will always have a reminder of it.

I love the show idea!! Sometimes the disney on ice is pretty boy themed. The dates are usually right after christmas.

Good morning C.,
I am a 63 year old grandmother married for 43 years. I do most of my Christmas shopping from catalogs and on the internet. I have four granddaughters ages 1, 7, 14, and 18. Here are the best catalogs for children of all ages this year so far:
www.cricketmag.com or call 1-800-821-0115
I was very impressed with their selection of children's magazines, award winning books (especially the pop-up kind) and other gifts and games.
The next one is www.YoungExplorers.com or call 1-800-239-7577
Really neat stuff and educational to boot.
The third one is the Discovery Store at www.discoverystore.com or call 1-800-938-0333.

I hope you have a computer and are into the internet for shopping, but if you aren't, call the numbers and have them send you their catalogs. I think the only problem you'll have is deciding which great things to pick. I've always encouraged reading and learning. My seven year old granddaughter looks forward to her magazines each month. She's been reading since she was 4 years old. Now she reads to her one year old sister.

Have fun shopping, M.

What about yearly family passes to an amusement park such as Dutch Wonderland. A few of my friends have received them as gifts and use it all the time. They are good year round so you can even go during the holiday activities at the park. Also the family passes give you discounts on food bought in the park

i love the season pass idea. we give my sister in law a membership to the elmwood park zoo in norristown. there's a lot of great places around! sesame place, philly zoo... and if you get a membership to one philly museum, you can't always use it at another philly museum. so we get a membership to a science place in florida (imaginarium) and then then we can go to more local places (competition).

and the tradition of going to a show. my mom takes some grandkids to a theater every year, others to a show for younger kids.

i hear you about the piles of toys.

What about ordering from klutz.com? - They have the greatest activity books for kids! I ordered from them for my nieces and nephews this past year and they were a big hit - there's something for every age and varying price ranges! (in fact you can get 25% off, if you sign up for their newsletter!) Just check out www.klutz.com ... you'll be surprised at the selection!
Have fun and good luck!

E. M :)

I would make a book for all of them! You can buy a kit online to make the book and use the pics to make a story about them and you. Creations by you is a great company! They are still young enought to enyjoy being read to or read it themselves. It would be completly personized and a great keepsake for your family! When you buy a kit you can order additional books too, it is about 20 a book, but it totally rocks!!!!

Hi C.
we have a 4 year old, and beings it is so hard to find a wow gift for that age group, we are considering gettin our son the Leapster. It is a hand held game for that specific age group. they have great educational plus fun games for them. The cost is around $40.00. (not bad) and if you wanna be really cool you can get them the WII system. you could get just one and keep it at your house and play when they visit, but that will cost you $250.00, so im sure whatever you get them will be great. good luck and have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
D.

How about a subscription to a magazine? National Wildlife foundation has several different ones (Ranger Rick, etc) for each age group. then they continue to receive the gift all year and it doesn't just get lost in all the toys. I have done this for my nephews and they enjoy getting something in the mail each month.

A wonderful gift for all of the kids, no matter what the age is a savings bond, which does not get lost in the shuffle, but does have value beyond any recongnition, as they can use it for college or whatever when they get older. I have 8 wonderful grandchildren, and give the a bond every christmas and birthday. Just a suggestion.

Our family is more into experiences, so trips to the zoo/aquarium/aviary/museum/etc are always a big hit.

How about some ornaments for their Christmas tree that are all theirs? Each year as they decorate the tree they will think of you.

This is an idea that I just had for you. The inspiration comes from Christmas ornaments that I want to order from a catalog. Go to one of those T-shirt kiosks or stores in a mall and have 3 T-shirts or sweatshirts (appropriate sizes for each) made with the saying "Grandma's Favorite Grandson". The ornaments I want say "oldest child (mom's favorite)", and " middle child (mom's favorite)", etc, and I thought it was a cute idea for stocking stuffers this year. Hope this helps.

I agree with Carmen C in the post below. Beautifully put - and how meaningful. :)

C.
www.daisybows.com
http://thepurplepear.etsy.com

buy them a savings bond?

a special night at grandma's

Engraved ornament for tree

I think people were missing the idea dont get me wrong i love the idea of a season pass and all but i think want this grandmother is looking for is something to get the boys without there mothers knowing. That way its a surprise for both of them...i know i dont like the fact i know everything my son is getting for christmas because most people just dont know how to shop for kids anymore or that the kids have everything and they dont want to get them something they already have so it is easier just asking what they want or need....i know my son loves the geotrax line from fisher price and this year they have geo air..i dont know how much you are looking to spend but this is something that all the boys would love good luck...

take a digital picture of each one with you and email it(or have someone do this that has a computer and camera)to snapfish.com. They will make the picture into a magnet and mail it to you. We have magnets made of our favorite picture of the kids each year($4-8 each) depending on the size and the kids love having it on the fridge

How about offering to take one child a different day of the week for a few hours? You both get a gift that way. You get to spend time with your grandchild the mother gets time off.

Jenn

My son (5) loves the little models you can make and paint..they are only a dollar a piece and you get them at Micheaels. They are all wood and you just glue them together and paint them. So cute, not expensive and a fun activity.
I think the 4 and 6 could do them.

I just also bought a kit off of QVC ..make your own bouncy balls...so cute about 20 dollars and you make 20 balls and they only take 5 minutes each to do, only need water. My son getting for Christmas.

For the six year old...star wars and legos are big too...they have lego star wars! My son also loves the lego racers they were about $10 a box and fun to put together.

The little one...how about a small soccer ball or some type of blocks to build with. And books are always great!

Have fun and good luck.

Hi C., This is more for the "moms". Make a School years memory box! There is a clear view plastic storage container that holds hanging file folders (they cost about $5 at Walmart) put 13 colored hanging file folders in it each one labled for a year in school K-12. I used different colors for each stage (primary, middle, high school). Decorate the box with school colors, mascots and something they love like sports, action figures etc. The small $1 Fabric paints work great! It is an excellent memory keeper. I put yearbooks, gradecards, special projects or reports, awards, programs of events/concerts they are in, anything you want to save from that school year. Everything is kept neat, organized and safe from weather & spills. It is also a great help for busy Moms! It's a gift that keeps giving year after year. Best wishes.

You could make a craft basket and fill it with art supplies that they can pull out and do. Pipe cleaners, glue, feathers, markers, paints etc.
Also another idea is to buy them a pass to somwhere fun.

I always liked legos -- even for our girls. The sets come age based, due to size and complexity. There are some very expensive sets, but there are also small ones and you can add to them each year.

My teenaged youngest daughter still plays with hers, making houses, and space ships, and anything else she thinks up.

I would do an age appropriate show. My kids always prefer shows to gifts! We also have done donations that involve the kids...for instance, my parents adopted a penguin at the Philly zoo years ago, for my daughter, and we love going to Adoption Day and looking for "her" penguin whenever we go. Also, my children have handprints cast in pottery on a wall at a non-profit facility, which was part of a fundraiser...that was a gift one year from my parents (at my suggestion, as was the adoption)...and my kids enjoy looking at their hands (and seeing how much bigger their hands are now) whenever they see the pottery! I may ask for Radio City Music Hall tkts for this year! Enjoy!

It sounds like u have a lot of good ideas to choice from. The 2 older age ones might enjoy a show like Mickey on Ice or something like that. Also depends how far they live from you. As for the younger one. How about start a savings account or something that will grow with them and will not get lost in the toy piles.

I think Megan S. had a great idea. you could get each family a membership to the zoo, museum or aviary - or get each family a different one and then they can use their guest passes to take each other! Not only will you provide your grandson(s) with a fun gift, promote family togetherness, keep "clutter" out of your daughters or daughters-in-laws houses, but you will also be helping to support the great local resources of your area. Also, most memberships have benefits that extend across state lines - you can check the membership information. For instance, we have a zoo membership and when we were visiting our family in Colorado, we were able to use our zoo membership to gain free admission to the Pueblo Zoo! This can also help cut costs on family vacations!

Best Wishes

Fisher Price Little People line
Black and Decker Jr tools
Step 2 Tool Bench
Shake and Go race track set
Fisher Price Geo train station
Hot Wheels track sets

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

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