On day three of our Twelve Days of Christmas Gift Guides we hone in on gifts that tickle our senses and make us mindful of the joys of a life well lived.
I’m one of those hardcore moms who never allowed the boys to play with squirt guns. They would find driftwood with some resemblance to weapons, and use imagination and creativity to make up games.
My normal week always consists of boats, rainstorms, kids sneaking off with (and dropping) my ipad to watch Stampylongnose, and a pair of eyeglasses getting scratched from being wedged into a huge purse. While coats can get wet and glasses can easily be replaced, it’s not always as economical to replace the sacred ipad Air. She is my new baby. And yes, she might have a name. I carry an android phone, an ipod touch, an iphone and an ipad. Two out of four of these things have cracked screens, all have overheated in the sun and three have been dropped in the snow during ski trips.
Logitech must know me well because one day I opened a package and it was the new Logitech Big Bang case for ipad air. In one of the most clever PR packages I have yet received, it came with marbles, a bath mitt and toy keys for a toddler. Double take! They were daring me to put the case to the test. And my kids and I obliged.
1. I left it on the deck of a catamaran during a downpour.
2. My kids knocked it off the kitchen counter.
3. We went to the beach and dropped it in the sand.
4. In my purse, keys scratch sunglasses and poke holes in the gorgeous leather wallet, but the ipad is fine. I am happy to report that my ipad is still perfect, and the case isn’t ever coming off. I wish Logitech could make a sunglass case..
Disclosure: UrbanMommies was provided a Big Bang case for testing purposes.
Besides getting my car detailed and wearing noise-cancelling headphones, there is little more I require for Mother’s Day. But since the kids asked… we scoured our favourite Etsy shops for some great gift ideas. Check out ten of our favourite Mother’s Day Picks from Etsy!
1. Vintage Milk Glass Colony Harvest Goblets. Because you can fit lots of wine inside.
2. Letterpress Recipe Cards and Recipe Box. Because letterpress.
3.Custom Recycled Sail Diaper Bag. Recycling as well as a stylish, waterproof and unique bag.
4. Organic Linen Cloth Napkins with a Chickadee Screen Print
5. Minimalist Brass Case for iPhone.
6. Floral Hair Clip.
7. White Peignoir.
8. Ornate circle – one-page-per-day agenda inserts
9. Purple Wise Owl Hand-Stamped Wrapping Paper
10. 
We received some great tips from lifestyle expert Shoana Jensen on creating the perfect holiday wrapping station. I’m still dreaming of a dedicated wrapping room instead of banishing my kids from entering the downstairs bathroom for the entire month of December. Baby steps.
The basics:
1) Select a theme for the gift and pick your favourite wrapping paper.
2) Have a good selection of accessories nearby, including ribbons, bows, gift tags and a pair of quality scissors.
3) Tape is key! Scotch GiftWrap Tape features a satin finish that disappears on most shiny gift wrap papers. Using matte paper? Use Scotch Magic Tape which has a matte-finish. For a completely seamless look, Scotch Brand Double-Sided Tape. This will ensure your pretty parcel is as polished looking as possible!
Wrapping paper alternatives:
4) We’ve all used regular wrapping paper. Look for newspapers, road maps or comics as wrapping paper to cater the gift to the recipient’s personality, hobbies or interests.
5) For those sometimes awkward gifts, find ways to preserve the element of surprise. For example, put perfume or socks in an empty paper towel roll or use an empty coffee can or cereal box for small to medium sized gifts.
Ribbons and gift tags:
6) Embellish a package with small, useful items that relate to the gift. For example, attach a whisk to a set of mixing bowls.
7) Instead of a gift tag, find an old baby picture and tape it to the top of the gift. The image will identify who the gift is for and gives you time to reminisce on the good ole’ days!
Note: For more recent Holiday Gift guides, check out 2020 Holiday Guides. Welcome to our 2013 Holiday Gift Guide! These are our top holiday gifts for the whole family found in stores and online. As always, these are our top picks sourced from all over and we’re never compensated for inclusion in our guide. Click on any image for a review and description. Happy Shopping!!
Gifts for Mom
1. Car Eyelashes Who wouldn’t want these babies on their BMW? No extensions needed. Canadian Tire
2. Vinylux by CND For the busy mom who doesn’t quite have the time to get her Shellac applied but wants an extra-long lasting polish that’s removable at home. It comes in great colours and lasts a week on my hands. CND
3. ArtKive A dream come true. Photograph the kids’ artwork using this app and lose the guilt when you toss the original. (Kid Dictionary calls this ‘Garboflage’). Later you can make the art into fancy books and things. Artkive
4. Butter Baked Goods. This cookbook calms me down just by its presence in the room. Stunningly beautiful, it also includes her famous marshmallow recipe. Not to worry. You have all of January to diet. Chapters Indigo
5. Bling Bags As a hostess gift or way for mom to keep the purse organized, a few of these make for a happy woman. Chapters Indigo
6. Conair Curl Secret I admit – I was a bit scared to try it. Your hair gets sucked into the body of the curler and beeps after a couple of seconds, letting you know it’s time to release the ABSOLUTELY PERFECT curl. In about 4 minutes I have a perfect head of ringlets. Let’s just say I pack light and it made the cut for a recent Europe jaunt. Curl Secret
7. Spoonk Apparently Oprah knew about this before I did, but now that I’ve got my hands on these, they are a staple. Mats you lie on that contuct acupressure. While you are watching Breaking Bad. Who knew?! Spoonk
8. Pliio Folders I am an aficionado of the Big Bang Theory and have always wanted Sheldon’s folding apparatus. Enter this great invention. The kids laundry fits better in their drawers, AND they can fold it themselves. Pliio
9. Cheese Kitchen Papers They are just too beautiful. And a really great excuse for cheese. You could save a dish also and throw them in the compost afterwards. Hester and Cook
Gifts for Dad
1. Bespoke Post Men are hard to buy for. But this service delivers a little package every month, filled with XY chromosome-goodness. Bespoke Post
2. Sterling silver Daddy Dogtags. With the kids names on them. Or you could even engrave your anniversary and birthdate so there’s never any forgetfulness.. Posh Mommy Jewelry
3. Dyson Car Vac. It can suck up Cheerios like there’s no tomorrow. Canadian Tire
4. Custom Made Personalized Dad Ornament from Etsy will delight the whole family. And Etsy has also just launche gift cards in Canada! Etsy
5. Urban Xplorer Halfpack makes a cool diaper bag or weekender for dad.
6. Breville Juicer Simply because you can hide kale in his morning juice. Canadian Tire
7. Porsche Macan (Spring 2014) The first Porsche Compact SUV is available in two versions: Macan S and Macan Turbo. In case you’re looking for a rather large gift. Make sure you put the carseats in as well. Porsche
8. Twinkly House Light. If he’s a bit inept with hanging the Holiday lights, this is the ticket. Plug it in and the whole house or trees outside look like they are covered in tiny lights. Canadian Tire
9. Founding Fathers Whiskey Keg Dingle has the capacity to distill two casks of new whiskey every day and are setting aside the first fruits, the produce of our first 250 days in action. These 500 casks will be available to those who wish to become The Dingle Founding Fathers.Each cask, with its own distinct character will be unique: one unique cask, one unique owner.
Gifts for Baby and Toddlers
1. Big Hugs Elmo Who wouldn’t love a hug from our favorite little red monster, Elmo? He will wrap his hands around your little one and give them a hug when they need it most. He will also sing lullabies and encourage pretend play. Indigo
2. Fun Onesies. When you get up in the middle of the night to nurse, the ‘After Party’ one will make you grin. Chapters Indigo
3. These stuffies are to die for. Harrods
4. Dior knows how to dress up the little ones for the holidays.
5. Kickboard Mini Micro 3 in 1. You may have a hard time staying off it yourself.
6. NPW Tube Toy Uncommon Goods
7. Squeez ‘Ems. Brilliant for the environment, my ‘Litterless Lunch goals’ have been fulfilled. Refill these great containers with yogurt or applesauce. The large opening in the top helps for cleaning and they are lighter than heavy plastic.
8. Educational Insights Dino Construction Company T-Top the Triceratops Bulldozer Mastermind
9. Baby Dior Dress. DOUBLE-SIDED DRESS PINK AND TAUPE CASHMERE. I want a girl.
Gifts for Kids
1. Minecraft Slippers Again on Etsy.
2. Doodle for Google Doodle 4 Google is an annual program that invites K-12 students in the United States to use their artistic talents to think big and redesign our homepage logo for millions to see.
3. Little Passports Watch as your children race to the mailbox every month to learn about Sam and Sofia’s latest destinations. Monthly packages arrive filled with lots of goodies and access to online games and activities. Little Passports
4. Sifteo These brilliant, interactive cubes will keep them (and you busy) for hours!
5. Pottery Barn Kids China It matches and can be intermixed with your adult versions. PBK
6. Tutus by Tutumaria are soft and adorned with ribbons and special sundries. The only trouble is that they don’t come in adult sizes.
7. Poppy Drops Temporary Tattoo Earrings are just the thing for little ones who love to dress up! Perfect for loot bags, stocking stuffers and birthday gifts. The set comes with 12 pairs of temporary earrings in different styles. All Poppy Drops earrings are made with all natural, food-grade vegetable dyes and are safe for children. The earrings can last up to a week and can be removed with baby oil.
8. Ninjabread Men will delight the toughest of little guys. Bite off the legs first! Perpetual Kid
9. Oldschool Battleship There’s just nothing cooler. Yard Sale or Ebay
Gifts for Pregnant Women
1. Cake Lingere Beautifully made with luxurios fbrics, i wear the nursing bra all the time – even though I’m not nursing! Seams aren’t itchy and you feel super sexy. It comes in a beautifully wrapped box with satin ribbon. Cake Maternity
2. Silver Cross Aston Martin Stroller I saw it on a recent trip to Harrods and drooled. And drooled. Perfect if you want to spend two thousand pounds on a stroller.
3. Phil & Teds Travel Cot I used one all the time when the kids were little. It fits into a tiny bag (that made the Europe packing cut once as well. Canadian Tire
4. Maternity Wrap. Isabella Oliver
5. Baby Bullet Make anazing natural and healthy baby food. London Drugs
6. HP Slate 7 It’s a super speedy android tablet with a very reasonable price tag.
7. Pea in Pod Cashmere Autumn Cashmere Long Sleeve Maternity Sweater.
8. Timi & Leslie Marie Antoinette’ Diaper Bag is something you’ll carry long after the baby is out of diapers. Nordstrom
9. Stratamark is a revolutionary stretch mark cream. We tested it and it helped reduce stretch marks that are a few years old.. Stratamark
Gifts for Grandparents
1. Seniors Labels from Mabel’s Labels are the best invention since, well, kids’ labels! Mabel’s Labels
2. A Goat. ONE has partnered with Heifer International to send a lot of goats to Africa.You heard me right. Goats.
Goats are pretty amazing. For most people in the world, the only milk they drink comes from goats. And one goat can produce up to one TON of milk a year. That means lots of cheese, butter and milk to sell at the market, and homemade fertilizer to help make crops grow. Heifer International
3. Boxed Salt and Peppers come in tons of different designs and make a personalized gift based on interests of the recipient. They are packaged in a gorgeous box ties with ribbon. Pottery Barn
4. Soda Stream is my new favourite home appliance. Next to the Vitamix. Home Depot
5. Pillows with Pizzaz make a sparkly gift that will lift the spirits of the oldest sofa! Indigo
6. Twig Plastic Cutlery Translucent Black Twig 12 Piece Cutlery You don’t have to sacrifice elegance when choosing a one-time use cutlery set. Madhouse
7. Chalkboard Calendar 12 hand drawn months in chalk style typography and large block grids for plenty of space to keep track of important dates. Paper Source
8. Festive Cake Carrier. Hopefully it will inspire them to bake stuff for you. Canadian Tire
9. AVG Internet Security 2014 Don’t let the grandparents get hacked. We swear by the AVG products and this new version now includes new privacy features to protect your private data. AVG
Swimming around in the Westin Calgary pool, we were both happy as clams. My son loves Minecraft (especially computer version) and asked if he could get a new MOD (translated to ‘modification of the original – I think). Personally knowing the student who had told him about add-ons to Minecraft, I was skeptical but decided to be open-minded. Daddy and I would research the MOD to see if it was appropriate.
Pushing me, my son explained that you could get a girlfriend and make ‘it’ do things. Red flag #2. He insisted his friend said there was a Youtube video that would explain it. And he wanted me to watch it NOW.
I looked and there were no age restrictions, so we watched it together.
For ten minutes.
And my heart sank deeper and deeper and I knew that we’d entered tech hell, a place that I may have to go back to school to understand because I can’t be a great parent without a full understanding of that world.
In the video (that was like a gender-biased, sexist train wreck I couldn’t stop watching), I learned that ‘mail-order girlfriends’ emerge from a box shipped to the miner. They do your bidding and their weapons are shoes tossed at the creepers. If you like, you can give them a sword but must take it back promptly. They are tamed with a rose and will do what you tell them once they are in love with you. You can dress them in 16 different outfits and if you draw them to water.. wait for it… they will change into a bikini! (Of which there are many styles as well). Building a dance floor of 5×5 bricks will compel them to dance for you to ensure your happiness. And finally, to break up with these creatures you just have to give them a dead bush. Hopefully the symbolism isn’t evident to my son.
I was silent. I asked my son how he would feel if it was me who got out of the box. He said he wouldn’t like it, but if you marry them with a diamond you can get a baby from inventory and even eat dinner together. At a table in a restaurant.
I explained that he had not done anything wrong, but that this particular MOD divided genders and included harmful thoughts about women. He still begged to get it and promised he’d never treat a girl like that in real life.
So I guess he realizes some of the negatives. But the weaponry, clothing changes and newness is still too enticing. And now I’m petrified.
This video has over 6 million views. Developers such as TheDiamondMinecart make or simply video and explain the workings of these MODS. They are certainly not screened for content. Parents who may think their child is playing ‘Minecraft’ has no idea about the can of worms introduced by coders who want to extend the range of the game.
So much for work. I’ll be looking over his shoulder from now on. And before he can download ANY SIM? He has to learn how to code and build the damn thing himself if he’s still interested. (Hopefully it will take a few years). There was a great article on Babble about teaching kids coding. Spanish can wait. Coding and the reinforcement of gender equality are next on the list. And just because you trust what you read about Minecraft and it’s developers, be careful not to consider all-things-Minecraft as kid-appropriate.
In the meantime? Any advice on how to deal with the family of the 7-year old who hyped the Girlfriend Mod would be much appreciated.
by Jill Amery
We’ve all been there. You know, the one where you drop big bucks on a great camera and when you see your special vacation photos later you cringe. I thought it was sunny in Cancun. Wow little Suzy’s face looked splotchy. That photo would have been so great if I had only….. Vacations are expensive. Here are a few photo tips for family vacations so that your pictures are as bright as your memories.
I love my job. But sometimes UrbanMommies gets sent items for review and we don’t actually know how to give them a proper test. Case in point: The Sharp Air Purifier. You see, I’m pretty lucky. I don’t have carpets, don’t smoke, it’s summer when the doors are opened all the time and I’m a spectacular housekeeper. Ha. Ok maybe not, but my air smells pretty fresh. I plugged in this shiny new unit in a large room. It looked a bit like a spaceship with fancy lights and was so quiet I kept forgetting it was there. It even monitors dust. Reading the details, I was convinced it was doing it’s thing, but how could I prove it?
And then I decided to clean out my storage room. Our home is built on a rock and in several places the rock comes into the house. Dampness from the British Columbia rain combined with too-small kids’ shoes tossed into a storage bin can create quite the stench. So when I opened the door, eager to organize the dreaded area, I gagged. Several hours later the space looked shiny. Soccer cleats and rollerblades were catalogued and Christmas decorations grouped (behind Hallowe’en for ease of access of course). Martha would be proud. But the room still smelled like a dog’s breakfast. And then I remembered the silent spaceship in the other room. The Sharp KC-850U Air Purifier is recommended for rooms up to 254 sq. ft. and my storage wasn’t even close to that. I had a hunch that it would work quickly.
I dragged it in. Plugged it in. Turned off the lights, shut the door and came back 3 days later.The angels were singing! Mozart was playing! My air smelled clean. Test complete and products passes with flying colours. It actually inactivates mould, viruses, allergens and odours. It doesn’t just mask the smells like spraying perfume around. It actually removes them.
The details:
· Sharp air purifiers are the world’s only air purifiers with Plasmacluser Ion (PCI) technology that uses both positive and negative ions to shower the room and seek out and inactivate many airborne contaminants.
· Through the use of positive and negative ions, the air purifier is able to inactivate most airborne particles, including viruses and bacteria, mould spores, germs, fungi and other odour causing substances, removing up to 99.7% of airborne particles.
· Sharp’s air purifiers with humidifying function are also the only product line on the market that combine a humidifier and air purifier, meaning one sleek unit is all that’s needed to keep the air in a room clean and comfortable, no matter what the season.
Here’s their fan page. It should be called an air purifier page as opposed to fan. I. am. so. funny.
So now that I don’t have to use my superior housekeeping skills (chuckle) to scrub the storage room, won’t get as many viruses this winter and can skip the allergy medicines, I have a ton of time on my hands. Dinner, anyone?
This might very possibly be the best invention. Like EVER. It’s not turning water into wine, mind you, but to make sparkling water from tap with or without flavours added is epic. The Soda Stream reduces waste as you reuse the sturdy bottles provided, nor do you have to lug heavy cans or bottles. Storage space in your kitchen is more plentiful and it’s cheaper than buying soda. The sparkling naturals flavours are made with all natural ingredients and are healthier than typical pop and soda – plus you can also control the amount of flavour you add. I’ve found the carbonation refills at Canadian Tire and WalMart as well as online. It’s my new must-have appliance.
UrbanMommies was provided with a Soda Stream system for review purposes. As always, our opinions are our own.