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Mommy's Lil Helper: Kikkerland Maps
Do you know the capitals of all 50 states? I'm guessing the chances are slim. You may have at one time and will again when your tot reaches third grade and must know them by heart.
Lil Find: Personalized Placemats
I'm always looking for a cute birthday present that can be my standard gift for the year. When someone recently gifted my friend's son a few personalized placemats from Olive Kids ($10 each), I knew I found a winner.
With more than 40 designs, including popular holidays and traditional boy and girl themes, each heavy-duty laminated placemat is personalized with a child's name.
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Mommy's Lil Helper: Table Topper Placemats
Taking your babe out to dinner can be stressful with people staring, highchairs in short supply and the possiblilty of temper tantrums. One way to make it easier is to bring along your own disposable placemats made by Neat Solutions ($9).
The placemats have two adhesive strips that you stick down on the table to keep it in position.
Mommy's Lil Helper: Skip Hop Mate
The Skip Hop Mate ($20) puts other toddler plates in check. This inventive BPA and PVC free feeding set will help make mealtime a little bit easier on everyone. The stay-put rubber placemat creates a skid free base for the plate and utensils, which all lock in to it securely.
Candy Alternatives Found in My Tot's Trick-or-Treat Bag
The night of fright has passed, but while sorting through my kid's candy, I unearthed a couple of fun and inexpensive, non-candy items that I'll keep in mind while passing out party bags in the months ahead.
- Jingle Bell Spider — a toy spider crafted from jingle bells, beads and ribbon that children can enjoy all year.
- Multi-color retractable pen key-chain — the small pens are right up a lil artist's alley as they can hook the writing utensil to their backpack and not worry about toting their pencil pouch.
- Mini-packs of pretzels — the whole wheat treat keeps kids snacking on something other than candy.
- Placemat — the inexpensive mats keep children happy, tables clean and can be used again and again.
- Festive cup — youngsters can use them for drinking or for storing their treasures.
- Coloring book — provides hours of tot entertainment and artistic expression. Did your child collect any candy alternatives?
Do You Sign With Your Babe?
Most baby stores now carry sign language merchandise from books to DVDs and flashcards to placemats.
I only taught my lil one the sign for "more," but my friends have been more diligent in their efforts. Advocates say that children who sign are less likely to throw tantrums since they can communicate earlier.
Lil Find: BYO Munchlers
Back in the day, aluminum lunch pails or brown paper bags were the two main modes of lunch transportation for kiddos. Nowadays, the options are endless.
Some of the cooler lunch totes I have seen are those made by Built NY and designed by children's book illustrator Steven Savage.
Lil Find: Dolce Mia Vintage Designs
Everything old is new again, or so the saying goes. When I first came across the vintage-inspired products from Dolce Mia, the muted tones and cheery images took me back to the nurseries of my childhood.
Dolce Mia hand-cuts decoupage images and then coats them with a deep glossy resin finish so they last.
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