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A Kids’-Eye View of the Gift Guide

14 Children, 3 Malls, 16 Stores — And One Happy Holiday!

 By COLLEEN R. LEE

When my editor first approached me with the idea to create Richmond Parents Monthly’s Gift Guide from a child’s perspective, I thought, “What a great idea.”
 
“Good luck with that,” I told her. “Oh, wait— you want ME to do it. Well... let me check my schedule....”
 
OK, so I couldn’t come up with a suitable excuse. I mean, my kids are literally always sick, so that one just doesn’t cut it anymore.
 
As my mind took me to all the scary shopping with kids memories I have, I shuddered. Yes, I love to shop, but I HATE shopping with my kids. It just sucks the joy out of the whole shopping experience. And I don’t need to elaborate, because if you have kids you know EXACTLY what I’m talking about.
 
(If you don’t have kids, put this magazine down immediately and go buy a Cosmo Girl or something—I’m sure you’ll run into a frustrated parent carrying a screaming child out of the candy aisle.)
 
I decided that I would take my two oldest children out for the first part of this project. I just wasn’t ready to try this with the 3-year-old. (She’s in her “let me open this and smear lipstick everywhere” phase.)
 
After one exhausting afternoon shopping with Veronica, age 9, and Allen, age 5, in Carytown and Bon Air, I realized I needed some help. So I recruited a few former students of mine.
 
The members of the Swift Creek Middle School Writing Club were more than happy to go shopping for me. I finished up this assignment with a trip to Short Pump Town Center with all three of my kids and another student helper.
 
Whew! I hope you enjoy the first ever gift guide for the entire family, created by children of all ages!

Gifts for Kids
 
Octovity by Lamaze  
$21.99 at Kidkadoo
“The Octovity is a terrific activity for toddlers and it isn’t too expensive. My 10-year-old brother even admits he would’ve loved to play with this when he was a baby.” –Hanna K.
Lamaze-Octivity

 
Charming Country Home by Calico Critters
$64.99 at World of Mirth
Calico Critters of Cloverleaf Corners makes a lovely variety of dollhouses and accessories for cute fuzzy animals instead of dolls. World of Mirth has the Country Home set up with all the furniture and a family of mice, and Veronica seemed to spend most of her time there.
 “The mice are cute and I think Julie [sister, age 3] would like it because it’s very interesting. It’s like the mice have their own little home. You can arrange the home however you like.” –Veronica L.
  
Westport Townhouse
$179 at Pottery Barn Kids
This traditional, three-story dollhouse is filled with beautiful wooden furniture and simple cloth dolls.
 “You know how there’s fancy, fancy Barbies? These aren’t those kinds of dolls. They’re just nice and simple and cute. Everything opens and closes. When I saw it, my imagination just went BOOM!” –Veronica L.
potterybarnkids

Retro Kitchen Set
$249 & up at Pottery Barn Kids
 “Look, Mama, I’m taking my laun-der-y out. I love da store!” –Julianna L.
 After watching her set the table with bowls and cloth pizza slices, I tried to herd her out of the store only to be told, “I’m working, Mama, I can’t go.”
 
SoundSpa Lullaby by HoMedics   
$29.99 at Dillard’s 
“The Sound Spa Lullaby with picture projection is perfect for people who are looking for a nice night of sleep without a toddler waking them up at 2 a.m.” –Hanna K.
weatherconnection
 
Die-cast Metal Cars
$6.99 at World of Mirth
 These reproductions of real vehicles are three times the size of traditional die-cast metal cars and seemed to be a hit with boys and girls.
 “I want that silver tow truck. That would be good for me. OOOH, a red four-wheeler! Mama, look at this [a purple convertible Cobra]. I’m gonna buy this for you. The best part is— the doors open. I LOVE THIS!” –Allen L. (Allen ended up coming home with the red four-wheeler which he purchased with his own money.) 
“The cars are really cool and look like real cars. I store them in my room so no one will get them. I have three at home but mom doesn’t let me get a lot.” –Grace G. (Mom seemed to disagree with that statement.)
 

Push-toy Mouse by Selecta Spielzeug
$33.99 at World of Mirth
“Oh my God, I could get that for Julie instead of cars!” –Allen L.
 
Cat Woman and Pink Flamingo Sunglasses
$6.99 & up at World of Mirth
 Leslie and Recayah loved trying on an assortment of sunglasses and hats for dress-up.
 “I recommend mostly everything here. It’s perfect for dress-up or just to be funny.” –Leslie M.
 

Two-Headed Green Dragon by Papo Toys
$20 at World of Mirth
“I recommend the medieval collection because it has all the different characters.” –William S.

Virginia Tech Football by Rawlings      
$24.99 at Dick’s Sporting Goods
 “My brother loves football and Virginia Tech, so I know he’d like this.” –Noor S.
 
 
Gifts for Moms

Sweatshirt      
$69.50 at Abercrombie and Fitch
“This green washed-out sweatshirt looked very comfortable. I would buy this gift for my mom because she would really want it but she doesn’t want to pay that much for a sweatshirt.” –Tyler K.
 
iPod Shuffle by Apple  
$79.00
“This portable gift holds 240 songs, has 12 hours of music playback, a built-in clip, earphones, and a dock. It also comes in a variety of colors. I would buy this for my mom because it could clip to her waist while she goes running.” –Tyler K.
 

Giraffe Print Tote by Toss Designs  
$82.50 at Tickle Your Fancy
“This is a stylish bag that is best to hold your stuff in or simply just to add to your purse collection.” –Skye H.
 
Alexis Bittar Earrings  
$145 at Saks Fifth Avenue
“These classy gold earrings would go perfect with a black dress. Why not wear them out to dinner with your family?” –Skye H.

Jeweled Victorian Clock by BellaDonna
$52 at Sterling Boutique
The Sterling Boutique in Bon Air is totally “girly-girl” and filled with an eclectic collection of jewelry, scarves, purses, and even porcelain fairy dolls. Taking my children into this fanciful yet very fragile store was a little nerve-wracking.
 “It’s perfect for my mom and Grammy because they both have good taste, plus when my mom saw it, she cooed over it.” –Veronica L. (Author’s note: I didn’t realize that I was “cooing” at the time. At least I wasn’t drooling.)
 
Fairy Porcelain Dolls from the Florence Maranuk Collection
$26 to $175 at Sterling Boutique
I’m sure I was cooing over these, too, but I rushed my kids out of there before we broke something. The iron grip I had on my son’s hand was starting to annoy him.
www.dollfactory.com
 
Gifts for Dads

Leather Tri-fold Billfold by Dockers
$17.50 at Sears
“My dad always gets his wallets from here. It’s black, has seven credit card slots, holds 10 pictures and is made of soft leather.” –Cheyanne B.
 
Hand-Woven Scarf by Frittelie and Lockwood  
$110 at Appalachian Spring
 “One of my gift selections is this long scarf of loosely woven silky yarn in dark brown, purple and green. I chose it for my dad because I knew he would love the labyrinth of interwoven, richly colored soft yarn.” –Devin S.

Black & White Sports Watch by Adidas
$50 at Dillard’s
“It is water-resistant and is a dual analog clock. My [older] brother has been asking for a watch for a while now and I’m sure this would be good for him.” –Noor S.

Hand-blown Glass Vase by Nourot Glass Studio   
$345 at Appalachian Spring
“I have chosen this vase for my dad because he relishes sophisticated handmade glass designs.
I thought he would especially like the very intricate, wavy design and fine patterns on its face.” –Devin S.
 
Gifts for Pets

Cat Play and Sleep by Whisker City
$129 at Petsmart
 “I think cats would really like it. They could play on it and then sleep in the little tunnel when they get tired.” –Allen L.
 
Fishing Pole with Catnip Mouse by Toyshoppe 
$4.99 at Petsmart
 “The fishing pole for the cat would be really fun. You could hold the pole and the cat could catch the mouse.” –Allen L.

Ferret Octo-Play by Marshall’s Ferrets
$24.99 at Petsmart
“The Octo-Play is a red octopus that ferrets can crawl and hide in. I would buy this because it looks like a lot of fun!” –Bryan A.
 
Clip & Trim by Super Pet
$4.99 at Petsmart
 “The Clip & Trim are nail clippers for your pet ferret. They’re brown with a real cute ferret head on the cover. I actually already have this item and I use it a lot because their nails grow fast!” –Bryan A.
 
 
“The Frumpy Zone” columnist Colleen R. Lee is a writer and a sixth grade English teacher. She lives in the Richmond area with her husband and three children.

 
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