Christmas presents

[msmemory_archive]

Hah! I delegated the task of buying presents for his family to my husband, and he took care of everybody except the two young children. I have no idea what they would want, especially in a small & portable sort of thing. IIRC Joshua is 4 and a half, and Riley is one and a half.

Wolfers Lighting does not rewire lamps, but offered to sell me a cord-mounted dimmer switch along with a new lamp for Mother. All she wants is a lamp she can turn on and off without wriggling to reach that far up when she's been reading in bed. I am completely failing to find a lamp with its switch built in on the base or cord, so will likely buy her a cord switch to use with her current lamp, and then something else as a real present. Too bad I didn't see anything nifty in Pendleton yesterday (though I dropped off another change-of-address card there).

Got present for jducoeur yesterday. I think I'll actually manage to surprise him this year. Not Just Another Sweater. Thanks to the shop keeper who set aside the item for me to pick up. Can't say more here, since he reads this thing. We did say we're getting each other just one thing, since mostly we are buying each other the New House.

Now for the friends' presents, of which I have gotten only one so far. Aaaaccckkk!!

Comments

[marysdress.livejournal.com]

What are the kids general interests? Violent? Dreamers? Wheels?

[msmemory.livejournal.com]

Not a clue. They live in California, so we see them annually or less. I'm going to see if their parents have an Amazon list from which I can infer anything.

[marysdress.livejournal.com]

Henry Bear's Park in Arlington across from the Library. I am not a devotee of Belmont Toys - they're too crowded and their stuff is overpriced. Henry Bear's Park has less stuff (bad if you're looking for specific things), but what they have is quality and not overpriced. Most of the things are small sized too. The book section is in the back if you want to get a fix :-) It's got lots of good stuff for browsing, including arts/crafts which could be good for the 4+ year old.

[ornerie.livejournal.com]

on lamps....

how about a wireless remote?
http://www.lampsplus.com/products/Dimmers/29562

or the switch in the column?
http://www.lampsplus.com/Products/s_switch-on-base/page_4/77992

or something like this....you can always extned the pull chains as long as you like...

http://www.lampsplus.com/Products/Table-Lamps/page_2/55968

(I'm researching the same kind of thing. Ihave a pull chain lamp now but would really like to have an easier reachy option :))

good luck!

[pamelina.livejournal.com]

My bedside lamp is a 'touch lamp': to turn it on, up (it's a three brightness lamp), or off, all you do is touch it. It's great! I love it. I'd recommend that.

[hungrytiger]

Strange aside... My great-uncle was a director of the team that developed the touch-lamp technology. I remember him having early prototypes in his house 20 years ago and thinking how cool they were.

[cvirtue.livejournal.com]

I think every kid 2+ should have one of these -- an air/stomp rocket. And parents enjoy them also.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002XHONG/qid=1135019334/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-3809709-0511960

[anastasiav.livejournal.com]

re: Toys

If you'd have to ship anyhow: Back To Basics Toys or anything with the brand name Melissa & Doug - they make high quality basic wooden toys & are sold even at big stores like Toys R Us.

Would a Touch Lamp work for your mom? You just touch the lamp anywhere to turn it on or off. this model may also be available at your local Sears store.

[msmemory.livejournal.com]

Toys: Not to ship, to take in our luggage when we spend Christmas with his family. I'll take a look....

Lamp: Yes, that's just the sort of thing Mother would want, right down to the brass base to suit her neoColonial decor. I'll drop my local Sears on the way home from work! Thanks.

[elizabear.livejournal.com]

Z discovered the touch lamp next to my parents' bed while we were on vacation there. Imagine an item like that accessed by a two-year old ...

[msmemory.livejournal.com]

In this case, not a worry since Mother has no grandchildren, by OMG I just visualized Z with his new toy!

[(Anonymous)]

When I last got a touch lamp from Sears (admittedly 7 years ago) it was a regular lamp with a little module that it plugged into, and then that into the wall. So it works with any lamp that has metal on it, or that you can touch the cord. If she has a lamp which she likes already, the dingus might be an easier choice.

[noveldevice.livejournal.com]

Lincoln Logs! I loved my set to pieces. One and a half is harder. Shape blocks?

I know very little about kids, so feel free to ignore me if these are stupid ideas. :)

[hungrytiger]

Big M and I are fond of getting dress-up costume stuff for kids. Yes, we love books, but most parents (at least the ones we associate with) already have a plethora of kids books, most of which are ignored by the child who prefers their 3 or 4 favorite books anyway.

When my family asked what they should get for little M this year, we said nice plastic toy food and kitchen stuff (little M loves to make pretend soup). Costume accessories and toy food are good becacuse it's the sort of thing that, even if they have them already, more are good.