I’ve been putting the Mommy Shorts Holiday Gift Guide together for the last eight years and over that time, I’ve learned a thing or two about giving gifts to kids, particularly kids past the age of ten. What I’ve realized is that the best gifts for tweens are not always the hottest or biggest toys (unless you are getting them a
The year I turned 16 I finally could drive and I had (a little) money, so I got to give my parents gifts for the first time. In early November, I drove to the mall and bought one of the multi-pronged head scratchers (you can see it in the Minimalist Engineer category on the guide, if you need a visual) for my mom. She had mentioned once, back in April-ish of that year that she loved that sort of thing, and we had never talked about it again.
When I walked back into the house, I had an opaque bag of an indeterminate size in my hand, with absolutely no logo on it (I went to Brookstone). I told my mom that I was so excited, because I had the perfect gift for her, and that I was going to go upstairs and wrap it. She's sitting at the kitchen table, and looks up, and goes "Ooooh, did you get me one of those head scratchers?" I just gape at her and pull the unwrapped head scratcher out of the bag as she absolutely loses it and we both laugh so hard we cry. She said it completely as a joke, had no idea that it was in the bag, and had absolutely no expectation that that is what it would be...but clearly it was what she wanted most!
It still lives on top of her dresser, 10 years later & I've never been able to top the $15 head scratcher. Also, hi Mom! I know you read the comments here!
The best gift I ever received was a photo album with family pictures. It’s some thing that you can look at over and over again and never gets old. It brings smiles and tears of joy.
My favorite gift I’ve ever given is when I gave my husband (at the time, my fiancé) a Nintendo Wii. This was back when they were impossible to find, and it was so fun to surprise him with it.
The favorite gift I’ve ever received is a needlepoint that my grandmother gave me when I was 8 or so. I’d watched her stitching it and had said many, many times that I loved it with no idea that she was making it for me (maybe she wasn’t?), so to open it up on Christmas morning was the coolest thing ever.
The best gift I’ve ever given, that I can think of, is a pink Starbucks reusable cup with a straw. My daughter turned 14 on December 2nd. And, I decided she could finally drink real coffee. I also gave her her own coffee from @pouring overbooksbox. She prefers iced coffee. So the cup was perfect! I wish you could have seen her face.
The best gift I can remember getting was from my husband. We had just started dating. And, for Christmas he gave me a dainty silver bracelet made of dogwood flowers.
I'll add to Leah's comment and say other items include yoyos, magnifying glasses, wands, mini stamp kits, rainbow slime, themed card decks, etc. We have a selection of stuff that we have set aside especially for the box so that the whole package really represents our little shop well. It's not just a bunch of leftover items!
They are small, low-tech toys! Think a yo-yo, glow in the dark stars, mood ring, glitter stick, mini puzzle, etc. They all depend on stock so the selection won't be the same for all the boxes but there will definitely be a fun assortment.
My favorite gift I've ever given:
The year I turned 16 I finally could drive and I had (a little) money, so I got to give my parents gifts for the first time. In early November, I drove to the mall and bought one of the multi-pronged head scratchers (you can see it in the Minimalist Engineer category on the guide, if you need a visual) for my mom. She had mentioned once, back in April-ish of that year that she loved that sort of thing, and we had never talked about it again.
When I walked back into the house, I had an opaque bag of an indeterminate size in my hand, with absolutely no logo on it (I went to Brookstone). I told my mom that I was so excited, because I had the perfect gift for her, and that I was going to go upstairs and wrap it. She's sitting at the kitchen table, and looks up, and goes "Ooooh, did you get me one of those head scratchers?" I just gape at her and pull the unwrapped head scratcher out of the bag as she absolutely loses it and we both laugh so hard we cry. She said it completely as a joke, had no idea that it was in the bag, and had absolutely no expectation that that is what it would be...but clearly it was what she wanted most!
It still lives on top of her dresser, 10 years later & I've never been able to top the $15 head scratcher. Also, hi Mom! I know you read the comments here!
The best gift I ever received was a photo album with family pictures. It’s some thing that you can look at over and over again and never gets old. It brings smiles and tears of joy.
Noted, mom.
My favorite gift I’ve ever given is when I gave my husband (at the time, my fiancé) a Nintendo Wii. This was back when they were impossible to find, and it was so fun to surprise him with it.
The favorite gift I’ve ever received is a needlepoint that my grandmother gave me when I was 8 or so. I’d watched her stitching it and had said many, many times that I loved it with no idea that she was making it for me (maybe she wasn’t?), so to open it up on Christmas morning was the coolest thing ever.
The best gift I’ve ever given, that I can think of, is a pink Starbucks reusable cup with a straw. My daughter turned 14 on December 2nd. And, I decided she could finally drink real coffee. I also gave her her own coffee from @pouring overbooksbox. She prefers iced coffee. So the cup was perfect! I wish you could have seen her face.
The best gift I can remember getting was from my husband. We had just started dating. And, for Christmas he gave me a dainty silver bracelet made of dogwood flowers.
What are some examples of small tour included? Do you specify the ages?
I'll add to Leah's comment and say other items include yoyos, magnifying glasses, wands, mini stamp kits, rainbow slime, themed card decks, etc. We have a selection of stuff that we have set aside especially for the box so that the whole package really represents our little shop well. It's not just a bunch of leftover items!
They are small, low-tech toys! Think a yo-yo, glow in the dark stars, mood ring, glitter stick, mini puzzle, etc. They all depend on stock so the selection won't be the same for all the boxes but there will definitely be a fun assortment.