Non-Traditional Gifts

My kids have never played with 'toys' much and I'm not a fan of lots of video games. Consequently we do give our kids regular toys (like Webkinz, Hot Wheels, RC cars and Helicopters, Little People, etc.) but most often it is the more unconventional or non-traditional gifts that are used and enjoyed more. This year was no exception.



Matthew got the gift that has 'logged' the most hours. He got a rice tub -- sounds exciting, I know! I had heard great things about it, though, and decided to try. Everytime I've put it away and vacuumed up the rice that has accidentally spilled the kids protest and have it back open within a half hour. Matthew has enjoyed it as have the older kids. I just bought a large Rubbermaid container and put rice in it along with measuring spoons, funnels, plastic animals, and letters. The kids dig through it and find things, scoop it back and forth, I'm not sure what all, but it is a pleasant activity even if it is a little messy even with plastic under it.



Sarah's was a close second (I hadn't realized that each kid had gotten one until I thought about it.) My sister told me about this idea from her son's preschool about a week before Christmas. It was just what I was searching for to help her Christmas be fun. She has loved it! We gave her a Cash Register to go with it, but that part so far hasn't been near the hit as the other part. She got a Pizza Hut kit. I went to Pizza Hut and asked them for 4 Personal Pan Pizza Boxes. Then I cut 'toppings' out of felt. In the end she has 4 crusts with tomato sauce on them. She also has little drawers that hold her 6 toppings -- pepperoni, olives, mushrooms, ham, pineapple, and cheese. We have ordered and eaten SO MANY PIZZAS! It is definitely a success. If you don't count the Cash Register (which I got for a great deal) the largest expense of both of these gifts is the storage container.

Michael's I'm sure will be used more in the days/weeks to come. He got real tools and cull lumber (that's the wood that Home Depot has in a bin at the back of the store and sells for 50 cents a piece.) He is so happy that he is old enough to be trusted with a real saw (We got him a coping saw for $7.00 that seems less dangerous than other saws.) He also got a hammer, an assortment of nails, a measuring tape, a couple of screwdrivers, etc. They are all pretty good quality tools that shouldn't be too frustrating to use and the whole gift came to about $30 including a small tool box to hold it all and the wood. He has cut a plaque and 'pegs' to hang our coats on. He originally glued them on, but now he's trying to master his hammer and nail the pegs into place.

Katherine's is a little different, but I hope that it inspires her to do more. She would love to be an author and has written 2 books. The first one she did all on her own including chapter breaks, an about the author page, a dedication and the works. The second one she did for a school assignment and it is just the story. So we published her first book using Blurb.com. I had heard about using blurb to publish blogs, and when I was looking into that I realized that I could publish her book for $5.00 plus shipping with a color soft cover and black and white inside. It turned out really well and looks so professional. I hope that seeing her first book in print will encourage her to add the finishing touches to her second book and make all the decisions that go into publishing it. Who knows, she might even write a 3rd book! This whole writing process has been great for her in many ways -- one of which was that she just passed a touch typing test at school at 24 wpm -- not bad for a 4th grader!

Well, sorry for a long post, but I'm always looking for fun and different gift ideas -- I'd love to hear some of your's! I'll write more about our holidays later -- they were great.