What Do You Get A 4 Year Old You Don’t Know?

I’ve found myself in the position that my customers are in- shopping for kids they don’t know! Piper was invited to a party for a girl turning 4. I was at such a loss. I help people every day at work find perfect gifts for 4 year olds, but suddenly, I drew a blank!

“Is she into Calico Critters?”, “Barbies?”, “Art?”, “Will her parents hate me if I get a stuffed animal?”

ALL THESE THOUGHTS!

Usually, I have to rationalize with my customers. No one was here for me, so I had to put on my big girl panties and do what I do best- sell toys!

I picked out the cutest gift!

Bath Bombs

Piggy Polish

Ooly’s Spot The Difference

Disney’s Eye Found It Card Game

We give her the gift on Sunday; I can’t wait to hear if she likes it! I mean, who wouldn’t?!

Classic Games Are Making A Comeback- Why Should You Play Board Games?

Over the craziness of Holiday Season at Wonder World Toy Store & Baby Boutique, I began to notice just how popular Classic Games. What is a Classic Game? I consider a Classic Game to be anything that came out before the 2000s and you probably played them with you grandparents. Think “childhood memories” for Millennials and older. Classic games can also be played with multiple generations together.

So why are Classic Games making a comeback? They were flying off the shelves this past Holiday Season with many of the purchasers saying “I don’t think he [gift receiver] has ever played this game before.” With technology being a dominant source for entertainment, people are forcing the younger generation to play Classic Games.

What are some popular Classic Games?

Scrabble

Yahtzee

Chutes & Ladders

Clue

Pretty Pretty Princess

The list can go on and on, but you get the idea.

Why should the younger generations take time off electronics to play these (and other) games?

1. Human Interaction- playing a game with people creates a fun moment in time that forces you to interact with real people rather than staring a screen.

2. It’s Fun- you will laugh during some point of playing any game. Even if it’s just a chuckle from a funny word that is played during Scrabble. There WILL be laughter.

3. Creates Strategy Building Skills- every move in a board game is all about strategy with little goals throughout.

4. Creates Brain Power- no matter the age, your board game has you do something that forces you to think without you even realizing it.

5. Decreases Stress- this coincides with fun. When you’re having fun, stress is decreased.

With these reasons, I hope you grab a Classic Game and play one with someone!

Easy, Affordable Creations for Valentine's Day

Do you always see these pictures pop up on Pinterest that look amazing, but you need to buy a million things and then your popsicle stick frame suddenly costs a hundred dollars and you have a million popsicle sticks leftover? I've got you the solution! I used this craft kit to create a LOVE sign using your child's hand and foot print.

Wooden Pallet Hands and Feet LOVE Sign

Not everyone is an artist. All you need is this craft kit, to be able to write "L" & "E" and your child's hands and toes! Easy enough. Follow these steps to create the popular LOVE Sign on your own wooden pallet without dumpster diving for pieces of wood that will only give you splinters.

Kit Contains:

Wooden Pallet

Paint

Painbrush

What You'll Need:

Pencil

Baby fingers & toes

wet wipes

patience

Steps:

1. I like to visualize my space, so to do this, I will draw out 2 lines lightly with my pencil to divide the space into 4 quadrants with parallel and perpendicular lines. (I forgot to take a picture of this step and my next 2. Oops!)

2. Outline "L" in pencil in the top left quadrant.

3. Outline "E" in pencil in the bottom right quadrant.

4. Smear paint on your child's hand in whichever color paint you would like.

5. Place hand in top right quadrant. This will create your "O".

6. Clean hand- this will also give you a few minutes to let the hand print dry a tad before moving on.

7. Smear paint onto 1 foot.

8. Place foot print at an angle to form 1 side of a "V" in the bottom left quadrant.

9. Clean foot- this will, once again, allow some dry time before moving on.

10. Repeat Steps 7-9 with other foot to create the other side of the "V"

11. Paint your "L" & "E"

12. I outlined my "L" and "E" in a red to make them stand out better

13. I wanted to incorporate the year into this piece, so I wrote Piper's name on it like so...

13. Let dry and viola! A cute Valentine's Day memory that you can admire year after year.

I hope you enjoy this easy Valentine's Day Craft that you are sure to treasure forever!