Green Santa

I was looking around my kids' rooms yesterday trying to decided where were were going to put their Christmas gifts. They have so little space and so many THINGS! We don't buy them a lot for Christmas. We have each child pick out something for everyone else, then Santa brings one big thing, and Mom and Dad get them two gifts...for a grand total of 5 gifts. With the number of Christmases we celebrate, they're so overwhelmed with opening and getting that by Christmas morning, 5 is just about right. So with only 5 gifts, I need to make every one of them count. I want to spend our money on something that's going to last, both physically (won't break) and mentally (will keep their interest for longer than January!) So I'm always on the look-out for creative playthings that are well made. It's always best to buy gifts that can be many things. So I'm looking at the Bilibo. It's a kind of shell-like thing that doesn't really have a purpose...it's just whatever your kids want it to be. I've read nothing but great reviews for this toy and I'm thinking this might be a good year to get it for my youngest.


I'm also looking at Magic Cabin. They have lots of toys for imaginative play. They have these play silks that are similar to the bilibo in that they don't really have a specific use, they can be used "as blankets, capes, curtains, doll carriers, costumes, flags, walls for forts..." They're kind of expensive, but that's the trade off for not getting a cheap item that's going to fall apart, I guess.

Nova Naturals is also a great site I found advertised in Mothering magazine a few years ago. It features lots of wooden toys and lots of different kinds of things, like the four elements building set. It's just a different approach to blocks.

Three Sisters Toys also has an different selection of more natural toys. Well, they ysed to. When I went there to add a few comments about their toys, I noticed that EVERY THING is on sale, not sure what the deal is with that, but it looks like they don't have much inventory either.

So, ever on a quest for greener things, I'm going to have a fun time trying to find something a little different from what you can get at Toys R Us.