Category: Family

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Making Christmas Preparation Fun for the Kids

two little kids prep for Christmas decorations

I really like this article by Kerr Griffen posted on the internet.

Making Christmas Prep More Fun

One way to be sure that your Christmas season is both festive and fun for the entire family is to have the perfect craft ideas for kids in mind when they are let out of school for the winter. Homemade Christmas ornaments are a brilliant way for your kids to make gifts that they’ll genuinely enjoy giving to friends and family, and all while making use of their creative imagination. Many years from now, these kids Christmas ornaments will bring forth happy remembrances of their years as a child, joining days gone by to the present, possibly even bringing generations of your family together. You can’t ask for a great deal more from a gift than that.

Depending on what their use is, personalized Christmas ornaments may take numerous forms. Consider having your kids’ Christmas ornaments utilized as Christmas tree toppers should you have something somewhat elaborate in mind. Because a one of a kind Christmas ornament will stand out, you may want to have the kids decorate their very own Christmas balls each year. Glass ornaments can be used to mark special occasions such as wedding anniversaries, accomplishments, baby’s first Christmas, and more.

There are a host of options available out there with regards to the kids Christmas ornaments for which you opt to make and/or personalize. A homemade Christmas wreath or an elaborate centerpiece needs lots of imagination and energy, however, these will offer you a personalized touch that goes beyond simple Christmas tree ornaments. Having said that, there are numerous Christmas tree ornaments offered which could be quite easily customized. As an example, there are ornaments such as these that include Santa in his sleigh driving his line of reindeer. This is made up of eight or nine individual ornaments, each of which has a blank space adequate enough for your child’s name and the date.
AdChoices

Other options for quickly individualized Christmas ornaments make use of photographs. These enable you to have fun and play photographer as you take fun holiday pictures of your young ones and family members, and then you can let them choose which photographs they’d like to see immortalized on plaques, ball ornaments, or perhaps the inside of a snow globe.

If you’re feeling a bit more adventurous and would like to make your kids Christmas ornaments from scratch, salt dough is a classic and creative possibility. After finding the best recipe and instructions from the library, a friend, or an Internet search, you can actually leave the remaining portion of the process completely up to the kids. The ornament style, paint, decorative touches, and everything else are only restricted to the child’s own creativity. Older children might like to try their hand at ceramics, crochet, or embroidery in an attempt to keep them engaged with the crafting project. Should you have a less artistically-inclined child, craft stores and specialty shops regularly make available a wide array of ornament kits that are easily personalized and only call for a little bit of assembly.

Regardless of which course you go, personalized and homemade Christmas ornaments offer activities that simultaneously occupy the mind of your child and create cherished memories of the holidays that will last for many generations and Christmas seasons ahead.

Be sure to read one of our blog posts on How to Make Dough Ornaments at Home, under Make Your Own Ornaments and Other gifts!

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10 Holiday Traditions for Single Parent and Families

Snowball Family of Five personalized christmas Ornaments

Make a Small Gathering Special With These Holiday Traditions

By , About.com Guide

Do you dread spending the holiday with “just” your immediate family? Unfortunately, we’re conditioned to think that truly meaningful holidays have to involve large family gatherings. However, small gatherings can be a lot more intimate and can allow you to initiate some holiday traditions that just wouldn’t be possible with a large group. If it’s just you and your kids this year, try these holiday traditions for small families:

1. Let Everyone Be a Chef

Let each member of the family make part of the meal. Spend a little time the week before planning what you’re going to have, and who will be responsible for each part. If you have a small kitchen, or if your kids are young, help them prepare their part of the meal the night before. Find some simple, kid-friendly, holiday recipes.

2. Say Thanks

Spend some time going around the table sharing what you are most thankful for. If you think your kids might not put much effort into sharing their thanks verbally, put a twist on this favorite holiday tradition by asking them to demonstrate or illustrate what they are most thankful for this year. (In fact, this might turn out to be your favorite holiday tradition, if your kids happen to catch you off guard by voicing just how thankful they are for you.)

3. Share Your Favorite Faith-Based Holiday Traditions

Read stories and passages related to the holiday you are celebrating. Alternatively, let your children put on their own play, demonstrating the real meaning of the holiday. They can work on this together while you prepare the meal.

4. Celebrate the Holiday With Crafts

Let your children decorate the dinner table, their rooms, or the outside of your home with holiday decorations. In addition, if you are celebrating Thanksgiving, spend some time together after dinner making homemade Christmas ornaments and decorations. Especially if you enjoy crafts, but don’t usually have time to make them in December, this is an ideal family activity for Thanksgiving night. Try the following suggestions:

5. Take a Family Walk

Make a family walk one of your regular holiday traditions. After enjoying the holiday meal together, let everyone pitch in on the clean-up, and then take a leisurely walk before dessert.

6. Watch a Holiday Classic

After dinner, spend some time watching a holiday classic together.

7. Play Games Together

Another favorite among after-dinner holiday traditions is playing games together. From playing a traditional game of charades to playing your kids’ favorite board games or video games, having fun together is a great way to spend the holiday.

8. Get Out of the House

Plan to do something fun together after dinner. For example, go bowling, see a movie, or drive around town and check out the holiday decorations. Just for fun, you could even have your kids vote for the best ones.

9. Make a List

Every season, it seems that there are so many things that we want to do, but never get to. Why not turn to make a list into one of your regular holiday traditions? For example, after dinner on Thanksgiving, make a list of what you want to do before Christmas. Then, on Christmas, make a list for what to do over winter break or during the new year.

10. Reach Out to Others

Find a way to weave serving others into your holiday traditions. Go sing Christmas carols at a local nursing home, make cards for troops, or drop dessert off to a local women’s shelter. This will not only teach your children valuable lessons about what’s really important, but it will lift your spirits, as well.

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Gift Ideas for Parents of Twins, Triplets, or Multiples!

Twins Are Blessings Personalized Christmas Ornament

Top-Rated Christmas Gift Ideas for Parents of Twins and Multiples

Written by Elizabeth Batt, November 2010

These top-rated Christmas gifts for parents of twins and multiples will keep on giving, long after the holidays are over. Useful gifts are always welcome.

Parents of twins and multiples bear extra worries and an increased workload not just at Christmas time but throughout the year. A practical Christmas gift is always a welcome one and these three top-rated or award-winning holiday gifts can be put to good use anytime.

Baby-Everywhere

Founder of Baby-Everywhere, Florence Weiner, says that there gifts began with, “An idea and important goal: to provide parents with help in preventing and handling an emergency.” This idea, developed into a series of gifts that have earned a bevy of awards from The American Academy of Emergency Medicine, Parenting Media, Best Products Media Guide and Parent Tested Parent Approved (PTPA).

The Safe Baby Kit at $14.95 is a combination picture frame and safety book that parents can add their child’s critical information to. This information can then be accessed by any caregiver from the babysitter to Grandma. The safety book offers valuable and sage advice from pediatricians, nurses and paramedics and the included first aid guide, covers emergency situations such as CPR steps and how to treat a choking incident. With a special area for baby’s medical information, parents can rest assured that everything a caregiver will need to know is readily accessible in any emergency situation.

The Safe Baby Kit is just one of several products manufactured by Baby-Everywhere. Other products such as the Information Station and the Safe Baby Organizer, are tools all parents can use to create a comprehensive safety net for every baby and toddler in their family, whether at home or on the road.

Emergency responders love seeing these kits when responding to an infant call, as they provide immediate and valuable information that can be used to determine immediate treatment protocols. When panicked parents call 911, the Safe Baby Kit can relay information to responders, that flustered parents themselves, cannot. With prices this reasonable, a gift-giver can afford to buy more than one of these kits for multiple families.

A Netflix gift subscription

Time is precious and of the essence for families with multiples. Whether bottle or breastfeeding, feeding time can be a long process. How about something to accompany them in the wee small hours of the morning? A Netflix gift subscription is as adaptable as parents themselves have to be. Available gift subscriptions range from one month to one year and this idea was chosen as one of Oprah’s most favorite things for 2010.

With three plans available, parents can rent between one and three DVDs a month, or instantly watch unlimited TV episodes and movies streaming over the Internet to their computer, or television via an Xbox 360, PS3, Wii or any other streaming device. Movies are also available at the parent’s own time of choosing and can make sleepless nights shorter. DVDs are conveniently delivered through the mail and returned through the mail, and there are no due dates or late fees, ever.

Plans start at $8.99 a month for one DVD out at-a-time, to $16.99 a month for three DVDs out at-a-time. Gift subscriptions are $13.99 for one month and $167.88 for one year.

Gift certificates for restaurants that deliver

Gift certificates for ready-cooked food that is also delivered can truly be a lifesaver for busy parents of multiples. After an extra arduous day with both parents chipping in to care for multiples, cooking a meal when feeling exhausted is no fun. Parents can choose when they want to eat without the inconvenience of having to leave home.

Well-meaning friends can make food and deliver it, but then parents feel forced to entertain or tidy up the home and quite frankly, sometimes that is the last thing that they need. Send a gift certificate instead. Many local restaurants offer free delivery, find one that has food to suit several different tastes and includes healthy options.

The biggest help or gift can be something quite simple and these ideas for Christmas gifts for parents of twins and multiples are just that. They don’t require a huge time investment by gift givers, but they’ll certainly be a hit with any new parent. Showing someone you care is the best Christmas present anybody can give, what better way to do that, than with a gift that expresses thoughtfulness?

 

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Gifts for Triplets

Triplet Bears on a Swing Personalized Christmas Ornaments

Triple Joy! Triple-iffic! And Triplets are three times the Fun!  Those are expressions we put on our personalized Christmas ornament for triplets…. and they certainly look adorable.  Whether you choose penguins, snowmen, or bears, our triplet ornaments make wonderful gifts that the parents will love for their infant triplets, and the triplets will love as they grow older!

Here is an article on Gifts for Triplets published last July, 2011. https://www.uniquegiftsideas.net  It has some great ideas and acknowledges the challenges of finding just the perfect gift for three bundles of joy!

Triplet Baby Gifts–Three Times The Fun!

Parenthood is a gift unto itself, but if someone you know is lucky enough to be gifted with triplets, the joy felt can be even greater than normal. To have not one, but three new bundles of love arrive is more than just a life-altering moment. It is a defining moment that everything is different and special.   And a moment as special as the arrival of blessed triplets deserves something as special as triplet baby gifts. But is there a way to find and purchase triplet baby gifts without breaking the bank?

Having triplets come into the world also presents unique opportunities for gift buyers. Three new children mean three new personalities, three new cute little bodies to clothe, three new mouths to feed.

Instead of purchasing three of every gift, the gift buyer can instead buy three different baby toys, allowing the children to have a wide variety of things to do. Rather than buying the same thing three times over, instead buy three triplet baby gifts that are as different as the personalities of the three new children they are meant for.

This allows the gift buyer the chance to put thought into presents for three special children who deserve all of the thought and attention that they can receive. Three times the babies mean three times the love, and well thought out triplet baby gifts can help convey that message to the happy family.

Triplet baby gifts can include cute baby clothes, and there are many options available when it comes to outfits for triplets.  Triplets are often born smaller than other babies, so it is important when shopping for clothes for triplets to find the right sizes for the children. Some effort such as choosing ‘preemie’ clothes beforehand can save the new, busy parents from needless work and worry after the birth.

Outfit styles are also worth consideration. Many people, when shopping for triplet baby gifts, often get the three children cute matching outfits. Seeing three brand new babies in matching clothes is a heartwarming and touching sight and a gift unto itself.

But not all clothes have to match, especially if the triplets are a mix of boys and girls. Not all clothes that are destined to be triplet baby gifts need to be the same, as giving different gifts to the different children will help the children feel special and unique.

You can also mix and match both clothes that are different and clothes that are the same.  For example, you could buy play clothes that are different and pajamas that match. There certainly is no rule that states that you have to choose to have everything match or everything be different. The triplets will grow up to be unique people, but will always have that bond with their siblings as well.T he choices when shopping for triplet baby gifts are almost endless, and as long as the gifts come with love, nothing can go wrong.

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Ideas for gifts for Single Parents at Christmas

Single mom decorating christmas tree with child

We understand that Christmas time for a single parent can be challenging – both financially and emotionally.  But the desire is always to have a holiday that’s filled with love and meaning, and to take care that the children get excited, have fun, and create family tradition together.  We’ve made groups of ornaments for single parents and shown how to personalize them for Christmas with Mommy and Christmas with Daddy.

Here’s an article I found on the internet written by Christina Gregoire back in 2011.  Food for thought!

First of all, I want to say that single moms are not all the same. Some mothers don’t have much money, and they worry about what they’ll give their children for Christmas. These moms don’t care about opening presents for themselves. And, most women without financial problems just want to be included in people’s holiday plans because they’ve lost their support group of married friends.

Gifts for Single or Divorced Mothers With No Money

Most single moms don’t care very much about what presents they get; their gift is seeing their children’s eyes light up. However, holidays are generally awful for divorced moms. Few families can live up to the phony Madison Avenue hype. And, divorced families, even reconstituted-remarried step-families, have almost zero chance of ever feeling like a Norman Rockwell painting.

So, as much as I dislike the idea of gift cards, money and gift cards are perfect for financially-strapped single moms. But, here’s the kicker: You should give the gift card before Christmas, not on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

If you are a grandma, a guy dating a single mom, or a coworker of a financially struggling mom, ask your friend what she needs to make her holiday less of a burden. Most of the following gifts will be appreciated more if you give them a few weeks before Christmas, and you should tell the mom that she can use the card right away if she wants:

  •  If the mom has little kids, consider a gift card for Walmart, Target, Toys R Us, or Amazon.com. Give her this card before Christmas, so she can buy presents for her kids.
  • Gift Card for Clothes: If the mom has teen or tween girls, give her an early gift card for Macy’s, Nordstrom, Claire’s (for younger girls), Zappos, or Amazon.
  • Try to find out what her boys like. Some boys like outdoor equipment from places like REI or Cabela’s. Other guys are into tech toys, so something like a gift card for Best Buy or Amazon might be good.
  • Gift Wrap: If you want to be thoughtful, give gift-wrap along with a pre-Christmas gift card. Wrapping paper is expensive when someone is scrimping, but it adds to the charm of the holiday.
  • Christmas Tree: Before buying your friend a tree, ask her if she already has one and if that would be a good gift. I like real trees, but consider a fake tree. Then, if you are a real friend, you could help her decorate the tree by making salt-dough ornaments and stringing cranberries (or popcorn) with her and her kids.
  • Gift Card for Food: Even people with a decent income are noticing increases in food prices. So, imagine what it must be like trying to feed kids on a meager income. Sure, her kids might be getting school lunches and the family might qualify for food stamps, but when you don’t have a ton of money for groceries, it’s really nice to have a full refrigerator.

Single Moms With Money for Presents

You have two ways you can go with this. You can give a gift that’s for the single mom’s whole family or you can give a gift that’s just for your friend.

Sometimes it’s easier to come up with something that a whole family will love.

  • Gift Passes for Movie Theaters: Find out what movie chains are near your friend’s home. Big chains include Cinemark and AMC, but you might have a local favorite.
  • Netflix Gift Card: Get this for the longest time you can afford because Netflix is addictive. Make sure that the family has a TV and a DVD player or something like a Roku Netflix Box to facilitate downloading.
  • Tickets to the Nutcracker Ballet: Feel this one out, but my girls loved the Nutcracker every year when they were young.
  • Old-Fashioned Board Games:
  • Gift Baskets: Gift-of-the-month companies have yummy presents in all price ranges.

Another cool idea is to give the family an annual pass to a zoo or museum.

Christmas is a difficult time for single moms and I’m not talking about money. If you are going caroling, driving around to see Christmas lights, or baking cookies, invite your friend. Any social activity (especially if kids are involved) will help your pal feel less excluded around the holidays. Ask your friend if she wants to come along. She may say, “No,” because she’s too tired, but you should ask, just to let her know that you are thinking of her.

If you want a gift that can be wrapped, here are some ideas:

  • Gift Card for a Spa
  • Baby-Sitting: Print out your own certificate for several nights of sitting. Only do this if you know you’ll be able to follow through.
  • Cute Cashmere Hat or Scarf: Give this with a gift receipt in case she prefers a different color or style.
  • Homemade Sugar Cookies

Another idea, if you have enough time, is to take your friend’s children shopping and have them pick out inexpensive items to fill a gift basket for their mom. Help the kids wrap this and help them make cards. If that’s too expensive, make fudge or cookies with them. Mom will be overwhelmed with the time and thoughtfulness of your gift.

Some of these Christmas presents can be a bit expensive, so you might want to get the whole office or the entire family to chip in for a group gift.

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Celebrating Christmas with a Newly Adopted Child

Adopted Daughter Personlized christmas Ornaments
Home for the Holidays
Celebrating Christmas with your Newly Adopted ChildWe loved some of the ideas in this article and wanted to share them with you!
Author:  Heather V Long

Christmas is a time of celebration and rejoicing with your family and loved ones. What can be more special than a first Christmas with a newly adopted child? How do you welcome them into your home, your heart and your family? What about the rituals, traditions and culture of an internationally adopted child? How do you take your blended family and bring them together for the holidays?

First Christmas

“What happens on the first Christmas depends on the age of the child and his past experiences,” says Gloria Hochman, director of communications and marketing at the National Adoption Center. “Older children, who have been in foster homes, will remember the way Christmas was celebrated there, which may or may not have been a wonderful experience. For very young children, the celebration will probably be no different from what it would be for birth children. Whatever is comfortable or traditional in the family would probably be fine.”

Hochman points out that it is important to transmit the joy of the holiday but not to overwhelm the child, particularly if his or her personality is subdued. ”Include the child in the celebration in a way that is appropriate to his age,” she says.

“It is important for older children to integrate their cultural identity,” says Victor Groza, professor of social work at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. “Integrating an adopted child’s traditions and cultures can be a great bonding experience for the family.”

Cindy Champnella, an adoptive mom from Farmington Hills, Mich. and the author of The Waiting Child, says that Christmas should be a magical time for all children, no matter what age they are. ”The younger children, of course, have no basis of comparison,” she says. “But the older ones often see it as another extraordinary aspect of their new lives.”

Tom and Sabrina Glidden of Eaton, Ind. are preparing to celebrate their first Christmas with their sons who were adopted from Ukraine. They plan to incorporate some traditions from their children’s home country. In Ukraine, there are two sets of holidays, Catholic and Orthodox. “This will be our first Christmas with the boys home,” says Sabrina. “We will set up the Christmas tree after our Thanksgiving meal. We’ll set up a handmade replica of a fireplace, on which we will place our empty stockings. On Christmas Eve, we will set out two cookies and a glass of milk for Santa.”

What to Do

Champnella encourages families to celebrate their traditions with their children, but to also learn about the holiday traditions of their homeland. “Local groups, like Families With Children From China, often have parties and celebrations for the Chinese New Year, the Dragon Boat Festival and other traditional Chinese holidays,” she says. “They are wonderful occasions to add new traditions to a family.”

Hochman finds it energizing for all family members when a child’s heritage is considered in celebrating the holidays. “We know families where there are birth children and adopted children from a variety of cultures,” she says. “They celebrate Ramadan, Kwanzaa, Chanukah and Christmas. Children learn to appreciate their own cultures and those of their siblings.”

Families come together at Christmas and other holidays. Emphasizing cultural identity and sharing those traditions together provides strength for children, not only in adopted children but also in birth children. In families where there is a mixture of religion and culture, Groza suggests looking for the commonalities amongst the traditions and emphasizing those.

No matter how much you do or don’t incorporate, there is no deficit, but only strength. It is the responsibility of parents to know their children and to fulfill their needs.

“It is one thing to think it all through intellectually, but the reality can be different and difficult,” says Groza. “Holidays bring out these differences, but they also allow parents to adapt their parenting to the needs of the child. After the first holiday, the rest are easy because the pattern has already been set.”

The Gliddens will be joining a group of carolers this year. The tradition of caroling has continued in Ukraine since the ninth century, and she wants the boys to be a part of it.

Traditions

“I think it is very important to help a child understand about their native culture,” says Champnella. “You want them to be proud of their heritage, as this will affect their self-esteem in the years to come. However, you do need to take cues from the child about how much to discuss this and be prepared to back off during the times when they are experiencing adjustment issues.”

Traditions, whether they are being integrated from the child’s culture or from a parent’s upbringing, will eventually meld together to become a family tradition.

“I believe most families are comfortable raising a child in their traditions but want to incorporate knowledge of their own cultures because they want their children to be proud of who they are,” says Hochman. “It is important for children’s self-esteem that they enjoy their family’s traditions and way of life, but are also cognizant and take pride in their own heritage.”

Part of parenting involves building positive strengths and self-confidence in our children. Learning with them and developing new rituals, as well as incorporating the old, helps to do just that. Adopted children need the influences and reminders of the past to help them define who they are and will be.

In Ukraine, there is a Christmas spider web legend that tells of one family in a village who was too poor to have a decorated Christmas tree in their house. The mother hung a few meager nuts and fruits on the small tree outside their door in hopes of bringing some cheer to her children’s Christmas Day celebration. On Christmas Eve, the spiders heard her prayers and hung their webs all over the tree. As the sun came up, its rays glittered and sparkled on the dew that was sprinkled on the webs and turned them to silver and gold.

“We will tell them this story and attempt to make ornaments that look something like it,” says Glidden. “ We strongly believe that all members of a family are contributors. Therefore, we gladly adopt what our children’s heritage brings. Even if it is new to them now, one day they will know that we have accepted their heritage as well as they have adopted ours. As the boys often say: ‘We all got married.'”

A family is not built on the biological or cultural similarities they share, but the traditions and memories they create to treasure in the years to come.

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Why kids love personalized gifts – Ornaments included!

Our Three Grandkids Personalized Ornament

Do you pay particular attention to text that includes your name? You do !!! Well so do children and so do gift buyers who love personalized baby and children’s gifts! – for good reasons!

At Christmas time children will love to receive a personalized Christmas ornament, especially one made at www.calliopedesigns.com!  Obviously, we have ornaments for newborns to graduates, and every age in between!  You can be sure that each year when the ornament box comes out of storage to begin decorating the Christmas tree, your child will search for his or her very one personalized First Christmas ornament to be hung on the tree in a prominent place!  The search will resume for the Second Christmas ornament and any others that have been gifted over the years!  Sounds pretty fun to me!

Kids adore to see something with their name on it, then they can definitely say ‘ITS MINE!’ or “its Me”. These items become special keepsake gifts. In addition, if the personalized gift is of practical use to the child, then it will be used often by the child.  A personalized book, record, bib, blanket, or stuffed animal will be loved year around.

Not only do personalized toys/gifts help promote their growing self-identity, but it also helps children distinguish/individualize themselves from other members of the family, particularly if there is more than one child sharing a bedroom. This is particularly true with twins/triplets.

Not only do personalized gifts give them a separate identity they also give children a unique play activity if that personalized item is a toy. If your name is Tom, it gives you little joy to push a train named Jane around your room.

The gift giver can also benefit. Personalized toys/gifts do become treasured by the child and therefore take pride of place – often pride of public place. So uncles, aunties, godparent and grandparents buying personalized items get public brownie points which is a lot better than your expensive 1920′s genuine Teddy Roosevelt bear being shoved in the big bottom toy storage drawer for eternity.

So what are the sociological benefits of the various personalized gift categories

  • Enhancing Reading Skills: If my name is in the paper, I know I would want to know for certain what is being said about me . Same with a child regarding a book. So personalized books when the text is at the correct reading level are natural accelerators of reading skills.
  • Enhance Listening Skills Children love to hear their own names, also pattern learning is a great foundation for all education the child will subsequently get exposed. Encourage them early to learn songs – which after all are just aural patterns – thereby starting them on the way to rapid knowledge acquisition
  • Encourage worthwhile habits: Personalized cups/dishes & cutlery. We all want a reasonably certain set of activities from day to day. Personalized tableware reduces once off surprising tantrums “because today I hate all yellow things”. Granted you now need to have those exact pieces on hand for every meal but the guesswork of occasional tantrums are gone.
  • Increase gift-giver Feel Good Factor: Personalized teddy bears/baby clothes/books are great for Godparents, Grandparents and other relatives. You know that within 6 months these will be used twice daily for 6 years or more. However such regular use may result in a disintegrated piece at the end of that period. These cuddly companions usually stand 45 cm tall. What makes them personalized are the writing on each of the foot. These can be a date or a name.

You can help a child embrace their identity and celebrate their name by giving them personalized gifts. Personalized children’s gifts can be small or large, extravagant or very inexpensive. But regardless of the size or the cost, children feel extra special because that gift is uniquely theirs and was created entirely for them. Kids just love that! But then again, don’t we all?

originally posted by admin in babies toddler, Home, and Family

 

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An adoption gift for an older child

Baby's First Steps: Ethnic Boy Personalized christmas Ornament

This article was written by R.J. Bowman, and it has some great ideas for adoption gifts for older children.  We understand that the first holiday season after an adoption can be an emotional time.  Newly adopted older children may have memories of other holidays with their birth family, or foster families, and wonder what it will be like in their newly adopted family.  Including your adopted child in your existing family traditions is an important way of making him or she feel accepted and loved – this year add their name to the annual personalized ornament you purchase for the family!  It will be forever treasured.

Great Gift Ideas for an Older Child

The following thoughts were written by R.J. Bowman, and it has some great ideas for adoption gifts for older children.

When a baby is adopted, he will never remember any family other than the people who chose to welcome him into their home. An older adopted child, however, has a past and a memory of another family. After losing one family, he may be nervous about his place in a new family and wonder if he will be left behind yet again. Giving an adopted child a special gift can speak volumes about your commitment to keeping him or her forever.

1.    Engraved Gifts

  • Mark the beginning of your adopted child’s new life with a gift of jewelry that will make her feel like she is truly part of this family.  Necklaces, rings, bracelets, and watches can all be engraved with the date of the adoption and your child’s new name, and the gift will be a visual representation of the change that has occurred. Remember, though, that your child is old enough to have opinions about the jewelry she likes or does not like; make sure to choose something she will be happy wearing.

If your adopted child is not into jewelry, there are many other items that can be engraved, including Christmas tree ornaments, money clips, photo albums, and even iPods and other MP3 players.

2.   Family Tree Scrapbook

  • Welcome the adopted child into the family with a family tree scrapbook. An older child who comes into the family may feel that he’s expected to know instantly all of the aunts, uncles, and cousins in the extended family. Put together a page about each member of the family to help the newest member learn about each person. Include basic information such as the relative’s name, birthday, spouse, children and parents–and how he or she is related to your child. Include fun information as well, such as the family member’s favorite food or pet’s name. If possible, have each family member add a brief message to your adopted child. This will help him know that he is truly wanted, not just by his new parents, but by the entire family.
  • 3.  A Memorable Day
  • Memories make great gifts. An older adopted child probably has a lot of bad memories in her past, so help her start off her new life with good memories. Plan a special day to celebrate the adoption and show your child that she is wanted, loved and accepted into her new family. The memorable day can be anything your child likes to do. Spend the day at the beach or the zoo, or at a water park or amusement park. Make the day even more special by renting a limo to take the entire family to the chosen location. End the evening with dinner out at a restaurant serving your child’s favorite food.

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Choosing a Gift for an Adopted Child

Adopted with Love (Boy's) First Christmas Personalized Ornament

This carefully written and thoughtful article was written by Chantel Alise, an eHow Contributor, and published on the internet.  I thought our customers might enjoy some of her ideas for the newly adopted child in their family or friends circle.

We have a nice selection of Christmas ornaments and a long list of sweet and sentimental phrases that can be added to create a gift that will be cherished for all Christmases to come in this child’s life.  And Chantal has some great ideas too.

Great Gift Ideas for Adopted Child

Adopted children often don’t know what to make of their first Christmas with a new family. That is particularly true when they are not at all familiar with the holiday and all of its traditions. For some, it can be a frightening time; with lots of strangers hanging around, loud parties, and strange customs. For that reason, it is important that everyone involved do their very best to make the  first Christmas as special as possible. For warm memories that will last for years, consider some of the following gift ideas.

1.  Give the child a gift that you made yourself. It matters not whether the item is a wooden toy, a handmade doll, or a knitted scarf, he will appreciate that you spent the time to make the gift. The new family members are sometimes suspicious or uncertain. They need constant reassurance of love and care. Nothing says that more than a handmade gift. The cost can be as minimal as you want to make it.

2. Present the child with a gift from from their culture. So many children that are adopted today come from foreign countries. Just because the child has moved from one country to another, doesn’t mean that he wants to turn away from the important aspects of his culture. Many toy stores like Toys R Us and even some discount department stores like Target carry at least a few toys aimed at foreign markets. If you don’t find something you like at a retail store, try an online source like Ebay. A gift of a toy from their own culture is also a gift of comfort for the child as she makes the difficult adjustment. It also shows that the gift comes straight from the heart because the gifter took the time to find just the right present.

3. Buy books and movies in the child’s own language as well as the language of the new parents and children. Again, if the adopted child comes from another country, that should not mean that he has to speak only the language of the new family. Encourage the child to become bilingual by providing books and movies in both languages; one in his language of birth and another in his new family’s language. By reading the same book or watching the same movie in both languages, the child will become fluent in both more quickly and easily than many structured environments. Prices will vary depending upon the type and number of books or movies included, letting you have some control over the amount spent.

4. Try a teddy bear or other stuffed animal. Some toys transcend cultures. Teddy bears and other stuffed animals definitely fit into this category. Plush toys that can be cuddled and used as a temporary security blanket can help a child assimilate more quickly into a new environment. You can even personalize the animal to the child by having her name stamped or embroidered onto the toy, choosing clothing from his cultural heritage, or recording a personal message that actually becomes part of the bear.

5.  Give the child an Adoption Life Book . Like a baby book for newborns, the life bookstores memories for the adopted child. These include things like the first time she met the adoptive parents; the first night home; the first family dinner; and much more. Adopted children need to know they are loved just as much as naturally born children. Carrying out some of the same traditions that families do with birth children will help them make a more natural transition.

6. Frame the child’s adoption certificate along with his photo and a poem that outlines why he is special as a “chosen child.”

7. Develop a representation of the family tree, including the adopted child. Let the child know that she is an important branch on the family tree by making it clear through visual representation. Draw it out on paper; print it up on the computer; or purchase something online at sites like Gifts. The cost can be minimal if you make it yourself.

8. Gift the child with a piece of jewelry that he can keep forever. Like a baby’s bracelet from the hospital, a pendant or bracelet that lists the child’s new name can help solidify the child’s place in the family. Engrave a personal sentiment on the underside such as “We will love your forever,” or “You will always be the child of our hearts.”

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Ornaments for Families of all Sizes and Shapes

Personalized Penguin Family (6) personalized christmas Ornaments

Personalized Christmas Ornaments for Families of all Sizes and Shapes

We at Calliope Designs know from experience that the modern family comes in all sizes and has many different compositions. Whether the family is Mom and Dad and children, or Mom, Dad, Grandma and children, step parents, step children, single-parent families, extended families, or alternative families, we’re proud to say we can find just the perfect ornament to suit your situation.

You’ll find a large collection of family ornaments, carefully organized by size, in our Families category. Just click on the word Families and a list will show you the different sizes we offer. The same is true under the Grandparents category. You won’t have to search through page after page of choices to find the product that is just right to make a personalized gift for your family or friends.

Extended Family Ornaments

Always keep in mind that our ornaments can be personalized for all types of relationships. We may not have a sample of each idea you have, but you can adapt our styles and our phrase to suit your needs! For instance, you can have ornaments done for Aunts and Uncles, Cousins, and Godparents.

New Single Parent Families

Be sure to take a look at the styles we’ve selected and personalized for the Single Parent Family. Because of the characters we use – the Penguins, Snowmen, Teddy Bears, our Single Parents can usually be either a Mom or a Dad. Create a darling gift for a family you know! They’ll love it!

New Adoption Ornaments

Whether you’re waiting for the baby to arrive, or already have your darling new child, we have many cute “Adoption” phrases written on the Baby’s First Christmas styles we sell. And we have ornaments for different size families with adopted members. What a lovely gift for a family with a new baby that has been “Adopted with Love” this year.

New Partners Ornaments

Expanded in 2008 this category of ornaments has been designed especially for gay and lesbian partners and their families. Take a look at this category and see if there is a nice gift for someone in your group. Show your friends how much you truly care about them by acknowledging their relationship and family and giving them a personalized ornament for their collection together.

New Feliz Navidad Ornaments

Our business is located in California and we have a rapidly growing Spanish speaking population! And San Francisco is a very international city, with inhabitants from all over the world. This has given us the idea to offer a section in our website that shows our customers they can have a lovely Christmas ornament made with a phrase in Spanish, or any language they might choose. We’re excited about this new category and look forward to sending our personalized designs out to customers all over the world!

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Great Gifts Ideas for Grandparents

Gingerbread Couple by Tree Personalized Christmas Ornament

We know Grandparents are much-loved family members! And each is unique – some wanting to be Grandmother and Grandfather, Grandma and Grandpa, others Nonna and Poppa! Some still live in the home where they raised their family, and some have had the big garage sale, sold the home and downsized to something “more manageable”, or closer to their kids. The one thing we hear from our customers, time after time, is that when asked what they’d like for Christmas Grandparents often reply…. Oh, I don’t really need anything! I have everything! Or, I just don’t have room for anything!

Great Gift Ideas

Grandparents will love our ornament designs
We’d like to suggest that you use one of our darling personalized Christmas ornaments as a gift to the Grandparents in your life! It’s not an extravagant gift in terms of money, but it’s extravagant in terms of love and thoughtfulness. Take a look at our section of ornaments for Grandparents. We have it divided up by the number of grandchildren to make it easier for you to shop.

Create a personalized ornament each grandchild’s name
You can make an ornament with a cute phrase: “Proud Grandparents of” is one of the most popular. Then add the names of your children on the little gifts or angels or gingerbread kids. You can make it using just your own children’s names…. Or you can add the names of all of the grandchildren in your extended family – i.e. all the cousins!  Don’t worry that more grandchildren might come along the way in the future.  We’ll put the current year on the ornament and Grandparents will love showing the grandkids which ornament was for the year they were added to the family Christmas ornament.

Give a Christmas ornament when there’s a new addition to the family
When you’re expecting, give a special “We’re Grandparents Again in …..” ornament such as one of our cute Snow Couple expecting ornaments.   This is also a super fun way to tell Grandparents that you are pregnant again, and that a new grandchild is on the way for the next Christmas celebration.     And always be sure to add the year to each gift. We’re certain the Grandparents will enjoy looking at their collection each year as they get their box of ornaments out to decorate the tree.

More ways to use our personalized Christmas ornaments for Grandparents
If the Grandparents are no longer decorating a tree, start a Grandparents Wreath for them!
Purchase an artificial Christmas wreath and decorate it with a big red bow and some small red balls. Fill in the spaces with an ornament custom personalized for each grandchild. This would be a decoration for the home that could be used each holiday and could be added to as more grandchildren come along.

We also know that Grandparents enjoy being part of their grandchildren’s special occasions in life. We encourage newlyweds to give their parents and grandparents each an Our First Christmas ornament celebrating their wedding! Be sure and put the wedding date on it – no one will ever forget their anniversary! It’s also a nice way to say Thank You to parents and Grandparents who might have contributed to the wedding ceremony and party!  And when there’s a Baby’s First Christmas – buy the Baby Photo Frame ornament and put a picture of the newest grandchild. What a wonderful gift to the proud grandparents! We have ornaments for Engagements, Anniversaries, and even Graduation. So always remember to keep Grandma and Grandpa in mind at Christmas time.

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Ornaments for the New Baby or Child

Baby's 2nd Christmas Personalized Ornament

Ornaments for Any Occasion

Christmas Tree Ornaments – Personalized Baby Gifts!
The birth of a baby is one of the most joyous events in a family and is celebrated with baby showers and gifts galore! Lots of baby gifts are for the moment – the size 0-3 months clothing, baby rattles, books, and teething rings.

This is truly an opportunity to give a personalized baby gift that will become a treasured family heirloom. A personalized Christmas ornament, with the year and the new baby’s name will be specially cared for and hung on the tree every year.
Baby’s First Christmas is the most popular phrase for this occasion, and remember, always include the year.

Some of our ornaments have more room to personalize and inscribe than others. Your choice will depend on what you want to communicate. Use your common sense to judge if a name, phrase, or other information will fit in the space available to personalize the dough ornament.

Often times the baby’s weight and length will be included. That is often included on the birth announcement, which is also a good source for the proper spelling of the baby’s name.

Another way to create a personalized baby gift is to write “(Baby’s name)’s First Christmas – such as Adam’s First Christmas. This type of personalizing works for Second Christmas, Third Christmas, etc. Don’t forget to add the year on each personalized Christmas ornament.

We also offer Mom, Dad, and Baby. A cute phrase is “And Baby Makes Three! Add the child’s name along with Mom and Dad’s names or the family name with the year. Any of the dough ornaments or claydough ornaments with three characters can be inscribed this way.

The new baby isn’t the only one who might like a personalized ornament gift celebrating his/her birth! This is a perfect personalized gift for Grandparents. One ornament we have is a photo ornament, just the size of one of those tiny photos from the hospital… and we inscribe “Proud Grandparents of…(name)” on the frame, with the year. Don’t forget both sets of Grandparents!

Our First Grandchild, Grandma and Grandpa’s Sweetheart, Grandchildren are a Blessing are some other phrases that can be used. Or use a Baby’s First Christmas design and say Our Grandaughter (son)’s First Christmas.

Ornaments can be personalized in this way for Aunts, Uncles, and Godparents. A lovely personalized baby gift.

Personalized Expecting Christmas Ornaments for Parents- to- Be!
Our ornament couple is holding a Baby Names book, and Mom-to-Be has a T-shirt with
BABY on the tummy. This ornament and a Baby’s First Christmas ornament would be great personalized baby gifts.

Expecting your baby is an occasion to celebrate. Expecting! 2005 can be inscribed.
Or, “Great Expectations! 2005”.

Sisters, Brothers, Twins, Triplets Personalized Christmas Ornaments

These styles are perfect to add to your children’s collection of personalized Christmas ornaments. We’ve noticed a lot of parents begin buying a dough ornament when their children are born and create a collection of personalized ornaments for their children’s first 21 years to be given to them when they have their own home.

Sisters Are Special
Friends Forever
Best Friends Always
My Sister, My Friend
Brothers Are the Best

Twin’s First Christmas
Triplet’s First Christmas
Double Joy
Triple Joy

Personalized Sports Christmas Tree Ornaments
Children of all ages love our personalized sports ornaments.  Always include the child’s name and the year.  These ornaments make a great gift for the coach, or even for all the team members.  If there’s room it’s fun to put the team name on the ornament as well.

There are field sports, water sports, and snow sports.