The MomSpeak

Thanks to a bunch of sick kids and way too many work deadlines to count, I’m still holiday shopping for a few friends and their kids. And while I generally do everything online, I’ve hit the point where shipping something will now cost me my first born child. Not to fret, however, because sometimes the simplest gift, like a book, can be the best.

That being said, a wrapped up book or one stuffed in a gift bag can sometimes look a little chinsy. So along with giving some of my favorite books, all of which I can grab at my local bookseller, I’m adding a little something extra that’s inspired by the words themselves to make it personal and a bit more special.

For the little one

Kit Allen’s adorable “Long John’s” board book is a fave in our house. Pair it with a fun pajama set from Old Navy.

For the princess obsessed preschooler

We always get a hearty chuckle after readinng Robert Munsch’s “Paper Bag Princess.” Pair it with a tiara and a wand.

I used to think babies were expensive, with all of their baby toys, exersaucers, developmental playthings, and of course the Baby Einstein DVDs. And then my oldest grew into a preschooler, and I realized the entertainment only gets more expensive as they grow older. The newest electronic toys, that Dora DVD, and let’s not forget her begging to go to the local children’s science museum or the zoo constantly. It all adds up. 

Here are a few ways to save on entertainment so your little one can be happily occupied without draining your bank account:

We have tried to develop a love of books in our daughters. Our three-year-old loves to pick out her favorites for nighttime reading and even “reads” them back to us. Our eleven-month-old likes to chew on the corners — you can’t win ‘em all. As a family we are always looking for new books to cycle through the collection. This can get expensive if we were to buy new every time. Instead, I have compiled a list of ways to obtain free or inexpensive copies of our favorite tales to share with our readers.

My little sister had her first baby a few months ago. I flew across the country to visit her recently, and did all the things you do with a new mom: showed her how to put whiskey on the pacifier, locked her in the garage while he “cried it out,” encouraged her to give up breastfeeding because it was so inconvenient.

And on the second day, we went to The Great Big Baby Supply Store and spent too much money buying baby clothes at the retail price.

If there’s one lesson I taught her, it was to never buy clothing or other children’s supplies at the retail price. There’s no need. Not with all those sales, end of season clearances, coupons, giveaways, and discount codes out there!

Frugal is not the first adjective you might use to describe me. I don’t wash out my Ziploc bags or eyeball the roll of toilet paper to determine if anyone in the family is using more than his or her fair share. (Seriously, I once heard about someone who did that. A little scared here.)

I am also the world’s worst coupon clipper. Scratch that, I’m an excellent coupon clipper; I’m a terrible clipped coupon user as the stacks of yellowing, curled coupons from 2003 in my kitchen drawers will tell you.