1. Lessons

I thought I would follow up my introductory posting with another post sharing my first idea. I am huge on giving the gift of an experience (for anyone at any age, actually).  For a child, there is nothing that feels better than introducing them to something new especially if it turns out to be something they really enjoy and continue learning and doing.
There are lots of lessons that are in a reasonable price range.  Sometimes it can be a one-time lesson, or a series of lessons that span over weeks.  Some ideas include:

• Skiing at Cypress
• Art classes at 4 Cat Studios or Arts Umbrella
• Swimming lessons through your local community centre
• Dance lessons at a local dance school
• Tennis camp in the summer
• Skating lessons through your local community centre

And to step it up even one more notch, you can spend quality time with the child by taking them to the lesson!

My very first blog!

Hi everyone!  This is my first blog so you'll have to bear with me as I learn all about designing and maintaining blogs.  This is an idea I've had for a long time and I guess a couple things have recently re-invigorated my desire to do this.  We are all getting to an age where it seems like everyone around is having kids.  A couple Christmases ago, I realized that on my gifts list I had 17 kids to buy for, none of whom were my own.!  I have four beautiful and beloved god-children, and many close friends with children.  And for each of them, of course, I always wanted to get the 'perfect' gift.

I don't know about the rest of you but I have spent hours wandering aimlessly around Toys R Us, Carters, and Gymboree looking for that great gift, wondering if that educational book, Thomas the Train accessory, or the cute dress would really be treasured or loved by the child.   

I started thinking how great it could be if we could all share great gift ideas that didn't involve toys.  I heard from a few parents that it was very overwhelming for their kids to get 20-30 gifts all at once at Christmas and then again for their birthdays.  I think we all want to teach the children in our lives that there is more to life than just toys, and so this blog is specifically for sharing NON-TOY ideas.

I am looking into ways to allow others to post on my blog.  For now, if you leave a comment on my post with any gift ideas, I will make sure your suggestion makes its way into an individual posting.  I want ALL ideas to be shared!  Secondly, I think I can make it so that I have multiple authors on one blog so if anyone wants to co-author with me, I can add them to the permitted authors list.

Thanks for reading and I hope all of you share your great ideas!