All they want for Christmas is...

This is the time of year that a mother's mind starts melting from all the thinking that needs to be done for the holidays.  There are gifts to be gotten!!  And not just for my the three kids (and Marc!) - there are godchildren, friends, neighbors, cousins, sisters, brothers, parents, and all the other folks we cherish and want to spoil a little around the holidays too.

And then there's the ubiquitous question of "What would the children like for Christmas?"  Frankly, it's a blessing that anyone even cares enough to ask what the kids might like - I remember many Christmases when I'd open up gifts from far away relatives and think "Really?  Gym socks?  Really?  A comb?" 

No kid worth their salt would turn away ANY gift no matter how odd, but sometimes I wondered if the giver even knew who they were giving to, or maybe just bought 50 pairs of gym socks on sale and ran with it as a theme that year! 

Anyhow, I'm doing my best to come up with great ideas for everyone, while still saving a few of the best ones for Santa.  And because I know all these fabulous gift-givers are readers of this blog, I figured this is a fantastic place to list them!  I learned my lesson with Ben's birthday when I just listed a few ideas and he got multiples of them...so this time I'm splitting it up by gift giver.  If you want to borrow an idea from someone else's list, do so at your own peril!

AUNTIE KATIE
Molly would adore a larger tea set as she has outrgrown her tiny, child sized ones.
Jack would be over the moon with the magic kid we talked about last month.
Ben - The Bat Cave by Fisher Price.  He's been begging for it!


AUNTIE PATRICE
Molly would go bananas for a ribbon stick like the one her friend Emma has.  This one from Amazon.com looks really durable.
Jack would have a blast with the Kids' Paper Airplane Book by Ken Blackburn and Jeff Lammers.  This one is special because it includes the paper needed to make the planes and he'll have a blast using it when we visit after Christmas
Ben would love a set of squeeze planes from the HearthSong catalog so he can fly planes like Jack.

NANA AND PAPA
Molly would lose her mind if you got her the Fur Real Friends Parrot  Seriously, she might faint.
Jack would love a new game for his Nintendo DSi.  Maybe Lego Harry Potter?
Ben would play for hours with this Happyland Martian Moonhouse that goes with the Liftoff Rocket he got for his birthday. 

NANNIE AND GRAY
You wanted some general ideas to run with so here are a few:
Ben: Zhu Zhu Pets/Backyardigans/Superhero stuff
Molly: Zhu Zhu Pets/Webkinz/Polly Pocket
Jack: Zhu Zhu Pets/Nintendo DSi/Harry Potter or Percy Jackson books/Itunes gift card

Molly wears a size 5, Jack a size 8 shirt and size 7 pants, and Ben is in a 3T all around.  And as a caution, Bratz dolls/Barbie Dolls and weapons (water pistols, nerf guns, plastic swords, and yes, even light sabers) will mysteriously disappear at the earliest opportunity after the holidays.  I know it won't make me popular, but I never was popular anyway, so why start now!

So hey, while we're at it, what do YOU want for Christmas?  If there's something on your wish list, I would LOVE to know about it!  I'll be shopping my little fingers to the bone this week on the internet, so if you're on my gift list, expect a surprise in the mail soon!