Its baby’s first Christmas! How exciting! It’s a perfect time to start a tradition, like buying the little bundle of joy a special ornament for this holiday and every holiday to come, or you can just plain spoil them with lots of toys and fun-filled activities. Here are a handful of suggestions that will have them cooing with glee:

Piggy Bank: A piggy bank is a collectible gift that will be treasured for a lifetime. It’s also a great way to start teaching a young child the fundamentals of money management. What better way to get good habits started early? Personalize it with the baby’s name for an extra special touch.

Classic Baby Toys: Encourage imagination and learning with a time-honored and tested baby toy. Some of the better choices include a Fisher Price Animal Sounds Farm, wooden ABC blocks, jack-in-the-box, shape sorter or an activity gym. Go to a toy store to find the largest assortment of classic baby toys.

Collectible Teddy Bear: Here’s another option for launching a family tradition. Every year, buy the baby a collectible bear from a specialty teddy bear store. These are high quality crafted items that will be cherished for generations. They can also be found at your nearest gift store, or your favorite online shopping spot.

Baby Einstein Gifts: The entire Baby Einstein collection is loved by parents and babies, too. The theory behind Baby Einstein is to teach a baby basic ideas and concepts. Select from their award-winning videos, DVDs, books and music. Baby Einstein products can be ordered online or picked up at your favorite toy or department store.

Music Cube: It’s been proven that music stimulates the brain and encourages early learning skills. With the push of a button, a baby can compose and arrange musical scores and develop their creative mind. Your local toy store should carry several different types of music cubes, and of course many options can be found online as well.

LeapFrog LeapStart Learning Table: This award-winning educational toy will introduce a child to letters, numbers, shapes and colors through a fully interactive musical experience. It’s a learning adventure that is sure to delight any baby! They’re available at toy stores and mass-merchandisers nationwide.

There isn’t a magical tool for finding the perfect gift for a child. But if it is a gift from the heart it will surely bring magic.

About the Author
© 2005, Kathy Burns-Millyard. All Rights Reserved. This article is brought to you courtesy of The Home Gift Shopper – http://www.homegiftshopper.com – A wonderful online source for gifts and gift ideas.

When children start to walk more steadily, run, push, pull, climb and grab things – they are growing from infants to toddlers. Between their first and second birthdays, they are self centered and get busy doing various things like – to flip light switches, pour things in and out of containers, unwrap packages and empty drawers. The toddler stage is very important in a child’s life. It is the time between infancy and childhood when a child learns and grows in many ways. Everything that happens to the toddler is meaningful.

How do I know this?
I am a mother of two boys who I love dearly. I decided to stay home and raise my children with the best education and values I could provide. We made sacrifices and reorganized our lives for them. I learned the importance of educational toys as we saw our sons playing together with toys all around the house. This is when I realized the value of educational toys and started lulu-baby.com, to help other parents provide greater richness and diversity to their children. I truly believe that educational toys are the one option that can make every parent’s dreams true.

A toy which is worthy, gives colorful success in the end. Same goes to educational toys too. Each toy can have some educational benefits. Sometimes you may have to ask your self, “How can this toy be educational to my child?” The answer may be obvious, or you may have to dig a little to find a lesson or value with the toy. But, the rewards are worth it as you watch your children play with the toys in a meaningful way, and actually learn something in the process.

Here are some ideas to encourage your children to get more out of their fun time.

Baby Einstein
Infants and toddlers are apparently big fans of the Baby Einstein series, with titles like Baby Mozart, Baby Shakespeare, and Baby Van Gogh making regular rounds in their family’s DVD. I learned the importance of educational toys. The shine in my sons’ eyes while watching several of the Baby Einstein Videos taught me that I can provide happiness to the little one. “These videos have a lot of colors and shapes that hold his attention,” says another Mom. The complete line of Baby Einstein educational videos and DVDs stimulate the growing mind.

And what child doesn’t love the magic of puppets? Whether it’s a ferocious dragon, a wiggly octopus or a friendly dog. These lovely puppets offer terrific “hands-on” fun that is sure to ignite any child’s imagination. Playing with Baby Einstein Puppets with a parent or adult helps babies interact with others and aids in language development.

Little Tikes
These are for babies 6 to 36 months and are aimed at giving children experience. My older son enjoys climbing up and down the Castle Climber has been one of our best investments towards our children’s growing up.

Little Tikes offers a variety of play sets that help fuel their imagination. Little Tikes toys do not entertain children the way so many toys and products do. They allow a child’s imagination to run free and expand. There are not a lot of bells and whistles, but children do not need that all the time. They get sensory overload. Little Tikes produces toys that not only allow children to educate themselves, the toys encourage imagination and education.

Little Tikes makes shape sorters, infant sensory stimulation toys, outdoor toys that promote large motor skill development, and even furniture for a nursery, toddler or preschooler’s bedroom or playroom.

Already the leader in plastic furniture for children, Little Tikes is building on its established reputation for safety and durability by launching its first line of wooden furniture – natural interiors. So the furniture looks great “as is” or decorated with paint to match a child’s personality. The light wood furniture -including a table, chair, desk, easel, toy box and storage center- is perfectly scaled for kids and designed so that its looks at home in any interior or room of the house.

I can go on for another page as a typical Mom. But I would encourage you to visit my web site lulu-baby.com for more information. You may be wondering where the name lulu-baby came from. You will know once you visit my web site.

We, as Moms are very busy, we are always running around to take care of our babies. Online shopping is a great help for us busy Moms. Buying good products from the convenience of my home has become part of my life.

Our web site aims to be more than a web store, but a good resource for Moms, a place to find good products for you and your child.

With our deepest love for children, let’s bring a lot of laughter into our homes.

About The Author
Barbara De Oliveira. Mother of two children. Lulu-baby.com website owner and RN (Registered Nurse)

Its baby’s first Christmas! How exciting! It’s a perfect time to start a tradition, like buying the little bundle of joy a special ornament for this holiday and every holiday to come, or you can just plain spoil them with lots of toys and fun-filled activities. Here are a handful of suggestions that will have them cooing with glee:

Piggy Bank: A piggy bank is a collectible gift that will be treasured for a lifetime. It’s also a great way to start teaching a young child the fundamentals of money management. What better way to get good habits started early? Personalize it with the baby’s name for an extra special touch.

Classic Baby Toys: Encourage imagination and learning with a time-honored and tested baby toy. Some of the better choices include a Fisher Price Animal Sounds Farm, wooden ABC blocks, jack-in-the-box, shape sorter or an activity gym. Go to a toy store to find the largest assortment of classic baby toys.

Collectible Teddy Bear: Here’s another option for launching a family tradition. Every year, buy the baby a collectible bear from a specialty teddy bear store. These are high quality crafted items that will be cherished for generations. They can also be found at your nearest gift store, or your favorite online shopping spot.

Baby Einstein Gifts: The entire Baby Einstein collection is loved by parents and babies, too. The theory behind Baby Einstein is to teach a baby basic ideas and concepts. Select from their award-winning videos, DVDs, books and music. Baby Einstein products can be ordered online or picked up at your favorite toy or department store.

Music Cube: It’s been proven that music stimulates the brain and encourages early learning skills. With the push of a button, a baby can compose and arrange musical scores and develop their creative mind. Your local toy store should carry several different types of music cubes, and of course many options can be found online as well.

LeapFrog LeapStart Learning Table: This award-winning educational toy will introduce a child to letters, numbers, shapes and colors through a fully interactive musical experience. It’s a learning adventure that is sure to delight any baby! They’re available at toy stores and mass-merchandisers nationwide.

There isn’t a magical tool for finding the perfect gift for a child. But if it is a gift from the heart it will surely bring magic.

About the Author
© 2005, Kathy Burns-Millyard. All Rights Reserved. This article is brought to you courtesy of The Home Gift Shopper – http://www.homegiftshopper.com – A wonderful online source for gifts and gift ideas.