Top 10 Christmas Gifts for Babies and Toddlers

This past year we received some amazing Christmas and birthday gifts for Judah that he's used all year long. He was 9 months old when he received them and still loves them at 18 months. Great toys that hold his interest and cultivate learning have been key especially since we've had baby #2. I've been recommending these items to friends, so I figured I'd compile them here on the blog! These are perfect for either gender.


1. Beatbo -- Before you run away from this musical toy, give it a chance. It honestly has some legit sounding dance music -- not your average kids' toy tunes! Our son LOVES it. He plays and dances with it for long periods of time and loves for us to join in. It has alphabet, counting, and color songs, and a button you can press to record your own voice that it autotunes and plays back for you. We keep this in his room and it is perfect when he has room time while I feed the baby.




2. Alphabet dog -- This dog sings the alphabet as you walk him. If you press the letter it goes through multiple things: the letter, the sound it makes, and a word that starts with that letter. Judah astonished me one day when I asked if he wanted more and he said, "M, more!" I had no idea how he knew that and then I figured out it was because of this dog. Another great toy that truly holds his attention.




3. VTech Sit to Stand Walker -- Judah loved this before he could stand, then used it to pull up and walk around, and now still plays with it even though he's been walking for half a year. The music can drive me nuts but it has been a versatile toy for multiple age stages.

4. Shape sorter ball -- So this is expensive. But it's the original Tupperware shape sorter ball. The sweet ladies who kept me in the church nursery gifted us this because it was my favorite when I was little. Judah LOVES THIS THING. So much so that I have to hide it or he becomes obsessed. He has learned all the shapes (although he has trouble saying "trapezoid"...but he seriously holds up a hexagon and says "hexagon"...crazy). It was definitely a learning process for him to be able to put the shapes in by himself but we started early and he was hooked. Most shape sorters have lids that can be taken off but this one doesn't so you're forced to actually put them in the specific shape holes.




5. Stacking bowls -- He stacks them. He rolls them. He spins them. He makes them into balls. He hides the small ones in the big ones. He has loved these for at least a year and the love hasn't faded.




6. Counting basketball goal -- This is the updated version of the one we have because I can't find the old one. Ours doesn't have a soccer goal and is less fancy. But besides being such a fun toy, this has truly helped Judah learn to count. And has also made him think that the number 10 is always one to be celebrated.




7. Classic blocks -- Judah will sit and study these blocks for long amounts of time. He loves finding certain letters and looking at the pictures. And then of course they are perfect for building towers and working on fine motor skills!




8. Flash cards -- There is a series of these cards and we have the First Words and the Counting ones. It has helped him learn all the words and he also simply loves taking them out of the box and putting them back in.




9. Bath basketball -- Judah's favorite bath toy!




10. BOOKS! -- This deserves a post of its own because there are SO many that we love. (EDIT: I made a post of our Top 20 Books for Toddlers! Yay!) Last year Jordan and I only got Judah a tote bag (see below) and some books. We knew the grandparents would get him toys! Some of our favorite books off the top of my head are Goodnight Moon, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Go! Go! Go! Stop!, The Going to Bed Book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, any ABC books, Where's Spot?, and goodness if your kid doesn't have the Jesus Storybook Bible go get that RIGHT now. :) Usborne Books is an awesome source for books as well -- you can go to my friend Abby's site to shop there!



*Honorable Mention* -- Lands' End Large Zip Top Canvas tote bag -- I got the idea from Hayley Morgan's post about getting each kid a tote bag for their first Christmas. This is really more for us right now, but will hopefully last a long time for Judah to use for years. I already have Levi's as well!


*Disclaimers* -- I think experiences are amazing gifts as well and I definitely don't want you to fill your house with toys! These are just ones that are tried and true for us and I'm glad we have. Some affiliate links are used, but as always the opinions are totally my own!

30 Holiday Date Ideas

The holiday season can be overwhelming. There is so much fun and activity, lots of time spent with family and friends -- but don't forget to spend quality time together as a couple! Here are some fun date ideas for the holiday season. 

1. Go ice skating. - bundle up and hold hands!
2. Get coffee/hot chocolate at Starbucks. - Yeah, it's expensive. But get red cups and have good conversation. :)
3. Window shop downtown. - Check out cute shops that you normally wouldn't go to. 
4. Look at Christmas lights. - You can search online and see if there are any known elaborately decorated houses near you. 
5. Bake cookies. - Go all out and make them from scratch, or get some slice and bake ones and decorate them. Don't forget the milk! 
6. See a matinee movie. - Less expensive and a fun change to do during the daytime. Or search for a $1-$2 theater near you.
7. Go to the dollar store or Five Below and pick out some gag gifts for friends or family. - You know your brother-in-law would love that Justin Bieber light-up pen.
8. Make an Operation Christmas Child box or two. Fun for you and for the kids who get the boxes - win/win!
9. Serve at a soup kitchen or a homeless shelter. - Find one you can help year-round, not just during the holidays!
10. Have movie night at home. - Redbox, Netflix, or ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas would give you some great options. Make a fort or pallet with lots of blankets and pillows and try to actually watch the movie without falling asleep. :) Or go through movies you already have. It's easy to forget ones you'd love to re-watch!
11. Go underwear shopping for each other. (This is for married couples, obviously, haha.) - How long has it been since you got lingerie? It doesn't have to be expensive, places like Kohl's or TJ Maxx have good stuff! And American Eagle has some great holiday guy underwear. :)
12. Go bowling. - Such a classic date night. Who cares if you're any good? Be silly. Have fun. 
13. Have a reminiscing night. - Watch your wedding video. Look through old pictures. Bust out the yearbooks. Watch home movies.
14. Deliver candy or cookies in your neighborhood. - Complete with Santa hats!
15. Have a board games/card night. - A few board games we love that can be played with two people: Monopoly Deal, Ticket to Ride, Flash Point.
16. Make a Top Ten of 2013 list. - Take time to remember all of the amazing things you did together this year. Is there anything you loved that you could recreate before the year is over?
17. Make a music video. - Pick a song. Maybe a Christmas song. Either plan out the dancing or freestyle. Hilarity is sure to ensue. 
18. Have a Minute to Win It night. - Have minute challenges with household items. Raise the stakes and make bets with each other to increase the competition!
19. Make a fire and s'mores. - Either make a fire in a fire pit in your backyard and cozy up together, or make a fire inside and toast the marshmallows in the oven. :) 
20. Recreate your first date.
21. Read a fun book together. - This may sound boring, but we love to do this and my husband isn't even an avid reader like myself. We've liked revisiting childhood favorites together (like The Great Brain) and now we've been reading Jim Gaffigan's book Dad is Fat which is hilarious (and we don't even have kids yet). 
22. Go dancing. - I don't mean in a club. I mean go salsa dancing. Or shagging. (Side note - apparently shag dancing is a North Carolina thing? I thought it was everywhere, but alas, it is not. Please look up videos and go shag dancing or try it at home. Do it.)
23. Make Christmas ornaments. - Get as crafty as you want or go old school with popsicle sticks or paper plates. I'm sure Pinterest has approximately 4722 ideas for this.
24. Go on a scavenger hunt. - You could set up a special holiday themed one for your spouse that includes a favorite dinner spot and dessert!
25. Visit a nursing home together. - Read the Christmas story in Luke to residents, or be bold and sing some Christmas carols to them. :)
26. Make a gingerbread house. - Start from scratch or buy a kit from somewhere like Michael's.
27. Go thrifting. - Everyone knows I love thrift finds on the daily, but this could be a fun date idea. You can find cute vintage Christmas decorations at thrift store or pick out hilarious outfits for each other.
28. Attend a play or ballet. - Obviously A Christmas Carol or The Nutcracker would be good choices this time of year!
29. Make your ultimate Christmas wish lists. - Go all out. I mean if you could have anything in the WORLD. For instance, mine would say a pet fox. A real life R2-D2. A dish washing fairy. You get the idea.
30. Have a video game night. - This is the most fun in my opinion when you have old school gaming systems such as Super Nintendo, Playstation, or N64. Just don't fight too much about who gets to be Mario and who has to be Luigi...


Hopefully those ideas get your wheels turning about what you can do with your significant other this holiday season. For ideas of what to do at your Christmas party, click here!

3 Wise Words for the Holiday Season

I was reminded of something yesterday through Lara Casey's Instagram that I had read before, but had completely forgotten about and NEEDED to read. It was a quote from Shauna Niequist's blog that is perfect for the holiday season.
Three Words:
Present Over Perfect.
With so many plans, distractions, and good intentions for Christmas we can become a little crazy. As in running around the house throwing dirty laundry into closets begging your husband to vacuum the pine needles on the floor and wrap his parents' gifts oh wait where are the the presents probably in the closet under the laundry well crap I accidentally bought a large oh there's the doorbell people are here I forgot to preheat the oven the lights on the tree just went out we forgot to do the last couple days of advent what are the visitors going to think and ceramic baby Jesus fell on the floor and broke and now I'm crying crazy. Sound a little familiar?
I was already stressing out before Christmas season even started about when we were going to decorate and get our tree. But Thanksgiving is so late this year! I said. It will be December 2nd when we're back from the Thanksgiving beach trip! I complained. Whatever shall we do! I cried.
Well, guess what? We got our Christmas tree December 2nd and it was magical and everything is just fine. Nothing happened because we didn't decorate early. If our Christmas party was tomorrow and the tree was still naked it would be just fine. 
 

I tend to get a little (okay a LOT) stressed and overwhelmed when lots of plans and parties and traditions and obligations are happening all at once (a.k.a. the holiday season for everyone). Just ask Jordan. Well, if you ask Jordan he'll probably just chuckle and not say anything bad about me because he's really sweet but in his head (and to me when we're alone) he'll be like yeah Ashley can be a crazy person.
And it's not like it's just with worldly things -- I can be like this with the good things. The "Jesus is the reason for the season" things. We can be so tired from having people over that our eyes are barely open and I'm like JORDAN WE HAVE TO DO THE JESSE TREE (our daily advent devotional) because I'm worried that we're not talking about Jesus' birth enough. Which defeats the purpose because then it's about me and not about Jesus anyway. So now that you know how ridiculous I can be and why these words from Shauna help me so much I will share them with you. :) You can read her whole blog post here, and please do, but I'll provide some quotes.
"You can show up with your perfectly wrapped grab bag gift & your perfectly baked cookies...and your perfectly resentful and frazzled self, ready to snap at the first family member you see.  Or you can choose to rest your body & nourish your spirit, knowing that bringing a grounded, present self to each holiday gathering is more important than the gifts you bring."
"I co-hosted a party the next night, and one of the things I brought was...frozen meatballs. You know I love to cook, and I was planning, of course, to make them from scratch. But it was too much -- time and energy I don't have in this season.  And, of course, no one cared. That's the lesson in this for people like me who sometimes get wound up about doing things perfectly...90% of the people in your life won't know the difference between, say, fresh and frozen, or handmade and storebought, and the 10% who do notice are just as stressed out as you are, and your willingness to choose simplicity just might set them free to do the same."
Wow. What a perfect example. It reminds me of when Jesus called Matthew to follow Him and Matthew is like YES and then has a feast for Jesus at his house with a bunch of other tax collectors. I bet Matthew didn't have time to make all of the food from scratch or fully clean his house! He just DID it - present over perfect - because he loved Jesus. 
Shauna then goes on to present her "guiding thoughts for this season":
"Present over perfect.
Quality over quantity.
Relationship over rushing.
People over pressure.
Meaning over mania."
This is going to be my mantra for the holiday season. For the glory of God. For the love of friends and family and anyone God wants to be in our home. Present over perfect. I'm so thankful the Lord sent me that reminder. I want to put it up on my wall somehow so I won't forget. I know I will forget in stressful moments, but I pray that I will quickly remember. 
With that said, tomorrow I'll be sharing some Holiday Season Date Ideas with you! Because one thing that should NEVER take a backseat during this season is marriage. :) 

Our Home at Christmas 2012

It was such a joy to decorate our new home for Christmas.

"Joy" seemed to become our theme, and was quite appropriate. :) It was also my middle name before I got married! 

These pictures aren't fancy or anything, but they can give you a glimpse of what our decorations looked like and a little of what our house looks like too! It's mainly for me to look back on and to help me next year when I get to do it all over again, Lord willing.

I'll start out with an easy craft that you could do next year with an old window:

Christmas Card Window

I had an old window with lace from The Nest (a place that will be mentioned a few times in this post! They're in Mebane, NC) that was perfect to use for some Christmas cards. I kept our other cards in a little basket and put the ones with pictures on the window. It was really simple - just twine, scotch tape, and tiny clothespins from Michael's! I loved the way it turned out. I'll probably keep it there and switch the cards out with our pictures.

We moved the table into the office to have a little buffet set up for our parties. We kept the dining room open for the games that we played. :) I kept it simple with a gray lace runner from The Nest. (That little bistro set in the background is from there too!) And yes, that is a chicken feeder with ornaments in it. I love unique, rustic pieces!

On the kitchen counter/bar I used my little chalkboard with a line from one of my favorite Christmas songs, "O Come, All Ye Faithful". The jar with the shepherd in it and the beautiful tree in the milk glass holder are both from the talented Kim Woodall - you can find her pieces at Suzanna's Antiques in Raleigh.

In the breakfast area next to the kitchen, I have an antique "dry sink" from my Nanny and Papa that was recently painted yellow. The mirror was left here at the house when we got it, so we decided to paint them both. When I say "we" I barely mean myself because I just helped a little bit. I really mean my sweet mother and the same aforementioned Kim Woodall. They are furniture ballers.

The metal tree, sheet music candle, and antique sifter is from The Nest. The antique washboard is from a shop in the mountains. For a while I thought I would have to resort to using that because our washing machine wasn't working...

The hutch is also in the breakfast area next to the kitchen. Those white reindeer are from Target years ago.

When you walk in the house to your left is the living room. As soon as you walk in there's some wall space to your left, so that's where we put our beloved Jesse tree made by my mother-in-law Kim. I explained the Jesse Tree last year  and it was wonderful to pull it out again for our 2nd married Christmas. :)

We had to rearrange some furniture for the tree, so it was perfect to bring one of the end tables to put in front of the Jesse Tree. I had a little sleigh with greenery and a Joy to the World ornament.

This is one of my favorite pieces, a "Joy" nativity from a little shop in the mountains that my mom gave me last year. 

Of course I had my Scentsy "'Tis the Season" warmer out to count down the days 'til Christmas! We had to change the number to be accurate after it was over. And by we I mean Jordan. Remember you can talk to me or visit my Scentsy website to order fabulous Scentsy products. :)  They made my house smell AMAZING through the holiday season. I warmed Festival of Trees, Christmas Cottage, and my favorite - Snowberry. Jordan loved the smells too. :)

This sweet little picture is from The Nest

I was so SO happy with how the mantle and our real Christmas tree turned out. I felt like Christmas spirit was bubbling over inside of me every time I looked at it.

And since these were taken post Christmas, we have a lot of our gifts still sitting there. Jordan likes to line them all up at the fire place. So pardon all of those items please.

The "Joy" letters are from my great uncle Sam's shop at Suzanna's Antiques. We also used them in my family's Christmas card.

One of the things I loved the most this year was our new stockings! I knew I wanted burlap ones, and I also wanted our names on them, and I also did NOT want to make them. Haha. So I found the PERFECT ones on Etsy. And they were even on a Black Friday sale! They are from Lovely Little Babies Etsy shop - go visit her shop RIGHT NOW. Or after you finish this post, haha. She has the cutest stuff! Whenever our family grows in the future, I'll definitely be ordering from her again! I mean seriously, look at those snow people. They girl has a gingerbread man brooch and pearl necklace on. I die of cuteness.

The "Most Wonderful Time of the Year" pillow came from The Nest, and the red pillow covers are from Festive Home Decor Etsy shop. That shop had excellent Black Friday deals and they came SO fast. I would love to order more! The tray on the coffee table is also featured in this post about vintage decor if you want to see how I've used it in the past.

Here's another Scentsy warmer that I LOVE. It's from the Silhouette collection, which means you can change the outside "wrap", so whenever I get around to taking all of our Christmas decorations down I'll take the Nativity one off and put the usual one on. :) 

This plug in Scentsy warmer is called Silent Night. I had it in the half bathroom downstairs.

This wreath was on our front door - I love the simplicity of the greenery with the burlap bow.

We had two little trees on either side of our front door and candles in all of our front windows. We didn't do any intense outdoor decorating.

Mistletoe hung right where you walk in. :)

This Christmas tree craft was made by a dear family friend who is like an extra grandmother to us. :) She gave it to me for Christmas this year and I'll definitely be picking the perfect spot for it next year!

This window shelf came from The Nest and so did the Joy sign sitting on it. It's on our living room wall above the couch.

Here's a few close ups of some new ornaments this year.

This one was made for me by my office manager Kristina. :)

I made these next two at a Christmas crafting party and I love how they turned out!

This one came from my friend Brianna's shop - you can find her on Etsy at the Nora Gray Vintage shop. She's so talented. I'll have to show you all of my other stuff from her soon. :)

We got this one on our trip to Williamsburg. Slowly but surely getting an ornament from every state!

This space is also in our living room. The Noel sled and Christmas tree jars came from The Nest. Can you tell I love that place??

And yes, this chalkboard snow shovel came from there too. I'm going to leave it up all winter. And no, it probably won't snow here.

One of my favorite pieces in our house is this antique scale from a shop in the mountains. My dad got it for us because he loves old scales. :) 

The gold snowman and sled are from Pier One.

Here's some close ups of the mantel. The Noel candles are also from The Nest!

This little tree came from a thrift shop for 5 or 6 bucks. It made a home in our office.

Here are a few shots from our dining room, which also included a bunch of opened gifts, so disregard those!

The antique tea cart with decoupaged sheet music is from The Nest. 

The artificial tree that I used to use in my old apartment came from a yard sale for $20! It's such a good one!

The O Holy Night art is from Kirkland's. And the cross stitch is from my friend Brittany. :) This is in our half bath downstairs.

I love this Faith nativity from Hallmark!

We hung this banner from TJ Maxx over the french doors that separate the office and dining room. (They will be painted white eventually!)

Here are our old stockings that I still used in the office. With our decapitated snowman holder that suffered that injury last year.

I know I'm jumping around like crazy, but on our fridge was a gold star from Pier One, and the Christmas cookie countdown is from Hallmark.

The only decoration upstairs was a tiny little tree made by Kim Woodall in our bedroom. :)

The green bedding is from Target and the bluish gray pillow was handmade by a wife of a doctor at the office where I work. She gave every employee one for Christmas!

And lastly is another Scentsy warmer called Tilia that Jordan picked out for our room. It isn't a Christmas decoration but it is lovely. :)

Well, there ya have it! Sorry it's so late, but I had to post our first Christmas in our new house. :) You can read about what we did for our Christmas 2012 here!