Halloween is over, so my thoughts are turning to Thanksgiving and... I can't even believe it... CHRISTMAS!
I know it wasn't too long ago that I was complaining about rushing the season. But the leaves have turned their beautiful fiery colors and most have fallen from the trees. Just yesterday, Evie and the girls next door raked leaves and jumped into the piles. Though it's been warm, there's a change in the air. It's feeling like scarves and hot chocolate and Christmas lists.
Oh, Christmas lists!
This year, I have to be particularly careful with the money we spend. So I must make good choices about toys for Evie. Instead of a toy with only one function, I want to purchase toys that inspire play. I can't tell you how many expensive toys we have around the house that Evie just ignores. Things like art supplies and dried lentils and scraps of ribbon and empty boxes keep her attention - go figure.
Most of all, I lean toward an "experience" rather than a thing. Attending The Backyardigans LIVE show was a better use of our money than if we had bought a toy. I know a membership to The Magic House will certainly be a gift this year.
Recently, Evie and I had the opportunity to attend a Mom's Mixer at Build-A-Bear Workshop. I had a great time talking to other "Mommy Bloggers" while Evie made a bear. Actually, Evie ran around wild while the other moms and very, very sweet Build-A-Bear employees helped me keep an eye on her. By the end of the event, everyone in that store knew her name!
While we were there, I kept thinking about how Build-A-Bear perfectly fits my idea of a great gift. It's an EXPERIENCE and you take something tangible (a new best friend, even) home with you. We also had the opportunity to meet and talk with Maxine Clark, the company's founder and Chief Executive Bear. She is warm and friendly, and has such an evident passion for her work. For her, it's all about the experience of making the bear - choosing the perfect little bear, warming up and kissing its heart, helping stuff, brushing it, and shopping for clothes. They've even expanded their line of $10 bears, so almost everyone can afford this experience.
Bloggy Friends, I am the "bearer" of good news! One lucky reader will win a $25 gift certificate to make your very own stuffed friend at Build-A-Bear. Simply leave a comment on this post before Friday, November 14th, telling me the best gift you received as a child. Don't forget to include your email address so I can notify you if you win. I'll choose a winner at random to receive the gift certificate.
Go "fur" it!
**This contest is closed to new comments. The winner has been contacted, and will be announced within 24 hours. Thanks for participating!**
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312 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 312 of 312i'm not sure what it was called, but it was a bunch of plastic poles, with connectors, and a few wheels. maybe like a giant erector set or something, but my brothers and i would make it into a car and push each other around the yard. you could make it into so many things, so we played with it for months til it started to break!! loved it!!
I had a "Pamela" doll that spoke when you put little cassette tapes in her back. I carried her everywhere for years.
My best gift was a doll called Drowsy when I was five years old. Drowsy had blonde hair and blue eyes and wore a pink and white polka dotted outfit. When you pulled her string she said "Mommy, I'm sleepy" and I just loved her to pieces ! She went everywhere with me and I slept with her everynight. One day while at school, my dog got to her and really tore her up. I was so sad and that was the end of my relationship with Drowsy. I have a picture of Drowsy and I together and it is one of my favorite childhood keepsakes. About 3 years ago my teen daughter surprised me with a Drowsy reproduction doll she found at Kmart. It was such a wonderful gift and I was so excited to have Drowsy in my life again ! She now sits in a place of honor on my bedroom shelf next to a picture of her and I together.
stymi85515(at)aol(dot)com
The best gift I recieved as a child was being able to be with my family. That is the fondest memory I have. My kids think the same thing too!!!!!
ksbald2@yahoo.com
The best gift I received as a child was my beloved teddy bear :) *Thanks* for the giveaway!
ols[dot]moonmaiden[at]gmail[dot]com
I received a Smokey the Bear doll when I was six. I still remember how happy I was that christmas!
My Scrunchy the ShopRite Bear. Still have him!
Jennifer, jennem22 at yahoo dot com
My best gift was my brother coming home from Germany without telling us and surprising us all!
All the travels my parents took me on and the wonderful summers in the country.
Mine was my first Cabbage Patch Doll. My Papaw moved heaven and earth to get her for me. I still have Hannah Rose, too :)
I think the best gift I received as a child was a bike, I really loved riding my bike around my neighborhood!
mommyhoodisthankless{AT}gmail.com
Walking Wendy
txhottie_86 at yahoo dot com
I think my favorite gift was my rocking horse. I loved that thing for so many years!
It was a Dancerella doll I got when I was twelve.
Definitely my Lego sets. Not the smaller Legos of today, but the bigger, bulkier sets of the 70's. Definitely influenced my love of creating things.
Puzzles. Lots and lots of puzzles. Which I proceeded to assemble upside down (by shape rather than picture). :o)
the best gift you can give is love. Most people think this is a silly answer but as a Foster child that aged out of the system and now a wife and mom and a adoptive mother I can guarantee you this it the best gift you can ever give. To feel the love of a parent and to know you have a family is the gift that will keep giving.
I loved a doll my mom got me.
The best gift I got as a child was a beautiful big dollhouse my dad built for me. It was my favorite thing because he made it with me, and I loved tiny dollhouse furniture. I wish I still had that dollhouse today, and I wish I still had my dad too...we lost him a couple years ago.
harmonden[at]wowway.com
My Easy Bake oven that I wanted so badly. Thanks for the great giveaway!
braaisjo at gmail dot com
I'd love to take my son's we've never been
The best gift I got as a kid was my first bike. My sister and I were living with my aunt at the time and I know that they were pretty strapped for cash. My grandmother bought us each a bike for Christmas to come from Santa. We never knew it until later on. I refused to get rid of my bike as i got older.
my little sister. All I had was brothers. I asked Santa year after year for a little sister.
Barbie House was the best gift that I remember.
I honestly can't really remember a special child's gift that stands out during my childhood, but I do remember when my little sister begged for a cabbage patch doll, I ended up waiting outside a hotel on a very cold night to buy one for an astronomical price! pauline15_01 at hotmail dot com
A tv for my room
The best gift was spending time with my family.
One of my all time favorite gifts was a doll named Kristie (or Krissie) she was large for a doll and had dark red hair in a ponytail that would change length when you turned a nob on her back. I loved that doll... wonder whatever happened to her.
llyonswerner@yahoo.com
I think the Christmas "experience" my mom put together was better than any packaged gift. She did a great job and it always felt like it should..Like Christmas if that makes sense..Now I am 26 and I realize just how hard it is. It seems simple,but its true you have to make the holidays feel like the holidays it just doesnt happen on its own and now I have a 17 month old girl (WHO WOULD LOVE A BUILD-A-BEAR BTW) and I am trying hard for her.
eKarmaP(AT)gmail.com
My puppy, Nicky, when I was six!
joni514@roadrunner.com
My easy bake oven at 8.
charisscharity [at] yahoo [dot] com
Thanks
a cabbage patch kid that i named lucy, always cheered me up
My favorite gift was a songbook of Disney songs with illustrations from all their movies so far - up to Pete's Dragon, lol!
I had a Raggedy Ann doll I loved.
Best gift was a chemistry set. I had years of fun with that one.
The best gift I received was a Wrinkles dog. It was the only thing I wanted that year. I carried her everywhere with me, she was my best friend. I still have her to this day!
sweetpurpleblood@yahoo.com
My best gifts were balloons and my bed made on a day I did not feel loved and it made me realize I was.
My best was a homemade doll from my grandma! It was like a Cabbage Patch.
Thanks
Sarah
believedreamcourage (at) gmail.com
The best gift was a big bucket of Legos! I played with them for hours every day! Thanks!
the best toy i ever got for christmas was a 5 ft. pinkish purple bear that was huge to me shen i was 12 years old. i had that bear until i was about 34 and i had a dog who tore to smithereens. it was a great bear!!!!!!!
My Barbie Dream House!!!!
Carla
cpullum(at)yahoo(dot)com
A fishing trip with my Dad when I was 10. The memories we made are still with me!
wow it would be My Mother who died when I was 19
OMG we love build a bear. We had a birthday one year.
The best gift was a big stuffed bear. I took him where I go, my mom had to sneak into my room to wash the bear while I was sleeping. I hope I can be as good mom as my mom. BTW, I still have Mr. Bear! ;)
My favorite gift as a kid was a white teddy bear I got from my mom's boss. I still have him!
My Barbie Dreamhouse...ohhh it was amazing!!
tamijudd@yahoo.com
A Cabbage Patch doll given to me by my babysitter!
LOVED MY CABBAGE PATCH DOLLS
The best gift I received as a young child was my first Cabbage Patch doll. Part of the memory is that my mom took me with her to shop for it. I had to wait until my birthday. I still remember opening it up on my 3rd birthday. I remember walking my doll up and down the stairs. At 27, I still sleep with my doll. =0)
missmarmar@sbcglobal.net
I think my favorite gift was my stuffed bear that played music. I had to carry it around everywhere. I still have it to this day over 20 years later. I almost lost it forever once as a teenager. We lived in the country and there was wildfires everywhere and had to get out of the house. My boyfriend at the time ran into my bedroom and grabbed it for me. It was so sweet he remembered the stories I told him growing up.
I think my favorite gift was my stuffed bear that played music. I had to have it everywhere I went. I almost lost it in a fire once but my boyfriend at the time saved it. I still have it to this day after over 20 years.
I think my favorite gift was my stuffed bear that played music. I almost lost it once in a fire but my husband saved it. I still have it to this day after over 20 years.
Easy Bake Oven- how I loved making what I am sure were not very good treats and giving them to my family with pride and love. LOL I was a dork even way back then. ;)
Barbie's Dollhouse was the best gift I received as a child. garrettsambo@aol.com
The best gift I ever received was when i was 9 and in the hospital a lady walked in with a doll in a pretty white dress,the prettiest doll I had ever saw. She asked where my dad was, and i said he would be back in a minute. It turned out that the lady was my 1/2 sister that I never knew about.
bobvickie200159@yahoo.com
The best gift I ever received was when i was 9 and in the hospital a lady walked in with a doll in a pretty white dress,the prettiest doll I had ever saw. She asked where my dad was, and i said he would be back in a minute. It turned out that the lady was my 1/2 sister that I never knew about.
bobvickie200159@yahoo.com
a great big trike! ty 4 the entry!
I got tickets to a concert.
donna444444@yahoo.com
The best gift I received when I was a child was a little blonde doll I played with for years until she practically fell apart.
the very best gift i ever received as a child would be my first barbie. all my friends had one and we didn't have lots of money so i didn't expect to get one. i don't know how my parents did it but i did get one and several dresses. i was so thrilled
The best gift I received was my grandfather. He was gone for a long time. First because of the war, then because my grandmother remarried while he was gone. He came back when I was about 6 or 7.
The best gift was a cabbage patch doll. They were so popular & expensive I thought my parents would never be able to get me one, but I was suprised on my birthday.
bkdavis_5@yahoo.com
My favorite gift will always be a red Raleigh bike when I was 7 and living in Germany. I felt like I could go anywhere on that thing.
I like the teddy bear I had as a child
The best I ever received, was a Holly hobby doll that a friend of my parents gave me. She was such a super nice lady, and sadly she passed away from breast cancer .
What fun. topkat@sbcglobal.net
My parents surprised me with a puppy for my eighth birthday. Doesn't get much better than that.
please enter me thank you!
The best gift I remeber receiving as a child was my green inchworm ride-on toy in 1970something.
penguinchick@comcast.net
The best gift I got was an illustrated book about the constellations. It was really inspiring!
I would have to say my best gift was a play kitchen I got when I was 5 or 6. I loved that kitchen set and played with it all the time!!
chrisandamyward(at)comcast(dot)net
A toy kitchen set with a little metal refrigerator
My best gift was a cabbage patch doll.
angela k tisaynababaeatyahoo.com
The best gift that I received as a child was my sister! She is now my best friend. (even though we were at each other all the time growing up!)
i had a little old lady doll named mrs beasley i got for my birthday i loved her so much :)
I had a Madame Alexander baby doll that I took with me everywhere. ashlyn@chuparkoff.com
The doll, the bear, and the dog that my grandma made for me were the best gifts I ever recieved. I still have them at 41 years of age.
For my 9th birthday, my parents bought me a white pony, named 'Silver'. He was old and no longer wanted in his former home, but wonderful to me. He was definitely the best present I received as a child! Thanks for the giveaway :)
My most favorite gift was a BOY Cabbage Patch doll named Simon Desmond... I had a doll sized bunk bed by my window where he 'slept' and the sun ruined his bald little head and made it look like he had the chicken pox!!! I always wanted to be a doctor/nurse when I grew up so I think I was 'treating his disease' for about 10 years!!! My daughter is now 3 and she has taken over his treatments!
Thanks for this FUN POST!
Tiffany
tico2221@hotmail.com
My most favorite gift was a BOY Cabbage Patch doll named Simon Desmond... I had a doll sized bunk bed by my window where he 'slept' and the sun ruined his bald little head and made it look like he had the chicken pox!!! I always wanted to be a doctor/nurse when I grew up so I think I was 'treating his disease' for about 10 years!!! My daughter is now 3 and she has taken over his treatments!
Thanks for this FUN POST!
Tiffany
tico2221@hotmail.com
Oops!
Sorry- I didn't mean for that to go through twice!
my kids would love to win this
my girl would love to go
My Mau Paw dolls-This was in the late fifties I don't know if that is what they were really called. Always wanted a Barbie Dream house but never got one. We were poor. Always bent over backwards to make sure my kids had really good Christmas's
The best gift I have ever recieved was a hand me down. It was a paddington Bear complete with yellow rain slicker. It belonged to my older brother who was born with severe brain trauma, he was unable to communicate in any way. When we left England he stayed behind in an institution, I have not seen him since. It could have been a rubber band for all I cared, it was his, and that was worth more to me than anything. I have lost it over the years and always remain on the hunt. Thank You for sharing.
My race track
my bike.
A doll in a pink car that looked like a VW and it had wires underneath that plugged in to different holes according to which direction you wanted her to go.
Mine would have to be one of those Barbie Dream Homes, oh and the car.
my bike it was cool.
nataliegrace@suddenlink.net
I saw a dressing table in seventeen magazine, very cool looking and my dad actually made me one just like it, he hid it too, so I was sooo surprised, it's still around at one of my sister's houses.
I would love to win this thanks for the chance
This is tough there's a lot of criteria you can evaluate this on. I think I'll go with my Love a Lot Care Bear who I dragged around for sixteen years (I took him to college). He was pink which is odd because I was no girly girl, but he reminded me of my Grandma. It would be great to have a bear like that for my kids that they could have forever. Ahem, Build a Bear?
lkziegler[at]gmail[dot]com
I received a microscope one birthday, and for years I would dig it out of the closet to examine everything from dead bees to flowers. It sparked my love of science.
my best gift as a kid was my et talking toy,loved it!
ahdrad2932(at)msn.com
I'm sure it was my Krissy doll. She had a button in her back to both extend/retract her hair from long to short and back again!
doot65{at}comcast[dot]net
A stuffed animal birdie :)
Create the perfect gift to all who enter; many thanks SW
Probably a Cabbage Patch Kid when they were really popular. I just had to have one! Thanks!
My best gift was a stuffed monkey - I went everywhere with him!
I also loved my Mrs. Beasley doll. vidomich(at)yahoo(dot)com
Oh gosh, the best toy I ever got was a doll that was almost as tall as me! :)
A book,I love reading and started at an early age
My very best gift was a Panda Bear given to me when I was about two years old that I kept until I had my first child. It was my friend and confidant during many episodes of having asthma over the years. Even thinking about it now is comforting.
The best gift I received as a child was a handmade teddy bear that my mom crocheted for me. It was purple with a scarf and had arms and legs that moved. At the time my mom was serving 4 years in prison for some bad choices she made. She got 4 years as her punishment - unfortunately I was also punished for 4 years without her because of the choices she made. It was wonderful for me to be able to feel like I had a part of her there with me because it was so difficult without her there. I still have that bear and I cherish it to this day. Thankfully my mom learned from her mistakes and knows now how much her family means to her also.
Best gift given to me was the Cabbage Patch Kid I so desperately wanted as a child.
trikes. i hope i havent entered yet!
The best gift I received as a child was a giant teddy bear.
My Mother.
I got the coolest pair of boots one Christmas! I wore those things out!
My fav childhood gift was from my mom for Christmas one year, she got me a great toy called Grandpa Time. It was amazing - it was a clock that told bedtime stories! I still have it :)
Thanks!
shevilkenevil1 at aol dot com
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