Category: Gear

If you’re planning a party soon, the bold colors in the new Toot Sweet Harlequin Party Collection from Land of Nod are guaranteed to make your celebration a festive occasion.

All items in the collection are purchased individually, so you can choose what fits your needs and budget. There are plates, cups, party bags, napkins, cupcake decorating kits, paper pinwheels, party hats, and retro striped drinking straws. Prices range from $3.95 to $12.95. Shipping charges are based on the dollar value of your total order.

I adore this collection because it looks like it would work for any occasion. The colorful patterns are perfect for a casual adult birthday party. For a child, you could simply add in a few items featuring his or her favorite cartoon character to make a more sophisticated alternative to an entirely cartoon themed party.

If you were serving a large number of guests on a tight budget, you could pick up solid colored plates or cups to coordinate with the colors in the collection.

The cupcake decorating kit is my favorite item in this collection. It includes 24 cupcake liners, six party hat toppers, 24 cocktail sticks, and eight sticker sheets so you can design your own one-of-kind cupcake toppers.

Cupcakes are so much easier to serve at parties than slices of a traditional cake and I think this sounds like a great way to make your homemade treats look like they came from a fancy bakery.

What do you think of this party collection?

Photo credit: Land of Nod

Where will baby sit? If your family is on the go, figuring out a safe place for baby to eat can be a challenge. The ciao! baby Portable High Chair was invented by two mom’s, Kim Strong and Jamye Baker, to help solve this problem.

It’s a foldable and easily transportable high chair that can be used indoors or outdoors. It’s perfect for trips to grandma’s house, a family picnic, or baby’s first camping trip.

The chair is intended for babies and toddlers up to three years old. It is a freestanding chair with a proprietary flexible seat and tray that requires no assembly. It includes a seat belt to hold your child in place, a built-in cup holder, and a clear vinyl tray cover for easy cleaning.

The ciao! baby Portable High Chair has been tested and approved to meet ASTM high chair standards. When open, it measures 23″x 23″ x 32″. It weighs approximately nine pounds.

The chair comes in black, chocolate, navy, purple, royal blue, orange, red, and sage, as well as a mossy oak infinity pattern. You can also get your favorite collegiate team log printed on the chair. Visit ciao! baby Portable High Chair website for details.

When I went on picnics with my son, I always ended up sitting him on my lap or spreading out a blanket on the grass so I could sit with him while everyone else ate at the table. A product like the ciao! baby Portable High Chair would have been very helpful.

I’m not sure how well it would hold up to daily use, but this also seems like a good alternative if you live in an apartment and don’t have the space needed to keep a traditional high chair in your dining room at all times.

Photo credit: ciao! baby Portable High Chair

WallPops by Brewster Home Fashions is a line of peel-and-stick wall art for every room in your home. They make a variety of cute products for your child’s room, including dry erase decals that add an interactive element to your home decor.

One of my favorite WallPops products is the dry erase United States map featured in this post. I think this would be a fun addition to your child’s bedroom or playroom to encourage a knowledge of geography. You can use the map to study the states and their capitals. There are also colorful symbols on each state to help your child remember a unique fact about each of the 50 states.

I think it would be fun to write the names of different family members and where they live on the map or to jot down different places your family has traveled recently. Since the map is a removable dry erase decal, you could even let your kids help you plot out a course for your next family vacation.

The dry erase United States map sells for $20.99 on the WallPops website. This decal measures 36″ x 24″ and a dry erase marker is included with your purchase.

WallPops also makes a dry erase world map, if you’d prefer to work on learning about countries around the world. The world map has the same dimensions as the United States map and also includes a free dry erase marker.

What do you think of the WallPops dry erase maps? Would they make it more enjoyable for your child to learn about geography?

Photo credit: WallPops

Recently, a friend of mine found out that her young son needed hearing aids. Shortly after he received them, they were accidentally misplaced. They were eventually found unharmed, but she was understandably panicked since the devices are very expensive. So, I think The BeBop Shop on Etsy has a fantastic idea for parents of hearing impaired children.

The Bebop Shop sells cords for children who wear hearing aids or cochlear implants. The cords attach to the child’s shirt collar, which keeps the hearing aid or cochlear implant from being lost or misplaced.

There are several fun designs available, ranging from airplanes and police cars to princess crowns and rubber duckies. Little girls can get matching hair clips to coordinate with many of the designs. My favorite designs are the holiday themed ones, like Thomas the Turkey for Thanksgiving and a snowman for Christmas.

If needed, you can request a custom order and have a special cord or clip made for your child to suit his or her unique personality.

My son is not hearing impaired, but I think this is an awesome way to help kids feel more confident about needing to use a hearing aid or cochlear implant. Kids could even switch out the cord styles to match different outfits in their wardrobe, turning their hearing aid or cochlear implant into a style statement.

The Bebop Shop is owned by Michelle Wright, who was inspired to start selling on Etsy after having trouble getting her young daughter to keep track of her hearing aids. Michelle’s items are handmade in Brentwood, CA and ready to ship in three to five business days.

Photo credit: The Bebop Shop

Dry erase boards come in handy for jotting down memos and to-do lists, especially once your kids are old enough to have school projects and activities of their own to keep track of.

If you’re looking for something with a little more style than a typical white square dry erase board, I think this London phone booth dry erase board from WallPops is simply adorable.

The WallPops dry erase board is made in the USA. It’s approximately 18.5 inches long and is 43 inches tall, so it provides lots of space for notes, lists, or silly doodles. A dry erase marker is included.

WallPops dry erase boards are repositionable vinyl decals, so they are easy to add to any room in your home. They don’t leave behind a sticky residue when removed, so they are perfect for renters or anyone who likes to change up their decor on a regular basis.

I like this particular dry erase board design because the different panels in the phone booth serve to visually separate each note. This means the phone number of the plumber you need to call doesn’t end up next to your reminder to buy construction paper and glue sticks for your third-grader’s science fair project.

You can buy the London phone booth dry erase board from WallPops on The Grommet for $20.95. Shipping is free on orders of $50 or more and this site has a ton of neat items for men, women, and children. Many of their products are made in the USA, handcrafted, and/or eco-friendly.

Photo credit: The Grommet

When I was growing up, it was a fairly common practice for little girls to get their ears pierced. I had mine done when I was about six months old, as did most of my female cousins. By the time I hit kindergarten, every girl in my class at school had her ears pierced.

Today, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends waiting until your daughter is old enough to care for her piercings herself before you get her ears pierced.

Piercings do hurt, so it’s a challenge to get little ones to stay still for the procedure. Grimy hands and a propensity to view their earrings as toys also mean that little kids tend to have more problems with infections developing in fresh piercings.

Temporary earrings can be a good compromise for little girls who want the look of pierced ears, but aren’t ready for the responsibility. Poppy Drops offers temporary tattoo earrings for girls that eliminate the problem of self adhesive earrings coming loose during active play.

Poppy Drops are made with kid-safe vegetable dyes and come in several different designs, ranging from plain dots and flowers to cute holiday themed earrings with Easter bunnies, shamrocks, and candy corn.

My favorite product is the Me and My Doll earrings featured in this post. This set includes earrings shaped like bows, candy swirls, hot air balloons, and tea sets. The larger earrings are for your daughter and the smaller earrings are for her favorite doll.

Poppy Drops are applied just like regular temporary tattoos. They should last up to a week and can be removed with rubbing alcohol or baby oil.

Photo credit: Poppy Drops

If you’re searching for unique children’s clothing, Rowdy Sprout is worth a look. Rowdy Sprout was created by designer and entrepreneur Laura Angotti in 2003. The line focuses on casual clothing inspired by the music of the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

Rowdy Sprout is a favorite of celeb moms like Angelina Jolie, Julia Roberts, Kourtney Kardashian, and Naomi Watts.

Rowdy Sprout has clothing for both boys and girls. Sizes range from 3 months to 12 years. Some of the bands represented include:

• AC/DC
• Bruce Springsteen
• Grateful Dead
• KISS
• Johnny Cash
• Led Zeppelin
• Nirvana
• Ozzy Osbourne
• Pink Floyd
• Sublime
• The Who
• Tom Petty
• Van Halen
• Blondie

Rowdy Sprout clothing can be found in over 600 boutiques across the nation or purchased online from the Rowdy Sprout website. If you purchase online, shipping is free anywhere in the United States. Gift certificates can also be purchased online, if you’re shopping for a niece or nephew and aren’t sure what size to get.

All Rowdy Sprout clothing is made in the USA, so you can feel good about helping to create much-needed jobs when you splurge on a cute outfit for your son or daughter.

What do you think of the Rowdy Sprout clothing line? Is there a particular band you’d like to see represented?

Photo credit: Rowdy Sprout

I’ve always loved bean bag chairs. I had a few different chairs in my room when I was a kid. My favorite thing to do was push them together to make a bean bag bed and stretch out to read a good book.

I’ve been looking for a new chair for my son’s room and I think I’m in love with these modern bean bag chairs in the ShopMEMO Etsy Shop. These chairs look like the perfect place for your child to read, watch TV, play video games, or chat with siblings.

At $95 for a child size bean bag chair, it’s true that they’re more expensive than anything you’re going to find at Walmart or Target. But, cheap bean bag chairs tend to end up leaking beans everywhere. I know my poor mother had my beloved bean bag chair patched up with lots of duct tape before we finally threw it out!

The bean bag chairs from ShopMEMO are made with heavy duty upholstery fabric in sophisticated patterns that will coordinate well with the rest of your home decor. The seat of the chair is decoratively top stitched and the zipper enclosure is hand stitched closed to avoid accidental bean spills.

The child sized chair has the approximate dimensions of 22″ diameter, 8″ seat height, and a 16″ seat back. You can buy adult sized chairs as well.

ShopMEMO is owned by Melissa. All items are handmade using reclaimed leathers and textiles from the commercial manufacturing process. Products ship from her Toronto home.

Photo credit: ShopMEMO

My daughter was Ariel for Halloween, so we ended up buying her this wig to finish off her costume. I don’t think it’s a Halloween-only type of purchase. It isn’t very overpriced, and my daughter, like lots of little girls, really enjoys playing dress-up with her old Halloween costumes as well as other types of costumes she’s picked up over the past couple of years.

Dressing up as all the different princesses goes on all year long.

If your daughter wants to be Ariel any time of the year, this isn’t a bad choice for a wig. It’s definitely not without its flaws, but it’s less expensive than some other options. You can see the netting, for example, through the hair in some spots.

The bangs don’t stay perfectly swooped like Ariel’s. I found myself readjusting that bunch of hair as my daughter walked around on Halloween (it doesn’t matter so much if she’s just dressing up and playing around, though). It stays on her head better than some other wigs she’s had, and one good thing about the thinner hair is that it doesn’t make her sweaty and miserable.

I think some people are picky about the color, but I don’t mind the nearly neon red. I think it’s the perfect “cartoon red” and perfectly appropriate for a kid’s Ariel costume. It could work for other characters, like Strawberry Shortcake, too, in a pinch.

It’s not the highest quality wig in the world, but it gets the job done. I recommend watching the price for a while and snagging one while it’s pretty low. I think we got it for around $11, but as I’m writing this, it’s about $18. Amazon prices fluctuate quite a bit.

Photo credit: Amazon