Twirl

My daughter is the kind of girl who will change outfits three times a day if she has the chance, and will choose a skirt or a dress every time. (No, she didn't get this from me!) 

So when a friend raved about the reversible dresses from Twirly Girl, I knew I had found the perfect gift for the grandparents to give Bea for Christmas.  The construction is impeccable and the colors are outrageous. We're going to have to peel it off of her. 

(And I have to admit, it looks awfully fun to have such a swishy skirt. Wonder if they make adult sizes??)

Pants fit for a hero

My son is only interested in clothing if superheroes (or maybe Star Wars) are involved. I ordered him these custom patchwork pants from Sunshine Salad's shop at Etsy. You get to pick five different patches and the corduroy color. She even does a reverse color on the cuffs so they look cute when they're rolled up. Wish I could show you a photo of Ronan wearing them, but they're a Christmas gift -- sssshhhh, don't tell him!

Buggy

Busy bugs are great for sorting, counting, matching and learning colors. Three is the perfect age for them. Good luck keeping all the bugs together, though! I think we're only missing a blue beetle currently...

Spatial Relations

If you have a puzzle-obsessed five-year-old, check out Castle Logix. With only seven pieces, it's maddeningly simple, yet the booklet has 48 challenges. The wood pieces are satisfying to build with, too.

I often see it at Target, and it's also available online from the usual suspects. 

Girly Bling

I found these personalized necklaces on Etsy, and they've become my go-to gift for five-year-old girls. This one is from Dara, but I have also purchased darling ones from VMDesigns. (And notice the pink bag in the background? That came with it!)

My Etsy tip of the day: If you want to order more than one of an item, use the blue "contact" link on the right of every shop to start a convo with the owner. They'll usually set up a custom listing for you, and you might even get a deal!

The holidays are coming up fast, so get those custom orders in.

Sniff

These scented colored pencils are a fantastic stocking stuffer idea. Made from recycled newspaper, each one in the ten-pack is individually packaged. Come to think of it, they'd be great for an advent calendar, too. A pencil a day!

The scents are scrumptious -- my favorites are root beer and cinnamon. There's also a "holiday scents" pack, but they're regular pencils, not colored. I bought mine at Stubby Pencil Studio, but they're available at many online retailers.