Baptism Favour Ideas - a Nice Way to Say Thank you

A friend of mine asked me for recommendations for baptism favours for her son's baptism.  I gave her a few ideas:

1- Picture frame with picture of her son

This is a great idea for a small immediate family baptism and this is what I did for my son's baptism last year. I bought a nice picture frame for each family that was invited and because the group was small I was able to shop for a frame that I thought would suit each household and I put a picture of my son in the frame.  I made sure everyone knew they should be comfortable changing the picture if they would like!  The idea was more to give them a frame to say thank you.  I bought nice sturdy gift bags from Pritchard, took out the fabric handles and replaced them with a bow made out of tulle.  I also attached a little organza bag with some candy and a cross on the bags. I like this idea because most people can make use of a picture frame.  This is how the final result looked:

2- Donation to a Children's Hospital on behalf of your guests

I have attended many large baptisms where a card from the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) was placed in front of each guests' plate indicating to the guest that a donation was made on their behalf to CHEO as a thank you.  My understanding is you obtain the cards from CHEO.  With the card, the host in most cases has left a little something for the guest to take away, like a chocolate favour.  A donation is a great gift that may have a bigger impact than a tricket received by each guest.

3- "Comfort Candles" with Quote or Verse

This is an idea my friend had already thought of that I had also seen done at other baptisms.  I really like these "comfort candles".  They come in a variety of shapes and a variety of quotes or verses.  We received two of these from friends when we got engaged and then we received two more from baptisms we have attended.  They are neutral so they could suit any household; they look nice; they come nicely packaged in their own box and they can send a message to your guests, whether religious or inspirational.  These are a few I found were being sold online.

Trust in the Lord

Via The Lamp Stand

A friend is someone whose warm loving ways can lighten our hearts and brighten our days

Via Green Earth

The Lord's Prayer

Via The Lamp Stand

I've been informed that in Ottawa these can be purchased at Salem Store House, in store.

Preparing for your child's baptism

For my sons baptism I turned once again to Tiny Prints. I needed a one stop shop and that's exactly what Tiny Prints provides. I was able to find and customize a photo invitation, matching RSVP cards & thank you cards as well as a little matching personalized mint tin as a favor for guests to take home. I used the below set but had them change the brown to charcoal grey on all the items (they made the change on all items for free!).

via Tiny Prints

via Tiny Prints

via Tiny Prints

via Tiny Prints

You can find other favor options at their sister site Beau-coup.

I've purchased various products from Tiny Prints over the last few years and have yet to be disappointed. They always have a designer review your order and any special request prior to printing, their pricing is more than fair for the great quality of product you receive and the delivery is always quite quick. If you're dreading planning your child's baptism head on over to Tiny Prints, you'll see how quick, easy and affordable it can be to get started! They're even offering $10 off your order of $49 or more until tomorrow (code: 10aprinv). Happy planning!

Keeping on top of pictures - a part-time and even sometimes a full-time job

For me, pictures are the most important memories one could keep.  If I could I would keep a hard drive of all the pictures I have in a safe at the bank, or maybe several banks to ensure that I will forever have a copy...ok, I know that is a bit extreme but seriously, I value these memories more than anything and hope that I am capturing enough for my children to look back on.  These days because of the digital world, we take more pictures than before.  More memories means more work.  I try to limit my picture taking to my camera, but it is not always handy so I do take many on my phone and so does my husband.  So basically, I have to manage and sort all of these.

My strategy, until I can come up with a better one, is to create a photo book for every special occasion, trip or every so many months.  I use Mixbook for all my photo books, mostly because of the variety of templates and how comfortable I have become using the software.

But certainly not all the photos can make it in the photo books so I had to come up with what I wanted to do with the rest of the pictures.  Although they are not the best pictures, they still are memories worth keeping.  With technology changing, I don't feel comfortable saving them on a USB key, or a CD.  Who knows whether these could be accessed in the future so in addition to saving them on a hard drive and on my computer I am going to print them and store them in boxes.

I found these today from the Container Store and I think I will order them.

Via The Container Store

Via The Container Store

Via The Container Store

I like both options but prefer the carrier because it has more inner cases and can easily be transported.  What is great is that the inner cases are acid-free and you can label each.  Each inner case holds approximately 100 4" x 6" photos.

How do you organize your pictures?  Any ideas you can share?

Book Ends, Perfect for a Nursery or Baby's Room

Babies, toddlers and kids receive a lot a lot of books!! A book is an easy gift and an educational one so most people feel very good about giving this type of gift.  Recently, Mrs. P gave my son for his one year birthday a variety of absolutely great books and these really nice and simple books ends that could grow with him from a nursery to a big boy room.  

Via Indigo

For the new baby, due in just four weeks, my sister-in-law bought him these super sweet book ends.  I love Winnie the Pooh, especially the classic collection, so these work perfectly in his simple looking room.

Via Birks

Birks also has these book ends that are just as sweet.

Via Birks

And how absolutely adorable are these?  These also can definitely grown the child and would not be suitable just for a nursery.

Via Serena & Lily

Via Serena & Lily

Via Serena & Lily

And these book ends are definitely super fun and spice up the room.

Via Indigo

Via Indigo

Via Indigo

Via Indigo

There are many more options on Indigo's website.  Make sure to visit their site.

Practical gifts for kids that are still lots of fun!

I found these storage solutions by Three Sprouts. I think they would make a great gift for any family with young kids. Every mother I know would welcome more storage solutions that the kids would actually like and use! This brand is sold in many higher end children's boutiques and can be found many places online. I found these at PinkiBlue a Montreal boutique that also sells online.

Wall organizers:

via PinkiBlue

via PinkiBlue

Storage cubes:

via PinkiBlue

Toy storage bins:

via PinkiBlue

Clothing hampers:

via PinkiBlue

Diaper caddy:

via PinkiBlue

Bath toy storage:

via PinkiBlue

You can find these adorable products here. They are very well priced between $22-$33. A steal if you ask me!

DVF for Gap kids!

Once you try on a Diane Von Furstenberg wrap dress you never go back! No joke. The classic wrap dress is her trademark, her whole empire was built off this one idea of the perfect wrap dress. She's known for all her original and inspiring prints as she refreshes her wrap dresses season after season but it's the quality and fit that will have you coming back. You can check out "The Wrap Shop" here.

Needless to say I was excited to hear that there is a DVF line for Gap Kids coming out at the end of the month for newborns to 14 years of age. From the advertising it looks like it will be a girls only collection which does makes sense seeing as she only designs for women. Now if only I had a little girl to buy this adorable collection for!

I was hoping they would be selling the collection online but it looks like it will only be in select stores across Canada. Luckily the Montreal Eaton Center store is one of them. See below for list of select stores.

If you have any little girls to shop for this season I definitely recommend trying to get your hands on a few DVF for Gap Kids pieces! They and their fashion savvy mommies will be very pleased to receive this gift!

Chocolate Favours for Baby's Birth

Our baby boy is due in around 5 weeks and my mom just reminded me that I have to prepare chocolate favours as thank you's for people who visit after the birth.  This is tradition for us.  Anyone that comes over gets a nicely decorated piece of chocolate or other type of candy favours.

Last year, this is what we prepared for our first born.

Last year I didn't think I would be blogging about this so the pictures are not great, but they give you an idea.  We did a winter theme as he was a winter baby.  We bought Lindt chocolate snowmen and added a scarf and a pompom, and for the other Lindt chocolates we just glued a clear teddy bear on them.

Via Lindt.ca

Stay tuned for what we will be preparing for the next little one.

First Communion Gift for a Young Girl

For some life events I always find it easier to buy for a girl than a boy, and this is the case for a First Communion.  I like to give something that is somewhat timeless and that will stay with the little girl for years, at least as a keepsake.  So this weekend I bought a special little girl a Thomas Sabo charm bracelet and charms from Hamawi Jewellers in Ottawa.

I chose this bracelet because I think it is more age appropriate.

Via Thomas Sabo

I also love these bracelets for young girls, but I thought in this case the above was more appropriate.

Via Thomas Sabo

Via Thomas Sabo

Via Thomas Sabo

I bought these charms, the first to suit the religious celebration and the second her initial.

Via Thomas Sabo

Via Thomas Sabo

I find charm bracelets make great gifts because they can always be updated. I like the Thomas Sabo collection for young girls because it offers a lot of charms with colour which is more fun for young girls.  I hope she likes it!

A Trip to NYC and a Cute Gift Found

Every year my husband and I take a short trip to New York City.  This has been a tradition for five years now. We love the charm of the city and of course the shopping.  We took the trip these past few days with my parents and our little guy and although it was a hectic trip, which almost felt like the amazing race at times to make it from point to another, we had a wonderful time introducing them to all the really interesting places to visit.  We discovered new streets and one boutique really stood out for me, it is called "DoDo".  Everything about it stood out, the concept of the boutique, the decor, the product ,and I absolutely had to share.

The store front - the grass like ceiling definitely stands out.

Via DoDo Facebook page

Inside - super cute set up

Via DoDo Facebook page

Adorable flower wall

Via DoDo Facebook page

Another closer look

Via DoDo Facebook Page

The DoDo collection is a collection of charms that speak.  Most charms are animal charms and each charm says something about you or sends a messages.  Here are a few examples.

First this is the Dodo family

Via DoDo Facebook Page

Dodo says: I'm your Dodo
Lady Dodo says: Our love will never be extinct
Junior Dodo says: I believe I can fly

Penguin: Crazy in Love

Via DoDo Facebook Page

Tortoise

Via DoDo Facebook Page

Elephant and Rhino

Via DoDo Facebook Page

Butterfly and Sparrow

Via DoDo Facebook Page

Seahorse and Dolphin

Via DoDo Facebook Page

There are so many more charms to choose from and messages to convey.  Click here to visit the DoDo website for the full collection.  The gold ones are 18kt and there are some with diamonds or stones.  I found their online store limited in options and orders can be sent only to Italy, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Holland, Spain and England.  However there are a few shops in Canada (Calgary, Montreal and Toronto) and more in the United States (including Chicago, New York, Miami).  If you are in one of the cities that has a DoDo store, it is definitely something to check out.  Makes for a sweet gift with meaning and a message.