Loot Bags....hmmmm

I have read on many mommy blogs that mom's hate loot bags!  They hate making them and receiving them.  But kids absolutely love them! I on the hand love loot bags and couldn't wait to put them together for my son's birthday, but I have to admit I almost started hating them because I just couldn't find anything good enough to put in the loot bags.  But after bouncing from one store to another it finally came together.

It all started with the Penguins...to clarify the theme of the party was Winter ONEderland and I found a super cute penguin Beanie Baby named Waddles at Chapters (Chapters had the lowest price and they had bags of this guy, which was perfect as I needed 34) and I fell in love.  So I walked out of Chapters with bags of Penguins!  The salespeople had a good laugh.  I thought it was nice to give the kids a collectible, keepsake they can always have from my son's birthday.  

Via Toys R Us

Then I got lucky at Michael's and found take out boxes that had candy cane swirls on them to use as my packaging.  They went perfectly with my theme.

Because of the size of the penguin I didn't have much space for the "fun" items so it limited my options.  I found the best places to shop for the little trinkets were:

- Michael's - this store had a very big selection and the prizes were much better than other places.
- Mrs. Tiggy Winkles - this store had cute little things that I didn't see anywhere else but the selection wasn't overwhelming.
- Winners - good for random things
- Chapters

For the boys I included some of the following items with the penguin and some chocolates:

From Toy R Us

From Michael's

Via Mrs. Tiggy Winkles

From Mrs. Tiggy Winkles

For the girls I included the following items with the penguin and some chocolates:

From Michael's

From Winners

 For the babies/young toddles I included some of the following items with the penguin:

From Shopper's Drug Mart

From Winners

From Winners

Via Ikea

The end result looked like this!

A big thank you to Gwynn Wasson for the theme inspiration and the beautiful favour tags! Check out her work on the catchmyparty.com website.

Friday Finds: Indigo for Newborn - SALE SALE SALE

Ok, I know I keep making reference to Chapters Indigo, but I can't help it. I think it has become my favourite store.  I love the gift options, the children's section and the super soft and cute baby items.  I was in there today looking for anything penguin for my son's upcoming Winter Onederland birthday party and noticed that most of their baby items are on sale for 50% off!  Check out their site here for all baby items on sale online.  So if you have a newborn to purchase for, head to your nearest Chapters or better yet, shop online. Here are some of the items that stood out for me.

Via Indigo

Via Indigo

Via Indigo

Via Indigo

Via Indigo

Via Indigo

Via Indigo

Happy Shopping!!!

Hello Monday!: A gift for the person that has everything

My husband and I finally got some Christmas shopping done this weekend.  It felt so good to cross off names on our list.  While in Chapters we saw a little girl (she couldn't have been older than 2 years) making swirls with a paint brush on a board.  At first we were taken by how cute she was, just like a little artist so into what she was doing.  Then we became curious about the item she was using.  It was the Buddha Board:

Via Indigo

It's funny because I had seen this item online and in the store in a box and never gave it more than a look, but seeing that little girl use it, I finally understood what it was and fell in love with it.  Basically, it is a board with a paint brush and a little place to put water.  You dip the brush in the water and paint whatever your heart desires on the board.  The strokes turn black and as the water evaporates the board turns white again.  I am a firm believer in the power of painting, drawing and colouring...for me it is one of the most relaxing exercises and this is a perfect way to master the "art of letting go" as one reviewer put it on Indigo's site.

This gift is perfect for the office, for a study desk or even in a family room.  I ended up buying two mini ones to use as stocking stuffers and will likely buy some more (and definitely one for myself!).

Mini Buddha Board via Indigo

I swear by this product!: The Frog Pod

We don't live in the biggest house and I love to use space efficiently (this is why I like European style furniture as they really do think of making use of all space while keeping it clean and looking good - I digress!).  For that reason, I really have to be smart about how I store all the baby "stuff".  I still haven't managed to control most of the little guy's toys but I certainly have a good handle on his bath toys and toiletries given that I use the Frog Pod by Boon.

Via Booninc.com

I received this at my baby shower and really swear by it.  It comes with adhesive bands and screws and you can use either to mount it to the wall of your bathtub.  We used the adhesive bands as we didn't want to screw into our tiles and it holds perfectly even with a bunch of bath toys, a shampoo bottle and a soap bottle.      The scoop allows us to gather the toys, rinse them and leave them to drain while hanging on the wall.  It is functional, looks good, and takes barely any room in the bathtub.

Via Booninc.com

I would recommend this to any new mother or any mother of young children.  Even a child would be happy receiving this as it looks so fun again the wall!  I think this will stay with us for years.  You can purchase the Frog Pod online at Indigo or Toys R Us or Cheeky Monkey, to name a few.  In Ottawa, this was purchased for me at Kiddy Town.

The Boon bath pod also comes in other styles.  I loved the Frog as it looks appropriately stuck to the wall!  But the other styles are nice too!

The Bug Pod - comes in Red and Magenta

Via Booninc.com

The Whale Pod - comes in Blue, White and Grey

Via Booninc.com

Hello Monday! Choo Choo! Fun is full steam ahead!

This past week-end was all about picking the perfect train set which will be our Christmas gift to our little man this year...

Our little man had a Thomas and Friend's 2nd birthday bash :)

He has been obsessed with Thomas the Train and Friends for the last year now.  His second birthday this past August was of course a Thomas themed party & he was so excited to be Thomas for Halloween. 

Our little man's Halloween bucket filled with too many treats from trick or treating!

We recently stopped by our local Indigo bookstore and discovered the children’s section where he was delighted to find a complete train set displayed for all the kids to play with. There’s no doubt in our minds that a train set is THE perfect Christmas gift for our son this year. The challenge was finding which one! 

via ToysRus

After much research and comparison shopping I felt victorious walking out of Toys R Us last week-end with the Imaginarium Mountain Pass Railroad on sale from $129.99 to $69.97 score! But price was not the only factor...

1. We did not want a train set which came on a table as we lack space and wanted to be able to put it away. 
2. We wanted to be able to build the tracks in different ways to change it up each time.
3. We wanted to be able to buy additional tracks and pieces if we wanted to add on to the set at a later time.
4. We wanted the tracks to be compatible with the Thomas the Train sets' trains.
5. Lastly, we wanted good quality wood pieces. 

We will have to see if it delivers on each promise...will report back after Santa makes his visit ;)!