Where do YOU shop?

My mind has been abuzz with Christmas lately. Yes, it's still 46 days away, but if I don't get most of the shopping and card-writing done before Thanksgiving, I'll feel rushed in the end. (Yes, I am definitely Type A.) No, I won't be decorating till after Thanksgiving.


Anyway, I thought I'd share a few of the neat places to get kids' gifts. I usually save a couple of gifts till last-minute buying, since we all know that the kids' lists will change by mid-December. In fact I'm going to try to take them to see Santa as soon as we can so that I don't have to have the guilty feeling when they tell Santa something later that I know I didn't get. Granted Target and ToysRUs and Amazon carry most of the popular items, so much of my shopping is done there. (I've already received about 4 boxes from Amazon so far... and gotten 2 subscriptions to Cookie magazine for spending so much on Toys... LOL)


But I receive a million catalogs in the mail at this time of year and love looking for those unusual toys and gifts. Y'know? In fact I tried freecycling my current stack of 50+ catalogs, but for some reason no one really wanted my junk mail! HA HA HA.


Anyway, I thought I'd share my favorite children's catalogs with you (all have online stores). My mom, mother-in-law and I all combined orders to save on shipping costs.

www.constplay.com Constructive Playthings... this is neat for the littler crowd especially. We picked up several toys for Tommy, including a Lift-off Rocket, EZ Build and Play drill set, Firefighters set, and Jumbo Jet set. All neat little playsets that a busy little imaginative boy would love.

www.highlights.com Highlights Toy Catalog... I didn't buy from them this year, but we particularly love their Hidden Pictures sets. It's the Hidden Pictures known from their magazines... all rolled into a few activity books. Great on-the-road activity.

www.mindwareonline.com Mindware... I LOVE this catalog. They have some of the coolest thinking toys and books around. We've bought some of the activity books every year... this year it was a logic-puzzle book for Ben since he's quickly becoming my math-minded boy (yay... I was a math major...he got some of my genes). I think we own a dozen or more of the games they offer. Great for providing fun toys and games and books... while making your kids think!

www.hearthsong.com Hearthsong... another great feel-good catalog. Most of the toys encourage imaginative play or creating things (crafts and such). I don't think we bought anything this year, but I wish we could afford to! Love their domino race set... maybe next year.

www.learningresources.com Learning Resources... this is, I believe, geared toward teachers like preschool or daycare. However there are many things in here that I love! They have many hard-to-find items that are just adorable. They have a series of items called Smart Snacks that allow kids to play with food-items while also learning colors, numbers, shapes, etc. Another cool item is the Gears, Gears, Gears toy. Our youngest is getting some of these.

www.ttgo.com Toys to Grow On... another great resource for fun, educational toys. We've bought from them in the past.

www.magiccabin.com Magic Cabin... We haven't bought from here yet, but I wish we could. Had I seen it years ago, I would've gotten their Birthday Ring... what a neat idea to pull out for each birthday. Lots of puppets and pretend-play items.

www.chinaberry.com Chinaberry... a new find. (Can you tell what appealed to me at first... the name.) I love looking through this catalog. I've so far found some really neat ideas in here. Ever heard of mandalas? I hadn't. They are decorative patterned circles... you can find ones to color in and then use as a gift or hang them up. I found some great little mandala-designing kits. For my creative, coloring daughter, this is perfect. She can make her own decorative circles and then color them.

www.lillyskids.com Lilly's Kids (Lillian Vernon) Who can resist this catalog? Looking to find some adorable personalized toys/gear? This is the place. Personalization is free. We've gotten tote bags and suitcases before. Their battery-operated pencil sharpeners are fantastic. I wouldn't give to little kids since their safety-catch can easily be tampered with... but it's really powerful and can be used anywhere. (We have 2 of these in our house.) Their beanbag chairs are really nice too. Each of our kids owns one now. Much cheaper than what you'd find at Pottery Barn or similar stores.

I know there are tons more catalogs that arrive each day... Spillsbury, Bits and Pieces, Young Explorers, and more. But we can only purchase so many things. What I like to do is give these catalogs to the kids to circle their favorites. Then after Mike and I decide what to get, I look on Amazon or cheaper places first. Sometimes you'll find that these items are found in many other places... sometimes the items are exclusive to a particular catalog or are just very hard to find. If I can get them on Amazon for much cheaper (w/free shipping sometimes), I go there. But I also like to help out the smaller companies and keep them in business. They are, after all, the ones that show me what's out there... and they have some of the cutest catalogs!

If you have any other WONDERFUL catalogs that you find cool items in, please share! Let me know. If I can prevent myself from going out in the crowds at Christmastime, all the better.