December 12, 2008

Banks for Babies

When buying a Christmas Gift for a baby, you of course know that the baby has no clue as to what is going on. I remember my daughter's first Christmas. I worked hard shopping for the perfect stuffed animal. The right color to be stimulating, the right softness, the right fiber and well the right price. On Christmas morning I was so excited. I got her all dresses up which of course she found quite irritating. But pictures are everything when it comes to momentous events like baby's First Christmas!

We sat our 6 month old down, amidst pillows and packages and waited for the grand ripping of paper and squeals of delight. Clearly my brilliant infant had no clue as to what was expected of her and began to cry being overwhelmed by the obstacles between her and me. I immediately left the picture taking to Dad and ran to hold her and give her a lesson in opening packages.

Now, when I was a child we were strongly encouraged to carefully unwrap each item, so the paper could be reused next Christmas. Being a child, this was very frustrating. I wanted what was inside the package and would have been just as happy if my gifts had all come in brown paper bags. I also think my relations knew of this torture and used a whole roll of tape which had to carefully removed to not distroy the paper. Perhaps this only served to highten the anticipation because I also recall finding among the gifts beautiful dolls and doll dresses.

I swore, my daughter would not suffer the same torture, and so the ripping began. I helped her rip the paper from boxes. I helped her rip open soft packages. Saving my own for last, I was not concerned by her lack of interest in the gifts and the growing pleasure in ripping. By the time my gift was placed in front of her, she was really into ripping. To her delight it was brilliant red paper. As her little hand pulled at the paper, she gathered it to her and squealed in delight. I opened the box and presented her with the grand stuffed doll I had chosen for her. I got no reaction from her at all.

Slightly disappointed, I put aside the gifts and gave her free reign with all the paper. She ripped it, she crunched it, she tossed it, she would have eaten it had I not caught those moves as they started. Later in the day she moved on to the delight in boxes as well, but it was several days before she showed any interest in the grand stuffed doll I got for her.

So, in the matter of buying for babies, worry less about the content of the gift and concentrate on the wrapping. Crinkly shiney paper, stick on bows, brightly colored ribbons all make the perfect gift for a 6 month old. The content should be chosen for Mom and Dad, or perhaps with the future in mind. Money banks make a perfect gift for the future.

One of the best choices is the plain white talking pig. With lots of room to decorate, you can have Kim personalize with a full name and birthdate. Kim can then decorate to rest of the pig with stars for boys or flowers for girls. The best thing is that the pig says "thank you" each time a coin is dropped in the slot. This gift will be loved and appreciated as your child grows and begins to value the coins that grandma and grandpa drop in.