Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with gift and kids

Happy Feet slippers around Austin?

sentient — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 10:21:42 -0800

Where can I buy Happy Feet slippers in or near Austin, TX? Alternatively, where can I buy other fun/novelty slippers for kids in or near Austin? Hoping to luck out on this one. Is anyone aware of where Happy Feet slippers are for sale in Texas, ideally within an hour by car of Austin, TX?

The slippers look like cartoonish oversized sneakers, and I've seen them in other states in mall kiosks.

The website doesn't list locations, although an article [pdf] about the company says that there are 190 locations in forty states.

I tried the 800 number and got voicemail (large volume of holiday calls, etc.), and I emailed them to ask. No response so far. The website's "Live Chat" feature is offline as of this post.

Has anyone seen them? Any tips? I'd like to get them today!

As a backup, what places in Austin definitely sell fun/novelty slippers in big kid sizes? (Animals, paws/claws, giant-and-fluffy, look like other stuff, that kind of thing.) Thanks!

Uncle Scrooge presents

Secret Life of Gravy — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 06:19:23 -0800

What to gift an 11 year old boy with too much stuff? My husband's nephew has divorced parents and doting grandparents, so every Xmas he makes out in the gift department. This year (as usual) we were given a list from his mother but the only things on the list are video games. We gave him 2 games last year. Undoubtedly he will get several games from others this year.

So we are left with a dilemma. Naturally we would like to give him a gift he would really be excited about and use, however my husband would like to give him something that will stand out and be memorable, possibly even give him something that won't be too exciting at Christmas, but will prove enduring. So my question is twofold: Should we just give him what he wants? If not, what are some ideas for something around $50.00? Bear in mind that my husband gave him one of his old guitars for nephew's birthday and is fixing up a used bike to give him just to have around.

Handprint kit for kids

brandman — Mon, 11 May 2009 08:12:33 -0800

I need some ideas on capturing my kids' handprints, as a gift to my wife. A little help? I'm looking for the best ideas and/or pre-packaged kits out there for making kids' handprints. The basic ones (example) would probably be fine, but if there was something you did/saw that was really unique, cool, special, etc., let me know! I'm looking for a permanent casting type of solution, not a print on a piece of paper.

Ency. for the kid

Chrischris — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:14:03 -0800

Multi-volume kids encyclopedia recommendations for a bright but not overly-precocious 6 year old. I believe my son would really love a good multi-volume childrens encyclopedia for Christmas, but I am having a difficult time getting a bead on which ones are best or even what is actually still available in print format. He's a fairly proficient reader who really likes charts and graphs and just about any sort of colorful infographic, so recommending well- illustrated sets would be a bonus.

What recommendations do you have? Also, if you have found any which did not meet your expectations, please let me know which ones and why.

How can I find a gift for my young nephew that my older nephew won't want?

OlivesAndTurkishCoffee — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 08:17:48 -0800

Please help me find a gift toy for my one-year-old nephew. I want to find something that will interest him, but that his 3 and a half-year-old brother (a toy hoarder) will find totally uninteresting. I've searched the archives and found lots of good suggestions for toys and gifts that would appeal to one-year-olds (blocks, Scoot N Scoops, the Shape-O) but I am specifically looking for a toy that will basically both attract the one-year-old and repel the three and a half-year-old.

My gut feeling is that the three-year-old wants whatever the one-year-old wants so the specific gift won't matter, but I'm hoping there may be a developmental psychology loophole?

I can't interfere or make suggestions parenting-wise, so that is out of the question.

Normally I just buy books, but am hoping to briefly subvert the power differential in favour of younger nephew with a toy--if possible.

Too many presents

serazin — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:28:50 -0800

My neighbor is very generous - too generous! Her young son and my kids play together fairly often, and each time my kids go to their house to visit, my neighbor sends my kids home with several gifts. Sometimes if she sees my kids playing in the back yard she just hands gifts over the fence. Last time it was a large tin of cookies, a box of Whoppers candies, and a Vitamin Water style drink. In the past gifts have included a hand-knit scarf, brand new clothes, a doll, a box of donuts, and a large plate of homemade fried chicken. At Lunar New Year she gave each of my kids ten bucks plus a box of sweet rolls. I don’t know this woman well at all. We’ve said ‘hi’ a few times but her English is limited and I don’t speak her language which I believe is Thai. I get the sense that our different expectations around gift giving are related to cultural differences (she’s an immigrant from SE Asia, I’m white, born and raised in California), and maybe also that she is just a particularly (or maybe compulsively) gift-giving person. I really want to be polite and respectful. I’d like my kids to get to keep playing with this neighbor kid. But I’m not into my kid eating all the junk food they send over and I’m uncomfortable with the volume of presents. At first I tried to reciprocate. After we received our first bag of gifts I sent over a plate of homemade donuts that I happened to be making, but I can’t possibly keep up with all of her gifts and now I’m afraid if I give them anything else I’ll just escalate the gift arms race! Now I shake my head “no”, cross my hands in front of myself, and smile and say “No Thank You” when I see the neighbor giving stuff to the kids and the neighbor just nods and smiles and keeps handing stuff over. Especially given our cultural and language differences, I’m just at a loss for how to deal with this conflict.

Recommend a birthday gift for 2-year-old twins, ships internationally and costs under $50... uh, please?

Chorus — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 11:13:55 -0800

Recommend a birthday gift for 2-year-old twins, ships internationally and costs under $50... uh, please? The twins are a boy and a girl, really REALLY into Elmo and cats. I'm in UK, they're in the States. I've not met them in person, but I talk with them and their mom like everyday phone-wise due to work and now mutual friendship. Never fear, I'm also getting a gift for their mother too, cause hey, these are 2-year-old twins we're talking about.

The problem is what to get the little ones? I haven't been around kids in years, so I feel really clueless. I can knit and crochet but it's too hot where they are [ML] to send like a crocheted afghan/knitted jumpers that are the mainstay of what I usually make for kids. A [free] plush animal knit/crochet pattern that doesnt wreck my head is hard to come by.

Handmade or bought, I don't care - I just have to be able to ship it internationally, so nothing too bulky either. Please help me find a decent gift! Or do social norms require a gift for each twin?

Two turntables and a microphone, but you know... for kids!

DragonBoy — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 12:25:02 -0800

I have a six year-old son who likes to 'air scratch' during songs. When we go to music stores he loves hanging out in the DJ supplies section and checking out the turntables and For Christmas I'd like to find a "kid friendly" musical gift that will allow him the enjoyment of scratching without Dad having to fork out cash for professional gear.

I seem to remember seeing a electronic thing that had a CD sized scratching turntable with 'canned' scratching sounds. I think he'd love something like that but my froogle searches have been fruitless. If you've got a suggestion for a budding DJ's Christmas gift please share.

Japanese stuff that American kids like

QueSeraSera — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 22:27:12 -0800

Calling all kids and kids at heart... what kind of souvenir would you want from Japan? I'm a long term resident of Tokyo and will be going home to attend a family reunion (in California). I will be meeting a few of my young cousins/neices/nephews for the first time and I'd like to get them each a little something that will open their world to something new, plus win them over as the kewlest grownup.

If you were a kid between 10-16, what kind of Japanese stuff would you like?

Here's what I have in mind so far: weird snack items, plastic build-it-yourself model robot kits... (Fireworks are great and I have brought them pre-9/11, but doubt I could get away with hiding them in my luggage now.)

And as for the adults, what Japanese foods and items would non-Japanophiles would enjoy? Sweet beans are deelicious but tend to gross out conservative Americans. Same with anything fishy. What do you like?

PS. "Asian-themed" trinkets, cheesy calligraphy, etc... I refuse to go there!

French magazine for 10 yr old girl?

angrybeaver — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 10:02:32 -0800

Christmas gift help - I want to get my cousin's daughter a subscription to a Quebec or French magazine. She's 10 and a half years old, likes to read a lot, and has been in French immersion since kindergarten. Does anyone know of any french language magazines that would be good for her?