What to bring my kids from Baltimore
December 16, 2010 6:49 AM Subscribe
What would be a great gift to bring my 4(girl) & 7(boy) year old kids back from Baltimore?
Preferably something I can get near the harbor. Any ideas?
Preferably something I can get near the harbor. Any ideas?
When I was that age, my dad went on a business trip to Cincinnati and brought back enormous lollipops - those kind that are all colors and wound up in a circular pattern. It is over 40 years later and my siblings and I still talk about those.
It doesn't have to be a really specific-Baltimore idea.
posted by CathyG at 6:54 AM on December 16, 2010 [1 favorite]
It doesn't have to be a really specific-Baltimore idea.
posted by CathyG at 6:54 AM on December 16, 2010 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Check out the gift shop at the American Visionary Art Museum. You can find great quirky tchotchkes there. It is free to enter the shop and located across the harbor, a nice walk.
posted by rabidsegue at 6:54 AM on December 16, 2010
posted by rabidsegue at 6:54 AM on December 16, 2010
eg, someone just got my toddler a whoopie cushion from AVAM that he loves.
posted by rabidsegue at 6:56 AM on December 16, 2010
posted by rabidsegue at 6:56 AM on December 16, 2010
Best answer: Anything brought back from a trip can have significance. Our 2yo loves a blue stuffed monkey from Rochester (such is the selection at the airport). So much for location-specific gifts.
Baltimore tourism, Maryland as a whole for that matter, often trades on a crab theme. Plenty of crab-oriented stuff. A pair of over-the-top crab sunglasses might be hilarious for the girl. The boy might like a "Don't bother me, I'm Crabby" T-shirt. There's a shop peddling this sort of stuff and more at Harborplace downtown (we were just there to see "Merry Tuba Christmas"). I think the BWI airport also has a similar shop. A trip up to Hamden to the Cafe Hon gift shop could be a good source of crazy kitschy gifts too.
And if you celebrate Christmas a couple of ornaments might be a nice tie-in. My folks made a habit of picking up ornaments during the year and labeling them with the date and location. So now I've got 4 decades worth of memories, not only from each Christmas but the trips taken when the ornaments were purchased. A double-shot of reminiscing.
posted by wkearney99 at 7:02 AM on December 16, 2010
Baltimore tourism, Maryland as a whole for that matter, often trades on a crab theme. Plenty of crab-oriented stuff. A pair of over-the-top crab sunglasses might be hilarious for the girl. The boy might like a "Don't bother me, I'm Crabby" T-shirt. There's a shop peddling this sort of stuff and more at Harborplace downtown (we were just there to see "Merry Tuba Christmas"). I think the BWI airport also has a similar shop. A trip up to Hamden to the Cafe Hon gift shop could be a good source of crazy kitschy gifts too.
And if you celebrate Christmas a couple of ornaments might be a nice tie-in. My folks made a habit of picking up ornaments during the year and labeling them with the date and location. So now I've got 4 decades worth of memories, not only from each Christmas but the trips taken when the ornaments were purchased. A double-shot of reminiscing.
posted by wkearney99 at 7:02 AM on December 16, 2010
When I was 7ish my dad always brought me a pennant of the local professional sports team. But then, I was a 7 year old sports nut. YMMV.
posted by COD at 7:15 AM on December 16, 2010
posted by COD at 7:15 AM on December 16, 2010
Seconding the shop at the Visionary Art Museum - my girlfriend bought a plush elefant hat there (with posable trunk!) that has been a hit with her preschool students.
posted by ryanshepard at 7:49 AM on December 16, 2010
posted by ryanshepard at 7:49 AM on December 16, 2010
Crabs! What four year old girl wouldn't love crabs from down by the harbor?!?
Seriously, you can get plush crabs from the inner harbor souvenier shops as well as Ravens and Orioles swag for the boy (unless he too would like a plush crab).
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 8:00 AM on December 16, 2010
Seriously, you can get plush crabs from the inner harbor souvenier shops as well as Ravens and Orioles swag for the boy (unless he too would like a plush crab).
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 8:00 AM on December 16, 2010
Best answer: Berger Cookies! They're classic Baltimore and delightfully unhealthy. You can buy them in most non-chain grocery stores, and in the Cross Street market in Federal Hill.
posted by mercredi at 8:06 AM on December 16, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by mercredi at 8:06 AM on December 16, 2010 [1 favorite]
(The Cross Street market is between Light and Charles Streets, about a 15 minute walk from the inner harbor. The market itself has fun lunch options and there are bars and restaurants in the block surrounding if you want to make an afternoon of your cookie quest.
posted by mercredi at 8:11 AM on December 16, 2010
posted by mercredi at 8:11 AM on December 16, 2010
Best answer: The National Aquarium gift shop also has some fun stuff for kids that age, regardless of whether they're into robosharks or cuddly plush penguins.
posted by SomeTrickPony at 8:14 AM on December 16, 2010
posted by SomeTrickPony at 8:14 AM on December 16, 2010
I came in here to say "Don't Bother Me, I'm Crabby" t-shirt.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 8:22 AM on December 16, 2010
posted by Sweetie Darling at 8:22 AM on December 16, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by nomadicink at 6:53 AM on December 16, 2010