Liz’s List: Christmas Gift Ideas for a Toddler

Since Lila’s birthday is so close to Christmas, I have to do double duty on looking for things to add to her Christmas list. Between the things she’s gotten for her birthday and what is on her list for the holidays, I think she’s getting some fun toys.

In general, we try to get her things that are open-ended and encourage active play. Things she can manipulate many different ways and discover in her own way. I also try to think about the future. Yes, she’s 1 now, but in six months, she might need some things that are a bit more advanced.

With that in mind, here are some ideas for Christmas gifts for a one year old. (click on any photos or title to buy these toys)

1. Bilibo Chair: We first discovered these rocking, swirling, stacking chairs at the Discovery Museum here in Reno. Lila loved rocking side to side in it and also using it as a bucket to carry other toys around in – a perfect open-ended toy for our active girl. This is going to be her present from Luke and me this year. :)

bilbo chair

 

2. Pound & Tap Bench: I found this one at Barnes & Noble’s toy section and decided to get it for Lila’s birthday. Little did I know this toy has been on several “toy of the season” lists. I am not surprised – Lila plays with it first thing when she wakes up and in many different ways – she throws the balls, hammers the wood and plays the xylophone.

xylophone hammer

 

3. Tiggly Shapes: I know a lot of parents try to be screen free, but with my working in social media and Luke’s love for Apple, that wasn’t going to work for our family. So when Lila does see a screen, we try to make sure she’s using it actively vs passively. That’s why Tiggly is so cool. The different shapes work on the iPad screen and the game invites the toddler to interact using the shapes.

Lila is still a little too young for it, but this is one I think she’ll love when she’s closer to 18 months. Tiggly just came out with a super cute new Christmas game to play with the shapes – you can download it here. 

Tiggly shapes

Tiggly Shapes

4. Push Around Buggy: Lila got this for her birthday from my sister’s family and it’s been a big hit. Lila loves to sit in it and pretend she’s driving. The other kids at the park are all enthralled with it too. We’ve had several try to climb in it and take off!

push around buggy

 

5. Learning Tower: I love the idea of these learning towers. Little ones can climb up and stand next to you at counter level to get in on all the kitchen action. I like to cook and Lila is always interested in what I’m doing in the kitchen, so this toy is a great fit for us. You can also get a chalkboard accessory for the back that turns the tower into an easel.

Learning tower

 

6. Keepsake ornament: I am all about starting Christmas traditions and one that we are starting this year is to get a special ornament for Lila that embodies the previous year. My goal is to have special ornaments that represent each year of all our kids lives on our tree. This year, Lila is getting a ladybug since we call her our Lilabug or just “buggy” for short.

ladybug ornament

 

 

7. Radio Flyer Scooter: After seeing my nearly-two-year-old niece Mabel zipping around on her scooter during a recent visit, I knew we had to get one for Lila. Again, this is one that is a bit advanced for a one year old, but within the next year she will be scooting all around, I’m sure.

radio flyer scooter

 

We’ve had so much fun watching Lila explore all her new presents and every day she finds new ways to have fun with them. I’m curious, what toys do your little ones love?

Disclosure: I use Amazon affiliate links on Amazon products. I was also sent Tiggly Shapes to try and to review on my blog, but I only give favorable reviews to products I enjoy.  

Planning For Lila’s Birthday Party

November is a big month for our family. Lila’s birthday on the 18th, my parents visiting Nov. 15 – 19th, Luke’s birthday Nov. 27, Thanksgiving at our house Nov 28, Luke’s family visiting Nov 24 – 30. I’m super excited for all of these things, but I can feel the stress starting to creep in, which means I need to start checking things off my to-do list.

My planning focus lately has been on Lila’s birthday. We went back and forth about whether to do a party or just an activity with our family. We wanted it to be fun for Lila, not stressful for us, but also a special day where we could celebrate our girl. Ultimately we decided on a small party with family and a few friends at our house.

First up to figure out was the food. In an effort to keep things a stress-free as possible, we’re going to do just a dessert party so we don’t have to worry about a bunch of food. There is an awesome gluten-free bakery up the street from us, so Lila and I went in and ordered some goodies. A vanilla cake with purple icing for Lila’s smash cake, along with creme puffs, chocolate creme bundt cakes, cheesecake bars and cookies in the shape of a 1.

For the decor, I ordered this burlap Happy Birthday banner and a cake topper to go with.

burlap happy birthday banner

 

burlap cake topper

 

I also made a trip to Party City and picked up some purple and white goodies to finish out the decorations like purple and white candies, purple polka dot napkins, white paper puffs and party favors like bubbles for the kids.

I also wanted Lila to have a special outfit to wear as the birthday girl, so I got her this totally ridiculous party hat and a personalized balloon onesie.

baby birthday hat Personalized baby onesie balloonsNow that I have everything planned out, I’m getting really excited for Lila’s birthday party. We’ll have family here (my mom & dad, sister and her family and Luke’s brother) and a few good friends to celebrate Lila’s first year of life. I can’t believe my baby is a year old already! I just hope I can keep it together during her party. :)

Okay, onto the next November event … Luke’s requested a pumpkin creme brulee cheesecake for his birthday. Does that even exist!?

 

Liz’s List: Stitch Fix Personal Styling

Although I have lost most of my baby weight (dang you last five lbs!), it still seems like my clothes just don’t look right any more. They’re either too tight, too short or out of fashion. I have a new state of mind and needed some new clothes to go with it.

Enter Stitch Fix. Stitch Fix is a personal stylist of sorts that is done through the internet. You fill out an in-depth personal style questionnaire, tell them your size and what your clothing needs are – business casual, formal, casual, and even can send them a Pinterest board showing your personal style.

Then one of the Stitch Fix stylists picks out five “fixes” specifically for you. They can include tops, dresses, pants, skirts and accessories. You try on the clothes and keep whichever you like. The rest you ship pack in a pre-packaged envelope. Then you fill out a quick survey about your fixes – what you liked and didn’t like and why – so your stylist can continue to refine their picks to fit your style.

The best part is that all this is just $20/mo and that $20 goes toward the purchase of whatever you keep. You can set the price range of the items too. Most of the things I’ve kept have been around $40. Here are some of the things I’ve gotten in my first two fixes:

stitch fix top Screen Shot 2013-08-16 at 11.05.48 AM Screen Shot 2013-08-16 at 11.05.36 AM Screen Shot 2013-08-16 at 11.05.18 AM

 

I kept the blue zig zag top, blue necklace, black maxi and orange geometric tank, and I have been wearing them non-stop. It feels great to finally have some clothes that A) I feel great in and B) fit my style perfectly. It also is pretty awesome that I didn’t have to haul Lila out to the mall to pick any of these out myself.

If you are interested in trying Stitch Fix yourself, I’d appreciate it if you’d use this link so I can get a $25 referral credit. :) Let me know if you have any questions about how it all works!

Liz’s List: Giveaway Noori Flower Girl Dress

One my the parts of having a little girl is the adorable tot-sized clothes. No offense to the parents of boys, but little girl clothing is just so cute! And little dresses are the cutest of cute.

That’s why I was excited when I was contact by the good folks at Noori dresses with an offer to pick out one of their flower girl or baptism dresses. I already have a dress for Lila’s baptism this month and she’s not in any weddings coming up, so I decided to offer this free dress to one of you!

I remember when I was buying a flower girl dress for my own wedding, it was really hard to find anything cute for a reasonable price. Noori has a lot of really cute styles at

an affordable price.

Here are some of my favorites (click the image to go to the sales page).

tulle flower girl dress

Ivory flower girl dress

 

Tulle noori flower girl dress

 

light blue flower girl dress

 

yellow flower girl dress

 

To win a free flower girl, baptism or “just because” dress of your choice from Noori, like A Batty Life on Facebook and leave a comment on this post with the occasion you want the dress for. I’ll pick one entry at random to win.

Giveaway closes on Wednesday, July 19 at 10:00 am PST.

Disclaimer: Noori provided me with a free dress to give away, but I only write about products I genuinely like.