9.05.2021

poppy's birthday wishlist

September is HERE and it's one of our favorite months of the year! Olivia starts Kindergarten next week, the temps are dropping (yessss), we've got lots of birthdays to celebrate, our favorite apple orchard just opened for the season and so much more!! Hello, FALL! You're our favorite and we missed you.

I've shared a lot about how minimal living matters so much to us and I often get asked about how I handle gifts for the girls, especially for birthdays & holidays. I thought it would be fun to share a few tips on giving + receiving gifts if you are pursuing minimalism and then also share what is on Poppy's wishlist this year! She turns 3 next week and she requested to go out to the original pancake house for breakfast and have balloons, confetti and brownies. Girl after my own heart. Her two favorite things ever are princesses and art (especially painting), so those themes are what her gifts center around.
one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / eight / nine / ten

Poppy asks to paint, color and do watercolors pretty much all day long. We can most often find her sitting at our kitchen table with some kind of art project out. Covered in whatever art she is doing ;) Olivia has a set of Kid Made Modern watercolor paints that Poppy always wants to use so of course we put her own set (9) on her birthday list this year. For her, it's a major bonus if the pictures she is painting are of princesses and the "Fairest of All" watercolor book (10) is one of the girls' favorites so I ordered another set that came with two other princess books. Something new we are excited to give her this year are Ooly watercolor crayons; they look like so much fun with (hopefully) little mess. My parents got her the glitter set (3) and this classic, neon & metallic set. By far my favorite gifts to give are "activity" gifts -- things that will be used often and enjoyed over and over.

Other favorite things of hers are beads, stickers (7) and legos. This new Petit Collage bead (6) set looks so darling. We also love the B. brand Pop Arty beads, which Olivia and Penelope sit and play with daily. Olivia received a lego set for her birthday back in May and since then we've added a few to her collection for sticker chart rewards. She sits for hours building the sets, following step by step instructions and having so much fun seeing what she can create. Poppy always sees Olivia doing legos so she asked for her own set for her birthday. There are so many fun Lego Juniors Sets (4) and even some for 5-8 year olds that she will be able to put together with a little help from us. This Surf Shop set is a favorite of Olivia's and I recently picked up this one on sale for her for Christmas this year.

Beyond art supplies, we are giving Poppy a new rainbow pillow for her bed (8) from one of our favorite shops, BlaBla Kids, because she is all about green and blue lately and the girls talk about + draw rainbows nonstop. She also loves Maileg mice (just like her big sister...noticing a theme here?!) and I thought this wooden pram (2) was so darling to add to her collection.

Last but not least, the tea set (5) is a toy we already have but thought it would be perfect to share. We've had ours for years in the girls' play kitchen but about a month ago I was trying to come up with a way to make bathtime a little more exciting without buying new bath toys. I had the idea to set up a tea party for Olivia and Penelope and their green toys tea set (5) became the perfect bathtime toy. They love having tea parties in the tub with lots of bubbles and because the set is so lightweight, it floats in the water!

Here's how I handle gifting:
For whosever birthday it is, we let each of their sisters pick out a small gift for them (such a fun tradition) and then I also create an Amazon Wishlist for friends & family. If you haven't yet heard of this, it is a game changer when it comes to gifting!

On Amazon, you can create a custom Wishlist (under LISTS) and add whatever items you want. I have an ongoing list for each of our girls and whenever I come across something I know they'd love, I add it. Then as birthdays approach and family starts asking what they can get our girls, I just send them a link to the wishlist! They can order directly from Amazon and everything is marked off once it is purchased so you don't end up with the same item twice. I absolutely love this because then our girls are given gifts they will actually use and enjoy -- and because Grandparents seem to insist on buying things for them to open, this is the perfect solution.

Another tip for gifting if you are pursuing minimalism: ask for 'experience' type gifts instead of toys. Let your family or friends know you are wanting to purchase a Zoo pass for your family or a Children's Museum pass and that anything they are willing to contribute would be put toward it. Suggest a friend buy a giftcard to a favorite kids bookstore where your child can pick out their own book or to family-friendly restaurant for a special date night out with your son or daughter. Gift an experience to your child in lieu of presents -- let them pick out their favorite movie, put on their coziest jammies, pop some popcorn (a favorite treat in our house!) and create a fun movie night at home. Or take them to a movie in theatres, a special play or performance if they're old enough. These offer the opportunity to make memories and mean so much more than toys. Plus they don't create clutter ;)

Do you have any upcoming birthdays in your family this month or next?? What is at the top of their wishlist?? We love making our girls each feel extra special for their birthday and finding ways beyond just giving gifts is so much fun for me as their Mama!! Hope your September is off to the best start!! XO

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