March 5, 2008

Presents are great.  I love giving them and I love getting them.  Personally, I’ve always told myself I would do something new and different and unique next time I give a gift to my 7 year old goddaughter, something she’d remember for years and something she’d appreciate as much as or even more so than the actual present itself….

Enter, GiftVenture – a service I recently had the chance to test that allows you to give your child or any child you’re giving a gift to with a wonderful, memorable experience.  The way it works is, you choose a theme, enter details about the recipient, enter where the present will be hidden, and then a series of customized letters will be sent to the recipient (or all at once to you/the recipient’s parent) based on a theme you’ve chosen.  Now these letters… they’re from you, but they’re not from you.. they’re from a pirate, the Easter Bunny, a fairy princess, Cupid, etc…. it all depends on the adventure (or GIFTventure) you choose.  Each letter will contain age appropriate puzzles that your child can complete himself or with assistance that related to the theme.  It will definitely draw your child in, building a sense of mystery and suspense (and appreciation!) for the present to come.   The puzzles will lead your child to the spot where you specified you hid the present, and “finding” it is definitely going to give them a sense of accomplishment and triumph after having to figure everything out.

littleQ is just a tiny bit too young at just past his 2nd birthday to fully appreciate a Giftventure, but my 7 year old goddaughter and her 3 1/2 year old brother aren’t too young, so instead of just having 2 Kid Tough digital cameras sent to their home, I ordered a Treasure Map Adventure GiftVenture for them as well.  According to their mother, they loved it!  My goddaughter was skeptical that the letters could have come from anyone other than a real person (asking her mom, “who sent this?” as soon as she found the first one), but she certainly enjoyed figuring out the puzzles.  Her little brother was simply excited about the whole experience and was happy to be able to take part in something his older sister was doing.  By the time they got to their presents, they were bursting with excitement.

GiftVenture definitely provides a wonderful way to spice up any present, and your children will not only enjoy it, but they’re sure to appreciate the entire experience.  You can be sure that once I’m confident littleQ will be able to figure out puzzles (with my or mrQ’s help), I’ll be using GiftVenture to add a little adventure and excitement to the gift.

*****For Easter, you can take 10% off your order by using the code momcentral at checkout!  Also, sign up by March 14, and get reduced shipping on your order

Technorati Tags: GiftVenture, unique gifts, gift ideas, childrens gifts, present guide, presents for children, puzzles, surprise, giftventure coupon code, coupon code, discount

Reviews 3 Comments

March 5, 2008

I very much adore the entire Baby Einstein line of products and DVDs.  littleQ absolutely loves his Baby Einstein My First Signs DVD, and recently we also had the privilege of obtaining a review copy of the Baby Einstein: Baby’s First Moves DVD.  littleQ’s also quite fond of the Little Einsteins, and is always at attention once the lilting music during each episode begins.  (I come from a musical family and I definitely appreciate the cognitive and educational benefits music and all forms of art have for young children.)

Baby’s First Moves combines familiar imagery with baby friendly versions of classical music along with silly puppet shows that your child will definitely enjoy.  First Moves features babies performing each action (such as “roll over”) and we all know how babies love to look at other babies, and with this and all of the Baby Einstein DVDs geared towards language and comprehension skills development (i.e. Baby’s First Signs, Baby Wordsworth First Words, and coming soon: Baby’s First Sounds DVD… as well as other titles), the goal is to, through captivating visual and audio content, foster the growth of your baby’s cognitive development as well as his ability to “connect” what he watches to things he sees, feels and experiences in the real world.  Silly puppet shows throughout the DVD are complete with sound effects and will keep your child’s attention, and if afterwards he’s still craving some puppet entertainment, there are extra puppet shows included under the Bonus Features sections.

For infants, First Moves is a great way to help your child begin to understand concepts of movement (to quote from the DVD description: it’s a “playful, interactive celebration of babies’ movement milestones“), and for older babies and toddlers, it’s a great way to supplement his language development.  All of the Baby Einstein DVDs and products are designed for parent-child interaction, and that is definitely the way you’ll see the maximum positive effect of this and any other DVD in the Baby Einstein series.  For example, after a few viewings of the First Signs DVD, some practice and real world usage of the signs featured, littleQ’s spoken vocabulary did improve! 

It’s always, ALWAYS recommended to constantly make conversation and interact with your baby, and Baby Einstein DVDs are such a great way to supplement that development, because the DVD acts as a visual and auditory aid for your that helps to impress already familiar concepts and vocabulary in your child’s mind.  Oh, and the Baby Einstein toys and puppets used in the series are available for sale, and each DVD even has a section that provides you with the information for each toy for you to find it.

To be quite frank, before I tried the Baby Einstein DVDs, I didn’t want to, but once we tried Baby Einstein, I was hooked.  Before you click away and buy these DVDs though, I have to remind you that NO tv show is a replacement for parental interaction and instruction.  That said, Baby Einstein DVDs are great tools that you can use to supplement your child’s learning and development (but remember, you must also be working with your baby aside from the DVDs to fully benefit from them), and watching them together while interacting with your child is a beautiful way to bond.

Look for the Baby Einstein line of products at Amazon.com and at DisneyShopping.com.

Technorati Tags: child development, baby language skills, cognitive development, Baby Einstein, DVD review, baby DVD, toddler DVD, classical music for babies, parent child interaction, Little Einstein, Baby’s First Moves

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