It’s holiday crunch time. Who’s panicking? I’m not panicking (… ok, I’m starting to?)
As a mom that’s become increasingly dependent on ordering things online, the shipping delays and supply chain issues are looming there like the Grinch, determined to derail those festive plans. Fret not though – there’s still time if you start throwing things in your cart. Here are some ideas to get you planning and making progress now.
Holiday reading
This is sort of a “month of” present versus day of present, because kids clearly won’t want to read about the holiday once it’s passed. Think of it as a holiday appetizer. There are several fun books for kids to get them into the holiday spirit. How The Grinch Stole Christmas is of course a staple — either the book or the original movie version (sorry Jim Carey and otherwise we new versions – no thanks.) I just discovered the Grumpy Monkey series has a Christmas book, which I’m totally adding to my cart.
For Hanukkah, check out My Mushy Matzah Ball, which is all about how food brings us together. Always relevant for the holiday season! I also was reading about another book called Latkes for Santa Claus, which sounds super cute. It’s about a house that celebrates both holidays.
Gym day passes, camps and experiences
Give your kids the gift of added activities! Know if yours are like ours, sitting still is not an option and there are some great things floating around that you can opt in as a part of their Christmas present. My Gym currently has a Black Friday camp they’re doing nearby us from 1-4pm and a Winter Break Camp they’re offering from December 24-December 31st for potty trained children 3-9 years old.
Many zoos and parks are offering discounts on annual memberships, so it’s a good moment to consider gifting those! Some ones I saw were the Philadelphia Zoo, Crayola Experience (where you buy a day and get a year!), Hersheypark and Sesame Place. It doesn’t look like it is on sale, but a favorite of ours that’s still a great deal is an annual membership to the Turtle Back Zoo.
Holiday toy sales
‘Tis definitely the season for deep discounts on toys! I found a lot of good deals on transforming Rescue Bots for Q at Amazon. This four pack is currently a great buy! This pop-up castle is also a great buy and is super cute. Target has a great one going now with some fun options — like this Spider-Man Web Crawler or PAW Patrol Transforming City Cruiser.
Clothing sales
It seems like everyone has a clothing sale going.Our son sees this as less of an exciting present than our daughter, but I usually get a bit of something to help build out their wardrobe going into the winter months. This is the time of year where I usually get our daughter some cute stuff from Matilda Jane. They are currently running a small sale when some good buys. Zappos has a sale going, which I’m is a perfect time to get those fun, over-the-top snow boots they haven’t realized they’re going to need (our daughter loves the sparkle, our son the superhero or cartoon characters.) However I keep looking at these more practical Sorel ones currently on sale!
There is also a massive sale over on JCrew with code BESTFRIDAY. Their denim for kids is not a good buy, but I found some great shirts and dresses for L and they have some nice button up shirts too. Unfortunately the more holiday styles are only 40% off full price — so gorgeous though. Gap also has a great sale going — better buys on jeans and a wider selection of button up shirts for the kiddos. RuffleButts also has a lot of options in their “Cyber Days” sale. So many cute things!
Room decor
We recently bought these big plush bean bags for the kids to have in their rooms and they’ve been a hit. It’s a great way for the kids to relax in their room and we use them too to read to the kids at night. It’s easier to snuggle up on these than on their beds with them, and ensures we (usually) don’t doze off! These aren’t currently on sale but perhaps tomorrow for Cyber Monday. We’ve also previously bought cute wall decals to use for our kids, especially in places where owe don’t want to hang something that could fall off (think above changing tables, beds, etc.) I’m a big fan of all of the Peter Pan ones, a number of which are on sale at the moment!
I’ll be back throughout the next several days to add in other great things I find. What other great buys have you found so far?
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