A Little Bit About a Lot of Things

My husband is hard to shop for. Like, really hard to shop for. Before we started dating I thought of myself as a good gift giver – a thoughtful gift giver. But every time he opens a gift (that I think is just perfect), he makes ‘the face’, you know which one I’m talking about. This year, he will get a card from the kids and maybe I will let him sleep in (maybe). So here are some things I would like if I were celebrating Father’s Day.

Starting at the top left, I love these belts. Made by Ladder 34, these adjustable belts are made from authentic fire hoses and a portion of the sale will be donated to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. Belts will run you around $35 and come in a variety of colors. If belts aren’t your dad’s thing…they have some cool mats and wallets.

Next, on the top right, we have wallets made from vintage baseball gloves. Mack Provisions lets you pick a glove from their collection that they make into your unique wallet. At $150, these are a little more on the expensive side, but I think that any baseball enthusiast in your life will really be touched.

I love the fish hook keychain from Todder (bottom right) ($25). These are made right in Newburyport, MA. If your dad already has a keychain, try checking out their bags, belts, bracelets, coasters or even a leather mason jar sleeve.

And finally, if you’re looking for the ultimate preppy gift for your dad, try customizing a pair of Sperry boat shoes. You can pick from over a dozen colors – maybe go classic with a pop of color on the laces, or maybe go bright and fun with a monogram. They are not much more expensive than the regular boat shoe, so why not go the extra mile.

What are some of the best gifts you have given for Father’s Day?

This year I hosted our annual neighborhood Easter egg hunt. The ladies of the ‘hood got together for some wine and ‘egg stuffing’ the night before – we had over 200 eggs. Sounds like a lot of eggs, but we had 30 kids – ranging from age 8 months to 12 years old. It was a little stressful doing the prep work, but seeing how happy the kids were made it all worth it. I’ll share some of our fun ideas for the food table in another post (after Easter) but wanted to share some fun Easter basket ideas that I worked on with Leah.

I love a good hooded towel. It has to be durable, because, well…kids. Picked up this cute one at The Nutshell in Milton. It could be cute for a boy or a girl. Glitter bunny ears were from Target, the bunny balloon was a great find (in a pack of 6) from TJ Maxx. The pom pom bunny pen and the “surprise bunnies” (peel away the layers of tissue for fun jokes and prizes) were from Paper Source. We aren’t big candy people in our house – so if we do give candy, I’m a firm believer in giving them a few “good quality” pieces instead of a whole bunch of “regular” candy. The egg, chicken (how cute is that?!?!) and the bunny (bottom right) are from EHChocolatier. Have you visited their new storefront in Cambridge yet? You should! The chocolate bunnies in the box are from L.A. Burdick. (I think I’ll keep those for myself!)

We reuse the same baskets every year – I love this one (same as above, but with a different liner) from Pottery Barn Kids. They may seem expensive, I picked mine up the day after Easter when everything went on sale. My daughter is obsessed with unicorns (and llamacorns) so this hooded towel from Pottery Barn Kids was a perfect addition to the basket. The shoes are Cat and Jack from Target – how cute are they? She put them on and started to tap dance across the floor! The large egg is from Williams Sonoma and is filled with a mix of chocolate, marshmallows and jellybeans (but really, I just bought it because I adore the egg). Leah picked up the headband and how awesome are those headphones? They’re WAVE made by BuddyPhones. My kids are just getting into the age where they will be wanting to use screens and these are perfect (because I can’t tell you how much Daniel Tiger’s voice gets on my last nerve 😉 ).The headphones limit the volume so the sound can’t damage your kid’s ears, they’re waterproof, they’re wireless and they have a 24 hour battery life.

I saw moonlite at Target and was a little nostalgic – these are the projectors of my childhood with an upgrade! I picked up the starter pack which had 5 Eric Carle story wheels. You download the app, clip the projector to the flashlight on your phone, and viola! bedtime stories come to life! You still read the story, but there are some fun sound effects (my kids got a kick out of seeing the pictures on the ceiling)! My kids love the Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site book so I picked that one up as well. The jelly beans in the mason jar (but you could get a cute bear shaped jar too) are from Lolli and Pops, the seersucker ears are from Pottery Barn Kids, the Peter Rabbit egg is from Williams Sonoma. The blue box of chocolates are made by Charbonnel Walker (one of my favorite chocolatiers) and I was pumped to see they were being sold at Williams Sonoma.

Spring is right around the corner, so Leah decided to add these cute garden tools from the Hearth and Hand with Magnolia Garden Set. The full set includes a watering can, a trowel, labeled wood garden stakes, a shovel, a spade, and garden fork – all in a cute bag. You can pick one up at Target got about $20. I’m a sucker for old school toys, and how cute is that wooden rabbit? What you can’t see is that on the end of the string there is also a wooden carrot!!

This basket has some of the fun things above but with the addition of ThoughtFulls Happy Day pop open cards. Everyone could use a little sunshine in their day and there are 30 cards in this box, each with a different inspiring quote on it. And how can I not include some “Little Notes” from E. Frances, these little lady bugs are perfect even after Easter!!

Gräem Nuts and Chocolate in Concord is one of my new favorite shops. Not only for the obvious nuts and chocolate, but the decor inside transports you into a different era. I picked up these cute pre-packaged foil wrapped eggs for our basket, but you have the option of picking your own out of the case. UMMM…can we just talk about those cute bunny “little notes” from E. Frances?!?! GAH! So cute! We bought the “lil’ bear” mugs for all the kids and we have the mama and papa bear too. Super cute Williams Sonoma, well played.

I’m not sure why I hadn’t thought about adding books into our Easter baskets before, but Leah brought up the idea and I was instantly in love with it. She picked out Larry Loves Boston, by John Skewes. In this series, Larry the pup visits all the popular Boston spots, such as the Freedom Trail, the Public Garden and Faneuil Hall. “The Rabbit Listened” by Cori Doerrfeld might just be my new favorite book. The text is minimal but the message is a good one. We already have “Too Many Carrots” by Katy Hudson, but that would also be a cute bunny themed book for a basket. Add in a cute bookmark and you will be all set!