Green Treehouse

If there’s an expectant mama in your life and you need a thoughtful gift idea, you’ve come to the right place, especially if you want to score some serious “just thinking of you” points. 

A maternity pillow is the ultimate gift.  Every mother-to-be craves quality sleep.  A pregnancy pillow, which is designed specifically to assist expectant mothers achieve sleep comfort, is a pregnancy must-have.  A pregnancy pillow can be used during pregnancy, after childbirth, and during nursing sessions.

Maternity pillows are great for reducing pressure, improving body alignment, and for providing belly support.  Pregnancy specific pillows come in a variety of shapes, although they share the similar goal of nurturing the pregnant body.

Popular pregnancy pillow options include:  The Boppy Pregnancy Wedge, the Hug N Rest Maternity Pillow, and the Snoogle Original.  

You simply can’t go wrong giving the gift of better sleep to a mother-to-be.

I’m nearly convinced that one of the best gifts for a toddler/pre-K aged-child is a train table–with trains and a bunch of accessories, of course!  My children (and the children of nearly every parent I know) are drawn to them whenever they spot one, such as at Barnes and Noble or at the pediatrician’s office.

While the floor or dining room table may seem like an okay place for train play, nothing quite beats a train table that is specifically designed to keep kids busy for hours by encouraging imaginary play, while also neatly containing train parts.  A separate play space for the kids is a nice perk of a train table—fewer train parts to step on around the house, fewer times asking (okay, let’s get real here, begging) your kids to “clean up” their toys.

A quality train table can last for years.  Even after your kids outgrow the table for train play, it can be used as a versatile storage table (most train table manufacturers offer deep storage drawers as an add on accessory) or as another surface for doing other activities, like school assignments or art—some parents elect to paint a table’s surface with chalkboard paint for extended use.

There are a number of popular train table manufacturers, including reasonably priced tables by KidKraft (which offers tables in a choice of color, complete with colorful and fun play surfaces).  BabyEarth.com offers free shipping on orders over $99—that makes giving a train table gift this holiday an even merrier idea.