White Elephants and Rabbits

"Mom, Grandpa sent me a white elephant!" La Petite moaned one Christmas morning. Grandpa's heart was in the right place. He knew she loved rabbits, and he had picked out a ceramic candlestick shaped like a rabbit. The rabbit was, I kid you not, this rabbit was scary. He meant well, and she kept it (at the back of a shelf somewhere), but thank goodness she was old enough to appreciate the thought behind the gift!

As kids get older, it's harder to shop for them. La Petite is in college, so we let the grandparents know what she needs for her apartment and for school. They often pick up gift cards for her favorite online stores, too, knowing that clothes and Converse shoes make this girl happy. Most of the time we're lucky that way.
Amigo is a little tougher. When he was young, his toys were easy to pick out; they were the ones that talked, sang, and made noise. The noisiest, of course, came from the grandparents. We think they were laughing all the way through the store knowing what they were plotting for their own offspring! Now he is interested in cooking, so they buy him Braille cookbooks and kitchen utensils. Kitchen utensils make great fidget tools for a fidgety kid, too.

Parent Bloggers Network suggests Grandkids Gift Guide, a resource for gift giving. This could be handy! It doesn't have a specific area for teens or college kids (yet), but there are some unique and fun items in the 12 and over section. No candle holders. Darn.

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