I’ve been wanting to do a series of giveaways that use up the vast archive of toys currently residing underneath the basement stairs in our house. It’s our own little Smithsonian Collection. An anthropological wonder. However, as you might guess if your life is anything like mine (please, please tell me it is!) it’s just not that simple. I thought it would be. I thought I could wander down there, and after moving the 10 boxes of Christmas paraphernalia and my husband’s 3 spare computer monitors (from the era of a color known as Putty), and a room’s worth of unused cherry hardwood floor piled 2 feet tall down the center of the crawlspace, I’d pick out a toy and be done. That was the easy version. In reality I’ve realized there are other issues. One of them might be my pack rat tendencies. The fear that if I give it away, suddenly I will have ten kids of my own and need that toy for them (ha. not likely.). Or, in the most recent version of events, I had in mind a certain toy, but didn’t know which of 14 bins it was in, and then Birdie woke up. Then, I realized I wanted to use one of the original catalog product shots for the item, but have apparently lost all of my CD’s. Which made me realize, the CD’s are much more important than the actual toys. The CD’s will get me work. The CD’s are my record to show to the world. The toys? Harder to manage. If HGTV’s Clean House team were here, they’d tell me to keep the CD’s, and toss the toys.
In the meantime. Let’s start with a giveaway that has managed to avoid all of the above hurdles. These booties are new, in the box, and I’d saved them in a special place for Birdie. So I didn’t have to move a single Christmas box. I’d been saving them for years just for her, in fact. However, due to her preemie feet, a change in seasons, and my forgetfulness, we never used them. I designed them … hmm, probably around 2002? I still remember spending time at a nearby daycare with squirmy babies trying to get the original samples on their feet. Our sample makers just couldn’t get the sizing right. First they were practically doll-sized, then the next round came back fit for a 3 year old. Luckily we figured it out. Oh, and a funny sidenote: in this photo (yep, from the catalog shoot!) the marketing gal helping with the shoot placed the booties down backwards. Can you tell? The bootie on the lefthand side is actually for the babe’s left foot. It’s always bugged the hell out of me. Luckily the babies won’t mind at all.
And don’t worry, if your kiddo is too big, these are the best quick baby shower gift I can think of! (and just think of the story you can tell).
How to enter – Mandatory:
- Leave a comment: What toy do you wish was out there for your kids? (rocket-powered unicorns and other impossibilities are allowed!)
How to enter – additional entries (one comment per entry):
- Subscribe to Small for Big via RSS reader, then comment here.
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- Follow Small for Big on Twitter, and tweet about the giveaway, then comment here.
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This giveaway will be open from Wednesday, September 15th through Tuesday night, September 21st, at midnight EST. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, September 22nd with the help of the lovely and amazing random.org.
{ 48 comments… read them below or add one }
My son’s always clamoring for rocket boots followd by Monster Jam truck type wear. He’s 4. He enjoys superhero/pirate/dinosaur related toys. Maybe a DinoPirate? My daughter, soon to be 2, likes bunnies and dinosaurs…perhaps a bunny dinosaur toy?
Recently had a great lunch with just my 4 y.o. Read about it here:
Eating Lunch Outside
Ah super cute, and great story. I know a couple of pregnant ladies who’d like these! Btw, a friend of mine is a children’s book illustrator and one of her book covers shows a flying kid/ angel with two left feet. That! Is unfortunate!
A little Chitty Chitty Bang Bang would be right up my daughter’s alley! She loves that movie and has even named our car Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!
I follow you on Twitter too!
A lady beetle counting the spots game. We have a lot of lady bugs & this would be ideal.
My Daughter is a little young for toys but a car ride simulator would be nice. Then I wouldn’t have to pack her up and take her for rides when she can’t sleep :)
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Hmm… What do I wish was out there for my kids? A magic wand that, when waved, gets all the toys put away. And a little hideaway house built into the side of a hill, kinda like a Hobbit house. That would make an awesome place to play!
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I wish they would combine a jumperoo and a walker combo, my son loves both but they take up so much space having both.
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an indoor treehouse!
An anti-gravity machine would be incredible so they could feel like they can fly!
I follow you on twitter and tweeted! http://twitter.com/ampaetka/status/24896468248
a life size pony toy so that they could ride it in a circles, but it’s just a robot or something else that doesn’t need to be fed or clean. haha
how about any kind of truck that when the wheels come of can magicly put themselves back on and fix itself. my son always brreaks his trucks because hes taking them to the shop to get “fixed”
Hmm, a toy, a toy.
A miracle toy that my kids wouldn’t fight over. One that they could play with both outside and inside, one that could get dirty and be cleaned easily, one that held their attention for longer than 5 minutes. So whatever THAT toy is, I wish I had one, haha.
Trips to space for civilians!
A robot that helps them go potty
and cleans up after them too.
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I have three boys ages 1, 3, and 5. My five year old son loves horses, when ever we go to the toy store all the horses are always pink and purple. I wish there were more horse toys made for boys.
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A toy that extracts any protests, whines, “no’s”, wriggling around while changing diapers, or any such obnoxious behavior! It would magically turn them into their happy, cheerful, bubbly selves! : )
A little mini real dinosaur for my son to play with and interacts back
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I wish there was a toy out there that would magically put itself back together at a push of a button, including the 104 pieces hidden under the sofa.
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