It had never occurred to me that I would want a vegetable peeler in the shape of a bird—until I saw one, and then I Just Knew.

(photo from Amazon.com)

Same with the can opener that looks like a toucan—or rather the head of a toucan, which is a little disturbing now that I think of it.

(photo from Amazon.com)

These would be no good if they didn’t WORK well—but they DO. When these wear out (and I’ve had them for years now), I’ll replace them with the same things.

I also have the woodpecker scissors (they cut beautifully, and also the tail flips down to lock the scissors closed), the porcupine scrub brush, the hedgehog scrub brush, and the magnetic turtle clips that are so handy for holding paperwork I have to remember to deal with. I don’t see the turtle clips on Amazon.com but I wrote about them in a post about finding them at HomeGoods.

When my cousin got married, I wanted something really FUN and HAPPY to give her. I knew she was a little meh about her registry, so I felt free to go off on my own. So I got her my favorite animal kitchen stuff, and at the last minute I was lucky and found the swordfish bread knife at TJ Maxx for $7.99, so I put that in too. (Now I almost wish I’d kept it, because I’ve never seen it since!)

(photo from Amazon.com)

AND I found her the turtle cutting board, which I think I will get for myself the next time I see it, even though we don’t really need another cutting board, which is why I haven’t bought one for myself already.

(photo from Amazon.com)

I also want the gator grater, which I will buy THE VERY DAY our grater gives out.

(photo from Amazon.com)

This is not a CHEAP wedding gift. Even though I periodically see these things at a less expensive price at HomeGoods or Marshalls or TJ Maxx, they still add up quickly: I can find the porcupine brush for $6 instead of $9, but with the can opener I find at $10 instead of $14, and the bread knife I find at $8 instead of $14, and then a $12 angelfish colander to load everything in to….well, you can see how it adds up. But they are so cheering in the kitchen, and such a whimsical surprise, and so memorable and useful at the same time, I think they’re worth the price if you can swing it.

(If you don’t have those discount stores near you, or can’t find what you want there ((availability is spotty)), some of the tools qualify for Amazon.com’s “4-for-3″ promotion, which means that if you buy four of them, the least expensive one is automatically free. Not all of them qualify, though; the ones that do will say so in a “Special Offers Available” link. Right now the peeler and can opener don’t qualify, which kind of blows it for me—but the woodpecker scissors, monkey peeler, and shark bottle opener do, at least. )

And there are so many things to choose from in addition to the things I’ve already mentioned! There is a shark bottle opener! A pirahna pizza cutter! A monkey-shaped peeler, in case you’re getting kind of tired of birds! A skunk duster! A ladybug cutting board to go in a set with the turtle one, or to be instead of the turtle one! A peacock broom and dustpan! A giraffe toilet brush, which I realize means we’ve left the realm of kitchen tools, but we already kind of did that with the skunk duster, and also: GIRAFFE TOILET BRUSH.

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