Whenever I see something that seems like it would make a good gift, I make myself a note. Sometimes these notes clump into categories, and sometimes not. This is post of gift ideas I’ve been meaning to mention, but they keep not fitting with other posts.

Marmar Magnetic Necklace Sets (photo from the shop). Wait, because these are even neater than you think. FIRST, they’re neat because to change the pendant on the necklace, you just click a new magnet into place. But THEN, they’re ADDITIONALLY awesome because they work with all the Marmar refrigerator magnet sets! So, like, you get yourself a necklace, and you have magnets all over your fridge, and in the morning when you’re getting ready you can PICK A MAGNET OFF YOUR FRIDGE AND PUT IT IN YOUR NECKLACE. A squirrel one day, a cupcake the next! A famous scientist one day, a Santa-hatted cat the next! This idea appeals to me so much, I really really wish I wore necklaces. I would buy ALL THE MAGNET SETS.

Sons of Anarchy temporary tattoos (photo from fxnetworks.com). (I mean, clearly the photo is from fxnetworks.com. Clearly I do not have this nice young man in my living room posing for a photo for me.) I saw a mention of these in an interview with one of the cast members, and I immediately thought “OMG THAT WOULD BE SO COOL FOR A FAN OF THE SHOW.” Or for the partner of a fan of the show. Ahem. No-judging zone.
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I know many of us like to wait until after Thanksgiving to start thinking about Christmas, but today is the annual Melissa & Doug half-price sale on Amazon, so I urge you to consider making an exception. I think of Melissa & Doug as a highly reliable brand, as well as a brand that pleases people if I bring it to a birthday party. It SMACKS of Quality Family.

Now, when I say “half-price,” I think we all know that Amazon can be a little sneaky about that: some of these items are more like half off suggested retail price, which means more like a third off regular Amazon.com price. STILL. Others are truly half-off, and all are at least nicely on-sale. Every year I like to first see if there’s anything I want to buy for the kids for Christmas, and then I stock up on a few things for birthday parties, and a few more things to put in Christmas toy donation boxes. Some highlights of this year’s sale:

Melissa & Doug Ice Cream Set (photo from Amazon.com). My mother has this set, and it’s one of the hits of the playroom. The ice cream scoops are magnetic so they stick nicely to the scooper and to the cones; you can even do a double-scoop.
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I am breathing carefully and calmly through my nose as I think of playing board games with children: Monopoly, which goes on forever and makes children cry; CandyLand, which seems like it’s about to end and then someone gets sent back to the beginning.

I do have a few, a very select few, that I am willing to play. I look for a game that is fun for me as well as for the kids, and that doesn’t require me to hold way back in order to avoid trouncing my opponents.

Wits & Wagers Family (photo from Amazon.com). I prefer the grown-up version, which I first encountered at my brother and sister-in-law’s house, but the kid-friendly game is nearly as good. I am timid and suspicious of games, but this one won me over: it’s like Trivial Pursuit except you’re NOT SUPPOSED TO know the answers. The idea is that everyone will be guessing. The guesses are laid out in a row, and then everyone can bet on the likelihood that the guesses are correct; in this way, you can win points even if you didn’t know the population of Vatican City, or how many points an athlete scored in his best game. It ends up being a lot of fun and a lot of laughing, and as soon as I got home from that game night I ordered the family version to play with the kids.

Set (photo from Amazon.com). This game was recommended to us by one of the kids’ teachers, who had the kids make their own small decks to practice with. The point of the game is to find three cards that make up a “set”: the three cards can be different colors but the same shapes, or different shapes but the same colors, or all different colors/shapes. It took me a little while to catch on, but after that it was simple and addictive.
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I was so distracted by the election this week, I felt like the area of my brain that usually deals with Happy Shopping Things was completely knocked out of commission.

I was thinking maybe today we could talk about the resources we use to teach kids to get along with others—especially to prepare them for times when we’re apart from them and not able to coach them through a difficult interaction (”Now give that toy back to him. Now tell him you’re sorry for taking it so roughly. Now ask if you may have a turn after him”).

It has been hard during this election to explain to the children the rules that should be followed, when “shouldn’t” feels like kind of a stupid concept in the face of “look, everyone’s doing it anyway.” “Children, people shouldn’t state their views aggressively or smugly or self-righteously in forums where those views will hurt/anger their friends and family and cause pointless, unpleasant debates that lead nowhere and change no one’s mind about anything. Despite what you may have heard about Facebook.”

This morning before school we worked on the concept that people should be gracious losers and even more gracious winners.
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