Thoughts on what we're giving the kids this year

So I've been going around in circles on my ideas for the kids this year. The idea so far has been to give one physical gift and one experience gift.

Princess is exceedingly easy to shop for. She has been asking that we make her room more "girly", so I found a comforter set at Target (clearance! $20 instead of $80) that's super cute and more mature girly for her full sized bunk bed. The experience gift we've talked about is getting her ears pierced since she's been asking for a while and did a really good job at the dentist with getting her tooth pulled. Plus, I've heard of a store around here where they'll get two people to do it at once so that the kid isn't crazy for the second side. We're still debating this idea somewhat. Maybe we'll just get her some clothes.

For Tag, things get harder. He is in love with a Marble Mania set which I think he'd absolutely adore and get tons of fun from, but the problem is he'll soon have two younger sisters who are/will be less than respectful of his space and stuff. We also have all hard wood floors, which marbles love. On the other hand, a Tinker Toy set might not have quite the draw since it has no self propelling properties whatsoever, and we still run into the problem of tons of tiny, swallowable pieces. So we're thinking more along the lines of a soccer ball now, or a gear set (a board with pegs for gears). I've never known a man who was completely easy to shop for. I suggested a Build a Bear for him but Man doesn't like the idea so well.

For Pebbles, her very favorite blanket in the whole world is one we got from my grandparents. It's a fleece throw with snow men on it. It's hers, her whole comfort and calm, a safe haven of softness. I check on the kids at night just to get a good look at them while they're sleeping and she's often just hugging it or laying on top of it. Every morning when I get her out of bed she must have the Blanket. Same after naps, for road trips, or even just getting close to sleepy time while we run errands. The Blanket makes it all better. The Blanket must be protected, and never touched by non-Pebbles or non-mommy hands. The Blanket could get dragged through the mud, practically coated in glitter (separate post, oh yeah), have night leakings scenting it, or have fallen into the bathtub and it is still the Blanket. Gosh, that thing gets washed regularly, or as regularly as I can pry it from her fingers.

Anyway, the point of that was that she wants for nothing. She plays with plastic hangers, paper towel tubes, laundry baskets, and Tag's stuff. She draws on my calendar, plays endless games of peekabo with her stuffed rabbit (and the Blanket), scavenges food from where ever the older kids left some (::grrrr::), takes baths, and escapes to the great outdoors as often as possible. Oh, and she loves books.

One thought I had was getting this tent and tube set from Costco. Tag has a lot of room in his bedroom for setting up such a thing and I think all three would get a huge kick out it it. The last tent we had (Nemo) lasted a while and was infinitely loved by all who played with it.

::sigh:: I have time. Any suggestions?