Tis the Season

Christmas shopping.
Who's all done? Don't tell me just so I can mock you for being anal and all.
I am trying to have the 'no-plastic-Christmas'. I know we will get it, I am just trying not to give any more to the kids. I am sick of it. There are too many pieces of colorful plastic crap in my house and I don't like how it looks, I don't like the smell, and I don't even like they way they sound when they click and clunk together.

I have recently tried to separate the plastic toys into the toy shelves and baskets (and a fair share into the garage!) that are upstairs , where there is a bit more room. Downstairs is tiny, and I have a large, closed basket of select mixed toys, and then a few more open baskets of wooden animal figures, wooden memory tiles (which serve equally well for building), the favorite velvet birthday gnomies, some silks. These are the items that Supergirl and Bubbles can play with (or dump) freely, and the ones I have to put away at least 5-10 times a day, rather than the 'once over' in the evening that the upstairs gets.

The way that these 'pleasant' toys are played with makes a parent happy. They inspire the most fantastical scenes in the smallest and most simple spaces. The best present I ever got for Supergirl was her own set of silks - the same scarves I use in music class for dancing. These silks have been used for: costumes, capes, lakes and mountains, stepping stones, butterflies, treasure wrappers, tents...the possibilities really are endless.
There is a HUGE difference in my attitude and generally improved aesthetic when I am picking up the pleasant 'waldorf-y' toys, than when I am scooping up the mounds of clackety colorful meaningless plastic crap (to which my children are attached. or not.).
When I finally listened to sensitive me, I heard what she I was saying:

Don't BUY any more plastic crap! Get RID of much of your plastic crap! and, PARE DOWN and surround yourself with nice and pleasant.

So, Bubbles is getting nothing plastic from us, other than the fleece footy pajamas he so desperately needs.
He IS, however, getting some lovely additions to his gnome-land. He loves his little velvety gnome set, and they are to be joined with some friends and their lovely nesting homes.
If he is lucky, they may bring some more friends and more homes.

I have been ordering my music/dancing silks and my 'pleasant' toys from dear Sonya over at AToyGarden.com for a few years now. She has lightning-fast shipping, high-quality toys, and the best customer service of any webshop to which I have ever been a regular. And she paid me nothing to say any of that. I just want to help you find the best deals on the most lovely toys...just like I want for my own bank account and my own children!

Supergirl is also getting as little plastic as possible...for a five year old girl! She is getting some of these lovely dolls that have cloth and wire articulated bodies. They do have plastic heads, but even so, they have glass eyes and gentle detail. And no Barbie proportions. They do have many puppies, which is another of Supergirl's current obsessions. She will also get more high quality art supplies. Another 'best gift we ever gave her' was the beeswax crayons! These last longer than any other crayons, and once you see the colors they produce, you will want to hide all your other crayons away, just to see the artwork that pours out of these amazing crayons. Yes. Crayons, amazing. Really.

So, what are your children getting for christmas this year?