I love my friend’s kids.  They range in age from two up to ten.  They have every toy imaginable.  It is not that they are spoiled it is that there are four of them.  Gifts at Christmas and birthdays are getting more and more challenging each year.  Because they are so important to me I often go out of my way to let them know I took my time finding something they would enjoy.  One way I do this is by purchasing personalized gifts for them.

Personalized toys are so fun to buy especially for children who you love and don’t get to see as often as you want to.  It is nice to give them something that is tangible that will make them think of you every time they see it.  I want them to see that they are important enough in my life that I don’t just run and grab a gift card on the way to their party.  It is always fun to see their faces light up when something is so over the top cool and just for them.

One year my “niece”, I hope I am not the only one who calls my good friends kids niece and nephew, was really into glam.  She loved having her hair done, getting manicures and pedicures, the whole nine yards.  I went into the local craft store and bought a storage container and constructed a themed top just for her.  I used paper, glue, glitter and stickers to create a design that I knew she would love and that would match her room so that when it was stored it still looked pretty.

I went to the store and purchased all things glamorous.  We bought lip gloss, nail polish, polish remover, brushes and combs, hair ties, colored gel, bubbles, crayons for the tub and a big loofah.  This was going to be a little girls dream kit of all the things glam.

I took some paint pens I already had on hand and personalized her brush.  This was done by simply turning the brush to the flat side and putting her name on it in glitter pens.  For each of the bottles of nail polish and lip gloss I took plain stickers and cut them to the size needed to wrap around the bottles and then came up with jazzy names to call them such as purple popsicle and pink lollipop.  All things this little girl adores.  The red was my favorite lip gloss luxurious licorice.

I then decided the best way to wrap the gift was in cellophane so that all the colors could show through and I could adorn a huge curly ribbon on top for her to use in her hair at a later date.   Then I took some glitter glue and added all kinds of polka dots all over to match the colors inside.  When she opened her gift, a favorite among the personalized kid’s toys I have given she started to jump up and down.  She loved it!   Once again I had pulled it off.  I think the better of maybe an hour was taking up of time to pull it all together and it is a gift she will cherish and remember for ever because it was a personalized gift just for her.