- my iParenting
- quick clicks
- dads today articles
- dads today q&a
- message boards
- research baby names
- prepare a birth plan
- content channels
- ip channel rss feeds
- read birth stories
- read parenting stories
- recommended books
- e-newsletters
- safety recalls
- ip diaries
- ip store
- mom of the month
- dad of the month
- editor's letter
- letters to the editor
From Our Sponsors
 |
- e-newsletters
- Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters
- award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Brilliant Baskets
Fun and Easy Alternatives to Candy By Jacqueline Rupp
Inspire a love of nature with presents for the garden. Small terra cotta pots with poster paints for decorating, seed packets (especially bold flowers, big vegetables and hardy varieties), kid-sized plastic garden tools, soil disks (which are far less messy than bags of dirt) and a watering can will supply your youngster with everything necessary to have a blossoming garden indoors or out.
Crafty Contents
Give a scrapbook starter kit. A scrapbook can be anything from a photo album to a journal, to a spiral notebook. Add a disposable camera so they can start on their book right away, plus some fancy scrapbook paper, scissors (if age appropriate), stickers and borders. Craft supplies like pom-poms, colored foam sheets, stamps, beads and tissue paper will keep kids busy on those rainy spring days. Don't forget art supplies. For younger children, give colored pencils, modeling clay, watercolors, finger-paints and wooden cutout figures to paint. For older kids, pastels, charcoals, oil pastels, drawing pencils, a kneaded eraser and sketchpad are all good supplies to have.
Healthy Treats
Granola bars, fruit leathers, cereal bars and mini snack food bags can be just as fun as jellybeans. Add some fruits they have never tried, like kiwis, papayas or mangoes. Kids can make their own trail mix if you include all the ingredients in a basket, such as assorted nuts, raisins, dried fruits and granola. Movie Time
