Our 5 Under $25

If it takes a village to raise a child, then all those villagers need to be remembered over the holidays (and guess who’s doing the shopping). So in an effort to help moms everywhere find something for the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker (never mind the teachers, the babysitters, the coaches and the kids’ new BFFs), here’s our annual Top Five Under $25 gift guide.
For the Cousins, the Kid Next Door and Your Kids’ Friends With Parents Who Insist on Buying Your Kids a Gift
Mealtime’s more special (and more stylish) with a personalized Name Your Place placemat, a creative collaboration from Name Your Tune and Grace Announcements. There are 30 different and gorgeous designs to choose from, including nine interactive learning designs which can help with learning the alphabet and colours (children can write on them with dry-erase or washable markers). Available single-sided ($12) or double-sided ($18), your only problem will be choosing which design you want. (Available at www.nameyourtune.ca)

For the Teacher
Bound in a striking, robin’s egg blue hardcover with golden print, the One Line a Day: A Five-Year Memory Book diary ($18.79) includes enough gilded-edge pages to fit five years worth of memories, classroom antics, or lessons learned and a handy ribbon to mark where the last memo was made. The 365 daily entries appear five times on each page, allowing the diary keeper to revisit prior years’ memories while capturing their latest thoughts. (Available from www.amazon.ca)


For the Moms’ Group Secret Santa Exchange
Even before the global financial meltdown last year made the British WWII motivational slogan ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ so popular, we always thought it was a perfect motto for moms. So get her something from Keep Calm and Carry On to inspire her to get through her hectic day. Choose from posters ($19), totes ($15) t-shirts ($25), magnets ($4) and note cards ($4.50). (Available at www.keepcalmandcarryon.ca)