The Stash

If you have kids, you have a calendar that has something written in every square, often in color-coded inks to keep track of multiple family members' commitments and appointments and obligations. Weekends especially have cryptic notations of numbers and abbreviations: 2 -4? @ Cardles -- dessert! or A overnight? here? And if you are anything like our family, there's at least two birthday parties a month to make a note of, buy a present for, and attend... between three other activities. I know it's fun to take a child shopping for a gift they want to give a friend (hahahaaha, sorry, I couldn't write that with a straight face!!) but I can't think of a fresher hell than to stand in the aisle of our local WalMart for an hour, talking my kid out of the latest plastic bit of trash (at only $34.88! Such a bargain!) or reasoning with them that if they wanted that item for themselves, they should consider putting it on their list, not whine at me while we are attempting to secure a gift for the friend whose party you may very well miss if this continues, missy!!! (oh... sorry.)

To keep my sanity, and stay under the CPS radar, I've developed what I call The Stash. The Stash is a small hoarding of gifts, suitable for boys or girls, ready to snatch up, wrap, and haul out the door to another party. I stock up on perennial favorites when I spot them on sale: games, books, puzzles. I'm especially fond of board games, the more classic the better. We've given out Mancala games to everyone we know; ditto backgammon, chess, checkers, and Chinese checkers. We have also given out a ton of Gamewright card games (www.gamewright.com), which are fun, quick, silly, and just the right size to tote along to Grandma's, or on an overnight. I stock up on family favorite authors like Sandra Boynton (baby board books), Rosemary Wells (picture books) and whatever current favorite is going for the age level our kids are now... often through the kids' school book orders, so the class gets credit, and I shop from my dining room table!

The best part? Most of us know that the latest piece of plastic garbage lasts about as long as the first set of batteries, then dies a slow death behind the couch, under the dresser, or rolling under the seat of the car. But games and books enjoy many levels of life... the learning, the playing, the teaching to others, the discovery after an absence... Oh, and double bonus! They are totally easy to wrap!