CHRISTMAS AT THE WISEMAN

Last Sunday, after realizing we did not have all the pieces of our artificial Christmas tree, Geoff rushed out to Home Depot to pick up a real tree.  This is the first real tree I have bought since I live in Toronto (I have been here over 10 years now).  I forgot how nice they smell and how messy they are; but it's worth it.

I also found my lovely advent calendar that Geoff got me from Etsy a few years back; it's a little late but the C Monster still enjoys his daily chocolate covered almond...

Toy Thursday - Easter Presents for baby

We decided that since Christophe will be 13 months at easter we are going to let him try chocolate for the first time on that day. One tiny organic chocolate egg from Kakayo. If you live in Toronto and have not tried Kakayo you must, once you go there no other chocolate will ever compare.

We also want to do an easter egg hunt with him. Instead of using the traditional plastic eggs we ordered these beautiful fabric eggs (Jelly Bean Easter Eggs) from thepolkadottotspot on Etsy. She can make them with or without bells. I figured after easter these are going to be a great addition to his play food collection.

Image by the polkadottotspot.

Valentine alternate to chocolate

I wanted to get a present for my sweetheart (my son) for valentines that was not made from plastic, candy or chocolate.

After doing a quick search on Etsy for Valentine and Toy I found "Valentine hearts play set with wooden bowls" by naturalkidsandtoys.

There are thousands of alternative gifts out there you just need to search a bit.

Image by naturalkidsandtoys

Birthday Preparation Part 1

So as Christophe's first birthday is approaching, I am trying to find ways to green his birthday. It will not be 100% green but I want to green as many items as I find feasible. During my journey in discovering the basics of green birthday parties I will share my ideas with you.

So we have booked a venue for his birthday, main reason he is born in March 1, we live in canada (i.e. it's cold), we have a very small house. The venue chosen is not green but I am still attempting to change a few things in order to make our party greener. When I first started looking for venues here in Toronto, I could not find anything that suited all my green criteria's and would be good for a one year old.

The first request I made to our venue is that she does not put up any balloons the day of. I also asked her what kind of tableware they use (as we are providing the food but they are providing the tableware) I am still awaiting an answer. The reason behind no balloons is that the little fragments that are left behind after your great party never biodegrade and are the culprits for many small animals dying. You know how they say you should not let a toddle or baby play with balloons due to choking hazards, well what do you think will happen when a little bunny finds a bright red balloon in the wild?

After booking the venue the next step was invitations; that one is easy in todays day end age just send them via email. There are a lot of great sites that will do e-cards for free we used myPunchbowl.

Other then the party at the venue we are also doing a get together at home for our close friends since some of them have no kids or there kids are all grown up. I wanted some decorations but I also wanted the decorations to be reusable for future parties the first thing I found was a cloth banner on Etsy created by thepolkadottotspot.

Instead of birthday hats we are doing a birthday shirt that Christophe can wear all year. We found this great one by blossiegirl on Etsy once again.


The last item in todays post is presents. This is a though one because many people enjoy bringing gifts; we decided to add the following wording to our invitations and hope for the best.
"Presents are appreciated but not required; your presences is enough. If you do chose to bring a gift we ask that you to respect our parenting decision regarding a no plastic components rule for all of Christophe's toys; Christophe also has very sensitive skin and can only where clothing made with natural fibers. Thank you for respecting our beliefs."

Image of banner by thepolkadottotspot.
Image of shirt by blossiegirl.

Growth Chart

I had been looking for a growth chart for Christophe for a while now and we found the perfect one on Etsy. The 1 2 3 Grow With Me chart by Inklore is simple and contemporary looking. You don't feel like you need to hide this one in your child's room; we hung ours in the front hall so everyone can see the great progress our little guy is making. I was very pleased with the quality of craftsmanship when we received our product and delivery was very speedy.

One of the things I like the best is you are supporting a small business as these are hand made.

Also since it is made in fabric we can one day fold it up and store it as a great souvenir we can pull out for Christophe once he is older.

References:
Image - Inklore/Etsy

Eco Friendly Fridays

Plum Creek Bags Snack Bags

I am always looking at ways to reduce the use of plastic bags in my home. We are thinking of ordering these to try them out. I find it just seems like a sensible idea for snacks on the go. You can get these at Etsy, 4 bags for 14$.