I personally believe books always make great gifts. We have installed into our children how important reading is, and you can tell. Both my one year old and my four year old can often be seen flipping through books without Bill or me even around.  This is why I l love companies like GiftLit who make it easier to give books as gifts to both children and adults alike.

GiftLit has an advisory board of librarians, educators, authors, and industry experts that select the books that are sent out, so you know these are great books. They have books for every age too!  They have books for toddlers on up.  They way this works is you pick with selection of books you want.  If you are looking at the kids books, you can choose which age group you want.  For adults, you can pick anything from fiction to mysteries to history.  You can also choose how long you want your gift subscription to last.  You can buy them in 3, 6, or 12 month increment.  The best part of this is that this is the gift that keeps on giving.  Instead of the one present you get Christmas morning, you can potentially have a gift every month of the year.

We have this come to our house, and we love it.  The books are great quality books that I would have never thought to check out.  Also, what kid doesn’t like to get mail for them?  Actually, what adult doesn’t like getting a present in the mail each month?  This is truly the gift that keeps on giving, and I am deciding which book lover in my family is getting this.  If you’d like to get this for yourself or as a present, just make sure you use the code LISA1130, so you can get 10% off your order!

Rarely do I come across a book that inspires me just as much as my kids. However, Whats Your Red Ball is that book. This book is like no other book you’ve ever seen.  It is about how to overcome adversity and find your true passion.  As an adult, we all need to do this too, so this book, while geared at kids, can certainly get you thinking as an adult.  The author of this book, Kevin Carroll, went from an abandoned child with a love of sports to working for the Air Force, Philadelphia 76ers, and Nike.  His story, which is how the book starts, makes you want to be all you can be.  The book itself gives you the material to make your own “box of magic”.  This box is all about your gifts, your talents, your aspirations, your interests, and your hopes.  The rest of the book tells you how to figure out how to decorate and fill your box.  There are questions you need to answer and excercises you need to do, but by the end, you will have figured out whats your red ball.

Your age does not matter for this book.  At 31, I find inspiration in it.  This book is perfect for anyone who has lost their path in life and for those who are just finding it now.

I have two of the hottest presents this year for kids.

Want to be the best present giver ever?  If you have any little girls you need to buy for this Christmas, the Hannah Montana Glitter Studio is sure to be a winner.  Now, the ages say 6 and up.  However, my 4 year old had a blast with this.  It has over 100 pieces to it.  There is everything from shimmer and shine art glaze to stencils to markers to message card.  There is even Hannah Montana stationary!  My personal favorite has to be the watercolors tray that is in the shape of a guitar.  Any Hannah Montana fan would love this!  All moms will love this, because it is all washable!

Another favorite this year will be the Sour Candy Factory. As an adult, I even want to play with this.  This kit includes everything you need to make the most sour candy possible.  You get a star, heart and sports molds.  You get lollipop sticks, a dropper for liquid sweets, and three over the top flavors:  sour grape, rockin’ raspberry, and wild watermelon.  Lastly, you get what holds the candy together:  corn syrup, gelatin, and citric acid.  Mom doesn’t need to run out and get anything.  Some of the candy you can make includes lollipops, liquid candy, and even squishy homemade marshmallows!

If you need something for the kid who has everything, both of these will make great gifts!

Something I learned over my many years is that self actualization can actually help you a lot more than you think.  If you hear something enough, you will actually start to believe it.  As an adult, this works well for self worth and losing weight (repeat 50 – 100 times in the mirror everyday that you are worth it and you can do it.  Do this with a diet and excercide routine and it’ll help!).  That being said, this can work for children too!  That is where Manifest Your Magnificence comes in.  The Manifest Your Magnificence Cd contains 64 affirmation messages for your children.  The messages encourge your children to be the best they can be.  There also is a Manifest Your Magnificence card set.  This is 64 affirmation cards that help your child’s self esteem.  Some examples are “you are a shining star” and “I make a positive difference in the world”.  Madison likes the illustrations on the cards, and we have even been able to talk about that.  With so much negativity in the world, this is an easy way to help remind your child how special and great they really are.

Do you always find you can never your pen when you need one? With Kooky Klickers, you will never lose your pen again. However, you will find more people borrowing your pens and not returning them. Each Kooky Klickers pen has a unique design and are six inches in length. They have crazy stringy hair that bounces and springs when you write too! Each Kooky Klicker has a special design, unique name, birth order, and number holographic sticker. They are released as part of a six member crew too. These easily attach to your key chain, and everyone will want to know where you got yours when they see it! (I know that has happened for me). Now, if I have as much fun as an adult with this, imagine how much fun your kids will have! Madison thought they were super funny looking, and she loved writing with them. Since Will is only one, he just giggled when he saw them. He also thought they were pretty funny when he was trying to write with his pen too!

Kooky Klickers are an excellent stocking stuffer for Christmas for both adults and kids alike!