Practical Holiday Gifts for Children is Not an Oxymoron!

When we were kids, every year we got a new pair of pajamas for Christmas, practical, yes - appreciated, no - at least not back then! ShopAtClares.com has unique practical gift ideas that your kids will love, maybe not right away, but certainly after they have played with those "As Seen on TV" toys for a couple of minutes.

Lap Desks by Room It Up are not only practical for sitting on the floor or couch and doing homework, but are sanity savers in the car. The built in cup holder can be used for snacks, a drink, or crayons so that the kids can entertain themselves on those long boring trips. They are kid safe and lightweight enough for even a toddler to carry it around.

A Folding Step Stool by Whitney Design - yes we said step stool. Barb's grandchildren have found so many uses for this stool that she had to buy a set for her house and a set for them to use at home. Lightweight and easy to fold, they carry these around the house to reach the bathroom sink to brush their teeth or the kitchen sink to help with dishes. But the best is when they use their imagination and the stool becomes a table for a dolly tea party, with an old dish towel as a tablecloth, a garage for a toy fire truck and a place for action figures to crawl in, out, and on top of! Then when it is quiet time, they make great little seats for watching their favorite Disney Shows.

Cheaters Chopsticks for Kids by Jonathan's Wild Cherry Spoons do not seem like something a kid would want for Christmas, but what an accomplishment when they have finally managed to pick up a piece of hotdog or macaroni. Even picky eaters we have fun and forget the purpose of the meal, to eat food! One day Barb's granddaughter, Grace, wanted to pull the weeds out of her patio planters, so to keep her busy and develop her fine motor skills, she gave her a set of chopsticks and told her to start picking out the weeds. She had so much fun and was very disappointed that there was no more weeds to pull. Jonathan has also designed a kid-sized Lazy Spoon for kids who love to help with cooking and baking, even if it is just pretend - they have a spoon just like mommy and grandma (or daddy & grandpa).

Pop-up Spring Form Laundry Hampers are not just for laundry! These easy to open hampers can be used for storing toys, stuffed animals, balls or just about anything that you need to put out of sight. Empty one out and it makes a great cave to crawl into and read a book or just to hide away for a quiet moment or too. Dollies love to sleep in there and action figures can plan their next set of maneuvers. Warning: adults should not try this - the hampers aren't big enough and the kids always find you anyway.

Hanging Jewelry / Crafts Pocket Organizer has so many uses for kids toys that we are only going to mention a few and your imagination can do the rest! Keep in mind that not only does it teach kids how to organize, but lets them have fun while picking up the play room. Easy to hang on a wall or in the closet to keep them out of sight and out of mind from little hands that should "not touch my toys"! Here's our short list: Hot Wheels, Polly Pockets, miniature farm animals and dinosaurs, Star Wars and Playmobil Figures, Disney Fairies, magnetic letters and numbers, Legos, sports cards and .... the rest is up to you.

Wall Hooks and Hanging Racks by Regal Art & Gift, though not something to play with, these are so cute and colorful that kids will want to hang up their clothes and toys. With pets, bugs, birds, reptiles and fish there has to be one that will delight your young ones. Think bedroom, bathroom, hallway, even on the inside of a door or closet. Just be sure to hang them kid height so they can reach them all by themselves

The Collapsible Market Baskets by Room It Up are lightweight, easy to carry, and hold lots of anything. Put in a blanket to make a dolly bed, pack up some toys to take along to grandma's house, stash some snacks for the playground, take to the grocery store to let them help with the shopping, or find some bean bags to toss into them. And of course, you can use the market baskets for a picnic at the park or beach - which is way more fun than playing with toys.

A Fluffly Fleece Throw by Room It Up is a great gift for those little nappers - young and old. But is even a better gift when paired with a book - the older kids can snuggle up in a chair and read, while the younger ones can snuggle up on grandma's lap and listen to their favorite storybooks - over and over again!

See all of these practical gift suggestions in
ShopAtClares e-Commerce store.