Holidays with Calico Critters

After a wonderful thanksgiving weekend here in Canada, we are feeling thankful and reminded of our many blessings. For me, after Thanksgiving, I’m always ready to start decorating for Christmas immediately, however in our home, we usually wait until after Jake’s birthday in November to really start decorating and embracing the holiday season.

This year, I have been thinking of going a different route for my children and gifts. I was inspired by a blogpost I read by Simply Learning where another mom shared her heart about the holidays and gifts. Her idea was to buy 4 gifts for each child: something they want , something they need, something to wear and something to read. I love this and I am thinking I may try it out this year.

One thing I know Kinsley would love or “want” is any Calico Critter accessory. She loves the tiny animal families and all of the adorable sets that accompany them. Calico Critters are built to last and I love investing in toys that I know will be around in 1 year, 5 years or even 10 in our home.

The Blind Bags are perfect for stocking stuffers. Children love surprises and anything that comes in a bag or wrapped up immediately grabs their attention - it’s like a double gift! Calico Critters has a nursery blind bag series which is perfect for little ones. A few of the other new items this holiday season from Calico Critters are the Sweet Raspberry Home and the Red Roof Cozy Cottage. Both of these items are an excellent gift for someone beginning their love of Calico Critters.

The Red Roof Country Home Gift Set is a show stopper! It would be one of those items we open last under our Christmas tree. The home holds a few different levels and rooms and even a few patios. The gift set comes complete with a couple characters and the cutest accessories.

Kinsley loved helping me unbox and set up the home . There is a fully stocked kitchen cart complete with a blender, toaster etc. that is adorable! She set up the breakfast table, the desk complete with pencil crayons, and the piano (gorgeous white piano that I secretly want for my own home). At the end, she asked for some of my white pompom trim so she could add “snow” to her holiday home! I love children’s imaginations.

Of course, in between Canadian Thanksgiving and Christmas is Halloween and although we don’t put much emphasis on the day, our kids do dress up for various events and love to give out candy.
This Halloween, friends are our favorite part of Halloween, and the Calico Critters Nursery Series added a new Halloween Playhouse! Trick-or-Treat with the good witch, Hopscotch Baby Rabbit, ready for a moonlight ride, or say "Boo!" with the cutest ghostly Hazelnut Baby Chipmunk.  If Halloween can be cute in any way, Calico Critters nailed it!

From one mom to another, Calico Critters is a brand we love and use daily in our home. The smaller pieces make storing the pieces easy and each piece is built to last. I Love collecting new pieces from collections that I know will be in our family for generations to come.