Recently, I was very moved by a piece written by Lisa Belkin. In “Welcome to the Club: Lessons from One Mom to Another,”  Belkin captures the emotional transformation that many mothers feel when they become mothers – which nobody can prepare you for. I remember that feeling after my son was born – that first day, I looked at myself in the mirror in the hospital and saw myself as “someone’s mother” for the first time. It was an amazing feeling -and I have to admit – somewhat terrifying!

Yesterday, I shared Belkin’s article with my Facebook friends and had many comments from friends (and even my own mother) about how they were touched by the piece. Within minutes, friends in Switzerland and Russia had shared it with their friends.

I had the pleasure of meeting Lisa Belkin several months ago at a small gathering of Princeton Alumnae in New York City. At that time, Lisa had just given notice to the New York Times, for which she had written her entire adult life. She had decided to leave the NYT to enter the digital age and become the Senior Columnist for Life/Work/Family at the Huffington Post. She spoke with our group about why she made the decision to leave and her hopes for her new position. I wish Lisa the best of luck at Huffington Post, and look forward to more amazing posts like this one.

You can visit Lisa Belkin’s page at Huffington Post and subscribe to her RSS Feed for like her Facebook page.

I’m in love with My Blackboard Roll Mat from Seedling. This simple arts and crafts kit includes a blackboard mat, chalk and an eraser…that all rolls up and ties with a bow! It is lightweight, portable and just genius. I wish this kid’s gift for 3 year olds had been around when Benjamin was younger.

I gave this gift to my niece and it is now her go-to activity for the car and restaurants. It is one of our favorites and best sellers. New York Magazine loved it too – they included it in their holiday gift guide (with www.gifthero.com as the place to buy it!).

My daughter Maya fancies herself a budding fashion designer. She loves to “design” her own outfits using her own clothes.

So I’m always on the lookout for arts and crafts kits that have a fashion theme. One of the new products we recently added to the site is the Fashion Design Playset from Scratch Art is perfect gift for girls. Girls use the stylus to scratch designs into the black surface of the Scratch Art stickers, revealing fabulous accents. Then they can “dress” the 8 international models however they choose. The set includes 8 postcards that girls can sends to their friends to share their creations – or just post up on a bulletin board at home!

This past Saturday was one of those days when my family didn’t leave our apartment. The snow turned to sleet and we cozied up in the family room reading, watching movies and playing games. Lisa had recommended Sketch It! from Blue Orange Games to us. Her kids (and the adults too) love this educational game. We just added this kid’s gift to GIFT HERO because her family was addicted.

Sketch It! is an unique drawing game that inspires creativity, quick thinking, and fine motor skills. With this award winning toy, both the sketcher and the decipherer can earn points. We all had a blast trying to draw at the right speed – too fast and you confuse the others…too slow and you miss your chance to score. Find Sketch It! and lots of other great educational toys for 8, 9 and 10 year olds on our site. It’s a perfect birthday gift.

We spend a lot of time searching for the best products to sell on GIFT HERO. One of our most trusted sources for recommendations is the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio website, which provides unbiased, independent reviews of hundreds of toys. The Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Award Seal has become a well-recognized symbol of trust and quality.  Stephanie Oppenheim appears regularly on shows such as Today to share her latest batch of new finds.

Many of the award winning toys we sell at GIFT HERO have won Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Awards.  One of my favorites is Gobblet Gobblers by Blue Orange Games. It’s based on the rules of tic-tac-toe, but with a twist. The game pieces are different sizes, so the larger pieces can “gobble up” the smaller pieces on the game board. My daughter Maya and I played this when she was a little younger, and she would routinely beat me! A few years later, we graduated to Gobblet, the version for older children and adults (also an Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Award Winner).

Visit our Award Winning Toys department to see all of our Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Award winners.

My 8 year old daughter Maya loves to make (and wear) her own jewelry. Jewelry making kits are one of our favorite go-to gifts for Maya’s friends.

Our absolute favorite is the Ultimate Shrinky Dinks Jewelry Designer. Girls design and color their own plastic pieces and then bake them in the oven until they shrink and get hard. This kit includes enough stuff to make over 100 pieces of jewelry, so it’s perfect for playmates and will last through many months of use. Maya loves to make jewelry for her friends too.

Other favorites are the Fab Badge Maker and Cap it Off Jewelry.

Lately, I have had baby gifts on my mind as many of my friends have had (or are about to have) babies.  I used to give baby clothes from Petit Bateau or Hannah Andersson.

But now I find it so much more fun to give something that the baby will not outgrow quickly and will have staying power. I love this Organic Deluxe Blanket by Apple Park. (It also comes in blue version.)It’s so soft and large enough to last well beyong baby’s first year. I  have recently given the adorable and snuggly Cubby the Bear,  also made from organic cotton by Apple Park.

Check out our first ever baby sale, with 25% off most baby gifts on our site. Pick your own favorites, including hooded towels, playmats, educational baby toys, blankets, rattles and blocks. If you like, we’ll send your gift directly to the recipient with a handwritten note and gift bag (if you order one).

Summer can be a tricky time for parents. On one hand, your little ones are out of school which allows for more family and play time. On the other hand, your little ones are out of school… and it’s up to you to keep them entertained while reinforcing all they have learned in the past school year and preparing them for the next. Thankfully our friends at Gift Hero have a great selection of educational toys, and the teachers here at Citibabes have shared their top picks for summer learning.

-Tracey Frost Rensky, CEO and Co-founder, Citibabes

School is out for the summer and your children are on a mission… a mission to be involved in all things fun! And who could blame them? As a parent, it’s your mission to find fun and educational ways to keep your child happy and savvy all summer long. The teachers from Citibabes are pleased to aid you in your mission by highlighting their favorite toys from Gift Hero. These toys are sure to deliver big on summer fun and summer learning to ensure children don’t lose the valuable skills they’ve acquired throughout the school year.

Jenny Pham, Director of Suzuki Education

TOMY Water Symphony:  The age on this Gift Hero toy is 18 months and up, but it is never too early or too late to make music a part of child’s everyday environment. Dr. Suzuki (creator of the Suzuki Talent Education Method) found that if we fill a child’s world with sound, they can become as fluent in music as they are in their Mother Tongue.

Many parents ask me, “How much practice should my child be doing every day?” I reply that practice is best when it’s incorporated into everyday activities. Sit down on the kitchen floor and sing a song while the pasta is boiling! Stomp out rhythms when you’re walking down the street! The TOMY Water Symphony is the perfect way to practice listening and creating even during a bath. Parents, who doesn’t sing in the shower?

Kristin Bartlett, Teacher, CitiCamp Sr.

SepToys Design Blocks: These design blocks are great because children are tested on their special skills and ability to create three dimensional objects on the ERB test. This is a fun way for children to build these skills at home during the summer while having fun. Plus, there are so many different possibilities for creating different designs and objects, as well as possibilities for more complex designs and objects as the child gets older and more skilled. This is a toy that really helps a child learn math concepts and building skills while having the opportunity to be creative at the same time.

Keri Snyder, Director of Children’s Programming

Ogosport Super Sports Disk Pack: Designed for children ages 4+, these sports disks are perfect for summer play as they are easy to pack and carry on your vacation and can be used to play volleyball, baseball, tennis, Frisbee, or whatever your little ones can imagine! Plus, catching and throwing with these disks help develop coordination and motor skills.

Sarah Rinaldi, Teacher, CitiCamp Jr., Fashion Plates, Art Station II, Paint & Play, Green Art, CitiArt, Think Tank, and CitiMix classes

Stomp Launcher: I recommend the Stomp Launcher for summer time fun. This compact toy can be brought with you on vacations and to family outings. Since the rockets are made of foam, there is little risk of injury. This will allow the children to become more spatially aware since the rocket shoots up in the air. Also, this toy focuses on cause and reaction which is a key component in learning.

Kid’s Watering Can Kit: I also recommend the Kid’s Watering Can Kit to promote pretend play. Growing up in Connecticut, I was constantly around my mother who is a gardener and always wanted to be right next to her learning about planting and gardening. This toy gives children a feel for real gardening tools, yet is safe and age appropriate. Living in the city, gardening is a lost skill which should still be shown to children and this toy can do just that.

Aaron Goldschmidt, CitiCamp Director and Head Teacher

Quercetti Filo: I love the Filo by Quercetti. Leave it to the Italians to create a simple and creative activity to keep older children ages 3.5+ busy. This lacing set uses lacing pens and special boards so children can easily create and take-apart provided designs or create their own beautiful ones. The toy develops manual dexterity, hand-eye coordination, and encourages creative thinking. Most importantly, it will keep children busy for hours and is easy to travel with, making it a hit over the summer.

Karla Morey, Creative and Training Director

Floating Ducks & Stacking Cups: It’s that time of year when the discovery and learning that comes along with play moves outdoors. These versatile toys are sure to provide endless moments of active exploration for your little one. Great for water play and easy to tote, these ducks and cups are a great addition to your summer outdoor play collection of toys.

By Citibabes’ Teachers

Click here to read Citiscoop, the Citibabes blog. To learn more about this wonderful family club, visit www.citibabes.com.

This guest post is written by Jodi Greebel, MS, RD. Co-founder DinDins homemade, organic toddler food (www.dindinsfood.com).

Tired of another birthday party with pizza? We know pizza is easy, but you don’t have to spend a lot of time or money to have healthy, fun food at your child’s next party.

 Try out some of DinDins ideas for nutritious and kid-friendly food. Pictured are DinDins cranberry zucchini muffins.

 1.  Use wooden skewers (preferably without a point on the end) to make fruit or vegetable kebabs. Try cherry tomatoes, zucchini, snap peas or any other veggies. Serve with hummus for dipping. For fruit kebabs, cut fruit such as watermelon and honeydew into cubes, add blueberries, raspberries or any other fruit you like. Other options: add cubes of cheese to either kebab or try a piece of brownie on the end of fruit kebabs for dessert skewers.

2.  Make sandwich quarters like grilled cheese on whole wheat bread. So easy and sure to be a hit!

 3.  Try turkey wraps with American cheese and grilled peppers, or any other veggies, and slice into small pinwheels.

 4.  Make your own yogurt parfait. Give each child his/her own plastic see-through cup with yogurt. Allow children to then add their own toppings such as blueberries, dried cranberries, granola, banana chips, sunflower seeds…to their yogurt. This is great for parties in the morning!

 5.  Also, swap the juice boxes for small bottles of water.

And, if you don’t feel like preparing it yourself, DinDins also caters birthday parties.

My son loves to play chess, which he learned to play at school. Unfortunately, I never learned to play and for several years he would set up games by himself and try to play both sides.

So I was delighted to discover Solitaire Chess - a single player game based on the rules of chess. It’s small and portable, so we can take it anywhere. It’s a great educational toy, and a nice break from all of the electronic games on the market.

Solitaire Chess contains 60 different challenges, from beginner to expert. So no previous knowledge of chess is necessary. It makes a great gift for 8-10 year olds, or a younger child who already knows how to play chess.