I just went out for drinks with a lovely group of parents from Maya’s Kindergarten class. One of the moms has two daughters and was invited to a 5 year old boy’s birthday party. She told me how happy she is that thanks to GIFT HERO she will easily find the perfect gift.

Here are my personal three top picks for a five year old boy:

Fast Car Race Cars- $16 My son Josh got this as a birthday present from a friend when he turned five. He still has the cars that he designed himself – and he actually played with the cars. He still remembers that Grace gave it to him, too!

Magic School Bus Science Kit - $20 These are simply the best science kits around for 5 year olds (note: girls love them too). The experiments are age appropriate and they actually work and are interesting! We tried a lot of other brands and these are by far the best! We are currently selling Journey into the Human Body and Soaring into Flight…seatbelts everyone!

Air Force One Play Set- $30 Given how excited most kids are about our new President, this Presidential play set is bound to be a hit. The set includes a Presidential plane, Presidential limo, Secret Service jeep, helicopter and a variety of vehicles and signs. Of course, I am biased since my son started a 1st grade Obama club at his school during the primaries, but nonetheless, it is pretty cool.

At GIFT HERO our plan is not just to help you buy and give the best birthday gifts…we will give you tips to make the whole gifting process better. One of my favorite tips for mothers of 3-7 year olds is stockpiling.

We have a sign-up sheet outside of Benjamin’s nursery school classroom where all the parents list the date of their child’s birthday party. With 21 children in the class, not only does this help avoid overlapping parties and scheduling conflicts, it helps me plan ahead and buy gifts in advance.

To stockpile, I buy 4-6 gifts at a time and I keep them on a high shelf in Benjamin’s closet (so he can’t find them). For children I know well, I use the Gift Finder to find a gift that child will love. For those I don’t know as well, I either buy a unisex gift to give to everyone or I select a boy gift and a girl gift and on the day of the party, I don’t have to scramble to run to a local toy store and try to find something suitable.

If you buy your gifts from GIFT HERO, you will get free shipping on purchases over $75 – which should give you another incentive to stockpile!

These days, many grandparents live far away from their grandchildren and face many challenges in staying connected. My own children have grandparents in Florida, and Stefanie’s son has grandparents in Phoenix. Sending a gift for a birthday or other special occasion can sometimes prove very challenging. Grandparents often don’t know what gifts are age appropriate or brands that are good quality. On-line shopping options can be overwhelming, and the thought of going into a store, selecting a gift, buying gift wrap and wrapping the gift, and then visiting the post office to mail it can be overwhelming. No wonder many grandparents either send gift certificates or ask their son or daughter to “pick something out.” This used to happen to me all of the time! Young children don’t really appreciate what a gift certificate means, and often get disappointed when that is what their gift is.

So it is no wonder that GIFT HERO has proven so popular with grandparents. We have had grandparents shipping from New Jersey to Denver, from Connecticut to California, and from Florida to Massachussets. GIFT HERO takes all of the stress out of finding the right gift. Some favorites include the Make-Your-Own Cards and Make-Your-Own Frames. This is great because it gives the child something they can make and then send back to the grandparent. For older children, Make-Your-Own Masterpieces enables children to make their own works of art using Matisse-like design pieces. Grandma and Grandpa will love hanging up their very own “Picasso”.

It’s baseball season. Everyone in NYC is abuzz over the new stadiums. Little leagues and kid baseball clinics are underway and there are tons of kids and their parents outside practicing, throwing, catching and hitting.

While there is nothing better than taking your children and their friends outside to run around and play, sometimes they need some quiet downtime. Why not help them continue their love of baseball indoors (without breaking anything)?

Baseball Guys from Kaskey Kids is just the ticket. It’s designed to encourage creative and imaginary play in baseball fans. There are no set rules or directions — kids can move the players where they want, when they want. The set includes 24 players, an umpire, a scoreboard and a felt field to play on. Plus, it comes in a storage container with a lid and handle so the team can stay together the whole season.

Yesterday, Benjamin’s nursery school class took a trip to Central Park to dig for worms. A great (and dirty) time was had by all. The children were so excited to see science and nature in action.

He wants to go back to the park to dig again this weekend.

First, I need to get him the Geosafari Talking Microscope from GIFT HERO so we can bring some of the worms (and other insects, plants and creatures) home and study them even more closely.

With this awesome working microscope, kids can look at their own “findings” as well as examine all sorts of critters on 12 prepared interactive slides while details are spoken in fact mode or as a fun quiz game. It magnifies up to 5x and has a light for easy viewing.

There is nothing like watching Maya’s face light up while she watches a live ballet. We went to see the New York Theatre Ballet performance of “Cinderella,” which is made especially for young children. Maya takes ballet lessons at Ballet Academy East, and so was VERY excited to see this performance! The Sleeping Beauty Ballet Theatre is the perfect gift for any girl who loves ballet. Girls will love recreating their own Sleeping Beauty ballet with the help of this charming miniature theater containing everything they need. Includes a sturdy foldout theater, changeable scenery and backdrops, a booklet that tells the full story and offers stage directions, nine twirling figures and a supporting cast, and an audio CD with selections from the musical score. I am saving this one to give to Maya when she “graduates” from her ballet class next month. In the Fall, she gets to move onto “Primary” with the big girls!

It has been dinosaur week in Benjamin’s nursery school. The children had a ball learning about all of the different types of dinosaurs, digging for bones, making fossils and dioramas, even baking a dinosaur-shaped cake. 5 year old boys have always loved dinosaurs but it has been so fascinating to hear how interested the girls in the class have been.

The Dinosaur Pop-up Book from Candlewick Press is a fabulous birthday gift for (boys) 5 and up. Full of facts and humor, this breathtaking book includes up-to-the-minute information about popular dinosaurs as well as many lesser known varieties. It is Robert Sabuda at his best.

For the younger set, GIFT HERO also offers Felt Tales Dinosaur Days – an adorable playset that is great for travel, promotes open-ended play, creativity, and story-telling skills – perfect for boys 3 and up.

Want to get your kids to drink more water – but not add more plastic to our landfills? Get one of these awesome personalized SIGG water bottles from the Bottle Shop at greensender.com. Just choose a reusable SIGG water bottle, designate a name, pick a font and a piece of art and they will engrave your selections right into the bottle. There are tons of combinations to choose from or, if you are really creative, you can submit your own design.

We think this is a wonderful and easy way for children (and adults, frankly) to be heroes for the environment…

Today is Earth Day and everyone is encouraging us to do something good for the environment. GIFT HERO is encouraging you to do something for the environment as well as for needy children.

Second Chance Toys is a community-based initiative, founded in 2006 by Sasha Lipton, a New Jersey native and freshman at Northwestern Univesity, which rescues and recycles plastic toys for needy children at local community organizations while at the same time, helping the environment. Second Chance Toys is currently running Earth Week drives in NY, NJ, PA and IL.

Please spend some time with your kids and find those plastic toys they have grown out of (or are bored with), clean them, and bring them to one of the drive drop-off locations (click here for details and locations). You’ll teach them some great lessons about the environment and giving back…and make some room in your home for those new toys they will soon be begging for!

What little girl doesn’t love throwing tea parties? Porcelain and ceramic tea sets are so passe (and frankly, fragile for little hands). Celebrate Earth Week with this adorable Tea Set from Green Toys. It’s made in California USA from eco-friendly plastic that is safe, extremely durable and makes a great gift for girls ages 3 and up. Plus, it meets FDA specs for food contact and is dishwasher safe.

Lisa’s 5 year old daughter Maya is hosting a tea party this afternoon for her American Girl dolls. Feel free to stop by for a cup of peppermint tea and a slice of cake !