Christmas Gift Idea: Hot Rod City Playmat

I know Christmas is only days away, but I'm sure some of you are still shopping for gifts. Am I right or am I right?   

If you're looking for a gift for a young boy in particular (any age!), my suggestion is the Hot Rod playmat. You can also buy it for a little girl who loves cars!

Basically, it's a mat designed with a terrain and tracks. That's right; it's designed to be run over by cars and trucks which are, safe to say, are the obsessions of many little boys.

I got mine when I won a Cudsly gift certificate giveaway on Manila Fashion Observer. I contemplated on buying a Kiddie Sofa (which was what I really wanted to buy pre-winning) but decided it would be too bulky to ship and may be left unused because as a mobile little person, Yuri likes carrying his chair around.

So I decided to buy something that fuels the vehicle obsession. I did not, however, want to buy another truck during that time. Then, I stumbled upon the Hot Rod City Playmat.

Top 5 Christmas Gifts for Everyone

Because Christmas is not just for kids, right?

I love looking for Christmas gifts (or any kind of gifts for that matter) for children. In fact, I have written about them twice: gifts for babies and toddlers and gifts for older toddlers and preschoolers. And I plan to write another list. Addict lang?

But we can't ignore the fact that there are also non-little people that we have to gift, diba? I came up with ideas that will hopefully address everyone's needs.

1. THE GIFT OF TIME

Okay, it's always important to spend time with people who are important to us, but I'm talking about a wrappable gift here. After all, we should be giving people our time every day of the year, right?

Photo from Charles Goodies

As noble as the other interpretation is, I'm actually talking about a watch. I'm taking based on experience. Though I don't wear a watch myself, everyone close to me loves them. They have different preferences, too, which I think reflect their personalities. Job, for example, loves watches that show military time. If I have to give a material gift, watches are on top of my list.

2. THE GIFT OF REST AND RELAXATION

Top 5 Gifts for Older Toddlers

I'm almost done with my Christmas shopping! I only need to buy gifts for a few more people and I'm good to go. What about you?

In my case, around 70% of the gifts I bought this year is for, well, Yuri. That's the same as the past two Christmases! I can't help it; buying Christmas gifts for a little child is so much fun!

This year, Yuri is in a stage between toddlerhood and preschool. He's 32 months (last Christmas, he was 20 months), and while the interests are basically the same (trucks!), our goals are now very different. For starters, we're aiming to start homeschooling next year so that's a common theme behind my gifts!

(For gifts for younger toddlers/babies, here's my list from last year.)

If you want to know what I consider to be the best gifts for children too old to be called toddlers and too young to be preschoolers, I'll show you some things on my wishlist:

1. BUILDING BLOCKS

If you're kinda lost on what cool gift to give, I suggest you buy something that a child can build with. They're a surefire gift because they promote STEM learning and a child could never have too many of them.

It doesn't have to be Legos or Mega Bloks (although these choices are superb!). You can buy cheaper but still very great alternatives like wooden blocks, bristle blocks, pipes, and gears.

Batatt bristle blocks (P799) 

Source: toykingdom.ph

Just make sure that the pieces are easy to connect and disconnect!

2. SCIENCE KITS

First Look at Certified Positive Daily Interact Planner

I thought my Certified Positive planner for 2014 was the best.

Until my new Certified Positive planner for 2015 arrived.

It wasn't as if the 2014 version of the planner left a lot of room for improvement. On the contrary, I thought it was perfect! In fact, when I was awaiting the arrival of the new planner, I imagined it would be difficult for the Certified Positive team to "upgrade" what would basically be the same planner with the same content. So I prepared to received a planner that, at best, would be equal to last year's.

Well, I was wrong!

Make a Dad in your Life Happy with Tagai Eyewear

Gee, wasn't it just yesterday when we celebrated Mother's Day? Time flies so fast. Now it's time to pay tribute to the most important men in our lives: our dads!

There are two dads in my life now - my Papa and Job - and I have to admit that these two men are the most difficult people to buy gifts for! I'm not kidding. I'm not gonna name names but one of them is too picky while the other one is a "kahit ano lang" kind of guy. Because of that, picking out the perfect gifts for them is always a struggle!

That was until I encountered Tagai Eyewear. It's a Japanese driving eyewear brand that was newly launched here in the Philippines. For me who doesn't know much about driving, this is something I've never heard of before. I'm sure, though, that it's really useful and the dads in your life would love to have one.

More importantly, it's something you would need to gift to an important man in your life for the sake of his safety while driving and your peace of mind. I mean, who wouldn't worry about our loved ones especially when they're driving at night? I don't like to worry, but I admit I wouldn't be able to breathe steadily until he's finally arrived. The good news is that Tagai Eyewear removes this worry from us by making driving perfectly safe!

Here's the company's press release for a comprehensive idea of what they offer:
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Paris Miki Inc., Japan’s largest optical chain store with more than 800 stores established in Europe, Asia, Australia and the USA recently launched the newest top-of-the-line driving eyewear brand “TAGAI” here in the Philippines. This new brand is offering the best options in driving eyewear to the very meticulous consumers here in the country.

TAGAI comes from the Japanese character 互 which means “unity.” In Japanese, TAG = fold and AI = love.