Best place for child's gift?

[Nostradama]

Can anyone give me the name of a place to go to buy a gift for a child of two, going on three? I know absolutely nothing about children that age, so I don't have a clue. Also, due to the fact that I never go downtown, I suspect there might be somewhere there where I can find somethng.

Price is basically not a problem, not that I'm willing to buy a gift certificate for a Ferrari to be cashed in when the kid hits sixteen. Just not "over the top". Don't know the sex of the child, either, and am shopping ahead for Christmas, which I know this family celebrates, so I'm not stepping on any faith-based toes by giving a gift.

"Organic and natural" sort of come to mind. Maybe a little educational, too, but still fun. Based on African leather wrist bands and a variety of rings (but never more than one at a time) that the child's father wears, something of sort of "international, third world" origin would be appropriate, but only if it can absolutely be guaranteed not to contain something that later proves to be dangerous to kids.

I plan waaaay ahead for Christmas, and not too long after last Christmas the child's father, a specialist, made a diagnosis on me that everyone else had missed, and basically saved my life. He knows it and I know it. I'd like to acknowledge what he did in some way without intruding into his personal life.

It's either a gift for his child at Christmas or a donation to "Doctors Without Borders" given in his name. I know they do good work and that he'd appreciate it, but being selfish in a way, it will give me more pleasure to give his one and only child a gift.

I see him often enough and know him well enough that giving him a gift for his child wouldn't be regarded as pushing the doctor-patient relationship too far.

Suggestions, please?

[All Ages Music Concerts]

Just my opinion.

Some parents have a guide line as to what they will allow their kids to have possesion of. As you are not on a personal note with the child but rather the doctor I would suggest a gift certicate that the family can make a decision as to how they use it.

Remember your inter-action is with the doctor and not his private family affairs.

It is a hard call but with a certificate you really can't go wrong.

[Nostradama]

Just my opinion.

Some parents have a guide line as to what they will allow their kids to have possesion of. As you are not on a personal note with the child but rather the doctor I would suggest a gift certicate that the family can make a decision as to how they use it.

Remember your inter-action is with the doctor and not his private family affairs.

It is a hard call but with a certificate you really can't go wrong.

Good points. Thank you. Yes, it's a hard call and I agree with the gift certificate idea, which would be ideal. But I wonder if getting a gift certificate is going to push me towards a "big box" toy store, and I don't want to go "big box", so that's a consideration. Do you think there's any chance there's a place in, for example, that Old City Quarter, that might give me a gift certificate? More details coming to you in a PM.

[All Ages Music Concerts]

http://www.visa.ca/en/personal/prepa.../giftcards.jsp

Got one of these gift cards and totally loved it. Visa Gift card

[Nostradama]

I think this is a total win. I didn't even know Visa did this, but it's the perfect solution. Thanks very much.

[Wyatt Earp]

Nostra,
there is a place on wallace down town called Kool and Child (I think) and it is loaded with all sorts of this toddler / small kid stuff. Just a thought.

[Nostradama]

Nostra,
there is a place on wallace down town called Kool and Child (I think) and it is loaded with all sorts of this toddler / small kid stuff. Just a thought.

Thanks, Wyatt!

[riverrat]

Yup, Kool and Child is awesome, has a lot of great high-quality toys, lots of educational stuff - it's not as cheap as Toys R Us, of course, but you won't find any of the CRAP you get at Toys R Us, either.

[Nostradama]

Yup, Kool and Child is awesome, has a lot of great high-quality toys, lots of educational stuff - it's not as cheap as Toys R Us, of course, but you won't find any of the CRAP you get at Toys R Us, either.

Thanks, good to know. That's exactly it--I don't want crap. I'll bet they've already found Kool and Child, but I'll mention it in passing when the Christmas card and Visa gift card are handed over. I don't know how much of a "Mom network" she's built up, because she's an immigrant, too; English isn't her first language; and with one exception, a Nanaimo-raised doc in his late thirties but with very young kids, who's a former student, out of the doctors I know (which unfortunately are quite a few) there aren't any in the "child raising" years. I know that she spends a fair amount of time on Skype (Did I spell that right? Have said it lots, never had to spell it out before) talking with family and friends in their country of origin, so I suspect she's a little homesick, maybe an indication she doesn't have many Mom-type friends here.

[Jingles]

A gift certificate can be nice, but it sure is nice to get something thoughtful from someone too. Sometimes we are so afraid to get it wrong we forget how many people really do appreciate the gesture =)