diy distraction

I love my niece Abby, but the girl has SO MUCH ENERGY. It's one of my favorite things about her, but it's also so exhausting!  I like to take her ice-skating or to the zoo, where she can run and run and run around while I look at giraffes.  The problem comes on Christmas Day, when she is surrounded by people who are too tired and busy to read books, babies who are too young to know games, and it's too cold to go outside and play. 

I always try to get Abby a Christmas gift that she will love that will also keep her busy, and this year (don't tell her!) I'm getting her a Decorate-Your-Own Bank from Melissa & Doug, the company that makes all the best stuff for kids!  With the included stickers and paint, Abby and I can sit and make the bank together; but if her mom calls me away to help mash potatoes, it's easy enough that she can keep her little hands busy all on her own.  I might even get her both kinds of bank--cupcake and traditional piggy--because at under $10 a pop, that's a lot of Abby-Energy that can be put to good use!