Hellobee Boards

My SIL got DD1 a backpack personalized with her name for Christmas, since she will be in Kindergarten next year. She loves it! I would just ask the mom for any specifics/preferences.

If they wear jewelry that would be cute. My girls don’t and we have been gifted some really cute things that have unfortunately not been used.

This is my go-to gift for 1st bday and beyond. They are always a huge hit. We have one for our own DS and I’m in love with it. They are HUGE and thick and when you talk to the owner of the Etsy shop you can give her an idea of colors/types of patterns you like. For example, for the girls I usually get a brighter pink and letters are bright paisleys and florals. For sisters this year I got one pink and one purple. For boys I do navy and primary colors. But she can do anything!
I also personally like the diagonal pattern of shapes and the name across the bottom but she has other options. Truly you won’t be sorry. I’ve ordered about 15 of these from her. I’ll PM you my name if you use her so you can tell her I referred you
Oh she does tons of other things too like pillow cases. But I’ve never ordered anything else.
My ONLY negative comment is that she isn’t super fast. She’s a mom and does this in her downtime so I always budget 4-6 weeks minimum. If these bdays are in less than that she MIGHT be able to rush but I wouldn’t bet on it.

Special Order Personalized Heart Towel by JamieDeLong on Etsy http://etsy.me/2CapLos

They may be a bit more than you want to spend, but my sister has bought my older girls (3 & 5) both matching personalized bathrobes and sleeping bags from LL Bean. They were enormous hits (especially the sleeping bags) and great quality; I'm sure they’d be available at other price points elsewhere (I frankly haven’t looked at price specifics since they were gifts).

My girls have also gotten luggage and loved it! You could do the PB Kids personalized duffel bags? Just look carefully at sizes; the small ones are REALLY small.

I can also see an inexpensive but made of decent quality material piece of jewelry (like an initial pendant) being really special to my kids. Eve’s Addiction produces items that look similar to Tiffany styles; they look grown up without being expensive, so you can let a preschooler wear them whenever.

@looch: This is a great idea! I wonder if our son would like that. MIL is from the south so he already had an engraved silver cup, silver utensils, etc!

Definitely anything personalized. I have a 3 year old and since she knows her name now she would love anything with her name on it!

You could make or buy some really cool necklaces... I've discovered I work near a Michael's, and the bead inventory there is just unbelievable. I've been stockpiling beads to make DD necklaces when she's older (they're not allowed in day care). Etsy also has gorgeous beads and finished necklaces. Here's a little pic I found online for inspiration...

Or maybe kiddie purses. Some kids just love those. Both of mine went through phases where they wouldn't leave home without their favorite stuff in a backpack or purse.