Personalized Gifts and "My Very Own Name" Book

[grenicali]

Any recommendations on personalized gifts - what have you given or recieved that was really special? Has anybody seen the "My Very Own Name" Book? http://www.iseeme.com/1myveryownname/
Would this be a good gift? This will be for a 1st Birthday present, but other ideas are great too, might do something for Christmas instead of birthday.

Thanks

[AugBaby]

We LOVE this book. DD got it for her second birthday. I'd actually been trying to find it so I could buy it for others and couldn't find it. Thanks for the link! The animals they choose are unusual and the illustrations are very nice. Let me know if you have any specific questions about the book itself.

Chrys

[grenicali]

Chrys -

Thank you for the reply. It sounds like a fun book. Could you please explain how it is set up? From what I understand it spells the child's first and last name with animals that start with that letter and has some type of animal encyclopedia in the back? How big is the book? Does your daughter like the book? Do you think this would be a good 1st birthday present, or should I maybe wait until she's older so she'll be more interested in it? Thanks alot!!

[riostoker]

It is an AWESOME book - very high quality, and your child will love it. I've read it a hundred times, so I think I can tell you how it goes from memory...

"On <date>, the news spread far and wide. Did you hear the creatures said? A baby <girl/boy> arrived! The animals came to see the sight and gathered all around. We must create a name for her that has the perfect sound. To spell the name, we need to choose the letters that we like, the wise owl said while looking at the baby with delight" (that part covers about 4 pages. The illustrations are gorgeous. Then, it goes on to have each animal suggest a letter like this:

The elephant stomped and said very loudly, "Let's use an E and do it proudly!"
The snail wanted an S included, "I've measured the length and it's rather well suited."
Roar growled the lion. L is for Lion, I know how to spell.

Etc. Then "<first name> is a wonderful start, but my friends before we part we need to spell the last name next. Let's add it now before we rest!" Then the last name is spelled. Unless you have a really long name with the same letter repeated many times, none of the animals will be repeated more than once.

Then, "<first last> has a wonderful sound. A more perfect name we could not have found. Now that our work for the day is complete, let's sing and dance and stomp our feet!

The animal encyclopedia part at the end is just 2 pages, I think. It lists all the possible animals that are in the books.

So, the size of the book is sort of standard kid's hardback book size... probably 8x10 or a bit bigger. It has the number of pages of the length of your child's name plus about 10-12 pages.

It is a GREAT first b-day gift! Even if your child isn't into the spelling/letters yet, he/she will love all the animals and great illustrations!

Can you tell this book is a favorite in our household?? I've given it often as a baby gift or first b-day gift. It is worth every penny - excellent quality.

:)
ann

[sugarsnappea]

We love this book too! My Aunt bought one for both girls after they were born. We received it from Marshall Fields Direct. I believe that is the MF catalog.
I think this book would be a perfect gift. The illustrations are outstanding.

[amp]

Oooh, thanks for this link! This seems like a great idea, and hearing the other moms recommend it makes it all the more cool!

[rrosen]

I just wanted to say thank you for bringing this book to our attention. I ordered one as a 1st birthday present for my best friend's little boy. They said to expect 3 weeks until delivery but, it came in one! It is beautiful! I know it will be something they hold onto. Now I will have to get one for my little girl for her 1st birthday!

Thanks again!

[grenicali]

Rebecca,

Thanks for the feedback, it really sounds like a beautiful book. I think I'm going to give this as a Christmas gift - I thought at 1 yr (1st b-day) she wouldn't be into the book as much as she would be in another 6 months :) Now I'm really excited for Christmas because I can't wait to order the book and see it!

[cinrein]

We got this book through LL Bean. It's very nice, though Anna isn't really into it yet at 16 mos. It's something for an older child, maybe 2 yrs old. It would make an excellent gift for any age.

I've also seen this book on display in the infants section at Nordstrom.

Cindy and Anna February 2003

[rrosen]

I completely agree that an older child will enjoy this more. My friend (whose son I am giving it to) has 4 children and they own evey toy there is. She would kill me if I brought one more toy into her house. I thought this book would be something they would enjoy long term. The older children will love seeing their brother's name in a book now and he will love it later on.

[Twin Mom]

Instead of sending flowers, I just ordered one for my brother and SIL who had a baby girl on Wednesday. I hope they like it. Hopefully the delivery will be in 1 week instead of 3 since I feel bad not sending flowers but flowers seem like such a waste of money IMO.

Aileen