Smarty Daddy Gift Idea

I know. It’s only November 11th and I’m already talking about Christmas. But this gift idea may take some time to coordinate so I wanted to give you something to chew on. My favorite Christmas gifts now that I am a parent involve photography and videos (in my previous life, I was all about the bling!) . What better gift than to make a family movie for your hubby, and then recycle it for your family – parents, in-laws, favorite aunts, etc.

Every year, I give my parents and my in-laws a photo calendar from Snapfish (in my opinion and in year’s past, Snapfish has always had the coolest designs and features). My family lives for the calendar, in fact, I’m pretty sure my calendars never make it under the tree even though they are wrapped. My mom always calls me as soon as she receives it to ooh and ahh over the photos. In our house, it has really turned into a competition to figure out which photos are deemed “calendar material”!

Now my hubby is the hardest person on the planet to buy for, not kidding! This guy needs and wants nothing – not complaining, especially in this economy! So my gift of choice this year is to make home videos for Father’s Day and Christmas. These cost nothing but a few dollars on iTunes, but they do take a lot of time. So start now if you’re even remotely thinking about this. I especially enjoy making videos because it forces me to go through my photos and put some sense of order to them, at least twice a year. I’m the worst at scrap-booking, so this is kind of my own version of online scrap-booking. Not to mention , my twins will choose home movies over Baby Einstein and Truck Tunes ANY day. Plus, I don’t feel badly letting them watch it (totally doesn’t count as TV time in my book – this is a history lesson!).

One of the hardest things for me is the music selection for my videos. I will sit down and open up iTunes and forget every single song I’ve ever heard! I guess it’s kind of like stage fright! So I put together a Smarty list of tunes for your movie. Or if you’re not into movies, you could buy daddy an iPod (the Shuffles are super cheap) and load a Daddy playlist for him. Here are my faves:

SMARTY PLAYLIST
Have a Little Fun With Me – Glen Phillips
This Little Light of Mine – Elizabeth Mitchell
You are my Sunshine – Elizabeth Mitchell
Three Little Birds – Elizabeth Mitchell
Better Together – Jack Johnson
Banana Pancakes – Jack Johnson
Upside Down – Jack Johnson
Love is My Religion – Ziggy Marley
Over the Rainbow – Jason Castro (yes, this is the guy booted from American Idol but I love this version!)
Clocks – Coldplay (Salsa version)
Little Wonders – Rob Thomas
Shimmer – Shawn Mullins
Fatherhood – Peter Himmelman
Just the Two of Us – Will Smith
Isn’t She Lovely – Stevie Wonder
Daughters – John Mayer
Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong
Stay-at-Home Dad – Justin Roberts
Arms Wide Open – Creed
Ordinary Miracle – Sarah McLachlan
Ice Cream – Sarah McLachlan
Beautiful Boy – John Lennon
Luther Vandross – Dance with my Father
Teach your Children – Crosby, Stills & Nash
Sweet Child of Mine – GnR

My list could go on and on. But these are my first picks. Check them out and feel free to add your own to the mix!

Don’t forget to register for our Smarty Giveaways:
– Living Simply: 5 hours of organizational service with 2 consultants valued at $550! Giveaway closes at 11pm on Wednesday, 11/12. Click here to enter!
– Fabkins: 1 set of fabulous cloth napkins valued at $25. Giveaway closes at 11pm on Sunday, 11/16. Click here to enter!.