Favorite Christmas/Hanukah Gifts?

So what presents did your kids especially like this holiday season? Anything China or adoption related? I've already posted about how much my girls like their China Workbooks.

And we had a Holly, Dolly Christmas! Maya got an American Girl Doll -- Just Like You variety, with black hair, and dark eyes. I'd been boycotting American Girl since they didn't have an Asian-American story doll, but they came through with one last year -- Ivy -- and Zoe got her for Christmas last year. (Guess the historical period -- if you know anything about American Girl dolls, you know they come from historical periods, like Addy the freed slave, the 1860s; Kit, girl of the Great Depression, etc. Well, Ivy and her friend Julie come from the distant past -- 1974! Yes, my teenage years are now an HISTORICAL PERIOD!!!!!).

Santa brought Ivy tons of clothes, including a First Communion dress and veil and a Brownie uniform! Zoe was thrilled that Santa also brought Ivy a pair of wire-rimmed glasses like hers. I found several sites for inexpensive clothes for 18-inch dolls by simply googling "18 inch doll clothes cheap."

China Sprout (a GREAT help to Santa!) came through with qi paos for each girl’s doll, and Chinese character earrings for Zoe, who is thrilled that she can start wearing dangling earrings in January, since it will be six months since she got her ears pierced. Zoe had asked for a Chinese lantern, and I wondered what Santa would come up with, and this was it, with a dragon and everything.

Santa also obliged with some cool China books and adoption books as Zoe requested -- The Mulberry Bird, Forever Fingerprints (thanks to those who suggested these two!), Todd Parr's We Belong Together (we love his books, which celebrate difference so joyfully), Shanghai Secret (a KaritoKids book (I love the idea behind the Karito Kids, which allow each child to designate part of the purchase price to a charity of their choice. I went with Ivy instead last year just because it is easier to find clothes for 18-inch dolls than the 21-inch Karito Kids dolls -- conspicuous consumption wins out over charity, sigh.). And maybe the Kung Fu Panda DVD counts in our China haul?!

It was not all China or adoption – Zoe loves her new roller blades and her favorite gift is probably the $2 dry-erase board (perfect for playing school)! Maya got her requested Hot Wheels tennis shoes (yes, those are “boy shoes” with a Hot Wheels logo) and huge Care Bear. Add in the gazillion Groovy Girls, Barbie accoutrements, dinosaurs, Littlest Pet Shop stuff, and we had a merrily-commercial Christmas. And Maya has happily inherited Zoe's old scooter and bike now that Zoe has alternate wheels.

So share your kids’ favorites – and give us a hint where to find anything China or adoption related.