The Gift Genie

With two kids it is safe to say we go to a lot of birthday parties. Every weekend there is at least one or two on the calendar. I love celebrating the girl's friends special days but often find myself stumped for gift ideas! Enter my brilliant friend Courtney, aka the Gift Genie. Gift giving solved.

Courtney and her husband Avi own the magical toy shop Norman and Jules in Park Slope, Brooklyn. There is simply no better toy shop in the world. Every inch of Norman and Jules is filled with unique, beautiful, creative toys. From gorgeous blocks, to dress up, to one of a kind dolls they have it all. I affectionately refer to Courtney as the "Gift Genie." All I have to do is email her the age and gender of the child I am buying a gift for and she always has tons of creative suggestions. Courtney also brilliantly pairs gifts together to create bundles where the whole truly is greater than the sum of it's parts.

Last week Portia and I took a trip to Brooklyn to visit Norman and Jules and check out Courtney's latest favorites. We also got a little head start on the girl's holiday wish lists! We had so much fun and I left with plenty of ideas of what to get the girls (and tell their grandparents to get them) for the holidays!

Portia's favorite finds included:

This adorable ride-on which is perfectly sized for apartment living

This sweet picnic basket to gather all her treasures 

Butterfly wings and a cape so she can play dress up with her sister 

A voice recorder to capture all of her sister's nutty 4.5 year old sayings ( we actually brought this home that day and Hermione hasn't stopped playing with it!

A marble tower and ball run both with a sweet musical surprise at the end!

The next time you are stumped for what to get a child in your life as a gift look no further than Norman and Jules. I promise the Gift Genie will not disappoint!