Wantables — Let the Spoiling Begin (rather, Continue)

HomeGoods, I'm way ahead of you. Your aisles have been crammed with Halloween stuff for the past several weeks, but my mind has already jet-packed forward to Christmas. Not so much the crafty decorations, or bountiful meal plans — I'm onto presents, presents and more presents!

Bearing in mind my kid's mid-November birthday and Dec. 25, I'm already strategizing which things she'll get and on which of the special days she'll get them. Go ahead. You can judge me. But I'll rattle off the following list of gift contenders knowing that you'll secretly take a break from clowning me just long enough to mentally store some of these ideas:

Djeco is a good fit for my all-consumingly-creative child. The French brand's art kits have exactly what her brain keys into — meticulous designs, copious colors and tons of teeny-tiny little pieces that drive me crazy.

She'd love this Klimt-y kit and it would jog her memory of the exhibit we caught this summer at The Getty.

Both in school and at home, the little second grader has been practicing letter-writing skills. In particular, I'm trying to keep the flagging art of composing "Thank You" letters alive. It's an uphill battle, but I feel it's important to remind little ones to express gratitude (preachy!).

Sure, we're just as likely to fold over a sheet of printer paper, but Mudpuppy has these sweet little design-it-yourself cards for a bit more formality. (Sidenote: Nuts to all you parents who told me she'd have grown out of the princess phase by now!)

Mudpuppy also has a great selection of goodies for younger kids — puzzles, DIY masks, and finger puppets — all featuring illustrations by indie artists. You can buy them directly from their site, but I've spied their stuff at Yolk and Clover in Silverlake, Barnes & Noble and, yes, HomeGoods.

We first discovered Anna & Froga via the ever-entertaining kids' magazine, Anorak, aka, "Hipster Highlights." They ran a segment in their pages and the comic got my kid to gigglin'. Then, we discovered Anouk Ricard has her own comic-style picture book. The reading level is pretty simplistic, but it's undeniably clever, adorably illustrated and would serve as a good template for a comic artist in-training.

Over the past year, there's been a whole lot of hemming and hawing over these new "gender normative" Legos that feature (gasp!) pink and purple bricks and mini-figures wearing spaghetti strap tank tops. Whatevs. My kid loves them and seamlessly incorporates them into play sessions with her original pieces. (The werewolf mini-fig lives in a primary-colored condo right next to the girl in the tiered pink skirt). So, I'm all ready to drop $10 on this bedroom set, which includes a drum kit. What could be more empowering, positive imagery than a female drummer?!

Get it, Sheila!

Remember when I wrote about Mameshiba? The demand for funny/warped/trivia-spewing Japanese legumes has since spawned a line of novelty collectibles and graphic novels that are more kid-friendly than their online presence tends to be.

Japan LA has plush toys that would pair nicely with the latest book.

And, of course, I can't leave out glitzy stuff...though, I'd like to. I have to consider the recipient and this little girl loves her some shiny stuff.

If I'm on the ball, I can catch these J. Crew mary-janes on sale. Yes, I know the glitter will start falling off as soon as they're taken out of the box. I also know that she'll proudly wear them into the ground, regardless of how shabby they look. Plus, she might even get a kick out of "repairing" them glitter glue. Meanwhile, my unconventional side craves these for my own small feet.

Am I the only parent out there who's ready to jumpstart the holiday shopping season already? 

What kinds of goodies are you already keeping tabs on? Anything I should add to my list?

All of my picks — save for the last — came in under $30; is anybody getting more splurge-y this year? (No judgments; I just want to live vicariously through you!)

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