Wee Baby Stuff

I like giving monogrammed piggy banks to newborns, complete with a little ching to prime the savings pump, as it were. But lately I’ve been thinking about the emphasis on money in our turbulent economy. It’s great that a child learns about money from a young age, but they also have the rest of their lives to worry about it too. So, in the interest of fostering imagination, magic and possibilities, which really should rule kid-dom, I decided to make a ‘Wishing Bank’. In it, no money is allowed. Only wishes.

You can find inexpensive, ceramic piggy banks at your local craft store. (I bought a 4 3/4" Precious Bank for $3.99.) To designate this little piggy as a wishing bank, you can use permanent markers to brand it as such, or you can use some Modge Podge to fix cut-out letters to his side, like I did.

I brushed the Podge on both the front and back of the letters and then glued them on piggy’s side. I then blotted them with a damp paper towel. I forwent the ‘dot’ over the ‘i’ and opted for a stick-on rhinestone. It felt a bit more magical. If you do choose the Modge Podge option, keep in mind the monogram will not be as durable as the permanent marker route.

Until baby can make wishes of her own, you can put your wishes for baby on slips of paper and feed the piggy. When piggy gets full, you can empty his tummy into a zippy bag and save them posterity. How fun will it be to go through the wishes later when baby is 5, 10 or 20? It will be even more fun for the 20 year old, seeing what they wished for when they were 10!

Also, this would be a great baby shower gift. Have the guests slip their wishes for baby into the piggy, and later mom and dad to be can see what their friends and family have written.

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