BabySakes.com

The Starlight Children’s Foundation helps seriously ill children and their families cope with their pain, fear and isolation through entertainment, education and family activities.

Design Your Own Frame or Sign

You can win your very own customized nursery sign or photo frame! We are excited to partner with Danielson Designs to bring you customized home decor – including personalized nursery signs and personalized baby photo frames.

Using the virtual design tool, you can create and preview your creation online, choosing the name, a quote, the color schemes and more. To enter this contest, just visit the Studio Website and create a design for any frame or sign with a retail value up to $39.95. Save the graphic of your creation to your computer and then post it on the BabySakes.com Facebook fan page to enter the contest. You can enter up to 3 designs in this contest (from any design category in The Studio website).

Three winners will be randomly selected from entires received before Thursday 8/13/2009 12PM Pacific time. Each winner will be awarded their home decor creation, according to contest rules.

No purchase necessary. See official rules here. Limit: 3 entries per Facebook Account.

You ‘ve been asking and we are always happy to oblige. We at Babysakes  are always keen to help out new moms – especially when it means doing the research so you can fill out those Baby’s World pages in your fabulous  Baby Book from BabySakes.com!

So here we go with the wonderful topsy-turvy year 2008 – just choose the key bits that you would like to add to your baby memory book:

World Leaders:

• President George W. Bush – USA
• Prime Minister Gordon Brown - UK
• President Hu Jintao – China
• President Pratibha Patil  – India
• Prime Minister Kevin Michael Rudd – Australia
• Prime Minister Nicolas Sarkozy - France
• President Horst Kohler – Germany
• President Dmitry Medvedev- Russia

Top Stories of 2008

Near financial collapse, the US Government came to the aid of some of the historically most financially solvent institutions. Because of the sub-prime mortgage debacle, many banks found themselves out of cash.  Those that weren’t gobbled up by their former competitors, were left floundering. Lehman Brothers was allowed to fail, but Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and AIG were helped out by taxpayers. By the end of the year, consumer spending was at record declines, home values continued to plummet and joblessness on the rise.

Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States in an historic victory that brought the United States its first African-American President. In an equally historic democratic primary, Obama defeated Hillary Clinton for the nomination after a 50-state caucus. On the right, Alaska governer Sarah Palin energized the ticket headed by John McCain in the Republican nomination. The long and hard-fought election also showed a marked generational shift in American Politics with the Internet, mobile phones and social networking being used to rally support for candidates.

For three days in November  Mumbai, the financial and movie capitol of India, was held hostage by 10 armed men. The tourism center was hit hardest with hotels and restrants becoming sites of unbelievable carnage.

The term “Made in China” brought about a great deal of fear in the minds of consumers as the chemical melamine was found in food products given to animals and humans and high levels of lead in children’s toys brought about new consumer saftey standards.

Top Selling Music Albums of 2008

1. As I Am – Alicia Keys

2. Noel – Josh Groban

3. Tha Carter III – Lil Wayne

4. Long Road Out of Eden – Eagles

5. Taylor Swift – Taylor Swift

6. Rock N Roll Jesus – Kid Rock

7. Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends – Coldplay

8. Now 26 – Various Artists

9. Carnival Ride – Carrie Underwood

10. The Ultimate Hits – Garth Brooks

Top Grossing Movies of 2008:

1. The Dark Knight

2. Iron Man

3. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

4. Hancock

5. WALL-E

6. Kung Fu Panda

7. Twilight

8. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

9. Quantum of Solace

10. Horton Hears a Who!

Highest Paid Actors of 2008:

1. Will Smith

2. Johnny Depp

3. Eddie Murphy

4. Mike Myers

5. Leonardo Dicaprio

Actresses

1. Angelina Jolie

2. Cameron Diaz

3. Jennifer Aniston

4. Keira Knightly

5. Jennifer Lopez

Best Sellers of 2008:

(Non Fiction)

1. The Forever War by Dexter Filkins

2. The Thief at the End of the World by Joe Jackson

3. The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder

4. The World Is What It Is by Patrick French

5. The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale

(Fiction)

1. 2666 by Roberto Bolaño

2. Lush Life by Richard Price

3. Lush Life by Richard Price

4. Anathem by Neal Stephenson

5. Unaccustomed Earth Jhumpa Lahiri

(Children)

1. The Pencil by Allan Ahlberg and Bruce Ingman

2. Big Words for Little People by Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell

3. Bats at the Library, Written and illustrated by Brian Lies

4. Splat the Cat by Rob Scotton

5. Oodles of Animals by Lois Ehlert

Top 10 Highest Rated Television Shows of 2008:

1. American Idol Tuesday (Fox) 2. American Idol Wednesday (Fox) – 15.3%
3. Dancing with the Stars (ABC) – 4. Dancing with the Stars Results (ABC) – 11.4%
5. The Mentalist (CBS)
6. NBC Sunday Night Football (NBC)
7. CSI (CBS)
8. NCIS (CBS)
9. 60 Minutes (CBS)
10. Survivor: Gabon

What Things Cost in 2008

Gallon of Milk: $3.72

Gallon of Gas: At its highest it was $4.20 for regular unleaded.

Loaf of Bread: Approximately $1.59

Movie Ticket: Average price $7.20

College Education: Private – $25,143 per year Public: $6,585  per year.

House: $206, 200(Median Home Price)

Car: About  25,000 to 35,000 for a moderately priced new car or SUV.

Diapers: Approximately 18 to 28 cents a diaper.

Babysitter: Approximately $12 – 15 an hour for someone over age 18.

Sunday Paper: Average price $2.50 to 3.00 or free online.

Postage Stamp:  42 cents

As always, let us know if there is any more information you need in the comments. We are happy to oblige.

Celebrating Christmas with baby is such a special time. The keepsakes you create this year will become part of your holiday traditions in Christmas future. Whether it is your baby’s first Christmas or you are expecting a bundle of joy,  or you just need a gift for your favorite new parents, Babysakes.com is here with original Christmas Baby Keepsakes ready to help capture those cherished Christmas memories.

BABYPRINTS HAND PRINT OR FOOTPRINT ORNAMENT

Precious little hand or footprints can forever be cherished with the Babyprints Hand Print or Footprint Ornament.

One of our most popular holiday items is one you make yourself. The Babyprints Hand Print or Footprint Ornament enables you to make a permanent impression of your baby’s foot or hand print and hangs from your choice of red or green ribbon. Just kneed the no-mix, no-bake, no-fuss impression material like dough, roll it out with the included rolling pin and voila – you’re ready to take your baby’s footprint or hand print impression. Don’t worry about making a mistake – you can redo it in a snap. Once you get baby’s digits in the perfect position – just let your masterpiece air dry for 24-36 hours. Makes a great gift for grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles, godparents, friends – anyone special in baby’s life.

CUSTOMIZABLE AND PERSONALIZED CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS:  ANGEL ORNAMENT

Customize these hand-made ornaments for a special touch for your Christmas Tree.

Start a tradition with these fun customizable tree ornaments. These wonderful ornaments are lovingly hand painted by artist Kathleen Virtue. The angel ornament can be customized to match your baby’s hair color and style and skin tone as well as adding their name. Other ornaments celebrate Baby’s First Christmas, Big Brother and Big Sister and even Family ornaments. 

These make wonderful gifts that will add that special touch to grandma’s tree as well!

Your child will love to hang their own ornament on the tree year after year! Check out all of the customizable ornaments with seasonal designs that are sure to add that special touch to your Christmas Tree.  Order yours by December 3rd to guarantee Christmas delivery!

PERSONALIZED HOLIDAY PLATES: COOKIES FOR SANTA CHRISTMAS PLATE

Santa's cookies taste even better off this personalized plate.

Leave those special cookies for Santa on an even more special plate! This special Cookies for Santa Plate is hand painted by artist Kathleen Virtue and can be personalized with your child’s (or children’s) names and even a special message on the backside.  This makes a great family gift for friends or relatives who have little ones, or even a special treat for your own family to make your Christmas tradition of leaving Cookies for Santa Claus even more special (and don’t forget the apple for Rudolph!) Make sure to place your order no later than Wednesday December 3rd for Christmas Delivery. Check out the other designs like the Baby’s First Christmas plates featuring Rudolph by Kathleen Virtue.

Commemorate Baby’s First Christmas with other Personalized Holiday Plates by children’s artist Jamie Risdon Lentzner that include storks, snowmen and even Santa himself. The simple designs from What a Dish! Studio are classic and perfect for Christmas treats and the Personalized Christmas plates by My Little Dish studio feature a choice of different sayings and smiling Snowmen or Santa faces. Perfect for Christmas Dinner. Plan ahead with these original gifts. Some need to be ordered by  December 3rd to ensure your Christmas surprise.

HOLIDAY PHOTO FRAMES AND ALBUMS: SANTA AND ME PHOTO FRAME

This is the perfect frame for your Santa Photo.

 You need that perfect frame for your photo of your little one on Santa’s lap (even if they weren’t all that thrilled to be there.) This wonderful keepsake frame by Mud Pie is made from red and green twill fabric and embroidered with “Santa and Me.” Also featured in this collection are “Baby’s First Christmas” photo frames and lovely “My First Christmas” and “Christmas ‘08″ photo album that each hold 80 4″ x 6″ photos.

Also available are wonderful photo frame and a photo album designed to look like Santa’s Red Suit – made from red patent-leather with a black belt with a gold buckle. There is even a cute Rudolph photo album that is perfect for your holiday photos.

Check out our entire selection of Holiday Frames and Photo Albums.

ADORABLE HOLIDAY OUTFITS : CHRISTMAS TREE TUNIC AND LEGGINGS

Festive holiday clothes are a perfect fit this Christmas.

Dress your baby in the holiday spirit with a fun and festive Christmas-themed outfit.

Perfect for your holiday photo with Santa, this adorable Christmas Tree Tunic and Leggings features candy-cane striped leggings (super-comfy for babies who are crawling) and a white tunic with a Christmas Tree applique. Ruffles on the sleeves make this a cute and comfy outfit for a little girl.

Other outfits like a red jersey dress or a Santa tunic – both with candy-cane striped leggings are perfect for your little girl – up to six months old.

Also available are onesies with appliqued reindeer, Christmas trees or holiday wrapping. Or what about reindeer and Santa booties, festive holiday socks to keep baby’s feet warm.

Don’t forget your special Christmas bib for baby’s first Christmas Dinner! Make sure you check out all the adorable outfits!

HOLIDAY PLUSH TOYS: GUND STORYTIME BEAR AND NICHOLAS NIGHTCAP

Storytime Bear reads "Twas the Night Before Christmas."

A special holiday deserves a special teddy! Even better –  How about a special teddy that reads a story? Storytime Bear by Gund is not only soft and adorable but when you press his hand he becomes animated and reads the famous Holiday Poem by Clement Clarke Moore, “Twas the Night Before Christmas.” This is sure to delight the little ones - and even Grandpa and Grandma! Such a fun and unique Christmas bear. This makes a great gift for children of any age!

Nicholas Nightcap has had his Christmas Cocoa and is all ready for bed.

Or maybe the classic Nicholas Nightcap Teddy Bear by Bearington Baby is the perfect bear for you. Nicholas is all ready for slumber on Christmas Eve with his cozy nightcap and red jammies. He’s even got his own copy of “Twas the Night Before Christmas” (but he’s quietly reading his copy to himself). A sweet and adorable bear that is a great gift for your favorite little one (and Grandma too!)

Be sure to check out the entire selection of holiday plush toys - including more pajama-clad bears, penguin pull-down musicals and cuddly polar bears!

At BabySakes.com, we would love to help you make and preserve your holiday memories this season.

You told us that you wanted help in filling out your baby memory books and we here at Babysakes.com are always happy to accommodate your requests! We will be slogging backward through history to give you the much needed information to complete the “what happened in baby’s world” section of your baby memory books.

So here we go with the year where Mother Nature really packed a wallop! 2005 here we go!

World Leaders:

• President George W. Bush – USA
• Prime Minister Tony Blair – UK
• President Hu Jintao – China
• President Abdul Kalam – India
• Prime Minister John Howard – Australia
• Prime Minister Jacques Chirac – France
• President Horst Kohler – Germany
• President Vladimir Putin – Russia

Top Stories of 2005

• Hurricane Katrina hit landfall east of New Orleans in the morning of August 29th. The levees protecting New Orleans from flood waters failed ant the area was inundated. Much of the Gulf Coast region was devastated.
• Relief efforts continued for the December 26, 2004 Tsunami that ravaged Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and many other countries. Towns and villages were swept away and more than 200,000 people perished.
• On July 7, During London’s morning rush hour, bombs exploded in three subway trains and one bus. Fifty -two people died and 700 were injured. This was the deadliest attack in Britian since World War II.
• On January 20, President George W. Bush took his second oath of office.
• Iraq held its first free elections in a half-century. Ink-stained fingers became a symbol of democracy as Iraqis went to the polls even under threats of violence.
• Pope John Paul II passed away on April 2 at the age of 84. Weeks later cardinals elected Joseph Ratzinger of Germany as the 265th Pontif. He took the name of Pope Benedict XVI.
• The Chicago White Sox won the 2005 World Series breaking the Curse of the Black Socks after 88 Years.

Top Selling Music Albums of 2005

1. 50 Cent- The Massacre
2. Eminem – Encore
3. Green Day – American Idiot
4. Mariah Carey – The Emancipation of Mimi
5. Kelly Clarkson – Breakaway
6. Gwen Stefani – Love. Angel. Music. Baby.
7. Destiny’s Child – Destiny Fulfilled
8. U2 – How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
9. Shania Twain – Greatest Hits
10. Rascal Flatts – Feels Like Today

Top 10 Top Grossing Movies of 2005:

1. Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
2. The Chronicles of Narnia – The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
3. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
4. War of the Worlds (2005)
5. King Kong (2005)
6. Wedding Crashers
7. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
8. Batman Begins
9. Madagascar
10. Mr. and Mrs. Smith

Top 10 Bestselling Books of 2005:

1. Brisingr by Christopher Paolini
2. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
3. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
4. The Shack by William P. Young
5. Breaking Down by Stephenie Meyer
6. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
7. The story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel by David Wroblewski
8. Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks
9. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch and Jeffrey Zaslow
10. Hot, Flat and Crowded by Thomas Friedman

Top Actors (Highest Paid) of 2005:

1. Will Ferrell – $40 Million
2. Johnny Depp -$37 Million
3. Ray Romano -$36.5 Million
4. Will Smith – $35 Million
5. Toby Maguire – $32 Million
6. Tom Cruise – $31 Million
7. Denzel Washington – $30 Million
8. Adam Sandler – $28 Million
9. Matt Damon – $27 Million
10. Brad Pitt – $25 Million
11. Drew Barrymore – $22 Million
12. Jennifer Lopez – $17 Million
13. Nicole Kidman -$14.5 Million
14. Jennifer Garner – $14 Million
15. Cameron Diaz – $13 Million

Popular Sports Figures of 2005 (In no particular order)

• Lance Armstrong
• Tom Brady
• Steve Nash
• Alex Rodriguez
• Michelle Wie

Top 10 Highest Rated Television Shows of 2005:

1. American Idol (Tuesday-FOX
2. American Idol (Wednesday-FOX
3. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation-CBS
4. Desperate Housewives -ABC
5. Grey’s Anatomy-ABC
6. Without a Trace-CBS
7. Dancing with the Stars-ABC
8. Survivor: Guatemala-CBS
9. CSI: Miami -CBS
10. House -Fox

What Things Cost in 2005

Gallon of Milk: $3.75

Gallon of Gas: $2.27

Loaf of Bread: $2.29

Movie Ticket: $6.41

College Education: Private – $29, 026 Public: $12, 127

House: $213,900 (Median Home Price)

Car: About 30,000 for a moderately priced car.

Diapers: Approximately 25 cents a diaper.

Babysitter: Approximately $12 an hour for someone over age 18.

Sunday Paper: Average price $1.50

Postage Stamp: 37 cents

As always, let us know if there is any more information you need in the comments. We are happy to oblige.Stay tuned for 2004!