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1. A little help in the first 12 months
My favorite baby shower gift is "Baby’s First Year," a calendar of learning games and memories that starts with the day your baby is born. Written by Norma Jean Stodden, an associate professor at the University of Hawaii, it offers engaging ways to play with your baby during that crucial first year of life, a time when new parents can be a bit baffled. The simple suggestions for daily interaction will help stimulate your baby’s development, and there are stickers to record milestones like that first precious smile. Now in its second edition, "Baby’s First Year" ($12.95) has sold more than 40,000 copies. Order yours at www.simplyuniversal.net or by emailing njstodden@gmail.com. — Susan Essoyan
2. ABC Stores offer fun gift bags
It’s easy to take ABC Stores for granted, with their one-on-every-corner ubiquity in Waikiki. But these shops are versatile, providing an easy option for picking up gifts with aloha. The shops even have hibiscus-decorated gift bags. I dropped by the ABC Store on Lewers Lane in the Beachwalk shopping district after a late dinner one Sunday night and picked out this colorful variety pack: "Ūber Super Duper Aloha" soap, handmade in Hawaii by Filthy Farmgirl ($7.99); a hibiscus- and rainbow-embellished Hello Kitty minifan filled with candy ($5.99) — you know you want one — and Island Heritage playing cards with a vintage-poster look ($2.49). Visit abcstores.com. — Elizabeth Kieszkowski
3. Night lights project cartoon friends
Night lights are supposed to keep kids happy and help parents get a full night’s sleep, but I always end up relegating the night light to a corner behind a chair or fan to deflect some of its glare. The result is creepy shadows on the walls and ceiling instead of a warm, comforting glow. The LED Projectables Night Light ($10.99) from Bed Bath & Beyond in Aiea has a swiveling head that focuses a friendly image onto the ceiling or wall — no more shadows. Choose from Nickelodeon mainstays Dora the Explorer or SpongeBob SquarePants. Call 486-3791. — Donica Kaneshiro
4. Batteries fuel on-the-go music
I bought this hockey puck of a portable speaker as a Christmas gift for my son so he can use it while fishing, but it’s quickly become the audio device of choice for his room and everywhere else. The JBL Micro Wireless ($59.99) features a rechargeable five-hour battery and built-in base port for a big sound. Best of all, the Bluetooth connection lets you stream audio from a mobile phone or tablet at a decent distance. (An audio cable, pictured, is included to connect with MP3s and other devices.) Clip it to a backpack, hang it from a tree or keep it on a picnic table — you’ll never be without your tunes again. Find it at Radio Shack, Best Buy and www.jbl.com. — Christie Wilson
5. Simon’s ‘Graceland’ reissued in box set
The "Graceland 25th Anniversary Collector’s Edition Box Set" (Columbia/Legacy, $114.13) tells the rich story behind the revelatory album made by Paul Simon and South African musicians amid a cultural boycott of the racially segregated country. The remastered album features bonus tracks and audio narratives by Simon, who discusses the making of "Graceland." Also included are replicas of an original album poster, a yellow pad with Simon’s handwritten song lyrics, an 80-page book and two DVDs that provide a great visual history of the album’s impact, three original music videos, the iconic "Saturday Night Live" performance of "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" that introduced the American audience to the wonderful a cappella group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and "Under African Skies," a documentary that reunited Simon and his African friends years later. Exclusive to the box set, which is available only through Amazon.com, is the 1987 televised concert from Zimbabwe. — Gary Chun
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