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The Best Music Boxes: a Round Up
Published 04.17.2007 | Permanent Link | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)
I get email asking me for gift ideas for newborns and birthday presents for three year olds and I have to be quite honest here. I am the worst at buying gifts. I will do a round up of some good baby presents at some point in the near(ish) future, but until then, consider this round one. Music Boxes make excellent keepsake gifts. I remember loving mine as a child, the dancing ballerina the Swan Lake music, and it was from a yard sale.
Isabel turned me onto Trousselier and I almost didn't share it because it was like they were speaking a whole other language over there. Then I saw the little American flag in the upper right hand corner. These are beautiful music boxes. I usually try to pick a favorite from each store and then let you browse the rest on your own, but the site is a little difficult to naviage and I love so many I'm showing you a few from the site.
There is something so sweet about this Cat and Owl music box. I love the illustrations, they remind me of an old Mother Goose book I had as a child. I love the cat and owl sailing in a pea pod inside. I was dazzled by a simple ballerina as a child, I can't imagine my delight at finding these two inside my music box.
Growing up, my neighbor Kelly had a music box where two figures would dance on top of a mirrored surface as the music went. I am ashamed to say I had envy in my heart for that music box. It seemed like magic and we'd watch it for hours. The best was when we realized you could make refrigerator magnets dance to the music as well. This cat and mouse version is adorable. The design on the box is a little more whimsical than the cat and owl box.
I'll share just one more from Trousselier, this Rocket and Spaceman box is so unique. Most of the music boxes I've seen are very girl oriented, this one works for both. But if a space guy and his ship are dancing together this could be very very bad for NASA.
Schylling has a couple of cute dancing music boxes. One with a ladybug couple and another with a duck couple. They look sturdy enough to survive being actually played with and for just $12 you won't cry (so hard) if your little music enthusiast gets a little too enthusiastic.
Here is a sweet little hand wound music box featuring erzi mouse snoozing on his cheese. Kids love to turn the crank themselves making the music go faster or slower. Again, it's wood so little hands can't do too much damage, unless they're the hands of a woodchuck.
This Pianola music box would be great for the kid who wants to know how things work. Feed the playing sheet through the machine and it clinks out a tune. A special hole punch and blank sheets allow your child to create their own tune. I wonder if you could get refills for that because judging by the way my kids experiment with the piano, it would take some trial and error for them to create something recognizable as music.
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About
Melissa Summers was one of five Melissa's throughout her schooling, in her everyday life she is the only Melissa who folds laundry. The name Melissa is derived from the Greek word for Honeybee. The Buzz Off is published weekly on Tuesdays. She writes almost nearly everyday at Suburban Bliss.
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Melissa's Buzz Off is a collection of pretty much anything Melissa wants to buzz about. Sometimes what she wants to buzz about is also what you'd like to buzz about. The Buzz Off is a collaboration so you can tell her anything at You can email me at melissabuzzoff@gmail.com
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Comments (1):
Melanie said:
I love that last one - what a cool idea!
Posted on April 17, 2007 21:18