Did you watch last night?

Last night on World News with Diane Sawyer, they highlighted The Great Made in America Christmas: Are You In?  If you missed the segment click here to view.  It was Diane Sawyer's reporting this summer on Made in America goods that inspired us to begin this blog, so we were interested in hearing what they had to report...

According to the newscast:

"The average American will spend $704 on holiday gifts and goodies this year, totaling more than $465 billion, the National Retail Federation estimates. If that money was spent entirely on US made products it would create 4.6 million jobs. But it doesn't even have to be that big. If each of us spent just $64 on American made goods during our holiday shopping, the result would be 200,000 new jobs."

Pretty incredible numbers, don't you think?  If everyone spent $64 on American made goods, it could REALLY make a difference for our fellow Americans.  One other thing the news segment pointed out is that with the $5.1 Billion of Chinese made goods we purchase at the holidays, we as Americans are supporting and holding up the exploding Chinese middle class...what's wrong with that picture?

We are taking the challenge, and hope you do too, to purchase at least one "Made in America" gift this season.  If you need ideas check out our categories on the right hand side of this blog that will automatically categorize our blog entries and give you some great leads on American made products.

And we ask you that as you shop this holiday season to comment on our blog or Facebook page when you find something you love that is Made In America...we are always looking for ideas!

Wonderous Wikki Stix

We love Wikki Stix!  Not only do our kids flex their creative muscles creating masterpieces with these simple yet magical waxed yarns, but we have also had fun creating figures and pictures with them.  Who'd have thought that a bunch of stix could provide such entertainment? 

 

They are definitely on to something...here are some examples from their website of what is possible with these stix:

Ours tend to look more like this:

Regardless of your abilities, they are a great toy for all ages...and happily they are Made in the USA!

We also love Wikki Stix because according to the company "they do not contain latex, gluten, nor peanut or other nut oils or byproducts which makes them an ideal creative activity toy for children with allergies."  You can read more about Wikki Stix here.

 

   Shop their Website here or click here to find a retailer near you that carries Wikki Stix.

Made in the Red, White and Blue

Diane Sawyer of ABC news recently did a series entitled “Made in America”.   They shared facts such as 90% of toys sold in the US are made in China. We were shocked. We know toys sold here are imported from other countries as well, which means less than 10% of our toys are made in America.  We started looking at all the products in our homes. Made in China-Made in China-Made in Hong Kong.  Even the mandarin oranges we fed our kids were products of China.  And we know that other countries do not have the same regulations as American made products.  So shouldn’t we question if over 90% of our products are safe?

What does this mean for our job market here in the US?  We found a statistic which stated that if we each spent $64 more a year on American made products when available, it would create 200,000 new jobs a year.  Wow- that is a lot of jobs! We are not 'anti-importing' products made in other countries.  We understand that it is not realistic to throw out everything and only purchase “made in the USA” products.  But if we have the chance to buy crayons made in America vs. another country, why wouldn’t we?  Buying American when we can helps us do our small part to help our job market grow. 

Most modern parents do not have the time to look through every product on the shelf trying to find one that is ‘made in the USA’?  This is where our idea started.  Why not create a blog where we show you products that are made right here in the US and make it easier for you to shop ‘made in the USA’.   We plan to not only show you the product, but also let you know where you can find it to purchase.  That way it will be more convenient for you to help do your part!