Thursday, October 18, 2007

Name your tune

Christmas is quickly approaching. And if you've got children in your life who seem to have every toy under the sun, (and you have NO idea what to get them) you might want to visit a website called Name Your Tune .

Founded by Candace and Eric Alper, and based in Toronto, the company offers CD's made up of popular children's music. The super cool part? The songs are personalize for the child receiving the music. Children will hear their name more than 80 times throughout 14 much-loved songs. And if you have more than one child's name you'd like to include? The company is happy to create your CD accordingly.

The music is lively and fun. The founders have done a great job of choosing songs. (Ditties like, "If You're Happy And You Know It", "Wheels on the Bus", and "I Don't Want to Live on the Moon", and "ABC Medley.") And the singers' do a great job of clearly and cheerfully incorporating the designated name into the songs.

Although my 5-year-old is no longer interested in hearing "The Wheels on the Bus", he found the CD amusing. He laughed hysterically when he heard mom's name added into each song. (I found it pretty amusing too.)

Although my two nephews are a bit too old for this gift idea, I have a niece who would get quite a kick out of this. So as Christmas draws nearer, I'll be visiting Name Your Tune.

Name Your Tune CD's are $20 each, or $18 each when you purchase 2 or more at the same time. And buyers may add a personal message on the CD label making the gift a more special and a treasured keepsake.

A portion from the sale of each CD will be donated to Hear Here, the Toronto-based non-profit organization that provides hearing aids for children.