Dora, Sponge Bob, Sesame Street….and YOU!

With the holidays just around the corner, I’m already on the hunt for great gift ideas for my kids. During the holidays, personalized gift seem to be everywhere, but I was especially impressed when I recently had the chance to check out CenterStage books by Shutterfly. With six different titles to choose from including Dora, Sponge Bob and Sesame Street, each CenterStage book offers a fun-filled adventure staring your very own child.
The process is unbelievably simple and took me less than 5 minutes to complete online. After selecting which book you want to use, you enter a few quick pieces of information about your child (name, birthday, and hometown) and then upload a picture. Picture selection is the most important step and Shutterfly provides clear instruction on how to choose the best headshot of your child. (And don’t worry – if you end up choosing a picture that won’t work in the story, they’ll contact you to submit a new photo instead of printing the book with a less-than-workable shot.) And you’re done!
I chose the “Adventures on Sesame Street” book for my son Merric and I’m thrilled with the finished product. Here are some of the reasons why: 1) the book is comprised of an impressive 35-40 glossy, color pages, 2) your child’s face and name are used multiple times per page giving them plenty of chances to engage with the story and say, “Hey, that’s me!”, and 3) the stories are interesting and educational (in the one I got, Merric helps Big Bird, Elmo and the rest of the gang find the missing “M” with lots of lessons about “M” along the way). One of my favorite parts has to be this page where Merric is wearing a tuxedo in the story – so adorable and makes me tear-up flashing forward to his senior prom.
Each CenterStage book runs $39.99 and Shutterfly recommends you order by December 14th to ensure a Christmas arrival. As a special treat for MWS readers, Shutterfly is offering a FREE CenterStage books to the first 5 people who leave a comment answering the question: When you were a kid, what character would you most like to have seen yourself in a book with? Be sure to leave your email address in your response and have a Shutterfly account associated with that email.