My first call of duty as the tooth fairy snuck up on me last week. Sure, my kid was four months past his seventh birthday. Yes, I had interviewed other moms about how to honor this tradition for our new book, Stuff Every Mom Should Know. But no, I was not prepared. (And no, this topic did not make it into the book.)
We were at an appointment having Julian’s shark tooth checked out when the dentist suggested we extract his two bottom baby teeth right then and there. It was 5.45 pm. That evening was a bit chaotic, as my children and I emerged from the dentist’s office past dinner time, one of us two teeth lighter. There were no felt tooth-shaped plushies sewn, or clever notes congratulating Julian on this milestone and encouraging him to take good care of his teeth. Cold hard cash was placed under the pillow. Perhaps you will do better.
Here are five super cute ways to make tooth fairy magic.
1. Printable envelopes with receipts to document each tooth loss. Download templates from How Does She.
2. Gold coins. The tooth fairy at my house did manage to dig up one of these babies to go along with some dollar bills. In my super mom fantasy life, however, these are the trademark currency of the tooth fairy; she never leaves paper money.
3. A special tooth fairy pillow, pouch or pocket. This one is literally by Martha Stewart. The second one is from etsy.
4. Visible evidence. My friend Julie told me that at her house the tooth fairy leaves a trace of glitter from the tooth to the window through which she escapes. Magic! I googled and learned that others do this too. (photo source.) Some families have the child leave his or her tooth in a glass of water. In the morning, the water has changed colors and been enhanced with glitter.
5. Non-cash gifts. Select pixies leave a new toothbrush and toothpaste. Cute! Must leave money too, though, because the kids at school will talk.
photo: adwriter on flickr
Do you have any tooth loss traditions?
Those are all painfully adorable!
My oldest has lost three teeth, two on the same day. We made him write a letter to the tooth fairy and put the tooth/teeth in a sealed envelope with the letter. In the morning he gets a sealed envelope with money.
$3 per tooth because the night he lost his first two, Anderson Cooper told me the national average was $2.50 and this tooth fairy despises change.
I feel this whole thing is lame after reading this post, though we have the letters and they are adorable. I heard of someone having a tooth fairy door knob bag so the tooth fairy doesn’t have to chance waking a sleeping child, which is also strategic. The glitter and the sweet pillows though? Love it.
Maybe we’ll have a new tooth fairy for all subsequent teeth. Thanks for the idea sharing!
I have also heard the tooth fairy sometimes leaves the money/present next to their toothbrush in the bathroom if they may be a light sleeper… We haven’t had the tooth fairy visit our house so far, but I guess I need to get on it so it doesn’t sneak up me too!
We never really had any traditions growing up, hopefully I’ll be organized enough to create some with my kids.
I do remember when my mother got her wisdom teeth out. She showed them to my sister who insisted my mother put them under the pillow for the tooth fairy. Imagine my sister’s shock when my mother got $100 for her teeth.
My stepson.. had to get a tooth pulled… it was horrible. He just has horrible panic attacks and hates doctors, dentists… you name it. Anyway… after gas, force and every ounce of bravery one could muster.. he survived. That night he wrote a letter to the tooth fairy….stating that he was keeping it. He’d meant no disrespect but it was a reminder of his personal bravery and accomplishment.. and it was “worth more than anything she could bring..sorry, hope your okay with hearing that!”
Needless to say that the “tooth fairy” wrote him back.. saying he no longer needed her.. that he had grown out of her, and she wanted to leave this money for his strength and honesty. That she was proud of him. We were.
Gina, admittedly I’m very weepy tonight, but this brought tears to my eyes!
@Cerise, That is so sweet!
We have a little ceramic container that has a giraffe(DD’s nursery theme) on top. We plan to have her put the teeth in this and put it by her toothbrush. In the morning, she has money underneath. My parents always did quarters so I plan to do that too. Not sure why but I guess picturing the tooth fairy with a bag of coins is easier than with a wallet full of bills.
Check out my friend Samarra’s AWESOME Toothy the Tooth Fairy plushie pattern. I’m gunning to buy the pattern when my boy is old enough:
http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/710653
Okay, these are pretty cute. Except…. the [top] one where the kid gets to request a certain amount of money from the tooth fairy? That just seems totally wrong to me!
You can get really creative with those pillows!
https://www.etsy.com/listing/90496417/sore-tooth-fairy-pillow
When i was a kid we used to put our teeth in clear glass with water inside. In the morning whatever color the water was, was the color of the tooth fairy who came and got the tooth.
Thanks for the comments and ideas about the tooth fairy. You may want to check out http://www.TinaToothFairy.com, which is my site. I offer a beautiful handmade tooth fairy pillow ( with one of the $1 gold coins!!) plus a note from Teeny Tiny Tina the Teeny Tiny Tooth Fairy. One of my 4 award winning children’s books is about Tina becoming a tooth fairy, and the second Tina book is about her adventures with her pet, named Kat.