5 clever tooth fairy ideas I failed to execute

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 did not have any tooth fairy ideas and simply 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 toothÂ fairy ideas.

1. Printable envelopes with receipts to document each tooth loss. Download templates from How Does She. These tiny letters are super cute and if you want to make them extra special spread a little fairy dust

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.Â The thing I like about the tooth fairy pocket is that it makes it easy for the “tooth fairy” to get to the tooth and swap it out for money. There is nothing worse than searching for a tooth that falls behind the bed in the middle of the night. This first one is literally by Martha Stewart. The second one is from etsyÂ and hangs on the door which is so convenient.

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?

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Whitney

RookieMoms.com co-founder Whitney lives with her husband, son, and daughter in the San Francisco Bay Area where she writes about parenting, crafts, and activities that moms can do with babies in tow. She and Heather also publish 510Families.com, a site for East Bay parents.