Batman Raincoat for Kids

Posted on | March 7, 2012 | Comments Off

I don’t usually recommend clothing items as gifts for kids, but this one is worth making an exception for.

It can be hard sometimes to convince a young boy to wear a raincoat. I know my son sometimes insists on leaving home with no coat on, even though it’s clear this is going to be a rainy day. I’m not sure he minds the cold or rain as much as I do, frankly.

This rain coat is an awesome solution for boys aged 5-8 or so. They love dressing up (Halloween anyone?) and they love their super heros, right? So what’s better than wearing a Batman cape when going out? Who cares if Mom thinks it’s a raincoat?

 

And this is what it looks like from the back -

Is that a neat idea or what?

You can order this wonder at Amazon – click for full details.

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Category: apparel
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Remote Control Flying Shark Balloon

Posted on | February 22, 2012 | Comments Off

No wonder this thing has become an instant hit! Just imagine a huge Great White Shark flying through your home – can you say wow? I admit, it sounds so wild, I wasn’t sure at first if this thing would even work, but apparently it does. There are lots of YouTube videos featuring these inflatable marine balloons, but I chose this one, because it shows you how kids can easily operate it and how happy and thrilled everyone is with its performance. It’s a longish video, so feel free to stop at any point and move on to the rest of this post.

Actually, once you see even just a short sequence of that video, there’s not a lot more to add… You can read the technical details (and the positive reviews) on the product page on Amazon, where you can order this beastly toy (or the clownfish variety) at a very affordable price -

Click for the RC Inflatable Great White Shark

Personally, I like the shark balloon best, because of the potential for homemade versions of Jaws. However, for younger children, the clownfish Air Swimmer may be a better choice -

Click for Flying Clownfish Air Swimmer page on Amazon

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Category: gadgets
Tags: > >

Valentine Gifts for Kids

Posted on | February 7, 2012 | Comments Off

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner! While it started out as a grown-ups kind of holiday, utterly romantic and adult in nature, it has long since become a family favorite, often even celebrated in schools. After all, love is a big concept and is very appropriate for families, albeit with a different flavor.

Speaking of flavors, I think the best and easiest solution for Valentine Day’s gifts for kids would be of the yummy variety. It doesn’t have to be all chocolates either, and it can definitely be something you make at home, with a selection of heart-shaped and other Valentine-themed pans and cookie cutters. In fact, if you celebrate at home, how about a LOVEly breakfast with hearty heart-shaped waffles and heart-shaped pancakes? Don’t forget to involve the kids in making these – it’s fun!

Here’s a Valentines image celebrating some of these wonderful innovative tools of the trade to help you create a perfect Valentines Day breakfast and/or gifts -

You can get all of these from Amazon using these links -

CucinaPro heart waffler

Norpro nonstick heart pancake rings

Valentine Cookie Cutter set (7 pieces)

Ateco Valentine Plunger Cutters

Wilton From The Heart Nesting Cookie Cutter Set

R & M Love 9 Piece Cookie Cutter Set

Valentines Day Cupcake Holder

 

 

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Category: general

A Synthesizer for Kids – the Gift of Music

Posted on | January 5, 2012 | 1 Comment

I still fondly recall the synthesizer I had as a kid. With very little musical talent, I could still produce the most entertaining audio pieces. At least, entertaining to me! I used to spend hours creating what sounded to me like little tunes. Enhanced with built-in rhythms and tones they were, literally, music to my ears!

I can only imagine what more talented children can do with this wondrous instrument. It provides such a wonderful introduction to the world of music, making it into child’s play, for real. The only “problem” with this is competition from siblings and even parents – everyone will want to have a go at playing Mozart.

If you’re looking for a fun educational gift for a kid of any age, the Casio SA-76, the most popular mini synthesizer on Amazon, is now available at a 30% discount. And as always, you can easily sign up for their free s&s program. It’s very popular for a reason. Well, many reasons, actually. Starting with a 100 tones, 50 rhythms and 10 integrated songs provide variety and all with Casio’s seal of quality. Check it out here.

 

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Category: gadgets, general, toddlers
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The Crystal Garden

Posted on | December 22, 2011 | Comments Off

I’m about to remove our little Crystal Garden from the kitchen counter, where various forms of exotic-looking crystals have been growing and flourishing over the past two weeks. Before I do, I wanted to take a minute to recommend this as an absolute gift for kids!

In fact, this kit was a gift to my own son for his eighth birthday, and what a huge success it turned out to be. The kit included several viles and plastic cups, small bottles of liquids and bags of various powders. Assembling the “garden” took about ten enjoyable minutes, where we all got together to play chemists. Then we waited.

The next morning, we woke up to a festive colorful little tree of crystals. The kids were absolutely overjoyed, and pretty much everyone who saw it was impressed. Over the following week, crystals sprouted from the other containers, in more impressive shows of color and structure. Fractals, was just one topic we covered studying together at home, triggered by our Crystal Garden.

So, not for the holidays, by now, but a great gift for winter time, or any time of the year, I can wholeheartedly recommend a Crystal Garden kit.

This kit is great and fairly inexpensive – get it for a colorful garden of nice furry crystals:

And if you want something a bit more elaborate, try this one -

 

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Category: science
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The World’s Wackiest Lego Creations!

Posted on | November 30, 2011 | Comments Off

Lego has been fuelling the imaginative and creative skills of children (and adults) since 1949. Since then Lego estimates that over 300,000,000 children have built something with Lego bricks – including some of the weird and wacky creations listed here! If you’re keen to attempt a record-breaking Lego construction of your own you’ll find the best deals on Lego and Lego Star Wars sets over at the Dooyoo.co.uk site.

The World’s Tallest Lego Tower (So Far…)

Competition between Lego tower enthusiasts is fierce, with several record-breaking attempts made almost every month. Records have been set all over the world, from Germany, to Chile, Denmark, Japan, Russia and Israel. The current record holders hail from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Their record was set in April 2011 with over 6000 participants of all ages working together to build a huge 31.16 m tower using 500,000 Lego pieces.

The World’s Longest Lego Train Track

This new record was set in October 2011 at the Model Building Fair in Ried, Austria. With a train track spanning a phenomenal 1190.88 m, it took the train 44 minutes to complete a full circuit of the track!

Han Solo in Carbonite

The Lego Star Wars range is the most popular Lego range in America, and inspired ingenious Lego artist Nathan Sawaya to create a full-scale replica of Han Solo trapped in carbonite, a famous scene from the original Star Wars movie. Taking more than 3 months to complete, Nathan used over 10,000 Lego pieces to create his astonishing masterpiece.

Lego Harpsichord

This incredible feat of ingenuity and design was constructed entirely from (over 100,000) Lego parts, including the keyboard, plectra, soundboard, bridge, hitch pins, tuning pins, wrest plank, nut, case, legs, lid and music stand. A fully functioning harpsichord, the only parts not created from Lego are the wire harpsichord strings. It took designer Henry Lim more than two years of puzzling, theorising, building and rebuilding to create a Lego masterpiece that weighs in at 150 lb and has a range of 61 notes. Want to hear the Lego harpsichord at work? You can listen to a sample here http://www.oddmusic.com/gallery/om21250.html.

Full Size Lego House

One of the most impressive Lego constructions in history, this remarkable shiny, stripy, two-storey full size home was constructed by a team of over 1200 volunteers. Using a staggering 3.3 million Lego pieces, and not one single drop of glue, the house in Surrey, England was completed in just over a month. Featuring a working toilet, shower and sink, and complete with Lego furniture, Lego kitchen appliances, a Lego stained glass window and even a Lego cat, the house was created for James May’s Toy Stories TV series in 2009.

Image: pauliepaul / Flickr

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Category: general

Five Reasons Why Reading Rabbit is the Perfect Gift for Kids Right Now

Posted on | May 9, 2010 | Comments Off

There’s a reason why this classic computer game/teaching software is a best seller on Amazon right now. Actually, I can think of five good reasons!

  1. Kids love it and will play with it for hours on end.
  2. Parents love it even more knowing their kid is actually learning how to read or do math.
  3. It comes in several levels, so kids can work with the same familiar interface, from per-schoolers to 2nd and 3rd grades.
  4. It works right on your computer. No need for any specific gaming box – just use your PC!
  5. It’s affordable! At the cost of a couple happy meals at McDonald’s you get hours of fun AND learning!

Is it any wonder this is the #1 reading software on the market? oh, and math too…

Check it out here, choose the one that’s best for a child you care about and have it delivered right to your (or their) door.

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Category: computer games, toddlers

Awesome Lawn Water Slides under $50

Posted on | April 27, 2010 | Comments Off

Summer is here. Well, in some places it is, and in others it is fast approaching.

Let me tell you, the absolutely best gift you can give kids for those hot summer days is definitely a lawn-based water slide. It will provide them with hours of fun and exercise, and will be a huge attraction for their friends too (so expect social summer days with those).

You don’t have to take a new mortgage in order to have your own water slide either. Granted, some fancy models like this one cost hundreds of dollars, but kids can have lots of fun with these simple and very popular models:

Wham-O Slip ‘N Slide Double Wave Rider

Hook it up to a garden hose and two kids can race on its slippery slides within minutes. It’s simple, effective, double the fun and right now costs only $30.86 at Amazon.

Splash Wash

Another great opion by Slip’nSlide. Technically, this one isn’t a slide. It’s wet and slippery though, so I think it would make a cool addition for any summer lawn. It’s a “car wash” for kids – let them drive through on their little (non-electrical) vehicles, or just take an outdoors shower in the lawn.

This one is a winner and is available at only $32.99 on Amazon right now.

Intex Recreation Slide’N Fun Play Center

This one may not be very extreme, but it has the benefit of allowing for social play with two separate pools and a slide in between. Kids are bound to enjoy bumping around this one and parents can join in for some fun too. This fairly large unit is currently available at only $44.99.

Banzai   3-In-1 Climb N Slide Falls

My favorite is this large bumpy wet water slide by Banzai. It can used in a swimming pool or as a standalone on your lawn. Either way, it holds the promise of hours of cool wet fun during summer time. Banzai also have larger slides, but this one is available at a small price: only $49.99 for this top-quality water slide on Amazon.

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Category: outdoors
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