Gifts For Kids

Animal rescue associations have done a good job educating the public about this issue, and still, it never hurts saying it again - pets do not make good gifts. A cat, a dog, and even a hamster or a turtle, all require a great deal of commitment. They can be messy and smelly, and require cleaning after and a great amount of patience. Their life span is another consideration, making this a truly long-term commitment. Last, but not least, individual cats and dogs may have different character traits and need to be carefully matched up with their adopting families, something that is best done at the shelter with the entire family present.
Still, there is a way to surprise a kid with a new pet, one that won’t make any noise or smell and won’t require any training whatsoever. It is a great way to bring nature inside the children’s room for a season and no more. I’m talking about pet insects! There are several options out there, with ready-made beautiful kits allowing kids the experience of raising an insect from egg to adult, watching the fascinating life cycle. Working with the kid’s parents, this can become a wonderful lesson in caring for a pet, without unexpectedly committing anyone for 20 years of pet care. Who knows, with any luck, some kids may just adore looking after their pet, enough to convince their parents that a canine or feline friend is just what they need!

First, you have the classic ant hill - a great variation on the all time favorite ant farm, allowing for hours upon hours of careful observation of these fascinating creatures. It’s visually appealing and makes a great addition to any kids room. Most importantly, those ants are sealed inside, allowing the entire family to enjoy some ant watching without fear of a home invasion.

Fancy something prettier? I loved the Lady Bug Land kit, where you can grow over a dozen cute lady bugs from egg to adult and watch them in this nicely sculpted habitat. It even comes with magnifying viewing lens, so kids can watch the smallest of detail and share the experience. The habitat itself is so pretty, it reminded me of a doll house. What a great way to get kids to watch these creatures for hours on end.

And if that’s not pretty enough for you… how about the butterfly garden set? Those majestic flying critters can be a source of delight both as entomological subjects, as well as just beautiful fluttering pretty things you can stare at for hours. And just to clarify, no matter which insect kit you choose to gift, there are no live critters in there when you buy it. Inside your carefully wrapped gift lies a mail-in certificate for the larvae to start the amazing cycle of life with.

I came across this one today, and immediately thought “wow, this one is for the blog!”

Kids love music. Ok, kids love anything loud and noisy, and they’re musical tastes aren’t always, ummm, fully developed… They do love having their own “stereo” and with this cool round design in bright red, yellow and black, this Disney Boombox makes a wonderful addition to any children’s room.

I have to say, there is something so classic about those round lines, and the Mickey Mouse silhouette created by the black buttons, that this particular item would be my first choice for any kid, aged between 3 and 12. However, Disney does offer some other designs, with some of the more popular brands of today’s children’s favorite Disney movies. The two that you can’t go wrong with are -

The Disney Princess Jewelry Box/CD Boombox for any young lady who is into pink, fairies and princesses.

The cool and cute Disney’s Cars Boom Box where you have Lightning Mcqueen himself playing your kid’s favorite CD’s, where the speakers are actually the rotating car wheels!

Growing up, I had a huge collection of plush stuffed animal toys. I just loved arranging them all neatly on my bed. I have to say, in later years, as a teenager, what kept me tidying up my room was me wanting to see my beautiful plush toys all neatly arranged in the proper setting.

I love browsing the shelves of stuffed animal toys today as well. And I thought I would share my findings here, as some of the more unique plush toys make perfect gifts to girls of all ages. All small children, and even babies, love stuffed animal toys, but I think that if you go for something which is unique, plush and pretty, it is likely to be a winner with girls in later years as well. So, here are some ultra cute unique finds. Click on the pictures to get to their page on Amazon for the full specs.

One word, before I start my parade… I realize that Webkinz are the most popular plush stuffed toys around. I actually LOVE Webkinz myself so much, that I’m going to dedicate a whole special post just to them. This post is about unique stuffed animal toys by other makers though, so here goes, these won my heart and I think would make excellent gifts -

I absolutely adore these, and you know why? because they are unique and have character. For a child, or even a teenager, one of these can easily become a special friend. Not just another teddy bear, these plush toys are memorable and easy to get attached to. Click on any of the images to get to their product page on Amazon.

Recently, a five year old girl managed to surprise me when I asked her what she would like to have for her birthday. Her reply was: “a laptop”! Her Mom - a good friend - explained later that both parents had laptops and Cloe would often watch them work on their respective sleek mobile computers all over the house. No wonder that she wanted one for herself!

With her birthday coming up, I told her Mom that I will get Cloe a laptop. You should have seen the look on her face She only calmed down after I assured her that Cloe’s lap-top will be a toy, suitable for her age, and not something she could actually surf the Internet with (yes, like many other kids her age, she CAN surf the net).

Apparently, Cloe isn’t the only child out there wanting her own fake lappie. With quite a huge selection available in the stores, it has become quite a popular toy for kids. And it’s more than just a piece of plastic too. These gadgets come equipped with built-in electronics that can supply hours of entertaining and even educational playtime.

The one I bought Cloe was this gorgeous Bratz Laptop. It is such a pretty girlie gadget, it made her mom jealous As you can see in the picture, the screen itself is rather small, but that didn’t stop the little girl and her friends from spending hours playing on it, so I’m told.

Is this an educational toy? I think it is. On top of the learning skills required for operating the games, I think that the very sense of “owning” their own computer is good for children at this day and age. I am sure Cloe will be spending countless hours on a real laptop someday, and hey, I was the one who introduced her to that wonderful world of typing!

Click here for the product page on Amazon where you can find a full review of the Bratz Laptop

Spending some time browsing the toys and games section at Amazon, I decided to see which items were the most popular. Sorting them by popularity, one thing sure did catch my eye. Among every conceivable Webkinz  critter, the Zingo card game and other fashionable kids toys, I found two classical items, that would have been a perfect gift for me back during my childhood, as much as they’d make a perfect gift for my kids today: Star Wars Lego models!

This all times classic is perfect for young boys and girls, and probably for their parents as well Lots of potential for quality parent-child time, so make sure the recipient’s parents are cooperative and not too possessive! Some of those models definitely are complex and challenging, so make sure the child isn’t too young. While the manufacturer’s recommended age group is six years and over, I think most six years olds would find these intricate models too difficult to put together on their own.

The most popular model?  this nifty 81 pieces model of a real cool Star Wars Imperial Dropship

Why this particular model and not others? I’m not sure really. I guess I’m not enough of a fan. But if you’re looking for a cool gift to make both kids and parents happy, especially parents who grew up in the 70’s and 80’s and were Sci Fi fans, this one has to be a winner!