Gifts For Kids

We’re at the height of the Ben 10 Craze at our household. I confess, I could never watch an entire episode of this particular show. I think you have to be under 12 or something, to be able to watch it. My sons, aged 5 and 7, are huge fans though, so I know the names of the characters by now and I know what this is:

Yes, it’s the Omnitrix! Which is just about the coolest gadget you can gift a young Ben 10 fan. They’ll be proud enough just to wear it, but it’s also a miniature computer game, with villains showing up on the LCD screen, challenging the player to choose the right alien to fight back. Don’t ask. They’ll know.

Click here for this Omnitrix on Amazon or check out these links for more Ben Ten gifts for kids:

Ben Ten Toys

Ben Ten Video Games

Now that the school year has begun, my kids started asking about having their new school friends over (and vice versa too, of course). I figured this time of year, a great fun gift for school kids would be a new uber cool slumber bag for those overnight stays and slumber parties.

I found these two, “for him” and “for her” at Amazon -

Spiderman Slumber Bag

Disney Princess Slumber Bag

If you’re looking for a unique gift for this time of year, my vote goes to these two! They’re light weight and easy for kids to handle on their own. Machine washable and above all, designed to appeal to the young ones’ hearts. This is not camping gear though, so make sure they’re used indoors only!

This is the perfect time of year for playing outdoors, and I found a great gift idea for those afternoons when you get several kids over and need to disengage them from the TV and computer and get them outside.

Potato Sack Jumping Bags

You don’t even have to get them into a potato sack race (although that is certainly always an option!) Just hand over the bags and watch them hop around giggling. This wonderful set has numbers printed in large clear font over the sacks, along with illustrations, so you can actually use it to teach young children a thing or two about numbers.

I think these would make a great gift when visiting another family with kids. Let yours and theirs mingle while hopping around - can’t beat that!

The Green Angle

Well, they’re sturdy and have years of use in them. I’m afraid I don’t know about the fabric they’re made of, or which colors were used to dye the sacks with.

My son just got back inside after playing with these:

Halex Rack-it-Back Paddle Game

So, just a quick post recommending this real nice set. At under $10, it makes a great gift for kids that like batting balls around. Gives them a nice exercise and a good practice to improve hand and eye coordination. Not suitable for young children, I’d say you have to be at least 7-8 years old (or else exceptionally good with this kind of game).

My kids always ask us “Mom, what’s this stat? Is this Mars?” Fortunately, my DH can identify the planets in the night sky, but if you’re as star-challenged as I am, you’re going to love this nifty gadget.

Celestron SkyScout Personal Planetarium

What an amazing gadget this one is! Absolutely a must for curious young astronomers - I just wish we had stuff like this back when I was growing up! In a nutshell, what this strange looking miracle does is this: you hold it up to the sky and look through it’s telescope lense at a star. This smart box has a built-in GPS that can locate your position here on earth, calculate the angle at which your looking and tell you exactly what it is your looking at! How amazing is that?

Want more? it comes with built-in tours that guide you with arrows through the night sky, wherever you are. Or, you can “ask” this smart telescope stuff like “Where’s Jupiter?” and it’ll guide you with arrows on its screen until you find it in the sky. Pretty amazing and a perfect gift for kids. Older kids and teens will be able to use this one by themselves, while younger ones will definitely need guidance, but hey, what a perfect family evening out!

Click for more about the Personal Planetarium