Parenting

Christmas Gifts for Kids

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Let’s take about Christmas.

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Jim Weiss is a story-teller. We have a complete set of his CDs and they are worth every penny. My kids listen to them over and over again. I love the way that they have become familiar with myths and classics in a completely non-intimidating way. (I also love their vocabulary words they pick up.) I think one of the enduring images of my kids’ childhood will be them playing Legos and listening to Jim Weiss. Your public library probably has one or two you can sample. Ages 4-adult.

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This is my favorite card game, even though it makes my head hurt. It’s a little hard to explain, but you can see the directions here. This game is so much fun. Ages 7-adult.

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Slamwich is a wonderfully fun game: fast-paced and goofy. This is great to play with a small group of kids. Ages 4-12.

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I’m as cheap a skate as you’ll find, but Legos are the one toy that I don’t mind paying through the nose for–and they are quite pricey. They get a lot of use in this house and are so great for creative play. May I suggest that you put an old sheet on the ground before the kids dump them out? Makes them much easier to clean up. (I doubt there is a parent in the land who doesn’t know what a Lego to the bottom of the foot feels like.) Ages 4-12.

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A final note: I think Amazon has done something positively brilliant: they have introduced frustration-free packaging. I suspect this will be huge for them–none of those evil metal twist ties or plastic clamshell packages.

So–what are the favorites at your house? And what are your kids getting for Christmas?

17 comments for “Christmas Gifts for Kids”

  4. Jim Weiss. I just wish he wouldn’t drop his voice at the end of every sentence. I can’t hear the final word of so many sentences.
    Love lego here. My son has to keep them on an area rug. It will be a sad day when baby starts crawling. We’ll have to move them to a card table.
    What is the name of your favorite card game? I love games!

  5. SET. And it is my favorite game, too. We play it competitively or cooperatively as the mood strikes.

  6. Lego is easily the best toy in the world because it’s creative, fun at any age, and it’s reusable. Kids outgrow age related toys or lose interest in a brand but Lego is always appealing because they can make what they want. Lego is the only toy my 11-year-old plays with that he got when he was four. I agree it’s a bit pricey but no other toy offers the same longevity value and it’s still less than video games.

    We love playing the game “Last Word” as a family. It lets everyone think out loud. I also don’t hink you can go wrong playing the card game Uno.

  7. That Slamwich game looks fun!

    My tween- and teenage kids make fun of Jim W. now. It’s pretty funny. But there was a time that several of them couldn’t fall asleep without the “Good Night” or “Sweet Dreams” disc playing.

    We have 6 cubic feet of Lego. Just yesterday, my sixth-grader built a 12″ square pyramid, complete with burial chambers, air passages, etc (for a school assignment). Great fun.

    But my tolerance for games and toys with little pieces diminishes with each passing year. Last year we decided to get one nice gift per kid, preferably something non-messy. This year all my kids are getting one-piece techie toys, including an XBox 360 for my oldest boys and a laptop for my high-school daughter. Been saving up my Amazon certificates all year.

  8. Modeling beeswax from Rosie Hippo, all the fun of childhood sculpture without the stink and mess of playdough.

    Hats…vests… big colorful squares of fabric…. for dress-up, of course.

    Settlers of Catan, we play House Rules with our 6 and 8-year-olds… they like to build roads to each other intentionally, it becomes a community building game.

    Cheap, kid friendly digital cameras.

  9. my kids are getting bikes – they’re 2, 3, and almost 6 and nobody has one. the littlest will get a Skuut, that’s a wooden balance bike, no pedals.
    then, mostly the usual – puzzles and books and clothes.

  17. Those are some good ideas! And Legos are such a classic!!

    Have you ever heard of naming a star in the sky for your kid?

    I think such a great gift for younger kids is a Shining Stars World membership…your child gets to name two stars in the sky that are uniquely their own, and then they get 2 shining stars pets, which they name, give personality traits to and then explore the web world of Shining Stars; where they can play games, earn glow points, and build their own star world! I purchased them for my niece and nephew last year and they thought it was the coolest gift ever!!

    I totally recommend checking it out!

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