What are you getting the kids (or grandkids) for Christmas?

leightx · #1 11-21-2009, 10:20 AM

I'm having a heck of a time trying to figure out what to get mine (DD-10, and DS-9) this year! They aren't really into toys anymore, and they're too young / irresponsible for expensive electronics like ipods or cameras (we've tried with cheaper alternatives in the past, and they've been lost or damaged). Anyone have any fabulous ideas I can steal?

shscharles · #2 11-21-2009, 12:26 PM

I have 8 grandchildren and give each something 'cheap & cheerful' and a check ($50.00 each) for their college funds. None of them actually needs anything, and in the madcap crush of Christmas gift opening it all seems to get lost. So this way I feel I've invested in their future.

Girls are easy...nail polish, glitter stuff from the craft store, hair thingys. Boys are a little tougher. We're doing things this year like guitar picks and strings, gift certs for iTunes, that kind of thing.

And for the parents, we all donate to our favorite charities in their names. None of us really needs anything, either. We're happy with enjoying each other's company and having Christmas dinner together.

Merry Everything!

Gumbeaux · #3 11-21-2009, 12:46 PM

Our grandkids are age 6 & 9. We've been throwing around the idea of either getting them a Wii or a netbook. If we get the netbook we probably get the extended and/or spill warranty.

Beth · #4 11-21-2009, 12:48 PM

This year is really tough for us. The boys are 13 and 16 now and their needs and wants are things like a new saxophone (wants a tenor and a soprano -- not really ready to buy either), a small bore trombone (DS isn't asking for this, but I know he wants one for jazz and he made region and area jazz this year and might have made state if he'd understood the process and that he needed another solo ready just a few days later), a gold mouthpiece for jazz trombone, a cup mute, a phone to replace one that is dying, a razor (the 13 yr old -- killing me!) -- none of which they want for Christmas gifts. The xbox is dead and they need that repaired or replaced before the New Year's party, so that may be for Christmas. B&N and iTunes gift cards are always good for them. Maybe movie gift cards too. My 13 yr old has a friend who moved away and he expects her to be here during the holidays. He want to go see a movie with her.

I hope you folks have some other ideas......

Robyncz · #5 11-21-2009, 12:57 PM

Leigh,
My daughters are about the same age as yours and *I KNOW* your pain. Both my girls got nice MP3 players for Christmas last year, and neither one of them has lost it yet. So yay!

My 10 year old wants a netbook, but we have a perfectly functioning desktop for them, so I'm not ready to pull that trigger yet. We're thinking about getting them each a decent digital camera, but we haven't decided for sure yet.

Zoe, the 10 year old, is also getting a sticker machine for her birthday. You may already have one of these for scrapbooking, but I think a girl this age would LOVE it.

Both my girls play instruments (Zoe plays bass guitar and Mia plays guitar) so they'll get some cool accessories for their instruments, too. I'm looking a pocket amplifiers that they can plug into and practice with headphones. The newest models have a line-in for an MP3 player, so they can play along with the songs they are learning and I don't have to hear it. Hooray!

That's all I've got for now!

leightx · #6 11-21-2009, 01:10 PM

Travis plays sports (tennis and baseball), but he really has everything he needs for those. I thought about a nicer baseball bag, but he's sentimentally attached to the one he's had since t-ball - he says he has a lot of memories with that bag!

I found this micro gravity car that chases after a laser - that will probably go on the list.

Abby plays the piano - so no nifty accessories there unfortunately. The pocket amp sounds very cool! I did pick her up this necklace at the Jr. Plague (I mean League) Christmas Affair yesterday. She said she wants some of those stained "glass" kits (clear plastic with see-through paints) from Hobby Lobby, and some color-changing markers, so I'll probably put a little craft box together for her.

DH sells laptops, so we have 5 of them lying around the house...otherwise I like the idea of a netbook.

This is *almost* making me long for the days of Little People.

SusanMac · #7 11-21-2009, 01:58 PM

I've gotten my neice & nephew magazine subscriptions for years. They really like them. (Sports Illustrated Kids, Natl Geographic Kids, Girls Life)

Which brings me to another question.....

My nephew is now 12. I'd like to find a new magazine for him. does anyone have ideas?? Seems like there are more girl options. He loves animals, but is past the Nat Geo / Zoo Books age.

Thx!

shscharles · #8 12-10-2009, 08:36 PM

Robyncz,

Have you found the pocket amplifiers? I mentioned it to DIL who said that would be perfect for the kids...and please, can you tell me where to find this?

Many, many thanks, Sonja.

Robyncz · #9 12-10-2009, 09:16 PM

Sure. I ordered the Pocket Rock-It S1 headphone guitar amplifier ($35.99) for my little guitar player and the Pocket Rock-It S1b headphone bass amplifier ($39.95) for my DD who plays bass.

I found the best price at www.musiciansfriend.com

The S1 isn't their "best" model. There's a really fancy model with lots more effects, but my kids are still really young and I'm not convinced they need all the extra bells and whistles, so I started small.

Good luck!

Robyn

Melman · #10 12-11-2009, 05:23 AM

I hope it's ok to tag onto this question. I'm also struggling for ideas for my nephews (ages 15-7). The 7-year-old is my challenge. He has always been really creative especially when it comes to drawing. Since he's entered the first grade, his drawing has been more infrequent. My brother suggested art supplies or something that would hopefully help keep him interested. He has lots of the obvious - crayons, markers, various papers. Does anyone else have a very artsy child who may have suggestions beyond the typical supplies?
THANKS!

cchhbb · #11 12-11-2009, 06:39 AM

Melman,

Does he like race cars too? I found these great race car stensils at www.ttgo.com. I think the item # was 182. He could use the stensils to design cars and then decorate them.

Cheryl

Melman · #12 12-11-2009, 06:50 AM

Cheryl, he's not so much into race cars as much as wildlife and scenery, but that looks like a great website! Thanks for sharing. There could be some ideas there!

mightyh · #13 12-11-2009, 06:55 AM

bump! Any other great ideas you've found for kids this year? Mine are 7 and almost 10 and I'm running into the same problems. They don't want toys, but don't need expensive tech gear.....

jmarie · #14 12-11-2009, 07:54 AM

My 9 year old niece is into secretarial stuff...and though we don't exchange Christmas gifts, I do give them birthday gifts. Last year she expressed a desire in a paper shredder, everytime she stayed with me she wanted to shred my old mail, and now she is the official shredder for her mom and dad which she loves!

This year, she expressed an interest in my label maker, so I gave her that and she has REALLY enjoyed that.

For Christmas I bought the 9 year old a sweater that has horses on it (she loves horses) from Robs.com. I always give the 14 year old i-tunes cards. She has an i-pod and is getting an touch i-pod for Christmas. I just give the Christmas gifts to her mom for her to give to them.

That scrap-book label-er sounds really cool.

This is a REALLY good thread, THANKS!

jellyben · #15 12-11-2009, 08:46 AM

Santa is being a Scrooge this year at our house. Each kid is getting 1 gift! But they are pretty substantial-DS(12) is getting a cell phone with unlimited texting

, DS(9) is getting a lego set he has been dying for, DD(7) is getting an American Girl doll, and DS(16mos) is getting a Little People airport. I'll round it out with some books and stocking stuffers for each of them, but I just am disgusted by how much stuff they have and how little they care for it and actually use it.

chemistry · #16 12-11-2009, 09:09 AM

Melman- Crayola has a new machine that makes crayons. You can take bits of broken crayon and melt them together to make a new marbled one. It looks like a really great gift for a kid who is in to arts and crafts.

Here's a link:

http://www.crayola.com/products/splash/crayon-maker/

testkitchen45 · #17 12-11-2009, 09:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leightx

She said she wants some of those stained "glass" kits (clear plastic with see-through paints) from Hobby Lobby, and some color-changing markers, so I'll probably put a little craft box together for her. . . . This is *almost* making me long for the days of Little People.

Oh, I LOVE Little People! They're one of the toys we kept for eventual grandkids. Did you know Walmart sells a Little People Nativity set now?

Leigh, how about bottle-cap necklaces for your crafty DD? Klutz Books has a bottle-cap book with all the supplies (it's called Capsters, I think). I ordered that from Amazon, plus three sets/colors of additional caps from another Amazon vendor (very cheap shipping), and picked up some additional glaze (you have to search for it; I can post back with the name if needed) at Hobby Lobby. My DD is nuts about the caps but I refuse to pay $7/cap for someone else's creativity when we can make it together for pennies per cap.

I can't wait to see her face when I give her this stuff.

Speaking of little girls and the Crayola Crayon Maker, does anyone already have/use this (any opinions)? Could be a fun way to recycle old crayons into multicolored new ones.

More little-girl stuff: glittery nail polish & stickers, or magnetic earrings, or some of the Imagine series of video games (they're about being creative & smart, like Artist or Detective; seem cool).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beth

. . . a new saxophone (wants a tenor and a soprano -- not really ready to buy either) . . .

Congrats on the kids' musical achievements! Have you priced saxophones? You'd better be sitting down when you price them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SusanMac

I've gotten my neice & nephew magazine subscriptions for years. They really like them. (Sports Illustrated Kids, Natl Geographic Kids, Girls Life)

Which brings me to another question.....

My nephew is now 12. I'd like to find a new magazine for him. does anyone have ideas?? Seems like there are more girl options. He loves animals, but is past the Nat Geo / Zoo Books age.

Thx!

Does it have to be an animal mag? What about Popular Science, depending on his aptitude & reading level? That's a pretty interesting mag, always full of gee-whiz stuff that various companies are coming out with.

raka1214 · #18 12-11-2009, 09:49 AM

Well - we have a 12-yo boy and an 8-yo boy in the house this year for Christmas and they are getting pretty substantial gifts.

DS - the 12-yo - started in on us early this year saying, "the only thing I WANT for Christmas this year in an iTouch iPod" so we got him the 8gb which holds 1700+ songs which is MORE than enough for him. He is very responsible with his electronic equipment - not so much with other stuff it seems. DH is definitely the giver at Christmas so he's getting some other items as well. The iTouch purchase came with a $50.00 iTunes gift card so that is also one of his gifts, a large art set, a gel pack for the iTouch and a game for the Wii we got last year.

The 8-yo is a foster child and has NOTHING. 12-yo DS has a Nintendo DS and when he plays it in the car FS has nothing to do so we found the Nintendo DS Lite on sale and got it and 1 game for less than we would spend on just the game console itself right now. We also bought him a really neat "backpack" for his new DS and we bought him a Hot Wheels race track.

There are other items as well as stocking stuffers but those are all very inexpensive Dollar Tree items.

TKay · #19 12-11-2009, 12:17 PM

For those who mentioned cameras, we're getting ds (8 y.o.) a DSi with a built-in camera. He wants a camera anyway, and with this one, they can manipulate the pictures. Thought I'd mention it in case anyone's looking for an in-between gift.

For ds #1 (9 y.o.), he's asking for and getting the Beatles Rock Band set. I'm so glad he has a request, because these kids are so difficult to buy for.

gertdog · #20 12-11-2009, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SusanMac

I've gotten my neice & nephew magazine subscriptions for years. They really like them. (Sports Illustrated Kids, Natl Geographic Kids, Girls Life)

Which brings me to another question.....

My nephew is now 12. I'd like to find a new magazine for him. does anyone have ideas?? Seems like there are more girl options. He loves animals, but is past the Nat Geo / Zoo Books age.

Thx!

Susan, Carus publishing (they do Cricket and Ladybug for younger kids) has some great magazines for that age group:

http://www.cricketmag.com/ProductList.aspx?cat=4

gertdog · #21 12-11-2009, 12:33 PM

Oh, and what my kids are getting:

DS1 is 4. He wants a pet rabbit. He is not getting one despite his argument that if we just got rid of the sofa, there'd be room for a bunny cage! But he is getting some Playmobil animals that he asked for, a game, some books about animals, and then I'm not sure what his "big" gift will be since he hasn't asked for anything specific. Going back and forth btw a little kids' scooter and a Playmobil set.

DS2 is 10 months. Board books and a Playskool Busy Ball-tivity center for him!

Oh, and the dog is giving everyone slippers this year.

Gail · #22 12-11-2009, 12:37 PM

I'm relieved to find that our spammer hasn't posted here suggesting cheap Cialis.

Oops. Maybe I shouldn't have suggested that!

leightx · #23 12-11-2009, 12:46 PM

Cialis - it's what everyone wants for Christmas!

Ok, despite my better judgement, we found a great deal on the ipod touches ($150 for the 8GB 2nd generation, which is identical to the new one once you update the software for free), and that is what they are both getting for Christmas this year. That...and that's pretty much it. DH pointed out that they don't have anything like a DS or ipods to play with on car trips, and that it would be cheaper to rent movies for the itouch than to buy them like we've been doing. Plus, I'll put them on my itunes account so I can add all my apps and games to their itouches.

It's been 2 years since we've given DD a portable electronic of any kind (and DS has never had anything), so we're hoping they've matured enough to handle these. The current plan is to make sure they're charging in the living room every night, so we can keep track of them. Any other good tips for keeping track of kids' electronics?

SDMomChef · #24 12-11-2009, 01:02 PM

My kids are getting some odd things -

DSs (11) are getting snowboards and one of my DS really enjoys volunteering at the Humane Society (since DH won't let him get a dog

) and he is getting a sweatshirt from there and their yearly calendar. Both boys are getting the new Nerf Wii game that they will share.

DD (9) is getting art related sets - a pottery wheel, a friendship bracelet kit, a big art box with art supplies and the top flips up to be an easel.

As for keeping the electronics....my kids are not the most responsible w/ their toys. However, they have had their DSs for a year now, and they take very good care of them because they like playing on them so much.

TKay · #25 12-11-2009, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leightx

The current plan is to make sure they're charging in the living room every night, so we can keep track of them. Any other good tips for keeping track of kids' electronics?

My friend pays her kids a penny every time they put their electronics on the charger. This is in the evening before bed. Her kids are much younger, so maybe a nickel is in order for you.

Anyway, they make a fun game out of it, which I think is the point, more than the actual cash value of the reward.

cchhbb · #26 12-11-2009, 01:06 PM

[QUOTE=gertdog;1537153]Oh, and what my kids are getting:

DS1 is 4. He wants a pet rabbit. He is not getting one despite his argument that if we just got rid of the sofa, there'd be room for a bunny cage!
QUOTE]

Either www.ttgo or www.constructiveplaythings.com have toy rabbits that have a cage. I don't have my catalog to check which one, but I'm sure it was one of them.

Cheryl

Robyncz · #27 12-11-2009, 01:40 PM

I just saw this at Amazon.com. If my kids were a few years younger, they'd totally be getting it. . .

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B000FQ9IG6

testkitchen45 · #28 12-11-2009, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robyncz

I just saw this at Amazon.com. If my kids were a few years younger, they'd totally be getting it. . .

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B000FQ9IG6

Wooden sushi!! This is great. My daughter loves sushi, and play food. Hmmmmmmm. How'd you find this, anyway?

leightx · #29 12-11-2009, 02:45 PM

TK - good idea about the bottlecap necklaces - those are great fun! We saw some at the toy store here, and the necklace was black cord with a washer at the end, then the bottlecaps had strong magnets on the back so you could easily switch them out - I thought that was very clever!

Thought I'd share some fun finds that I've picked up for friends' kids (all 8-11).

BuckyBalls - both of my kids went nuts over this at our local independent toy store. I had something similar when I was a kid and played with it all the time - great for those that need something to do with their hands (they're magnetic and fun to squish), or like puzzles (there are instructions inside for making various shapes.

This friendship bracelet "wheel" - DD has one and loves making bracelets, or just really long strings.

Along the same idea - Shrink Art Jewelry. Really, how can you go wrong with Shrinky Dinks?

Hexbug Nano - DS bought one of these with his allowance, and we thought it was so cool I picked one up for his friend. They move around like little bugs, and when the flip over, the quickly right themselves again.

LaraW · #30 12-11-2009, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gertdog

DS1 is 4. He wants a pet rabbit. He is not getting one despite his argument that if we just got rid of the sofa, there'd be room for a bunny cage! But he is getting some Playmobil animals that he asked for, a game, some books about animals, and then I'm not sure what his "big" gift will be since he hasn't asked for anything specific. Going back and forth btw a little kids' scooter and a Playmobil set.

I have an easier time than you, Colin has asked for a roll of tape from Santa

I did want to tell you though, that we got Natalie a scooter when she was 4, and it has held up very well, 2 years later. She didn't ride it much this past summer b/c she got a bike, but Colin has started riding the scooter. This is the one we got:

It is called the Little Red Scooter. Would highly recommend it.

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