You know the drill by now, moms and dads.
Every year you promise to get an early start on your holiday gift shopping, but here you are again, just weeks away from Chanukah, Christmas and Kwanzaa, and you haven’t bought a thing for junior or any of the other pint-sized people in your life.
Worse yet, the vast selection of toys, games and gadgetry out there — a mind-boggling maze that seems to grow each year like a wired Chia Pet — has you baffled about where to even start!
We suggest that you get cracking right here and now with our fun-tastic 2011 Holiday Gift Guide, a jam-packed seasonal blockbuster that takes the guesswork out of gift-giving with smart and wallet-friendly items culled from the toy boxes of some of the most innovative manufacturers around. From classic to cutting edge, our editor’s selections are hand-picked for their educational value without skimping on the fun.
The best part? All of them are under $50 and can be bought online, which means you can enjoy a hassle-free holiday!
Award-winning eeBoo produces beautiful, useful and well-made gifts that your wee ones will remember fondly for years to come; (888) 800-1442, www.eeboo.com
• Alphabet Tower (ages 2+, $10)
The ABC’s of life begin with these colorful building blocks, designed to develop your child’s motor skills while promoting language and concept development. Features cute graphics, including monkey, fireman and airplane motifs.
• Gathering A Garden Board Game (ages 5+, $9)
Hurry around to every vendor, so you can be a garden tender. Get your flower, herb and tree, vegetable and bird — they’re free! Your garden is completely done? Get home first, and you have won!
• World Map Puzzle (ages 5+, $7)
Cultivate your child’s world view with this colorful, 100-piece jigsaw — Legends of Icons included.
• Counting Animal Puzzles (ages 3+, $7.50)
These fierce jigsaws add up to great downtime while honing vital math skills. Contains 10 three-piece puzzles with a divided tray for easy storage!
• Mini Playing Cards Classic Card Games (ages 5+, $4-$6)
Raining outside? Deck the doldrums and stack up the good times with a few rounds of Animal Rummy, Hearts, Color Go Fish!, Old Maid, and Crazy Faces (plays like Crazy 8’s).
• Friends Say Hello Tray Puzzle (ages 3+, $4)
Fun learning tray offers food for thought anytime! It’s 15” x 11” and made from sturdy durable board. Also available in “Fruits and Vegetables,” “Wild Mothers and Babies,” “Alphabet,” and other tot-pleasing topics.
• Sunflower Growth Chart ($8.50)
Your self-scrutinizing sprouters can gauge their gains as they inch towards new heights! Also available in baseball field, castle, firemen, musical fairy tree, solar system, and other eye-pleasing backgrounds. They come laminated with a grosgrain ribbon to hang, and stickers to mark special occasions!
Family-run Lakeshore creates inventive, educational materials that spark young imaginations, instill a sense of wonder, and foster a lifelong love of learning — and it all began when Omaha homemaker Ethelyn Kaplan packed up her family and moved to California to open up a toy store in 1954! (800) 778-4456, www.lakeshorelearning.com/Holiday2011.
• Math Quiz Game Shows Interactive CD-ROMs (ages 6-8, for ages 9-11, $14.95)
Can homework really be fun? Count on it by holding instructive game nights right on your computer! Exciting game shows pose more than 200 questions, covering key math concepts. Feature totally awesome animation and sound effects!
• Easy-View Microscope (ages 8-11, $49.99)
Maximize your budding Aristotle’s potential for curiosity with this easy-to-use tool. Offers an exceptionally clear view with a total magnification of 640X, and comes with 19, super-cool accessories, including prepared and blank slides, a Petri dish, tweezers, and collecting vials.
• Lakeshore Magnetic Fishing Set (ages 3-5, $29.95)
Aspiring anglers can fish for the fun with sturdy poles baited with eye-catching magnetic “hooks” to reel in 18 colorful gilled beauties, and other sensational sea critters. They’re weighted to float upright for a trouble-free trawl. Includes four adjustable poles.
• The Allowance Game (ages 5-9, $16.95)
It’s never too early to begin teaching your munchkin about money management! This fun-fueled, fast-paced game for two-to-four players teaches kids how to handle money and make change as they save and spend their allowance.
• My Keepsake Portfolio (ages 2+, $19.95)
Preserve your pint-sized Picasso’s paintings, drawings and other masterpieces in this super-sturdy, handy organizer. It comes with nine expandable storage pockets — large enough for even oversized works! Each has a nifty tab for easy labeling, and there’s even room to label the cover!
• What’s Inside? Soft Feely Box (infant to 3 years, $39.95)
Go on, feel away! Little ones won’t be able to resist getting their mitts into this fleecy and adorable treasure trove — and find out what’s inside! It’s packed with 10 different objects for kids to touch and explore, including a pretty butterfly with crinkly wings and a cute lion with a corduroy coat. Soft and machine washable, too.
Stumped for stocking stuffers? Squinkies, the new, mini doll and pet, accessory and playset line, are squishy, squooshy, squashy and utterly squadorable! www.squinkies.com/boys
• Squinkies Surprize Inside Bubble Packs ($9.99)
Each pack contains 16 collectibles Squinkies individually-packed in a toy bubble! Also includes four hidden “surprise” Squinkies to start or add to a collection!
KaskeyKids sports action figures — winner of Creative Child Magazine’s 2008 Preferred Choice Award! (866) 527-5437, www.kaskeykids.com
• Soccer Girls (ages 3-9, $24.99)
KaskeyKids is ahead of the rest with its first boxed set of sports action figures for girls! Each comes with up to 30 pieces, including two full teams, a washable felt field, accessories and a snazzy storage container, allowing young athletes to recreate games and enjoy imaginary play for hours! Also available in other sports (for the little guy), and don’t forget to check out the Go-Go Sport Dolls, and Bop Bags!
