Smaller children’s gifts to captivate and occupy.
Encourage Creativity
Top: Classic Tin Kaleidoscope – Some things never get old. You remember the drill: Look through the eyepiece and hold the kaleidoscope up to the light. Rotate the end to send the colored beads spinning. Invented in 1816, the kaleidoscope was meant to inspire artists and designers. Think of it as a fresh way of showing them how to see. 7.12 x 2.12 x 2.12” $6.99
Bottom: Animal Crayons – ‘Still love these. 12 great looking plastic crayons, each topped with an animal head. Plastic is apparently cleaner and easier to use than traditional wax crayons, creating smooth, rich colors on Paper while keeping hands clean. 4.5h x .5w x .75″d. $12.00 If I were you, I’d put drawing paper under the tree.
Holiday Wearables
Left: Jingle Bell Slap Bracelets (Set of 4! two red, two green) Big jingly bells attached to snap on bracelets with velvety covering. Approx. 8″L= expandable, but perfect size for small wrists. Nikki (7) wouldn’t take hers off it delighted her so, though mom is trying to convince her to put it away until the holiday. Karen (9) was more mature. As she received two, she decided to give one to her bff and hide hers until then.$13.98
Right: Christmas Lightbulb Necklace – A cool and original accessory. The necklace of traditional bulbs flashes and blinks—fast, slow, and anywhere in between. Includes 3 button cell batteries. A great piece to show off to friends and relatives. I couldn’t press Mollie to give this to her daughter before Christmas Eve, but she thought it was a terrific holiday accessory and is primed to shoot family photos with the necklace. Two other moms to whom I showed it have ordered the piece, one for a niece, the other an office grab bag. $9.98
Left: Fairy Bear Ornament – Ok, this one’s for the tree. The custom-designed 4″ ornament is the first in a series of annual ornaments and celebrates charitable participation of Chasing Fireflies Cares. Each purchased fairy will result in a $1.00 donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®. $4.97
Right: Personalized Santa Hat – Encourage your little one to become an official Santa helper with this all hers or his hat. Luxuriously soft hat trimmed with thick fleece. Any child’s name embroidered (maximum 10 characters). One size fits most. Polyester. Machine wash. $22.00 There’s also a doll-sized version $10.00
Science? Fantasy?
Clockwise: The Best Paper Airplane On The Planet – There must be someplace off which these planes can be launched. Simple step-by-step instructions for folding “the Nakamura Lock” (the absolute best design for paper airplanes, no kidding), tips for fixing ornery flight patterns (like the “serious hook” and the dreaded “flip over and crater”), some basic physics explaining how planes fly and thirty-five aerodynamic, colorfully patterned sheets of 8½”x11″ paper (with the crucial first fold already in place). $12.95
Golden Princess Crown– Pretty crown – unlicensed (no specific Disney character!) so your little royal can make up her own story. Made with a double layer of soft gold fabric with a cushion layer in between (to hold the shape.) Elastic band secures it under her chin. From the pearls at the peaks to the feathers at the base, details enchant. $8.79 One Size Fits Most Ages 3-8
Coggy Game – For those who like a challenge, budding engineers, and mathematicians. Shape-shifting puzzle twists, clicks, and turns so that 16 colorful gears match pictures on challenge cards. (Flip it over and there are black and white gears to solve) Kind of like Rubic’s Cube. The ‘toy’ is labeled 6& with various levels of difficulty. On the way to 9 year-old Christine, I let 5 year-old Seth give it a try. He did pretty well with a few of the apparently easier configurations, but then he’s precocious. Sister Chris went immediately to harder ones. I left her stumped at one. $14.98
Bottom Right: Backyard Safari Magnifying Glass – Burgeoning scientists and nature explorers will love this portal into what’s just beyond our field of vision. mIchel is addicted to The Museum of Natural History so this was a sure hit. Unwilling to wait for a foray into Central Park, he began looking at all sorts of things in the apartment from Sam (the dog), to potted plants. Easy grip handle sized for the young. Crystal clear lens with 4x magnification. Carabiner hook – Attach to a bag or backpack .$6.95
Look Down, Look Sharp
Left: Tap Dancing Made Easy – Just slip these colorful rainbow ribbons over any pair of kid-sized shoes and hear realistic tapping noise made by the shoes’ plastic soles! The strap wraps all the way around so any step sets off clickers. Encourages dancing (and coordination). Jane is already in dancing school- ballet, so tap is not unfamiliar. She took to this set immediately, clip-clopping around the kitchen experimenting with sounds. (Other kids might be shown a film excerpt to get the idea.) They suggest ages 3-6. I’m waiting for an adult size. $14.98
Right: Bright Lights Shoelaces – You may have to run around the house turning room lights back on. Any youngster will appreciate these distinctive laces. (Perfect for rap/hip hop or just individual distinction.) LED-lit laces feature four different settings: light ON, blink fast, blink slow, and light OFF. Durable, weatherproof, and hand-washable. Approx. 40″L; choose White, Pink, Blue, or Green. $12.98—two or more $9.98@
Stockings, Big and Small
Left: Jingle Bell Elf Pants Personalized Stocking – Are these neat or what?! Measures 11″Wx14-1/2″Lx2″D. Available in red or green, red or green stripes, red or green polka dot or red or green chevron designs. 100% polyester and cute as, well, an elf! $34.99 Optional personalization.
Right: Super-Sized Red Velveteen Stocking with White Fur Cuff – Fit everything in one stocking! Also great for long gifts like baseball bats, portable piano keys, fishing rods, skateboards…A whopping 36” and a hoot. $14.98
Top photo: Bigstock
The items featured in this article have been chosen by the editors of Woman Around Town simply because we like them and think you may, too. No advertising fees have been paid to Woman Around Town for this article.
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