Gifts kids won't expect
Buying for youths, often savvy consumers, leaves many adults waving a white flag. But don't surrender just yet.
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Basement bargains: Have some space? Think air hockey, foosball, Ping Pong. The simple, traditional games were staples of the American rec-room childhood. They're also cheaper now. (You can spend as little as $60 for a mid-size Hydro Foosball Table at Sears.)
Books: Sorcerers' stones and goblets of fire pervade children's literature now. (See Harry Potter books one through four.) Other top titles include "Skellig" by David Almond, and Louis Sachar's "Holes." An established classic: "Where the Red Fern Grows," by Wilson Rawls, about a boy's adventures living on his own during the Great Depression.
Construction: Blocks and Legos are simple and timeless - and constantly improving. Archiblocks, available in many educational toy stores, let kids build structures of Egyptian, Roman, or postmodern design, among other periods. Lego-block sets have grown increasingly elaborate over the years. (Builders can now construct remote-control vehicles.) Three-dimensional puzzles offer a similar function. Picture a miniature Sistine Chapel on the coffee table. Some parents suggest buying David MacAuley's classic book "Castle" for additional inspiration.
Globes: Interactive globes are becoming popular learning tools for a nation in want of geographic knowledge. LeapFrog's Explorer Globe (www.leapfrog.com) announces the names of countries, capitals, continents, and oceans in response to the touch of a wand. It even compares populations, land areas, and cultures.
Music Remix machines, from the DM2 Music: Remix machines, from the DM2 Digital Music Mixer (www.mixman.com) to the "Reason" virtual sound studio (www.propellerheads.se/products) can free the inner DJ in many children. A more traditional route: the Schoenhut 30-key Baby Grand Piano, available at www.niftycool.com.
Pen knife: A basic carving knife is fundamental to a life of boy scouting, and general galavanting in woods, on a hike, or just in the back yard. Look in any camping or Army Navy surplus store.
Science: Chemistry kits can often overwhelm. Three options from www.discoverychannelstore.com are a bit simpler and more task specific. The Rock Tumbler Set helps kids polish rocks for jewelry or just burnish a stone for collecting. The Macro Microscope enlarges objects from 20 to 400 times, enabling children to look at the cell walls of plants or slides of insects. For celestial wonders, consider the Home Planetarium, which can display images of 10 constellations and seven planetary systems on the ceiling.
Sewing: A Quick-to-Knit Scarf kit comes with two wooden needles, mohair-wool yarn, and full instructions. Buy it at www.niftycool.com. The Woolery (www.woolery.com) sells knitting and needlepoint kits for beginners, as well as a spinning wheel.
Spy games: The "trickledown" from military technology has already reached the 'tween market. Night Vision Goggles, at www.discoverychannelstore.com, can help venturesome kids see their way to the bathroom - or snoop on a dinner party next door. They can be aided by the Supersonic Ear 2, an electronic listening device that picks up sounds from far away, even through windows. Find it at www.niftycool.com.
Visual art: Most art-supply stores carry wooden chests with coloring pens, pencils, paper, and other tools for those even with just an inkling of artistic talent. Watercolor sets and tile-making kits are ubiquitous. Magnetic Mosaics let kids create replicas of designs from ancient Greece, using 2,000 foam magnets, a square foot playing surface, and fold-out history sheets. Find the mosaic kit at www.mfa.org/shop.
Wildlife 'adoption' Wild Animal Adoption Kits, available at www.discoverychannelstore.com, let children "adopt" a dolphin, eagle, panda, or sea turtle, among other animals living in zoos or wildlife sanctuaries. The child eventually receives a color photo of the animal being helped, information, posters, and other trinkets. Defenders of Wildlife runs a similar "adoption" program. Kids who would rather bring living creatures right into the home have an option, too: Nifty Cool's Butterfly Garden ($19.99) lets them construct a butterfly house in which live caterpillars received by mail form chrysalids and then hatch.
