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Gifts for School-Aged Kids
Published 12.03.2008 | Permanent Link | Comments (1)
All year long we've been bookmarking and saving notes on our favorite gifts for kids for the holidays. Kids can be tricky insofar as older ones are swayed by their friends and, unfortunately, advertising.
We're trying to take it back to basics, featuring items we believe kids will want even if it's not the flavor-of-the-month item.
Hope you like them as much as we do.
Fashion Plates
Do you remember fashion plates? They were the coolest toy back in 3rd grade. So, we were tickled when we found them to still be available. Now they're called Fashion Designer which is much more sophisticated. Ahh, the times. Simply choose from 12 dress, body, head, and texture templates to create unique combinations. Just think, it's like Project Runway for your youngster.
Sewing Machine
Our community of moms adore exquisitely-handmade items, so why shouldn't their children? In fact, why shouldn't children get the pleasure of experimenting and crafting with a child-appropriate sewing machine all for themselves. This Singer Sewing Machine is a great shared gift item to give to your brood. (For ages 6 and up.)
Virtual Distance Football
Admit it, you have no idea how far your child threw that football. This Virtual Distance Football does the work for you. It's like Christmas for the whole family. You can go back to drinking your hot cocoa and reading your copy of Twilight, instead of keeping your eye on the ball. Huzzah!
Active Life Outdoor Challenge Video Game
The Active Life Outdoor Challenge gets your kids up off their feet and meeting fun physical challenges like jumping logs. It's awesome. You'll enjoy playing on it as well. Heck, you won't even notice the workout you're getting. (Oh, right this is a gift-guide for kids.)
We Cheer Video Game
At first, we wrinkled our nose at the Bratz-looking avatars in We Cheer. But, this game is a lot of fun and ultimately it gets your daughters (and you) moving to fun music. And, then after a while the avatars start looking more Anime than Bratz, that is after you become addicted to this awesome video game.
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- Best Personalized Gifts
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About this column
This is a year-round Holiday column. Kids love Holidays. As parents we have come to appreciate how Holidays seem to help structure our lives. Plus, any excuse to have fun sounds good to us!
We'll admit it, now that we're parents, we secretly look for Holidays to celebrate and between National, Secular, Unofficial and Bizarre Holidays, we think there are enough days out there to keep us inspired every week.
This column will be a place where you can get inspiration for how to enjoy time with your kids. Crafting projects and ideas will be posted on Thursdays by our brilliant contributors (see below). Other fun ideas will be posted here throughout the week as the inspiration hits us!
About our Craft Contributors
Ellen Luckett Baker is the author of the long thread, a blog about handmade goods. She has always enjoyed making things, but the flexibility of staying at home with her two daughters along with the creative inspiration they provide has led her to craft on a daily basis. Combining her love of graphic design and sewing, she has created an Etsy shop selling machine embroidery designs and sewing patterns.
Ellen lives in Atlanta with her husband and two young daughters. She holds a B.A. in Art History and a Master's of Public Administration with a focus in Non-Profit Management.
Cindy Hopper was fortunate to be raised in a family who appreciated the arts. This background led to a Bachelor's Degree in Art Education. With a keen eye for design and color, Cindy has continued her love of art and is now passing her creative skills on to her three children. Cindy's family and friends are the beneficiaries of her passion for fun and meaningful creative projects. Cindy's personal blog, Skip to My Lou, has taken her love of a project to new levels. Postings keep the family busy -– from testing new recipes for holiday treats to designing and building floats for a neighborhood parade to making fabric rolls to hold crayons to creating themed parties. Cindy seems to have an unending supply of ideas for gifts, parties and rainy days.
Marie LeBaron is a 30 something stay at home mom in Utah. Before life as a mother, she graduated with a teaching degree in Early Childhood & Elementary Education, after which she taught four years of Kindergarten. After her first child was born, she decided to read books and sing silly songs at home. She misses the classroom, but she now gets to bring the fun and learning into her home and ours. You’ll see her kids a lot in these projects as they are her guinea pigs and for whom she's creative. You can follow more of her projects at her personal blog Make and Takes.
Brenda Ponnay is a stealthy secret agent who juggles parenthood to her adorable daughter by day and freelance graphic design by night. Whether it's painting, baking, drawing, making castles out of card board boxes or just doing the laundry with flair, Brenda Ponnay has finally discovered (at the ripe old age of thirty-six) that what really makes her happy is being creative every single day.
Brenda lives in Southern California with her husband, daughter, three cats and thirty-seven pet birds. You can read about all her crazy adventures on her personal blog: Secret Agent Josephine.
Disclaimer
This column is only for entertainment purposes. Any recommendations or information provided herein should not be used as a substitute for advice by a trained professional. For a full statement of our site policies, please click here.
Comments (1):
Blog Buddy said:
Thanks for the very cool idea! My four year old LOVES to cut with scissors :)
Posted on December 4, 2008 11:58