Guest Picks: A Kid's Holiday Gift Wish List
Kids love magic. Whether tricking their parents or tricking each other, hiding mysteries of the universe is terribly appealing.
This is for the dollhouse-loving artist. It's made of recycled cardboard, and kids color in the house and accessories themselves.
My art-loving self loved paint-by-numbers kits. The more complicated, the better. (I even bought a sort of grown-up version recently, but I haven't had a chance to open it yet. Ah, to have the leisure time of childhood again.)
This set allows kids to decorate and redecorate a collapsible castle however they please.
This globe of constellations is much smaller than it looks (only 5 inches), but it contains the universe — or our visible universe, rather.
Scratch n' sniff stickers! Oh, the memories of childhood are all flooding back: my sticker collection, all those intriguing scents (cotton candy, peppermint, root beer, old socks) from a mere scratch on paper. They're a true technological marvel.
How about these for the kid who doesn't mind socks and underwear under the Christmas tree? Or the ever-polite kid? Or the retro kid born in the wrong decade? I don't know, but I think these hankies are adorable.
It's like Jenga for kids, only with cute animals.
It's about time (pardon the pun) that my kid learned a more accurate idea of "how long 'til...".
I'm including this updated classic on Santa's to-buy list because, while I have no idea why, my daughter has been asking for this game for a year.
While this one may end up in the "what do we do with this now?" pile, it would be cool to watch. Apparently the flowers, trees and snow magically appear with a magical solution over ten hours.
My kid was into yoga for a few minutes. If she becomes reinvigorated, she'll need her own mat.
This is for superhero kids, and it also comes in plenty of colors and styles for boys and girls. Plus, there are accompanying wrist bands, wands and masks.
To wet their exploration whistle, this beginner telescope comes in a variety of colors and is rather affordable.
This is such a pretty brush to add to a girl's vanity. Or in my daughter's case, a girl's bathroom drawer.
I got animal slippers one year for Christmas, and I remember them fondly. And I believe this is a big step up from a box of socks and underwear.
This pirate map kit even comes with skull and crossbones wax seals.
I'd kind of like this felt accessory kit for myself.
These stackable, buildable crayons are pretty dang clever.
This kit has all the step-by-step instructions and tools for the young artist to remake the classic.
It's time for roller skates, I think. Remember roller rinks? The disco lights? The skating backwards?
While this carpet is more than I'd spend on my own kid, I was oddly obsessed with floor plans when I was younger. I'd have loved this.Next: 11 Kids' Beds Built in Dreamland
I'm thinking of getting my niece, who very much reminds me of me at her age, started with the latch hooks. I was obsessed as a kid — Garfield, kittens, rainbows, lions, anything latch hook. I wonder what happened to all those mini rugs. They'd make great throw pillows today. (I'm about half serious, mind you.)
Q