Holiday Gifts for Kids 2012

Now that I am carpooling I find myself at the kid's school with D 3 days a week for about an hour before the big kids get out. We have been spending time in the school library playing games and reading books. Recently we came across a cute book The Scrambled States of America. This book awakened a love of geography in D so of course I had to order it. When I was searching for the book I discovered that there was a Scrambled States of America game based on the book so I ordered it. It turned out to be a great game and and D7 and T10 have been having fun playing it.

I found the game Money Bags at The Fun Way to Learn a great website full of non electronic, educational games! It teaches the kids how to count change. T10 enjoys playing it and D7 now knows how to count and identify change. It has also been great for her math skills.

Can you tell I'm really in to games right now? I also found Chocolate Fix a deductive reasoning game  at The Fun Way to Learn and even I like playing it. It says it's for 8 and up but even D7 has been playing it and having a blast. She get so excited each time she solves one of the puzzles.

The Little House box set is one of my all time favorites! I have just started reading these to D7. I read them to T10 and R13 when they were younger and they really enjoyed them. Even Z16 would listen in when I read these books.  I mean what could be more manly than Pa felling his own lumber.  

D7 got the Baggy Bunch Gals for her birthday last year from a friend and she still enjoys taking it out and making a puppet. It has a great selection of things that you can put on your bag to make and decorate your puppet with.

  

Now that R is turning 13 toys are no longer a gift option for her.  Morgan Prather is one of my favorite jewelry designer on Etsy and she makes tiny versions of many of her  earring designs. Don't forget to look at the regular sized versions for yourself!

It's tough trying to figure out what to give a teenager for a gift but I think that American Express Gift Cards are a win win choice. You get to pick out exactly how much you want to spend and they get to pick exactly what they want. They even get to use it like a real credit card at the store!