StarHalo
Flashaholic
It's that time of year again, time to pick out gifts for friends and loved ones, which has over time come to mean "pick up some gift cards at the drug store." But if you'd be interested in being that one thoughtful gift giver who has somehow come up with an incomparably awesome gift that stands out, I offer my expertise of handling several thousand of the hottest and most unique items daily as an Amazon.com employee, all neatly categorized in this handy gift guide.
You already know to get your adult male recipients flashlights, and the rest of this site is already dedicated to steering you right in that regard; this Cafe thread is about buying for those difficult family/household items, and for the girls and boys for whom a hot toy might be more memorable than a flashlight. Everything is in the ~$25 range, so each item is priced on par with what you would have been spending on a gift card. I may amend the offerings over time, and you are of course welcome to post your own findings and ideas to further enlighten the confused gift-giver. Click the item title above the image to go to the item's sale page.
Family/Household:
Cool Tools: A Catalog of Possibilities
A giant 400+ page catalog of the most unique and interesting items and ideas centering around tools and getting things done; very similar to the Whole Earth Catalog, but even broader in scope with 10+ years of curated content from the Cool-tools.org blog. 1,500+ items from maps to vehicles to other catalogs - on the first two pages: A book on reducing clutter, a catalog of Amish clothing, an international Amazon.com shopping service, a price-tracking service, a non-electric tools catalog, and more, more, so much more. A catalog so good that it can be a coffee table book, just be warned that randomly opening to any page will leave you browsing for an hour and taking notes.
Eneloop Power Pack:
This one hedges on the ~$25 rule just a bit, but hey, it's Eneloops. A whole presentation case of them, ready-to-go out of the box with everything needed for the complete rechargeable novice; cells, sleeves, and a charger that can indeed charge individual cells, with individual indicator lights. The Eneloop all-in-one full-meal-deal, all the toys will have batteries at the ready Christmas morning..
Fluxx Card Game:
It starts out so simply, draw a card, play a card. But the rules are on the cards, so as you're playing the game, the game changes - you're not even playing the same game as the game progresses. The goal of the game: Also on the cards, so that changes too. You may have been a play away from winning, then someone changed the goal, or perhaps you can change the goal to your favor.. An awesome chaotic time-waster for the whole family, since there's no one strategy that can help you win, even if you play for some time, it's anyone's game!
Lucky Charms Marshmallows, One Pound Bag:
It's a one pound bag of the marshmallows from Lucky Charms cereal. Charms in your latte, Charms on your ice cream, Charms on your bran cereal that didn't have marshmallows, oh the possibilities..
Boys:
UDI Remote Control Nano Quadcopter:
Yes, this meets the price guideline. A minuscule 3.5" square LED-lit R/C drone, everything included to charge, fly, and repair out-of-the-box. While there are many variations of this kind of nano-quadcopter, this particular model includes the propguard - you can fly this copter directly into a wall and it will bounce off harmlessly, whereas without the guard, even the mildest brush against an object will cause the affected rotor to eject and then a skydive crash (which will usually eject more rotors.) This model's remote also has a three-setting switch for numbing the controls, so the normally skittish-touchy joysticks are much easier to adjust to for new flyers.
Nerf Sledgefire:
Dart guns are a wee bit more advanced in the 21st century, which certainly holds true for this dart shotgun - three round speedloader clips held in the stock drop directly into the breech, and with a manual pump, you're ready to send a trio of rounds ~30 feet downfield with knock-over-cans energy. Guaranteed to make other playtime weaponry seem completely boring in comparison.
Carson Micromax 60x-100x LED Pocket Microscope:
A microscope in your pocket ready for any adventure; technically a Barlow lens/Terrest-Magni eyepiece with an LED light and zoom control, you just press this device against any surface and look through the eyepiece for instant microscopy. Particularly awesome with insects and currency anti-counterfeit features.
High Performance Cars Coloring Book:
A simple coloring book where the author has taken actual photography of cars and Photoshopped them to remove color spaces; unlike other coloring books where you're coloring cartoon images, these are actual photos of cars to color in, a very cool idea.
Turbospoke Bike Muffler:
A sport muffler-shaped resonant chamber attached to the rear of a bike frame, holding a card that rubs against the spokes producing a throaty two-stroke sound. Makes onlookers do a double-take trying to figure out why a bicycle has an exhaust system, and wait until you see the reaction from the other kids on the block..
Metal Earth 3D SR-71 Blackbird Model:
The legendary Skunkworks Habu, rendered here laser-cut into metal cards; punch out the parts, shape, and attach together. A unique challenge for the detail-oriented older kids, quite the conversation piece for kids of all ages when complete. Completely flat packaging fits nicely into a greeting card.
Makedo Playhouse:
Got a kid who plays with the boxes as much as the toys? Just make the boxes into a toy - this kit includes blueprint instructions, clips, hinges, stickers, and a plastic safety saw so kids can help shape up the containers left over from all the presents into a nicely appointed playhouse/fort, just add cardboard. Lots of possibilities with this one, aside from how they choose to decorate it, you will of course consider lighting..
Girls:
Frozen Carry-All Tin:
Elsa, Elsa, Elsa; Holiday shopping for girls this year is all about Frozen, and this nicely built tin is a standout in the category. All metal construction like a lunchbox (and lunchbox-sized), the Arendelle sisters printed front and back with a jeweled and beaded handle just for flair - this particular box is an eye-catcher quality-wise, and comes across like a Disneyland-exclusive item that you'd only find at the park.
Discovery Kids Motorized Pottery Wheel:
An all-in-one home pottery wheel kit, includes the clay and even the paint to decorate. Cups, vases, pencil holders await. Girls love the paint-your-own-pottery stores, now she can say, "We have that at home."
Monster High Make-Up Sketch Portfolio:
A very clever take on the coloring book, providing bust illustrations of the Monster High girls for coloring, adding sheets of jewelry/feature stickers and templates for colorful paint-like designs. Many of the images are repeated several times over, so your aspiring cosmetologist can try different designs on the same girl.
Frozen Complete Story Playset:
Dolls are always a tricky buy since you probably don't know which ones she already has; skip that and just get one of each - this action-figure playset includes all the major characters from the film, an entire group of kids can pop open the box and begin recreating the movie immediately. Link is to Wal-Mart as Amazon third-party sellers are too pricey.
Break Your Own Geodes Kit:
Put rocks in your kid's stocking - there's no better geology lesson than one where you get to harvest your own glittering, colorful crystals. A brief application of dad's hammer (don't forget dad's safety glasses) and it's a jackpot of gemstones as seen at your local mall or county fair. An included guide helps you properly identify your newfound lode.
Melissa and Doug Play House Sticker Book:
The Sims in two dimensions; a book of household rooms/scenes complete with vinyl re-stickable stickers, so your child can create their own story or just play house. Ideal for the back of the car or the plane.
You already know to get your adult male recipients flashlights, and the rest of this site is already dedicated to steering you right in that regard; this Cafe thread is about buying for those difficult family/household items, and for the girls and boys for whom a hot toy might be more memorable than a flashlight. Everything is in the ~$25 range, so each item is priced on par with what you would have been spending on a gift card. I may amend the offerings over time, and you are of course welcome to post your own findings and ideas to further enlighten the confused gift-giver. Click the item title above the image to go to the item's sale page.
Family/Household:
Cool Tools: A Catalog of Possibilities
A giant 400+ page catalog of the most unique and interesting items and ideas centering around tools and getting things done; very similar to the Whole Earth Catalog, but even broader in scope with 10+ years of curated content from the Cool-tools.org blog. 1,500+ items from maps to vehicles to other catalogs - on the first two pages: A book on reducing clutter, a catalog of Amish clothing, an international Amazon.com shopping service, a price-tracking service, a non-electric tools catalog, and more, more, so much more. A catalog so good that it can be a coffee table book, just be warned that randomly opening to any page will leave you browsing for an hour and taking notes.
Eneloop Power Pack:
This one hedges on the ~$25 rule just a bit, but hey, it's Eneloops. A whole presentation case of them, ready-to-go out of the box with everything needed for the complete rechargeable novice; cells, sleeves, and a charger that can indeed charge individual cells, with individual indicator lights. The Eneloop all-in-one full-meal-deal, all the toys will have batteries at the ready Christmas morning..
Fluxx Card Game:
It starts out so simply, draw a card, play a card. But the rules are on the cards, so as you're playing the game, the game changes - you're not even playing the same game as the game progresses. The goal of the game: Also on the cards, so that changes too. You may have been a play away from winning, then someone changed the goal, or perhaps you can change the goal to your favor.. An awesome chaotic time-waster for the whole family, since there's no one strategy that can help you win, even if you play for some time, it's anyone's game!
Lucky Charms Marshmallows, One Pound Bag:
It's a one pound bag of the marshmallows from Lucky Charms cereal. Charms in your latte, Charms on your ice cream, Charms on your bran cereal that didn't have marshmallows, oh the possibilities..
Boys:
UDI Remote Control Nano Quadcopter:
Yes, this meets the price guideline. A minuscule 3.5" square LED-lit R/C drone, everything included to charge, fly, and repair out-of-the-box. While there are many variations of this kind of nano-quadcopter, this particular model includes the propguard - you can fly this copter directly into a wall and it will bounce off harmlessly, whereas without the guard, even the mildest brush against an object will cause the affected rotor to eject and then a skydive crash (which will usually eject more rotors.) This model's remote also has a three-setting switch for numbing the controls, so the normally skittish-touchy joysticks are much easier to adjust to for new flyers.
Nerf Sledgefire:
Dart guns are a wee bit more advanced in the 21st century, which certainly holds true for this dart shotgun - three round speedloader clips held in the stock drop directly into the breech, and with a manual pump, you're ready to send a trio of rounds ~30 feet downfield with knock-over-cans energy. Guaranteed to make other playtime weaponry seem completely boring in comparison.
Carson Micromax 60x-100x LED Pocket Microscope:
A microscope in your pocket ready for any adventure; technically a Barlow lens/Terrest-Magni eyepiece with an LED light and zoom control, you just press this device against any surface and look through the eyepiece for instant microscopy. Particularly awesome with insects and currency anti-counterfeit features.
High Performance Cars Coloring Book:
A simple coloring book where the author has taken actual photography of cars and Photoshopped them to remove color spaces; unlike other coloring books where you're coloring cartoon images, these are actual photos of cars to color in, a very cool idea.
Turbospoke Bike Muffler:
A sport muffler-shaped resonant chamber attached to the rear of a bike frame, holding a card that rubs against the spokes producing a throaty two-stroke sound. Makes onlookers do a double-take trying to figure out why a bicycle has an exhaust system, and wait until you see the reaction from the other kids on the block..
Metal Earth 3D SR-71 Blackbird Model:
The legendary Skunkworks Habu, rendered here laser-cut into metal cards; punch out the parts, shape, and attach together. A unique challenge for the detail-oriented older kids, quite the conversation piece for kids of all ages when complete. Completely flat packaging fits nicely into a greeting card.
Makedo Playhouse:
Got a kid who plays with the boxes as much as the toys? Just make the boxes into a toy - this kit includes blueprint instructions, clips, hinges, stickers, and a plastic safety saw so kids can help shape up the containers left over from all the presents into a nicely appointed playhouse/fort, just add cardboard. Lots of possibilities with this one, aside from how they choose to decorate it, you will of course consider lighting..
Girls:
Frozen Carry-All Tin:
Elsa, Elsa, Elsa; Holiday shopping for girls this year is all about Frozen, and this nicely built tin is a standout in the category. All metal construction like a lunchbox (and lunchbox-sized), the Arendelle sisters printed front and back with a jeweled and beaded handle just for flair - this particular box is an eye-catcher quality-wise, and comes across like a Disneyland-exclusive item that you'd only find at the park.
Discovery Kids Motorized Pottery Wheel:
An all-in-one home pottery wheel kit, includes the clay and even the paint to decorate. Cups, vases, pencil holders await. Girls love the paint-your-own-pottery stores, now she can say, "We have that at home."
Monster High Make-Up Sketch Portfolio:
A very clever take on the coloring book, providing bust illustrations of the Monster High girls for coloring, adding sheets of jewelry/feature stickers and templates for colorful paint-like designs. Many of the images are repeated several times over, so your aspiring cosmetologist can try different designs on the same girl.
Frozen Complete Story Playset:
Dolls are always a tricky buy since you probably don't know which ones she already has; skip that and just get one of each - this action-figure playset includes all the major characters from the film, an entire group of kids can pop open the box and begin recreating the movie immediately. Link is to Wal-Mart as Amazon third-party sellers are too pricey.
Break Your Own Geodes Kit:
Put rocks in your kid's stocking - there's no better geology lesson than one where you get to harvest your own glittering, colorful crystals. A brief application of dad's hammer (don't forget dad's safety glasses) and it's a jackpot of gemstones as seen at your local mall or county fair. An included guide helps you properly identify your newfound lode.
Melissa and Doug Play House Sticker Book:
The Sims in two dimensions; a book of household rooms/scenes complete with vinyl re-stickable stickers, so your child can create their own story or just play house. Ideal for the back of the car or the plane.
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