Holiday gift ideas!

For Christmas, we got tickets to Les Miserables for our daughter. It's only in Detroit for two weeks in March and we got two tickets. She and her dad will go see it together. She got the book last Christmas and loved it.

Enough of the junky ones that rattle along.

I knew I wanted this one for my adventurous son, but the amazon reviews were mixed about the wooden kick (it also comes in aluminum). Because the wooden one looked cooler and I don't think he would feel scared by the bouncing (reckless is his middle name), I bought it at toys r us. But just to be sure (because this is the big present for him this year) I also got the metal platform version from walmart.

Finally tonight he was out of the house, and I let his three older sisters test both scooters inside the house. Both were fun.

But it was unanimous: the wooden platform was much better over the bumps (we laid down some books and things to ride over). The scooter was almost silent. The larger wheels are so smooth and the larger platform was great. It gets 8 thumbs up (from the girls and me). My sixteen year old asked if she could have one, too, but I told her that her big present is better. Can't post it because she reads these.

Now, he'll probably lose it, but the plan is for it to last him a long time. The weight limit is 180 lbs. and "The adjustable handlebars, meanwhile, accommodate riders of several different heights, so you needn't worry should your youngster undergo a growth spurt."

You can still get the wooden kick scooter at toys r us. The metal one was hard to find and I had to use site to store via walmart.

Hickory Farms, Harry & David, The Fruit Company, etc.

Everywhere else I found them (even Walmart) they were at or above $70.

Target has the standard Razor red and blue ones for $50. Regular price, as far as I can tell. And plenty in stock--for now.

Who doesn't like baked goods. If you don't bake, buy them and put them in a nice wrapper. I also love Collin Street Bakery fruitcake. It's not like that waxy stuff they sell other places. It's a fresh cake with fresh pecans and high quality cherries. You'll pay a lot, but it's worth it.

Target has a christmas gift drop down menu for different ages. "Teen boys" is on there and under sports and recreation the top two are a ripstick and a geocaching jr. hand held gps. http://www.target.com/Gifts-Teen-Boys-Christmas/b/ref=sc_iw_l_1?node=50922011

I hadn't heard of geocaching until I saw this splore, but it sounds cool. http://www.splore.com/splores/196#841

My daughter looked it up and there's one in our neighborhood. She's going to try using our garmin gps. We'll find out if that works.

Knitting's probably out. And my spouse tells me we're not getting them ANY more video games. That kind of narrows down the selection. Thoughts for grumpy teenage boys?

http://www.splore.com/splores/190#671

I just saw this other splore and it's a great idea. Either if you knit or know someone who does, you can just order a project kit. Add that book The Friday NIght Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs and you've got a great gift. It's creative.

My mother in law likes to give us a family activity gift: tickets to the nutcracker, membership to a science center, movie passes or restaurant gift cards. I like that. It's something to do.

Camera: tripod, memory cards, nice case, photoshop elements, photography classes, etc.
Ipod: speakers, case, headphones, itunes card, audiobooks or movies
Desktop computer: cooler mouse or mousepad, software, external drive, other gadgets to go with it.
Kindle: books, books and books.
-
Our daughter uses a tracfone. Hope she's not reading this. She buys her own minutes and we are going to give her a bunch of minutes for the phone. I know, you're thinking, why tracfone? Because that way her minutes are tied directly to her usage and she understands the cost of using the phone. I think it's a good thing for teens to learn. But she'll love the gift of extra minutes.

I'll see if I can find one laying around Polk County ...

http://www.splore.com/splores/187

As far as fruitcake goes, this is the best one you can buy. Order it here.
http://www.collinstreet.com/pages/online_bakery_gift/deluxe_fruitcake?gclid=CP6I3LujuKUCFY64Kgod9zrIYg

We have this. Tons of recipes either from the books or things that could have been in the book. Cute and the recipes look interesting.

You can spend as much or as little as you like and they snap them together to make buzzers, fans, blinking lights, etc. We got a starter kit and paid about $20. It has a booklet with 101 projects and a good assortment of circuits. VERY fun for bright kids. Either kids love them or they've never seen them. Either way, it's a slam dunk.

Amazon search: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=snap+circuits&x=0&y=0

One of my favorite stores for gifts (http://www.brookstone.com). And one of the gifts I love to receive (hint, hint), Tempur-Pedic slippers!