Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday have all come and gone. And my shopping list hasn’t gotten any shorter, has yours? I will also admit, I’ve written these guides in order of simplicity – in the grand scheme of things, babies, toddlers and preschoolers will forget about whatever you give them a few days after Christmas. School-agers, on the other hand, will remember, and may or may not announce their rating of said gift over Christmas dinner.
So what do you get someone in elementary school? If they still play with toys, they probably have a specific series they still like. They may or may not dig Legos, and they may or may not dig video games. It gets tricky. This is where an email (this week! this week!) to their parents should shed some light on the topic.
For the Bookish:
You can stick with the popular series most kids will know, such as the Magic Treehouse, Cam Jansen, Junie B. Jones (for ages 5-8), the Guardians of Ga’hoole, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid , the Percy Jackson series (ages 8-12). You could also go with the classics — pick up a copy of Charlotte’s Web, Little Women or any Judy Blume book to introduce the new generation to timeless stories.
For the Gamers:
Board Games are also a great gift, there’s a new version of Connect Four that’s all the rage, and games like Jenga can be played by almost any age. Bananagrams is word fun for the whole family, as is the card game Quiddler.
For the Crafty:
This is the age where kids can actually make crafts which look like crafts. Beginning needle point projects, model airplanes, the classice pot-holder loom, and complex color-by-number posters can pose just enough challenge for these budding individuals.
For the Budding Foodie:
Kids this age may also enjoy culinary endeavors, like the kit Cook it in Cups. There are many cookbooks geared to kids, that along with an apron or special utensil could be a huge hit.
When in doubt, think back to the fun things that really stand out from your own childhood, and maybe a few ideas will pop up from there!
One reply on “Aunt Sally’s Holiday Guide for Nieces and Nephews: The School-Agers”
The magnet and rod sets are terrific. I have purchased Geomags. There are many companies now and they have shapes too. My 8th grader still fiddles with his Geomags.
Uno is a card game that never grows old. Sometimes it never ends.
Dav Pilkington’s books. (Captain Underpants forever!) The Time Warp trio series is spectacular.