Must have toys for this year

[mrseace711]

Are Squinkies part of the must haves for the 8ish age group? DD7 said she wanted some when we were in line at wal-mart but she basically just wanted them RIGHT then and there I guess a good stocking stuffer

 

[brennicksmom]

I'm trying to get some ideas for my almost 10 and almost 13 year old sons. All they tell me are XBox games. They have the 3DS and those are great. Im planning on getting some video games and Nerf will be a must. They are both past the "toys", it's amazing that my 9 year old grew up so fast, but he had to keep up with his brother. If anyone else has tween/teen boy ideas, HELP!!!

 

[Celidh]

Are Squinkies part of the must haves for the 8ish age group? DD7 said she wanted some when we were in line at wal-mart but she basically just wanted them RIGHT then and there I guess a good stocking stuffer

My just turned 8 year old dd has squinkies. She played with them a lot when she first got them for her bday but it has somewhat fizzled out. Of course she tends to forget what toys she has. She still seems to prefer her Littlest Pet Shop figures over most of what she has. She likes making videos with them using her ipod similar to what she has seen on youtube. I can't believe parents let their kids post youtube videos of themselves or the parents do it themselves. I would not feel comfortable with my little girl having videos of herself on there.

I'm not sure what I'm getting her for Christmas this year. She will change her mind and pick out different things about 100 times between now and then so I usually wait till at least the beginning of December but not much longer because it is too chaotic in the stores and the pickings are way to slim.

 

[CandyMouse]

I'm trying to get some ideas for my almost 10 and almost 13 year old sons. All they tell me are XBox games. They have the 3DS and those are great. Im planning on getting some video games and Nerf will be a must. They are both past the "toys", it's amazing that my 9 year old grew up so fast, but he had to keep up with his brother. If anyone else has tween/teen boy ideas, HELP!!!

Ijust wanted to ask you about the 3d ds. My son wants that for Christmas, does it play the ds lite games just as well as the new games? I haven't really looked at the game yet, so I'll have to go check it out. Anyway my son is also 9 and the 3d is all he really wants, besides wii games. Oh and he loves board games and wants uno attack.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Are Squinkies part of the must haves for the 8ish age group? DD7 said she wanted some when we were in line at wal-mart but she basically just wanted them RIGHT then and there I guess a good stocking stuffer

I think so. My daughter is friend's with a girl at her dad's bowling night who is about the same age as she. (7/8ish) and all I hear about is squinkies. Unfortunate for my child that her birthday is later in the year. She has been waiting patiently for many many many months. (But she gets an monthly "allowance" but chooses to spend it on other things. )

I will probably get a pack for her birthday and then buy some more as stocking stuffers.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I'm trying to get some ideas for my almost 10 and almost 13 year old sons. All they tell me are XBox games. They have the 3DS and those are great. Im planning on getting some video games and Nerf will be a must. They are both past the "toys", it's amazing that my 9 year old grew up so fast, but he had to keep up with his brother. If anyone else has tween/teen boy ideas, HELP!!!

Do they enjoy reading?

My husband is into sci/fi fantasy books and has been since middle school. So I'm wondering if you found a good series, if they would read it?

Do they have laptops or ipods, yet?

Maybe some underwear.

Are they athletic/play sports? Gear for that? We used to live near a beach--so a new surfboard was a popular gift for tween/teen guys and gals.

Favorite sport or sports team or athlete? A jersey or other "souvenirs" for that?

I have one friend whose family is huge Chiefs fans and the other are huge Gators fans and still others are *insert team here* fans. Sometimes you can find very neat things.

This will sound dorky if your boys are not into this--but could you get them a more "grown up" cool looking remote control vehicle? Helicopter, airplane, hot rod--whatever? Some boys are into them and some will think they are childish. Just saw a grown man flying a remote control helicopter the other day and making it do all sorts of crazy acrobatics. Part of me was wondering if it would crash and the other part was wondering why a real helicopter couldn't do the same thing. We had a large group of kids at church in the yard and when they noticed the helicopter--they all beelined to watch it fly. (kids were from young to tween)

I can't really think of anything else.
(Don't have teen boys--but I do have a boy and have been paying close attention to what others get for their boys. I find in our house--dad is a driving force behind what my son likes. But my son is only 4, so that is to be expected. )

 

[cartoonvoice]

What is good for stockings? For 3-6 yr olds?

 

[Celidh]

Ijust wanted to ask you about the 3d ds. My son wants that for Christmas, does it play the ds lite games just as well as the new games? I haven't really looked at the game yet, so I'll have to go check it out. Anyway my son is also 9 and the 3d is all he really wants, besides wii games. Oh and he loves board games and wants uno attack.

I've been checking the 3ds out for my boys for Christmas. They both have the ds lite. I'm told it does play the normal ds games as well as the 3d games and you can turn the 3d feature off on the 3d games if I understand it correctly. I was asking the difference between the 3ds and the xl and which is better. They guy at the video game store said he would go with the 3ds because it is newer and therefore more current and more updated . The xl has a bigger screen but the 3ds screen I'm told is smaller than the xl but bigger than the ds lite.

There's what I know about them. I don't know if that helps at all.

 

[Celidh]

What is good for stockings? For 3-6 yr olds?

Boy or girl?

 

[southern_redhead]

I'm trying to get some ideas for my almost 10 and almost 13 year old sons. All they tell me are XBox games. They have the 3DS and those are great. Im planning on getting some video games and Nerf will be a must. They are both past the "toys", it's amazing that my 9 year old grew up so fast, but he had to keep up with his brother. If anyone else has tween/teen boy ideas, HELP!!!

My oldest is 12. He has gotten into making videos of his action figures, so I think we will get him a stopmotion movie kit and one of those "Klutz" books for stopmotion animation. He also loves his XBox - I know he will want the newest Halo, and we will get him some of the Megablox Halo sets. I'm looking at the Battlescape and something that looks like a bridge I think he could use them as part of his stopmotions.... He likes graphic novels, so I am looking for some of those. He has mentioned an allumawallet. We may give him that with a giftcard or two.

He has talked about a 3DS. His lite is almost worn out, the sound only works on occasion. I worry about the 3D effects, none of us can watch 3D movies without a slight headache, but his friend has one and said he turns it off. So we may do one of those for him as his "Santa" gift.

Clothes. He isn't much into them, but new tees are never a bad thing. He also loves his "lounge wear" and is in need of some new stuff, so possibly some nice sweatpants. A new Northface jacket, his is outgrown and he passed it down to the next kid

He always gets a new spin toothbrush in his stocking, lately some "manly" bodywash and spray....

 

[CandyMouse]

I've been checking the 3ds out for my boys for Christmas. They both have the ds lite. I'm told it does play the normal ds games as well as the 3d games and you can turn the 3d feature off on the 3d games if I understand it correctly. I was asking the difference between the 3ds and the xl and which is better. They guy at the video game store said he would go with the 3ds because it is newer and therefore more current and more updated . The xl has a bigger screen but the 3ds screen I'm told is smaller than the xl but bigger than the ds lite.

There's what I know about them. I don't know if that helps at all.

Thanks Celidh, sounds like the 3ds will be pretty good. Now I've got to keep watching for a good price or if they have a trade in at gamestop for his ds lite. It's more than we usually spend for Christmas, but it's all he really wants!

 

[3boymthr]

My oldest is 12. He has gotten into making videos of his action figures, so I think we will get him a stopmotion movie kit and one of those "Klutz" books for stopmotion animation. He also loves his XBox - I know he will want the newest Halo, and we will get him some of the Megablox Halo sets. I'm looking at the Battlescape and something that looks like a bridge I think he could use them as part of his stopmotions.... He likes graphic novels, so I am looking for some of those. He has mentioned an allumawallet. We may give him that with a giftcard or two.

He has talked about a 3DS. His lite is almost worn out, the sound only works on occasion. I worry about the 3D effects, none of us can watch 3D movies without a slight headache, but his friend has one and said he turns it off. So we may do one of those for him as his "Santa" gift.

Clothes. He isn't much into them, but new tees are never a bad thing. He also loves his "lounge wear" and is in need of some new stuff, so possibly some nice sweatpants. A new Northface jacket, his is outgrown and he passed it down to the next kid

He always gets a new spin toothbrush in his stocking, lately some "manly" bodywash and spray....

If he's into Xbox and games like HALO you may want to look into a PSP instead. The games are much more "mature" shall we say (think games like Grand Theft Auto, Metal Gear Solid, Gods of War, which cannot be had for Wii nevermind DS) but there are still kid games like Cars, Kingdom Hearts and Lego Batman. My 15 yo says that DSs and the DS games are for little kids (Not my words). There is not as much selection in the games when you go to the B&M stores but Amazon, Sony & a few others have a much better selection online. They have games that can be bought and downloaded to the system directly from Sony. It also plays movies and the used movies can be had pretty cheaply at Game Stop. If going this route definitely go with a bundle.