Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Gift Guide - Luke and Mason

Today I'm sharing my gift guide for boys.  My boys are currently 7.5 and 10.5 and while they are very different a lot of their favorite things/toys have ended up being the same.  All of these items are either things that they have and love or are things that they're receiving for Christmas or their birthdays :)

You can click directly on the items in the graphic below to shop!



ONE - Mason is in the in-between phase of still loving/being too old for his stuffed animals.  He actually got upset not that long ago because he felt like he was "too big" to have them on his bed but still didn't want to get rid of them.  Our solution was  this bean bag cover that you fill with stuffed animals :)  It's great quality and he loves having a bean bag chair in his room and he still gets to keep his stuffed animals but they're not all out on his bed.  There are a ton of different colors/patterns so this would be a great option for kids of all ages.

TWO - both of my boys love all things NERF and  the rival guns are their current favorite.

THREE - We LOVE ThinkFun brand toys and  Gravity Maze is one of our favorites.  IT's a combination logic game, marble run and STEM toy and has 60 challenges from beginner to expert.

FOUR - I bought  this for my boys at Costco and they're getting it for Christmas so I can't speak to how it actually works but I can tell you that they saw it one time and have asked about it incessantly so apparently it's a pretty cool idea.

FIVE - I've talked numerous times about OSMO and my kids love every one of the games that we have.  Mason is getting  this coding jam game as well as  the new detective game for Christmas and I'm hopeful that he'll love them just as much as the others.  If you missed my initial post of the OSMO system you can read it  HERE.

SIX -  this robotics set is on major sale right now and I scooped it up for Luke's birthday (it was on sale for $65!) because I was already done with his Christmas shopping.  Luke LOVES a project and I'm hoping that this one can keep him busy for longer than a day. ;)  He has  a spider that's the same brand and he controls it with his iPad and he LOVES it so I have high hopes for this one!

SEVEN - I picked up  these blocks for the boys when I was at the McDonald Observatory and they have both enjoyed playing with them.  Each block has a picture of the planet, the planet's placement in the solar system, the planet's zodiac symbol, the planet's distance from the sun in AU, the number of moons orbiting each planet and the planet's radius.  There's a TON of information and my kids have all enjoyed them.  The same brand also has  a set of periodic table blocks that I have my eye on (but I'd need more than one set so they could create the entire table) as well as sets of language blocks which look great as well.

EIGHT - Ticket to Ride has quickly become our game of choice and I was quick to grab up the European Edition when it was on Lightning Deal the other day. Both my boys started playing this summer and totally "get it". They can play with each other or with me and Dave and the game seriously gets more fun the more you play it.

NINE - Speaking of games,  this game has great reviews and it'll be under our tree this year as well.  I'll keep you posted on what we think!

TEN and  ELEVEN - Snap Circuits have been one of Luke's gifts of choice for the last several Christmases and they are one of my very favorite toys my boys have.  All of the kits work together and the sheer number of projects that they can create adds a huge value.  Bonus is that the company is wonderful and has sent us a replacement piece free of charge when we misplaced one.  GREATNESS!  Luke is getting this rover set for Christmas and I went ahead and grabbed  this 3D projector one for his birthday as well.

TWELVE - I grabbed a few rolls of  these at Costco for stocking stuffers and I'm excited to see how the boys use it.  It's essentially a roll of Lego "baseplate" that they can stick to various surfaces.  Again, I'll keep y'all posted - but if you have a Lego lover this could be a fun experiment!

THIRTEEN - Mason is getting  this magic set for Christmas this year and I can't wait for him to open it!  He loves to put on shows and perform and I think that he's going to flip out over this gift.

FOURTEEN - The Nintendo Switch has been the top item on both of my boys lists for MONTHS and when  I found a great deal on a bundle at Costco their Santa present (yes... they're sharing) was done!

FIFTEEN - Mason's FAVORITE thing to do at the Perot Museum is play with the "ping pong run" and so when I found  this awesome set on Zulily I thought it would be perfect for him!  I love that it's wood and more of a piece we'll keep for a long time instead of a plastic version.

SIXTEEN - Both of my boys got  this scooter for Christmas last year and it has been the BEST thing!  They ride them daily ahd have had so much fun with them.  It took a few tries to get the hang of them, but they're super fun and great for kids I'd say seven and up.  Griffin can ride it, but has a hard time with the hand brakes - so it more depends on the size of your kid rather than the age.

SEVENTEEN - All three of my kids have  these helmets and love them

EIGHTEEN - Zoob sets are great because they're fun on their own and even more fun when you can mix sets and make huge creations.  We have several sets that are all combined into one big box and my boys play with these all the time.  (Zoob sets are also some of my favorite gifts to give to boys and girls!)  This set is remote controlled and is on Mason's list!

NINETEEN - I put a card game in the kids stockings pretty much every year and I love them because they're easy to toss in my bag when we're headed out somewhere where I know we're going to have to wait.  I've linked some of our favorites as well as the ones the kids are getting this year below...




TWENTY - A friend told me about this trilogy of books by Priscilla Shirer.  I LOVE Priscilla and the books have wonderful reviews so I'm excited to pop this into Luke's stocking.

TWENTY ONE - The Bad Guys are one of Mason's FAVORITE book series and if you have a first/second/third grade reader I highly recommend them!

TWENTY TWO - Another series that Luke DEVOURED was  The Spiderwick Chronicles and this box set would be a great gift for the readers at your house.

TWENTY THREE - Outdoor gifts are always first on my radar as I love things that get them outside and active (trampoline, tether ball, basketball goal, soccer nets, etc.) and I think this weatherproof (and kid portable!) cornhole set would be something my boys would LOVE.  Filing this idea away for their birthdays for sure.

TWENTY FOUR - Mason loves to draw and has been really into tracing for a long time.  We got him this light board for his birthday last year (or maybe even the year before) and it's one of his most loved toys.  He traces characters from books, prints off pages to trace and loves having the lighted surface to work on.

TWENTY FIVE - Luke is about two books away from finishing the Harry Potter series and he is ALL ABOUT all things Harry Potter.  This lego set is at the tippy top of his Christmas list.

TWENTY SIX - Luke got  a bow and arrow set a couple of years ago and he has such a great time with it.

TWENTY SEVEN - He got it with  this block to use as a target and both pieces have held up to a TON of use.

I hope that y'all find this list helpful and comprehensive :)  If you have some of the items or end up purchasing some I'd love to know what you (and your kids!) think.

Happy Tuesday, friends!

PS - this link contains affiliate links... thank you so much for reading and supporting my blog!

18 comments :

  1. I love your gift guides!!
    Would you please do one highlighting all of your board games? 😃

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  2. You always give such great ideas!! Thank you!

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  3. Quick question..how does the light box work? Do you place the photo you want to trace inside and the paper you are using to trace on top? Never saw this before but think one of my boys would love it! Thanks!

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  4. This is great! My boys got that laser tag for Christmas last year and love it. I like it because I don’t find nerf bullets all over the house:)

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  5. I look forward to these lists every year! Thank you!

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  6. What a great roundup of gifts! Thank you so much for all of the ideas!

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  7. I always appreciate your gift guides! You can tell there is a lot of thought put into them and it’s not just a random list! I wrote down several ideas for my son- thanks!!

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  8. These are great gift ideas! In the future, if it's not too much trouble, could you link to some of your gift guides when your kids were younger? Need some pre-school boy ideas.

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  9. Love the bean bag cover idea!!! Just saved it on Amazon!

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  10. This is GOLD! You are so, so good at this and I'm so grateful you put these together! I also have a 7 and a 10 year old boy and this is the second year in a row that I'll do most of their shopping thanks to your links!

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  11. I love this SO much! I have nephews your boys age / younger so I love getting good ideas from you

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  12. You have the best gift guides. I look forward to them every year.

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  13. You always have THE BEST gift guides!!! Thank you!

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  14. Ive been waiting for this post! They are always so helpful! Thank you!!

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  15. Thank you so much! You have the best gift ideas :)

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  16. Laser X tag guns are a favorite in our house and they’ve held up well(got them last Christmas)! The nice thing is their products are all compatible...so friends can join in easily!

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  17. I always look forward to your gift guides and so appreciate all the time & effort you put into creating them!! I love the variety, especially the STEM items, and that it covers educational, fun and other items!! Thank you so very much!! Merry Christmas to you and your family!!

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