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Video Game Gift Ideas for Kids
Thursday, December 18th, 2008
I asked my children to tell me what they’d consider to be their favorite video games. In case there are people out there still looking for last minute gift ideas, below are some recommendations.
I recommend going to Game Stop to buy video games since they’re small stores that you can find anywhere. If you’re looking online, you can also try Amazon.
Here are my teenage son’s favorite games:
For the Wii:
For the DS:
For the PC (Computer):
Spore
World of Goo (It can also be downloaded onto the Wii*.)For the N64 (Some old N64 games can be downloaded onto the Wii* – that’s how my son played it):
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Here are my 7 year old daughter’s favorites:
Disney Princesses: Enchanted Journey – available for the PC, Wii and PS2
Littlest Pet Shop Video Game – available for the PC, Wii and DSBratz Baby Ponies – this is free online – all you need is a Flash player! You choose a pony and style its hair. Great for girls!
Frogger – another game that has a free version online – good for boys and girls (My daughter played it on the GameCube – which is an older system.)
For the DS:
For the PC:
World of Goo (It can also be downloaded onto the Wii*.)
Most kids seem to like games in the Mario Bros. franchise. You can see that Mario games are on both of my kids’ lists and I’ve bought them for many other children in our lives who have enjoyed playing them.
If you’re interested in stuffed animal and robotic animal gifts you can click the link to see an earlier post I wrote with recommendations.
Feel free to let us know about the games the kids you know like in the comments below…
Mama Lisa
*A Note About Downloading Games onto the Wii: There’s a Wii Shop Channel on the Wii Menu on the Wii. You can buy a Wii points card at a video game store or you could by points through the Wii Shop Channel. To use the card you just enter the code on the card into the Wii Shop Channel and search for a game. If it’s there it should come up. Most games cost $15 or less. 100 points costs $1. You can get old games on it and some games that are programmed specifically for it. The old games are from NES, SNES, N64 and some other systems.
One More Word about American Girl Dolls
Friday, January 11th, 2008In previous blog entries, I’ve been discussing less expensive alternatives to American Girl Dolls. Ed Gawlinski wrote in to tell us about some of the pluses of buying an actual American Girl Doll. One point he made was that the characters in the books are good role models for girls.
Since then, I came across a blog article about how a six year old girl brought her less expensive doll to the American Girl Store in New York City. At the store, they style the hair of American Girl Dolls. But they refused to style the little girl’s doll’s hair because it wasn’t an authentic American Girl Doll, even though the girl was in tears.
I called the store to see what their policy is and they confirmed that they don’t style other dolls’ hair. So be warned if you go to the store. It holds true even if you bring your child there for a birthday party and her friends all bring their dolls – any dolls that aren’t American Girl Dolls can’t be styled.
My first reaction to hearing this was to be appalled. But, after considering it for a while, I can understand why they would have a policy like this. It took me about an hour to brush out the hair of my daughter’s non-American Girl Doll and I had to work hard to make it look good.
Nonetheless, there must be a better way to handle it. What do we want to teach our kids? That they live in a world of exclusivity – that only the well off can take part in special activities. They’re excluded – or their friend is excluded – because she doesn’t have that doll?
Instead, shouldn’t they try to craft their polices to help teach children compassion for others?
The American Girl Dolls institution should try to be a good role model – just like the characters in the American Girl Dolls books!
Can American Girl Dolls and Their Books Be a Good Role Model?
Thursday, January 10th, 2008In an earlier blog post, I talked about a less expensive alternative to American Girl Dolls. My daughter and I call them “Me” Dolls. I feel that these dolls are good for kids since they can play with them without parents worrying about the dolls getting messy.
Today Ed Gawlinski wrote to me about what he feels are the benefits of the American Girl Dolls…
The American Girl dolls, at least before they were bought out by Mattel, were intended to be (or at least approach) “museum quality” in accuracy and workmanship. The dolls, clothes and accessories are intended to match one of the books associated with that doll. They are admittedly expensive. However, the books can be bought separately and they are (in my opinion) excellent books that I had enjoyed reading to my two daughters and listening to them reading the stories aloud to us. These were great opportunities to talk about American History and society.
I still get catalogues in the mail from them. In addition to buying clothes for the dolls you can buy matching clothes for the girls. That can be very expensive. However, it can also bring alive a period in American history for your child which is a very valuable learning experience. The cost of the doll, etc. can be useful in teaching your daughter how to take care of valuable property. Naturally, they should also have dolls and toys that they can treat more roughly, take outside and get dirty, etc.
I had been the director of a Saint Lucia performance for over twenty years. In the American Girls’ book, “Kirsten’s Surprise”, Kirsten explains the Swedish Saint Lucia custom to her cousins, and they organize a Luciatag celebration. Over the years, many of the girls in my performance had a Kirsten doll, and we used these dolls in their Saint Lucia outfit or Swedish outfits to decorate our performance area. Occasionally, a girl would wear her Kirsten outfit as her costume.
Hopefully, in four to six years, your daughter will start to enjoy reading the American Girls books and then will appreciate having one of the dolls to help bring the stories alive. I am happy to see that some entrepreneurs have taken the idea behind the American Girls dolls and come up with a less expensive alternative. I did know a number of my daughters’ friends who destroyed theirs and that was unfortunate.
I am hoping that in ten to twelve years when my granddaughter is old enough to enjoy them, that American Girls dolls (etc.) will still be available in the stores. However, I do know that both of my daughters have kept their dolls and the books in excellent condition. They each had two dolls and over the years, they acquired (for Christmas and birthdays) a collection of outfits and accessories. They enjoyed getting outfits for their dolls even while they were in high school.
The girls portrayed in the books are strong role models for a little girl. I was very glad to be able to include these books in their library. One of the dolls, Molly, had a father who was serving in Europe during World War II. One of Molly’s outfits included a flight jacket. The daughter who had this doll is now a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, having graduated from the Air Force Academy last May.
I don’t want to be a commercial for Mattel, but I am very glad to have been able to provide my daughters with these dolls and even more so, with the books.
-Ed Gawlinksi
Note: In the second photo above, the girls are in Swedish Costumes that their mothers made based on the one of the outfits worn by the Kirsten American Girl doll.
Many thanks to Ed Gawlinski for sharing his family’s experiences with the American Girl Dolls with us! -Lisa
UPDATE: If you’d like to read another point of view, you can read a later post called One More Word about American Girl Dolls!
Great Dolls for Girls – Me Dolls and American Girl Dolls
Wednesday, January 9th, 2008The American craft store Michaels has wonderful dolls that are similar to American Girl dolls. American Girl Dolls are very popular dolls in the United States. The girl who gets one is supposed to have a doll that looks just like her. The problem is that American Girl Dolls cost $90.00 (they come with a book and cd). Extra clothes cost about $28.00. Most of the kids I know who have them keep them in their closets. (To be fair, my daughter’s only 6. The dolls may be meant for older kids who would keep them nice and neat and clean in their bedrooms.) It’s a lot of money to spend on a doll to have it out in the real world getting all messy. Yet in my mind, a doll should be out in the world with your kid. So when my daughter got this similar doll from Michaels for her birthday, that I knew cost much less, I was very happy. I knew she could play with it as much as she wanted and I wouldn’t have to worry about it.
The doll from Michaels costs a little over $16. Then you have to buy it at least one outfit, since it comes unclothed. The outfits cost about $8. The shoes are about $3.
We call the doll from Michaels a “Me” Doll – though they officially call them The Springfield Girls. Most of the girls in the neighborhood think it’s an American Girl Doll – though I’m told that you can tell that the hair isn’t as nice. But for about $27 you can get a girl a nice gift that she can play with – without your worrying about a $90 toy getting ruined.
Michaels has about 5 variations or so, but if you or one of your relatives feel like splurging on an American Girl doll, there are many more dolls to chose from. They have over 30 different dolls in their line. Some are interesting “historical” dolls that come with a story about them. One doll called Addy is supposed to be from 1864 and was a slave who escaped to freedom. Kirsten is a doll who’s supposed to be an immigrant to the US in the 1850’s. There’s a series of books you can buy to read about her experience.
Lastly, you can visit one of the American Girl stores – there are 5 of them in major US cities. They’re not just stores to buy products. You can have your doll’s hair “done”. You can have a tea party with your doll, see a musical (no kidding!) or eat dinner! It’s probably a good idea to make reservations first.
For now, my daughter and I will stick to playing with her dolls from Michaels!
-Mama Lisa
UPDATE: Ed Gawlinski wrote to me about the benefits of American Girl Dolls which I posted in a later entry called Can American Girl Dolls and Their Books Be a Good Role Model? You can get yet another point of view by reading One More Word about American Girl Dolls. Feel free to join the discussion in the comments below or on one of the later blog posts. -Lisa
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