Holiday Gifts for Boys 2012

Holiday Gift Ideas for Boys!

 

Experience some pinball wizardry and relive your favorite arcade moments with Duo Pinball, the app-supported pinball controller for iPad. Flipper buttons and a spring-loaded plunger make pinball gameplay unbelievably real.  My 14-year-old was so excited to check out Duo Pinball!  He loves playing Pinball on his iPhone, but this took it to a whole other level! It was super easy to download the free app and hook up the device to the iPad.  We were playing within minutes!  The buttons felt just like a traditional pinball game!  The graphics were also crystal clear.  This would be a great, unique gift for anyone on your list! Duo Pinball can be purchased on Amazon, Target, Sharper Image and Apple for $59.99.
Historical Conquest: The Journey Through Time is an epic card game where players can create personalized societies with key players from history and battle them against one another; anyone, anywhere, anytime. Each card is complete with fantastic illustrations, game point values, and a full summary of its actual history. When has learning been more enjoyable!? Eric the Red can help the Mongul Army conquer Argentina during the Black Plaque. Albert Einstein can live peacefully in Japan under the leadership of Abraham Lincoln during World War I. The possibilities are endless, as is the fun! There is no age limit, so Historical Conquest is an excellent and fun learning tool for children, youth, or adults. Historical Conquest can be purchased on their website for $9.99 for each Starter Pack.

 

What’s more fun than an remote controlled vehicle on Christmas Morning? RadioShack has many fun remote controlled vehicles from cars, trucks, planes and more. One of the vehicles they offer is a small and light remote controlled helicopter that is easy to navigate indoors. It operates at up to an 80-foot range. The bright LED-strobing taillight makes it easy to spot while still being sleek and stealthy. You can find the Stealth Flyer Indoor RC Helicopter available at RadioShack in Red or Blue and retails for $29.99.

 

Hasbro has fun toys for boys including favorite characters from Marvel, Star Wars, Transformers and others. Load up the stockings with Angry Birds Star Wars Mystery Bags that gives two surprise figures in each bag. Or, add in one of the 3.75″ figurines from your boys favorite movie line! Star Wars Fighter Pods will be a favorite under the Christmas Tree. Or, for those that love to reenact their favorite movie scenes, gift a hero mask from The Avengers or The Amazing Spiderman Hero FX Glove to get them into the scene. Finally, let them build and be creative with KRE-O building sets that feature Transformers and build the robot and then the vehicle from each set! You can find Hasbro toys available at your favorite local retailer or online through the Hasbro Toy Shop.

 

For the young sports fans in your life, Sports Illustrated Kids Magazine is the perfect gift! Kids will enjoy reading about their favorite sports with this magazine that is packed full of action pictures, easy-to-read stories, tips from the pros, humor and comics, and fun activities too. Plus, ever issue includes pull-out posters, sports cards and games, and sports trivia too! Sports Illustrated Kids helps to encourage kids to read and has received awards including the Parents’ Choice Award for their exceptional magazines. As a special limited time offer, you can get a year’s subscription to Sports Illustrated Kids magazine in both print and for your tablet for just $19.95 – saving 66% off the cover price!

 

Scholastic is bringing books to your digital devices with Storia eBooks! You’ll find highly curated books including favorite picture books and the hottest new series along with titles from award-winning authors! There is sure to be plenty of stories for every age group to enjoy. Many of the eBooks feature an enriched story with activities, learning games, word puzzles, quizzes and more. The parent dashboard allows you to customize what books are available for each of your children with a personalized bookshelf that keeps books age appropriate. Storia includes a built-in dictionary and read-to-me eBooks to help your children when reading may be a struggle. Storia is compatible with your Windows PC, iPad or Android tablet! You can get started with Storia with 5 FREE eBooks! Storia is available as a free download and eBooks are available to purchase online at The Scholastic Store.

 

Now your boys can bring one of their favorite video games to life!  The new Mega Bloks Skylanders Giants toys look just like the characters from the game. Your boys can take the battle to the skies with the buildable Arkeyan Copter Attack by Mega Bloks Skylanders Giants! The Frigid Chompies are no match for Spyro when he attacks from above using theArkeyan Copter’s working missile launchers. Once his foes have been defeated, Spyro can swoop in to collect the treasure. Help Spyro and his friends save the Skylands!  This new line of Mega Bloks is geared for ages 5+.  The Arkeyan Copter Attack can be purchased on the Toys R Us website for $29.99.

Celebrate with Thomas 3-DVD Set is available now from Lionsgate and HIT entertainment! Enjoy cargo-loads of fun with everybody’s favorite No.1 blue engine!  Here are the three included DVDs and a synopsis for each. Thomas & Friends: Carnival Capers – Join Thomas & Friends as a carnival comes to the Island of Sodor!  Meet friends, Rocky and Rosie, and follow them as they explore their new surroundings. Thomas & Friends: Thomas’ Snowy Surprise – On Sir Topham Hatt’s railway, the winter season is a very special time of year. Join Thomas and his Really Useful friends for some snowy adventures. Thomas & Friends: Thomas’ Sodor Celebration! –  Hop on board as Thomas learns to navigate a difficult bend on his new route—in spite of a runaway train. ARV $19.98

 

SpongeBob SquarePants: It’s a SpongeBob Christmas! is available now on DVD! It’s Christmas and Bikini Bottom as you’ve never experienced them before! Created entirely in Stop Motion animation, It’s a SpongeBob Christmas! is destined to be a holiday classic. This special double-length episode finds all of Bikini Bottom in a festive mood as they prepare for Santa’s arrival. But not Plankton, who’s once again expecting a lump of coal. So he comes up with his most diabolic new scheme yet, one that practically guarantees he’ll finally get the gift he’s always wanted – the Krabby Patty secret formula! It’s a SpongeBob Christmas! can be purchased on Amazon for around $10.

 

Teach your children responsibility and about finances at a young age naturally with Financial Peace Junior! This great kit includes a parent guide to help guide you as well as an activity book for your kids to get the excited to get started and learn. The kit includes a magnetic chore chart and great pre-printed cling stickers to help you quickly and easily make a chore chart to track weekly progress. Teach your children lessons about working, giving, saving, and spending with this great kit! Financial Peace Junior kit is $17.95 and is available at daveramsey.com.

 

Ripley Publishing will again wow readers with the launch of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!: Download the Weird, an all-new collection of unbelievable stories from around the world. But there’s a new twist to Download the Weird – readers can actually download the weird. The brand new Ripley’s Believe It or Not! app allows hidden content in the book to COME ALIVE! State-of-the-art image recognition technology allows readers to instantly pull up bonus content in the book. All readers need to do is download the app to a smart phone or advanced iPod, screen grab the pages in the book marked with the special oddSCAN logo and watch that story come to life through exclusive videos and images.  Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Download the Weird can be purchased on Amazon for $29.95.

 

Teddy Tank is a fish tank, night light, stuffed animal, and voice recorder all in one!  You can choose between 12 different animals and then pick out accessories!  Each premium 8-piece package includes an 18″ plush animal body, 10 second voice recorder, 1-gallon plastic bowl, LED nightlight with AAA batteries, acrylic gravel, original Teddy Tank bow, fish net, and decorative plant.  Order now and you can receive an additional bow package, diamond shaped gravel, Betta fish food, and a bottle of dechlorinator!  I gave this to my son for his birthday and it was his favorite present!  The fish is fed through the mouth of the animal which my kids thought was SO cool! The 8-piece package plus additional bonus items can be purchased here for $39.99!

 

Bubele’s Patch Buddies are an adorable combination of a plush toy and backpack that has a built-in carrying case. Each of the ten playful animals and four unique characters in the Bubele’s Patch Buddies collection has a unique personality that will provide endless hours of entertainment and comfort, both at home or on the go.  My son brings his Patch Buddies backpack and “Kevin Mao” with him everywhere! He loves the hidden blanket that fits into “Buddy”! Even when the character is in the backpack, there is still room for all of his toys! This has been the perfect companion for sleepovers at his grandma’s house. The Patch Buddies Backpack retails for $16.99. The plush toys retail for $14.99 each. They can be both be purchased here. 

 

Vapur has a fun new reusable water bottle that is fun for kids and perfect for their backpacks or lunchboxes! The new Vapur Quencher bottles come with a blank character and include 3 sticker sheets full of facial features and accessories that let your child create their own custom designs! Once filled with water you can even freeze it to have cold water ready for lunch time. My son loved decorating his own water bottle and it made drinking water “cool” and “fun”! Now, he really loves packing his water bottle in his lunchbox and it is easy for him to drink from, too. Vapur Quenchers retail for $11.99 and come in 4 fun base designs. They can hold 14 oz.

 

Micro Chargers offers over 30 micro sized cars and several fun race tracks. The cars charge in a handheld charger that takes just seconds to power the micro cars and then set them loose to race to the finish. Or, load up your Micro Chargers cars into the Time Track set and they can be charged in the 4-lane charger before they set out to race! The Micro Chargers Time Track which was recently featured on Toys ‘R’ Us Hot Holiday Toy List! The Time Track set retails for $34.99 and is available at your favorite big box store and on Amazon. Two additional track sets are also available and the sets can be mixed and matched to create your own custom tracks!

 

Looking for more Gift Ideas? Visit one of my other Gift Ideas for 2012 Categories!

Disclosure: Product samples were received by members of A Mom’s Take review team for inclusion in this gift guide. No other compensation was received. The opinions expressed above are my own and a