I have TWO 8-year-olds to buy for, so I’m going to split it up into two posts. Today will be the things we’re getting for Edward. I dislike saying “Gift ideas for an 8-year-old BOY,” even though he is in fact a boy and there’s nothing wrong with that, because a ton of stuff the twins are interested in is neither “boy” nor “girl.” I’d hate to imply that just because I’m buying a gift for a boy, that gift would only be right for boys. So let’s call it “Gift ideas for an 8-year-old who is like Edward.” That’ll get the search results.

Scholastic 2013 Book of World Records (photo from Amazon.com). He saw this in the Scholastic catalog from school, and I made a mental note and then ordered it secretly.
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Gift ideas for guys seem to fall into the same category as gift ideas for teenagers: with so few ideas, sharing what little we have can only improve matters. So here are some of the things I’ve given Paul recently, in case they’d work for your guy too:

Cooking for Geeks (photo from Amazon.com). I was irritated but affirmed when I bought this for Paul for an upcoming holiday and then saw he’d checked the same book out of the library.

Paul kept complaining about (and breaking the handles off of) my “sucky” measuring cups, so I did a post asking for advice on a good manly set. To my surprise and dismay, the comments section filled up with suggestions for measuring cups that cost about triple the amount of money I’d had in mind. But I thought about it and got used to the idea that maybe better quality = costs more, and then there was a sale combined with a free shipping deal, and so I bought him a set of the Williams-Sonoma measuring cups and spoons (photo from Williams-Sonoma.com)—and Paul LOVES them. On the next gift occasion, he hinted that he would also like the odd-sizes set, so I got him those too. (He was slightly cheesed that the two sets of measuring cups don’t nest together, but it wasn’t a big deal.)
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Sigh.

I write these older-kid gift posts not because I feel like they contain Such Incredibly Awesome Ideas, but rather because there are SO FEW ideas of ANY CALIBER, it seems like we should put ALL the ideas OUT THERE. If I tell you what my 12-year-old boy is getting for his birthday, and if you tell me what your 12-year-old boy is getting for his birthday, then between us we have TWO ideas!

Spherification kit (photo from Amazon.com). We got this idea from Catherine Newman’s post. The gist, I gather, is that you add this stuff to liquid, and it turns the liquid into spheres. This seemed like the perfect present for a boy who spent one million hours with the water marbles he got for Christmas.

Magic Books and Paper Toys: Flip Books, E-Z Pop-ups, & Other Paper Playthings (photo from Amazon.com). We have a 12-year-old of the crafty/projects variety, and this looked like his sort of thing.
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Henry is going to a birthday party in a couple of weeks. I asked him what the birthday boy likes, and he said “NINJAS!!” So we are looking at ninja ideas.

Ninja costume (photo from Amazon.com). I bought this costume for Henry, for Halloween next year. It might also make a fun gift idea. But when I bought it for Henry, it was marked down to $8.50 on a post-Christmas clearance; now it’s $16-something. I find it difficult to pay more for things I could have gotten for less. Also, I’m not at all sure about the quality: the reviews are quite mixed, and for me it was worth the risk for $8.50 and for my own kid—but I feel more nervous spending $16+ and giving it to someone else’s kid.

Matryoshka ninjas (photo from Amazon.com). This was the very first search result, which is good because I never, ever, not in a dozen years of ninja birthday parties, would have thought to look for such a thing. And yet—this is exactly the sort of toy I would have found enduringly interesting as a child. Hm. Well, we’d be unlikely to be duplicating someone else’s gift!
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I am in full Enjoyable Calendar Fuss Mode now. When I went to my Amazon cart this morning, one of my calendar options (the Wallpaper calendar, which I found after writing this year’s calendar post) had dropped to half price so I bought it—but I’m not really sure about it (the picture of it makes it look like it might be one of the cheap dollar-store ones that rips and curls), and also I still need a second one.

In the meantime, let’s exchange loot lists! Here are some things I got this year:

A Week in Winter, by Maeve Binchy (photo from Amazon.com). This won’t be released in the U.S. until February, so what I got was a note in an envelope saying it had been pre-ordered. Which is what I asked for: this is Maeve Binchy’s last book (she died this year) and I really really really really really want it the very first minute I can have it. I don’t want to patiently wait for the library copy, or for the next gift occasion.

Kiva gift card (screenshot from Kiva.org). Kiva is one of those places where you can give a tiny loan (like, $25) to someone else. Then that person pays it back to you, and you can loan it out again. And again and again. The idea is that sometimes people only need a small boost to make a huge difference in the way they make a living (especially in a country where a little cash goes a long way), but banks are not going to loan them $100. Four Kiva members can team up to loan it, though. I’ve been enjoying loaning and re-loaning so much, I put a $25 Kiva card on my wish list.
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Here is the problem I run into at Christmas: I want to show you gift ideas, but some of my family members read this blog, and some of the things I want to show you are things I bought for them. Solution, after much brow-wrinkled concentration: tell family not to read blog this month.

Bent Objects (photo from Amazon.com). Paul saw this book somewhere and bought it for my brother’s wife (that sounds so biblical, but if I say “my sister-in-law” it could be Paul’s sister, and it would be less interesting that he’d impulsively bought a gift for her). He thought it seemed perfect for her. It seems to me that it would also be great if you need a fun and whimsical gift for someone who’s a little difficult to buy for. It’s a good “everyone will pass it around” book.

Miracle Fruit Tablets (photo from Amazon.com). Oh, these look SO As Seen on TV! But do you remember awhile back when it seemed like all the magazines/shows were doing pieces on this special berry you could chew that would make sour things taste sweet? There were, like, PARTIES where you could partake of this miracle berry? And I thought, “This sounds so cool! Where can I buy this product?” and the answer was “Nowhere! Someone has to bring it to you after visiting some other country!” OKAY THEN. But here is a packet of it! On Amazon! Clearly I have bought a packet, and we will have a party.
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One of my sisters-in-law loves cats and cat-related things, and I have been searching for a cat-related gift for her, so I have cat gifts ON THE BRAIN.

Chuvora Sterling Silver Cat Silhouette Earrings (photo from Amazon.com). I think these are pretty, without being too Cat Lady.

Black Cat Print Set by Kerry Beary on Etsy (photo from the shop). This is more than I want to spend, but I love them and want them FOR MYSELF. And there are a number of $20 prints I want to consider for my sister-in-law. And I’m going to go back later to browse more and put some on my own wish list too.

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Whenever I see something that seems like it would make a good gift, I make myself a note. Sometimes these notes clump into categories, and sometimes not. This is post of gift ideas I’ve been meaning to mention, but they keep not fitting with other posts.

Marmar Magnetic Necklace Sets (photo from the shop). Wait, because these are even neater than you think. FIRST, they’re neat because to change the pendant on the necklace, you just click a new magnet into place. But THEN, they’re ADDITIONALLY awesome because they work with all the Marmar refrigerator magnet sets! So, like, you get yourself a necklace, and you have magnets all over your fridge, and in the morning when you’re getting ready you can PICK A MAGNET OFF YOUR FRIDGE AND PUT IT IN YOUR NECKLACE. A squirrel one day, a cupcake the next! A famous scientist one day, a Santa-hatted cat the next! This idea appeals to me so much, I really really wish I wore necklaces. I would buy ALL THE MAGNET SETS.

Sons of Anarchy temporary tattoos (photo from fxnetworks.com). (I mean, clearly the photo is from fxnetworks.com. Clearly I do not have this nice young man in my living room posing for a photo for me.) I saw a mention of these in an interview with one of the cast members, and I immediately thought “OMG THAT WOULD BE SO COOL FOR A FAN OF THE SHOW.” Or for the partner of a fan of the show. Ahem. No-judging zone.
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I was so distracted by the election this week, I felt like the area of my brain that usually deals with Happy Shopping Things was completely knocked out of commission.

I was thinking maybe today we could talk about the resources we use to teach kids to get along with others—especially to prepare them for times when we’re apart from them and not able to coach them through a difficult interaction (”Now give that toy back to him. Now tell him you’re sorry for taking it so roughly. Now ask if you may have a turn after him”).

It has been hard during this election to explain to the children the rules that should be followed, when “shouldn’t” feels like kind of a stupid concept in the face of “look, everyone’s doing it anyway.” “Children, people shouldn’t state their views aggressively or smugly or self-righteously in forums where those views will hurt/anger their friends and family and cause pointless, unpleasant debates that lead nowhere and change no one’s mind about anything. Despite what you may have heard about Facebook.”

This morning before school we worked on the concept that people should be gracious losers and even more gracious winners.
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The problem is, every year I think it’s too early to write holiday posts—and it IS too early, but I only write here once a week, so if I wait until after Thanksgiving it’s only four posts until Christmas, and one or two of those don’t allow enough time for shipping. Since this is a PRODUCTS AND GIFT IDEAS blog, that’s not going to work.

Plus, it’s more financially comfortable if I start buying things early and setting them aside. And the whole season is less frantic for me if I think about it early, even though I know for some people that makes it MORE frantic. So. I know it’s September, is what I’m saying. I know it hasn’t even been Halloween yet. I don’t want to PUSH you. There’s still A QUARTER OF A YEAR left. Plenty of time! You can just skip this post now, and come back to it in early December when you need it!

Would it feel better if we didn’t even mention The Holidays? I could just say this is a post of books my kids want, and incidentally I plan to acquire some of them for…a later event. Yes. That’s better. And happens to be true.

Mostly what we do when a kid mentions a book he or she is interested in is see if we can get it from the library. But right around the start of the school year, when book fairs get them thinking about books as something to beg for, I start putting the books they mention (or other books I find that seem like good candidates) in the saved-items area of my Amazon cart, because I like to put a book or two in each Christmas stocking. Our family has a kid celebration in the afternoon, and the grown-ups celebrate after kid bedtime—so it is very nice to tuck the children in with a new book to keep them busy and quiet until the sugar crash lets them sleep.

Here’s what I have in the cart so far:

Vordak the Incomprehensible: How to Grow Up and Rule the World (photo from Amazon.com).
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