We did a post on this topic already to distract us from the election, but I’ve had more ideas / wanted to tell you which ideas I’d used, and also I’m getting a little panicky about shopping ARE YOU GETTING A LITTLE PANICKY ABOUT SHOPPING? It’s just…you know. Pandemic. Schools going remote or hovering on the edge of it. The uncertain gap between the election and the inauguration. Potential impending snow. The USPS still under poor management. Stores promising shortages and shipping delays. IT’S A BIT MUCH.
I talked last time about my idea to get Rob his own pizza pan, pizza cutter, and potholders, hopefully a pleasingly practical gift (he makes pizza A LOT) but also to give him a feeling of hope that one day he might not have to live with his parents; I’d expect him to keep using our stuff in the meantime, but to tuck this aside for his days of freedom. I did go with this idea: I couldn’t find the same pizza pan we have (which is completely unmarked) but I chose him this well-reviewed Doughmakers pan that is about the same size; I got him the same OXO pizza cutter we have; and I got him this set of potholders.
I also talked last time about how the one thing Rob misses about his phone (his broke and he is trying to go without) is its ability to have timers/alarms. He is currently using a kitchen timer that maxes out at 99 minutes, and he just keeps resetting it, and it is driving me crazy, I mean I wanted to solve that problem for him. I first tried to find a watch, but I got bogged down in options, and nothing seemed right anyway: even the ones that DID have alarms only had, like, three. I asked Rob how many daily reminders he needed, and he said about TEN. So anyway I chose this, and who knows if this is even the right kind of thing but anyway I bought it:
(image from Amazon.com)
Robin Clock with Custom Alarms and Calendar Reminders. It’s designed for older people who need memory help, but it seemed perfect for what Rob needs it for, and it allows for limitless reminders—as well as annual recurring things such as birthday reminders.
And I got him a kalimba, which was Elizabeth’s idea: she remembered that my brother asked for and got one last Christmas and that it was fun to play with.
(image from Amazon.com)
Rob also has a melodica (this Hohner 32), which has been tremendously successful, if you’re looking for a fun and interesting musical instrument for a musical kid, especially a kid who already has some keyboard/piano skills and would like to try them out in a new and odd way (it’s like a…piano-flute):
(image from Amazon.com)
Based on your collective game reviews and also a reply to an email I sent to my friend whose family loves board games, I’ve bought these games so far to give to various children:
(image from Amazon.com)
Carcassonne Big Box. I was hesitant to spend so much money (it’s been going up and down in price; I bought it at $60) for a game plus ELEVEN expansion packs when I don’t even know if the kids will like the game or not—but my friend said it was one of her family’s favorite games, and the price of the Big Box was going for only a few dollars more than the price of the basic game plus only ONE expansion set, so I risked it.
(image from Amazon.com)
Duple. I thought this looked like something the kids would like, but to be honest the real reason I bought it is that it was in my cart going “Only 10 left!,” “Only 4 left!,” etc., and I panicked.
(image from Target.com)
Ticket to Ride. A lot of you mentioned this and then my friend mentioned it too, so I bought it. I am a little crabby that I bought it on sale for $44, and this week Target has it on sale for $25. But BYGONES. I already considered the option that I could email Target and ask for the difference, but I am not going to do that (for one thing, I’d ordered it more than a week before the price change) (for another thing, all Contact Us links lead to phone calls or live chats) [edited to add: OKAY FINE I contacted them via live chat and they refunded the difference and I DO feel so much better about it].
(image from Target.com)
Plus, I DID get Settlers of Catan on the $25 sale, after ALMOST buying it on the $44 sale, so I feel that averages out nicely. This is another game a number of you recommended and then my friend also strongly recommended. I have been warned that I need an extension set if I want it to work for 5-6 players, so I have one of those in my cart and will hope for a sale. (Does anyone know if the EXPANSION packs ALSO make the game work for 5-6 players? I got overwhelmed trying to figure it out and gave up.)
ALSO: on the recent Tipsy Swistle post, commenter Erin in CA mentioned to another commenter that she buys Deadbolt Mystery Society packs for her family and I went “!!!!!!!” followed by IMMEDIATELY ordering one to give as a gift to all five kids. I had no idea which to choose so I went with their 2020 Holiday box. (Make sure you pay attention to their instructions for how to order a single box that DOESN’T automatically renew. I ordered it as a gift to myself, which seemed to be one of their suggestions? I hope that works.)
(image from deadboltmysterysociety.cratejoy.com)
If you’ve had any further ideas for the high-school/college-age/early-twenties set, this is a good time to mention them!
Your last idea reminds me of the Exit Games, which are like an escape room in a box. This one is my favorite of the ones I have done so far: https://www.target.com/p/thames-kosmos-exit-games-dead-man-orient-express/-/A-76150189 They are sort of like a board game, but playing them requires writing on the pieces and cutting things, so they’re a one-time use thing. Lots of clues and puzzles to work through as a group. It’s fun!
Lise just pointed me to a sale, and I’m going to buy it! Do you have a second-favorite? They’re cheap enough to buy two!
I have also done EXIT: The Sunken Treasure, and although it was quite a bit easier, the clues didn’t have as much of that clever “ah ha!” feeling when you figured them out. The difficulty for Sunken Treasure is 2/5 and the difficult for Orient Express is 4/5. So I might suggest looking for something with a 3/5 difficulty, like maybe The Polar Station, although I admit I haven’t done that one yet. I think we have The Secret Lab stowed away somewhere for the next rainy day when the baby is asleep.
Amazon has a bunch of cooperative games on sale today, including several varieties of Exit: the Game, which are at-home escape rooms. I highly recommend those for families with teens and young adults. We like Forbidden Island.
Oops! Posted too soon. We like Forbidden Island, which is also on sale today.
Yes I am PANICKING. I even know what I am buying for people! Or have a list of good items to choose from! I just need to CHOOSE THINGS and BUY THEM but instead of taking those *very simple actions* I am PANICKING.
Two weeks ago, I placed a non-Christmas-related order to pick up one book from a local bookstore. Today, I thought I’d check on my as-yet-unfulfilled order. My order is still pending, which, fine, but I also saw that the bookstore’s website has been updated to inform shoppers that orders are taking three to SIX weeks to fulfill. So, yes, I am starting to get a liiiiiiiiiiiittle panicky about Christmas shopping.
You should totally email target. I can’t remember all the details but their price match is more than a week. They are super easy to deal and a quick email is totally worth $20 to me anyway. đŸ™‚ another reason to love target!
We do Hunt a Killer boxes for my kids and niece. A cycle lasts 6 months, so they get one set of six boxes for Christmas, and one for the summer. It’s a lot of fun for them.
My son (12.5) is getting new gaming headphones for Christmas. Perhaps he will drive us less crazy with the video games afterwards. I’ve been struggling with the amount of video games- but he is playing them with his friends from school that he only gets to see two days a week as of now. And soon will probably not see at all. I want the kid to have some sort of social life.
The 3-year-old girl is getting an indoor trampoline and Magna Tiles, in case that post is coming up!
I LOVE your gift idea posts. :)
The struggle is real! My son is in virtual school every weekday, all day. I’m not keen on him then spending a big chunk of his after-school and weekend hours playing games on yet more screens. But if he doesn’t he essentially has no way to connect with his peers and friends. Even if I tried to get him to just Facetime people, the other kids don’t use those programs; they all just meet in the games. Even his main exercise during cooler months uses screens as he uses his Ring Fit Adventure to exercise, or plays other motion-sensing video games with his sister.
So yeah, his main Christmas present is game-related, despite my misgivings.
You need the 5-6 player extension to play Catan with more than 4 players. And, unfortunately, to play a Catan expansion with more than 4, you need the base game, 5-6 player extension, expansion and the expansion 5-6 player extension. My favorite expansion is Seafarers, but Cities and Knights is also very popular.
My personal favorite game is Railways of the World. Some others are Parks, Yedo, Azul, Dominion, Lords of Waterdeep, Puerto Rico, Infinite City, 7 Wonders, Citadels, Castles of Burgundy, Cutthroat Caverns, Ninjato, Monikers, any of the Munchkin series, and Set is an oldie but goodie.
This is EXACTLY the information I needed and couldn’t get. THANK YOU!!
I don’t have any gift ideas, but I do have a (hopefully) helpful hint regarding the clock. We have a very similar one that we keep by the bed. During the day it’s great, but at night in a dark room, the display is Surface Of The Sun bright. You can set it to automatically dim in the evening, but we found it still wasn’t low enough for us. We prefer sleeping in a dark room.
I found this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BLA5PRA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 which is a film that clings to the face of the clock and darkens the display. We disabled the auto dim so that with the film, the display is fine during the day, but is nightlight-level at night.
The film comes in a 2 pack and each sheet is 8 x 11. If you cut each sheet in half horizontally and then trim as needed, you should end up with extras in case you’re super fussy about placement (like me) and/or have shaky hands (like me) which make doing this kind of thing challenging. :)
You answered my question about the clock and came up with a solution! Thanks!
Oh you must buy Codenames for the family! It’s so fun, especially with 6 people (or more) and especially if you know each other pretty well.
Oooh, Codenames is so much fun! It’s good for the Game Types and also for the people who might want to casually play a round or two without getting involved in something complicated.
Yes! We’re not really a game family (though I’d like to be), but we do play and enjoy the odd game of Codenames! It’s also kind of interesting to see how differently people think sometimes.
There is really no other place online to flex this, so I will put it here. I played Codenames this weekend and gave the clues “cronch” and “kaboom,” and they totally did what they were supposed to do. :)
Well done!
I think those are all great ideas – and I am impressed Rob is going without a phone. I mean, I can’t imagine being without my phone, so I am seriously impressed. Good for him! I love love LOVE the pizza idea. If I was college age I would have absolutely loved that gift, or gift of anything for my own place for the future.
Beth, Noah, and I have a standing date to play Catan every other Tuesday evening. When the pandemic is over I will strongly associate it with this game, I think.
I just bought a kalimba for my hard-to-shop-for 10th grader! My parents have one and it seems like something he would find fun.
Also an Amazon Echo / Alexa will have endless timers, reminders. If you get one with a screen you can see all your timers as well.
Great ideas. I feel VERY behind in shopping. I have no ideas just yet, but I clearly need to look into some of these games. They sound like all the rage.
I am trying to wait until December to do my shopping for…reasons…..but my intention is to do it December 1st. I’m also going to try to not buy anything off Amazon, and we will see how well that goes.
Love the pizza pan idea – I bought Angus an iced coffee maker on the same principle. And my mother in law and her husband had one of those giant clock things and when we visited we would both mock it gently and covet it greatly – wonderful idea. I just bought my neighbour Poetry for Neanderthals for her birthday – https://tinyurl.com/y6zvedkzn – apologies if you’ve already blogged about it. It looks fun, especially the bopping people with an inflatable club part.
If your children have not discovered “”The Melodica Men” on youtube, I highly recommend them. I went to high school with one of them! And it is one of my go-to options for “we have to eat lunch in the classroom today and I need something to put on the screen so they will not be annoying”. Super fun and they always make requests from the “Up Next” sidebar.