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Gift Guide: Families |
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The following handpicked products—including games, music,
activities, and software—make wonderful family gifts. Every family
needs a good electronic encyclopedia and an essential print
shop—our favorites are included here. As well, we've recommended
some board games and multi-generational music that
everyone in the family will enjoy. Whether you are
buying for your own family or someone else's, these products are
sure to delight.
Top Gifts
for Families
10+
TOP PICKS
HOLIDAYS 2009 EDITION
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1 Pick Me Up (Book)
  This
unique and fabulous book is perfect for the coffee table in the
homes of any family with children ages 9 and up. Called a
"shuffle-pedia", Pick Me Up is a different kind of
encyclopedia--very visual and mixed up. Shuffling through the
graphically rich pages is fun and totally addictive. Kids learn
diverse facts as they shuffle. Most importantly, they'll want to
shuffle through. History, geography, science, natural history,
and plenty of miscellaneous facts are all here. One spread asks,
"While you were at school today, what were kids (age 12) doing
in other parts of the world?" Other topics include "Was Freud a
bit bonkers?", "How to tell when someone (really) likes you",
"Why do Boats Float?", and "What are you standing on?" Truly
fabulous!
[For user
reviews, or to buy: Pick Me Up at Amazon]
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2
 
Apples to Apples Junior
This
is our favorite family game to date. It is
fabulously social, fun for all ages (even adults!), and offers a
great time. Children attempt to find the best item that fits the
given adjective from their hand of 5 cards. The judge determines
which object is the best fit--and the results are often
unexpected, depending on the personality and personal perception
of the current judge/player! See our full review of the game here.
Apples
to Apples Junior 9+ is also an excellent game, featuring slightly
more advanced vocabulary and topics. It also makes a great choice.
See our full review of the game here.
[For more information, user
reviews, or to buy:
Apples to Apples Junior Game or
at Amazon.com]
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3Explorer
Globe
  LeapFrog's
Explorer Globe is a fantastic learning globe with
a touch-sensitive pen. Kids (and adults) use the pen to
explore the globe, picking up geography facts as they do.
Kids can listen to musical samples, learn facts about
population, discover the time in different parts of the
world, and more. Fun games allow kids to test their
knowledge--in fact, the games reinforce geography in a
powerful manner. This is a fantastic tool for learning--it's
responsive and fun for kids, and sophisticated enough to
impress adults as well. We have had the original
release of this globe for over 4 years now--it is still turned
to repeatedly and has held up exceptionally well.
[For more information, user reviews, or to buy
Explorer Globe
Amazon.com]
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4
Nintendo Wii Gaming System
  This fabulous new gaming system by Nintendo didn't fail to
impress us. Gaming is truly a family affair with the Wii, a
console that begs to be played. The Wii's controller is wireless
and motion-sensitive. Selecting items on the TV screen is much
like using a computer mouse--you point the controller to a
"clickable" item and then press a button to select it. The
system comes with a package of sports video games, Wii Sports,
and includes bowling, tennis, boxing, and baseball. Kids and
their parents create their own identity--a "Mii"--by selecting
hair style and color, face shape, skin color, and so forth.
These characters roam around and are featured in the sports
games. Players can create their own family and friends, and, as
Mom bowls, Dad and the kids cheer her on. Baseball teams consist
of your own group of characters. Baseball is played by literally
swinging the controller and imitating a pitch. Wii plays
Nintendo Game Cube games as well as the new titles designed
specifically for the Wii. A decent line-up of Wii games have
already been released, but many kids will be waiting for more.
Parents can purchase and download classic games for the NES,
Super NES, and more older systems, right on-screen --they'll
need to wirelessly connect to their wireless internet connection
in order to do so. Eventually, families will be able to surf the
web from their couch. It's a fantastic, appealing setup.
[For more information, user
reviews, or to buy: Nintendo Wii at Amazon.com]
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5
Electronic Pictionary Man Game
 
Expanding
upon the long-time favorite Pictionary experience, the
Electronic Pictionary Man Game adds charades, electronic
interactivity and props to the equation. Players receive
electronic clues from the bottom of the Pictionary
Man's foot, and the player must draw
and act out the subject on the three props, the Man, a
rectangular prop, and a cylindrical prop. Drawing on a man, and
using props may seem weird at first, but you will soon see that
it works. It attracts attention attention and gets family
members involved. Turning Pictionary
"electronic" of course means the usage of batteries, but that's
a small price to pay for this fabulous new version of a tried
and true game. It also means you don't have to deal with playing
cards!
[For more information, user reviews, or to buy:
Electronic Pictionary Man Game
at Amazon.com]
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6
Rubik's
Cube 360
A circ 
ular twist to the favorite "cube", the Rubik's Cube
360 will stump and delight kids and adults alike. The
Rubik's Cube seems to reinvent itself each year, and we are
quite pleased with this new update, although it doesn't
resemble the original cube very much anymore! It is
certainly less challenging, making it more accesible to the
younger and more impatient members of the family.
[For more information, user reviews, or to buy:
Radica 20 Questions at Amazon.com]
20Q by Radica Games
Here's a game tweeners and their parents will enjoy. This electronic toy
attempts to guess, in 20 questions or less, what the player is thinking. Players
answer the questions by pressing buttons that read "Unknown", "Yes", "No",
or "Sometimes". The toy's ability to guess the answers is almost always
surprising, and the game gets lots of laughs. The teasing commentary is cute at
first, although it gets old fast. Otherwise, this game is great fun, and
portable. Very entertaining!
[For more information, user reviews, or to buy:
Radica 20 Questions at Amazon.com] |
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7
 
USAopoly Planet Earth Monopoly
As gorgeous as the photography is on this special edition
Monopoly game, the game itself remains essentially the
same...and so be it! Monopoly, of course, is a classic. We
like it because of the time investment in the game. Most
board games today cater to a child's short attention span
rather than engaging and involving them over time. Includes
rare photography.
[For more information, user
reviews, or to buy: USAopoly Planet Earth Monopoly
at
Amazon.com]
 UpWords
This
classic board game is loosely based on Scrabble, but it's a little
easier to play and to score. If
you’re not already familiar with the game, players spell
words on the game board grid using their letter tiles in
order to score points. The twist here is that there’s a
third dimension to game-play –- letters are stackable, so
that lone can not only become alone, but also long
or along. An easy scoring system is understandable
for people of all ages.
UpWords is a great board game for families to share, and
it's affordable too.
[For more information, user
reviews, or to buy:
Upwords
at Amazon.com]
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8
 
UP - The Movie by Disney/Pixar
It's completely original, warm, humorous, and really not
your typical, cliched fare--Up will delight the entire
family. A 78 year old is the star of a movie designed for
kids? Who would have thought, but it works.
Ed Asner provides the voice for the balloon-selling
unlikely hero who is hell-bent on making the trip that his
now deceased wife and he had dreamt of making. Very
"uplifting", although at times very emotional, and sure to please as a gift the whole family
will enjoy.
[For more information, user
reviews, or to buy: UP (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition + Digital Copy)
at Amazon.com]
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9 
Window Art
This fun and easy art
activity is appropriate for the whole family. The premise of
Window Art is simple, but the
results are nothing short of fabulous: slip an included
plastic sheet over one of the book's pages of templates, use
a black squirt-bottle to trace the outline of a design, then
fill with more squirtable color. Each design--whether it's a
family of colorful bugs, an ice cream sundae, or a
collection of underwater creatures--takes about 24 hours to
dry. Once set, the design becomes "clingable"--ready
to display on any window of the house. The results are
positively vibrant. Your windows (and view) will never look
better.
[For more information, user
reviews, or to buy: Window Art (Klutz)
at Amazon.com]
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10 Smart
Mouth
Family time is fun with a good
game! Smart Mouth is exciting and
educational. Its rules are simple: players use the
Letter Getter that randomly "draws" two letters. The
first player to call out a word that begins and ends with these
letters wins the tiles.
[For more information, user
reviews, or to buy: Smart Mouth
at Amazon.com]
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More Excellent Choices:
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Top Pick
for families. Instead of dealing with screens that take
you through numbers and terms like "white balance", a
digital c amera like the Kodak EasyShare Z1015IS,
which uses
easy-to-understand language that holds users' hands through what
can otherwise be a rather complex task, is refreshing. Its 10 MP resolution and
15X optical
zoom means sharp images. Families can have fun experimenting with
its multiple modes (for example, sport for action shots,
bright for bright beach scenes, etc.). The EasyShare
line of cameras are easy enough for a child to use, as well as sturdy and not too
expensive. This camera is ideal for preteens and teens, as
well as adults. It's a fantastic choice for families.
[Buy Kodak EasyShare Z1015IS 10MP Digital Camera with 15x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom
at Amazon.com]
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 Handmade
Cards
This beautiful, all-in-one
book/activity set provides the instructions, supplies, and
inspiration for families to make their own greeting cards and
stationery! Along with a colorful book, the set includes gorgeous,
high-quality paper, a handy measuring grid, folding tool, and
reusable card templates. Instructions for projects ranging from
basic cards to origami are included. In between, you'll find photo
"easels", 3D cards, pop-up cards, little paper boxes, a
pretty daisy card, envelopes, and more. Handmade Cards is
published by Klutz Press, one of our favorite companies for unique
and fun books and activity kits. See more Klutz sets in our article.
[For more information, user
reviews, or to buy:
Handmade Cards: Simple Designs for...
at Amazon.com]
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 Blink
If you're looking for an especially
quick, fast-paced game, Blink will fit the bill. As they try to
play all of their cards, players need to quickly match cards by
shape, color, or count. This game requires coordination and visual
perception, but the rules can be learned instantly. It's
appropriate for almost all ages.
[For more information, user
reviews, or to buy:
Blink Game
at Amazon.com]
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 Trivial
Pursuit DVD Pop Culture
This all-new multimedia version
of a popular trivia board game includes 2,400 game cards for
traditional gameplay as well as 600 questions on an included DVD.
The theme is pop culture--with the categories "Buzz",
"Movies", "Music", "Fads",
"Sports/Games" and "Television", kids will
have a fighting chance playing against their parents! Tried and
true fun, with a contemporary multimedia twist.
[For more information, user
reviews, or to buy: Trivial Pursuit Pop Culture DVD Game
at Amazon.com]
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 Scrap Metal Sculptures
Looking for a gift that is a little
unusual, but very fun and even educational? Hogwild's Scrap
Metal Sculptures are unique building toys. Pictured at left is Gadget, a
posable magnetic cat. This cat and her dog relative,
Gizmo, are held together by three strong bar magnets inside their
tin box torsos. Kids under 9 mayl need help, but their
parents will likely enjoy giving them a hand. This is a unique and
creative kit. See our full
review of Scrap Metal Sculptures.
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Need more gift ideas? See the current top sellers at
Amazon today (updated daily):
BestSellers in Toys (Updated Hourly)
Just Released: Amazon's Top Picks in Toys 2009
Just Released: Hot Holiday Toys at Walmart.com
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See Also:
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