As I've mentioned before, the adults in my family don't exchange Chrissy presents. We do give pressies to the kids though.
However, this year, it strikes me that a number of the kids in my family already have more toys and gadgets and shit than they could shake a small tree at. Not only that, but some of them are so spoiled that they don't appreciate anything they're given anyway.
The question then becomes, what do you get for a kid who has everything? I'd like to get things that are practical and/or educational, so that even if the gift is not appreciated, it can still be useful.
Any ideas? Suggestions for children of all ages welcome, but nothing too expensive please.
Examples could be good books for kids/teens, educational games
or apps, online learning services that have an annual subscription, puzzles, sports equipment, etc.
***
The other thing I do at this time each year is start looking for organisations to donate money to.
I like to get a mix of regular charities and free services in there if I can. Wikimedia Foundation, for instance, is one that always makes the list, because I get so much damn use out of what they do.
Again, all suggestions welcome.
24 comments :
I'm no good for suggesting gift ideas; can't think of stuff for our own. We give money. It's what they want. As for the charities, I don't pay any attention to them either.
You can call me Uncle Scrooge. I'm not good at Christmas. Just want it all to be over.
I'm guessing you're not keen on the new Chrissy colours then, auntie McDuck?
I noticed, but you know, it's your blog
*quack*
I fucking hate word verification...
I fucking hate word verification...
Agreed!
I checked my settings, and word verification (or "captcha") is still turned OFF.
Also, I've been getting captchas everywhere for a few days now, including on your blog.
Maybe this has something to do with the new "intelligent" captcha system that Google is currently skiting that they've invented. Fuck, I hope it isn't permanent.
Never knew it was called captcha. Interesting.
Shouldn't have been getting them on my blog, they are turned off. But they've just come up on your blog for first time. What are they doing? Annoying.
Captchas are the brunt of a lot of hate/mockery in the tech world. Most people can't stand them. Plus, they're at a point now where computer programs are so good at reading them, you have to make them difficult to the point where it's hard for humans to read them. Basically, they're becoming infuriating and redundant.
There used to be a joke project called "craptcha", which made a joke captcha system that you could put on your site; it would spit out illegible nonsense that was impossible to type. Not bad if you like that kind of humour.
Also, I have just discovered that if I completely ignore the captcha and just press "publish comment", everything works fine.
I'd be interested if that works for you too.
Makey Makey is great but may be a bit pricey. A bat detector, do you have them in shops there? Also, John Adams Hot Wires Electronics Kit. Also, Kids National Geographic magazine. Also, things like den kit, sleeping bag, binoculars, bird and shell and constellation spotting books (suitable for Australia). Amazon sell Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck hardcover comic collections. I love Uncle Scrooge. Gaming mouse with fancy lights. Bike spoke lights. Hula hoop. Chronicle Books do various titles like 642 things to draw and 642 things to write about. Stop animation stuff like modelling clay, clay board and tools, book called Animation Studio, DVD called A Town Like Panic or some other stop animation, children's book Below by Meg McKinlay (LittleSquib is 11 and read this book twice), The World's Smallest Post Service DIY Activity Kit, totem tennis, bunch of stuff from Smiggle or Typo, Djeco do a great range of art stuff, Smart about the Arts do a range of kids books on various artists (for about 9-10 year old), Hot Wheels do a Mars Rover Curiosity... or you could just get them a surf shop voucher. Or really upset them and give them a charitable goat
Best educational apps? Starwalk and The Elements
But it's true. We are all drowning in crap and Christmas is a pain in the arse
You are the best squib. And BAT DETECTORS. That's so interesting/funny/weird. I recently had cause to learn about these things. At a 'writers drinks' one of the people was leaving, and as he did he pulled out a bat detector from his pocket to show me. Told me ALL about them, that he'd gotten his from the US, online.
I love Uncle Scrooge as well, and Donald Duck, and the three nephews. They were my favourite comics I think. (Out of that lot. Loved Peanuts. Also BC. Also Tintin. Also Asterix and Obelix. Also Thelwell's English country/horsey lot.
Anyone know them?
Yes, able to ignore word verif Alex. Thanks for the tip.
Also funny about that joke thing people could put on their sites.
Thank you for that fantastic list Squib. You are the best.
I've never heard of bat-detectors. Um, do they detect bats? How?
Yes to duck comics and Tintin comics. I think I liked the Peanuts and Asterix animated films more than the comics. I've seen some Thelwell, but not enough to have a strong opinion. I do like the art style. It reminds me a bit of Footrot Flats, which I think might be my favourite of that sort. Even though it was Kiwi, I thought it captured some of my own experiences with farm-life absolutely splendidly. The animated movie is really nicely done too.
Grrrr... blogger just swallowed my comment again and I didn't copy it. So, I was saying, does this writerly person carry their detector everywhere, Melbs? I was going to get bat detector for LittleSquib (ok maybe for me!) for xmas but bats are hibernating ATM so would be better for her birthday in July. Detectors listen to bat chatter, Alex. They also pick up rats and voles and other little varmints
I remember Thelwell. It was the sort of thing people had in their toilets along with Footrot Flats and Andy Cap. More for the older generation to read on the loo kind of thing
My faves were Asterix and Uncle Scrooge. I sometimes read Archie comics because my friend had them but I always liked the ads the most, the ones for radio spy pens and sea monkeys
So you can actually tune them in like a radio and listen to the little buggers chirping away? That dose sound pretty neat.
The ads in the old American comics were great. I especially liked the ones that pretended to be little comic stories of their own. I've also seen some decent comedy sites that do satirical critiques of those old ads, or replace some of the text, to humorous effect.
Radio spy pens and sea monkeys. Yes, I used to love the ads too in the comics.
The bat detector. Yes, he'd just bought it and had it, and was going to turn it on as he walked from the train station home to see if there were any bats along the way. Apparently the bats (micro ones) chirp and make noises and they have individual sounds, and you can hear them making the sounds.
The actual detector was very funky; had a kind of dial with bat wings that you moved... SO AWESOME
Asterix animated films weren't around when I was a kid...
I think they started coming out in the mid 60s. Twelve Tasks Of Asterix (the one I remember best) was about 1975~ish, I think. So, it's not like they're a new thing.
God - we had this awful channel called Mining Television Network. The only cartoons they had were Felix the Cat and The Mighty Hercules. You know, Hercules, hero of song and story,Hercules, winner of ancient glory, fighting for the right,fighting with his might... also, seem to remember Roger Ramjet
Oh right, you mean the bloke with softness in his eyes, iron in his thighs, virtue in his heart, and fire in every part? That Hercules?
And I think Roger Ramjet was my dad's favourite cartoon there for a while?
So, you grew up in outback W.A then Squib? Were you still out there when Golden West started up? What about Imparja?
OK if we are now onto kid tv shows (animation) then: Kimba the White Lion; Gigantor; Prince Planet. And all the Road Runner, Bugs Bunny ones. I feel sorry for the kids these days. The cartoons seem shit but maybe that's just perspective.
As someone who's never grown out of cartoons (hand drawn ones, anyway; I don't much care for computer generated stuff), I think I can say that there's always been good ones around; it's just that there's SO MUCH shit nowadays, it's like trying to dive for pearls in a sewage pond.
Right now there's Gravity Falls, which I can't stop raving about. A few years ago, feminist icon in the animation world, Lauren Faust, rebooted the My Little Pony franchise, which was fantastic until she left the show midway through season two. In the early 2000s, there was the highly commendable Justice League series.
In the 90s, there was the Batman cartoon, which many cartoon nerds still rate as being the greatest ever (it was great). There was also the criminally underrated X-Men cartoon (first 3 seasons anyway). It didn't have the visual slickness or style of Batman, but the serious tone and depth of character drama completely changed my views on what you could do with animation. I went back and looked at it five or six years ago, and the scene at the end of season one, where the characters debate going on a suicide mission still gave me chills. I can't be alone, because a youtube search of "x-men animated favourite moments" turns up this exact scene.
The 80s had the wonderful Astro Boy, which had some truly emotional moments. But also stuff like He-Man, She-Ra, GI Joe & Transformers, which mixed action and absurdity in such a way that they're still entertaining (and funny) to watch today. And of course everyone seems to remember Cities Of Gold. Also, Jem & The Holograms should probably get a mention, if only for the music.
What does stick out to me when I look at it though, is the ratio of great female characters compared to male ones. Kind of sucks, doesn't it.
Also, The Tick was brilliant.
Never heard of Imparja, Alex but GWN definitely. In fact mostly GWN, only had MTN a short time. Oh - I loved Battle of the Planets. Maybe that was ABC but I seriously thought I was part of the G-Force team. I would fly from one lounge chair to another - this probably happened on afternoon shift when my incredibly intolerant stepdad was at work
Imparja was the indigenous network that started up in the, oh, mid-to-late 80s, I guess. More central AUS - NT & SA, but if you were in the western parts of the eastern states or the eastern parts of WA, you could sometimes get it.
I used to watch Battle Of The Planets too. Did you pretend to be one of the G's in particular or were you your own character? As usual, my favourite character was the baddie. Zaltar of Spectra. Like the Voltrons and Tranzor Z, it doesn't hold up well, but the original Japanese versions of all those shows are still reasonably good.
Also, does anyone remember before Agro, that Anne Maree Biggar had a show with a puppet called Scruffy The Dog? I don't know if it was a national show or a regional one.
We had a tape of it back in the days when we didn't get any TV reception, but I don't remember where it came from.
I'm not sure, probably Princess since she was the only girl. I don't remember Scruffy
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