Holiday Gift Guide 2008: Gifts for little builders

November 21, 12:14 PMEarly Childhood Parenting ExaminerAngele Sionna

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To build a tower of colorful blocks hanging there over your head so tall you can't get the next one on without crashing the whole thing, so you just crash the whole thing... it must be pretty empowering 'cause kids seem to take that approach to building all the time. And why not. It's all part of learning. My girls enjoy building, destroying and rebuilding stuff. And this type of toy is one of my favorites to play with them. Here's some ideas that your little builders will enjoy opening this year.

Magneatos Jumbo Magnetic Construction Kit from the Discovery Store are THE coolest building set I’ve ever played with. It challenges kids to think about what they’re building and how it works. The set comes with straight pieces and balls, all magnetic. You stack your things in interesting angles and learn about gravity really fast. I love this toy! It's one of my favorites in all categories this year. I'm not alone. My girls love this too and it is also a winner of the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Award. It's made for ages three and up, but I think you could use them with younger kids under supervision.

Lincoln Logs Bicentennial Edition Set from BackToBasicsToys.com are the exact same as the ones you probably played with as children. I used to really enjoy building cabins for my Barbies. This set logs builds Lincoln’s log cabin. It's all wood pieces and comes in a tin for easy storage. Made for ages three and up.

Legos. What little builder's life would be complete without these? For kids 18 months and up - check out Lego Duplo Preschool Building Toy Set. For five and up, check out Lego’s City Police Command Center. It comes with cops, criminals and a giant build-able mobile command center. Of course, there are Legos to suit just about every interest and age group. Check out Lego.com for tons of ideas. 

For kids that really love their Legos... check out this cool Lego brick baking mold/pan. Let them help cook up some Lego brick cakes and build something fun for dessert. You could always put water in them, freeze and take outside to build an ice fort too. But you'd probably want a few of them.

Mega Bloks Lil'  Wagon is for little builders one and up. It's great because you have a storage container that can be your building base. I've been playing with this one since the first Christmas of my oldest daughter (who is now 2.5 years old). She still enjoys building, crashing and putting these back in the wagon and pulling it around the house. This one's really a bargain price too!

Bob the Builder Big Build Collection 3 DVD set with a Scoop Toy is the perfect video collection for under the tree for fans of this TV show. And Bob the Builder is probably the hero of tots that are really into building stuff. If not, he's still a fun guy to watch and learn. This collection includes stories that teach kids about reaching ones dreams and teamwork. Also of note is a real life version of Bob the Builder, in the DVD "On Site: Houses and Playgrounds." Read my full review of that HERE.

For kids 8 and up, and no younger, check out Discovery Kids’ Power Welder. It lets kids construct and destruct over and over again. Parts to make a car, a jet and a “dino-tron” are included.