Holiday Gift Guide 2008: Gifts for manly little boys

 

What to get that little man who's running (around) your house? That is a toughie. There's always sports stuff or a little suit. Here are some other ideas a little less ordinary. For more ideas, little manly boys are sure to love the ideas in my gift guides for little: train lovers, car lovers, builders, monster lovers, athletes, space lovers and bug lovers. There's sure to be something in here for your little guy!

The Chocolate Cake Club has the cutest dress up pirate doll sure to please your pint-sized pirate-y manly man. Little boys like dolls to but some parents prefer boys to play with "boy dolls." This one fits the bill. He's cool and cuddly and your little guy can learn how to button, zip and more. Lots of important skills learned and adventures are sure to be had. You're daughters will probably want one too.

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. 

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.

Lincoln Logs Bicentennial Edition Set from BackToBasicsToys.com are the exact same as the ones you probably played with as children. 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.

Little boys five and up will love Bakugan. These transformable balls are basically a new take on Transformers and are really popular right now. They come in small packs with trading cards and big games with a battle station board. (Note: I wouldn’t recommend these in houses with any children under three though because of the little parts that can be a choking hazard.) 

HEXBUG Micro Robotic Creatures will be met with a "oooohhh, cool" when they're opened on Christmas morning. There are several designs and colors of Hexbugs, all of which fit in the palm of your hand and are controlled by remote control. The buttons are pretty simple, so even a young child can operate it. But they're officially recommended for kids eight and up.

The Lego Star Wars Clone Wars AT-TE Walker set comes with two clone troopers, a Battle Droid, Anakin Skywalker, Ashoka and Rotta mini figures. They're made for a little older kids (9+), but with close supervision younger children that won't put the pieces in their mouths can definitely enjoy this too.

North Star Toys Little Rollie Vehicles are a great set of wooden vehicles, made for kids 3 and up. The set of five includes a car, train, truck, bus, and airplane. These are cool looking and loads of fun. Your little man can get in the driver's seat of all his fav vehicles with this set!

Tonka’s Bounce Back Racer is the perfect starter remote control car for kids three and up. When it runs into the wall, it will flip over and go again. It has a really simple remote control too. Watch a video of how it works at hasbro.com.

For those teeny-tiny train engineering manly boys, check out the Russ Bright Beginnings plush train activity station. This soft and squeezable train makes choo choo sounds when you push the button to the delight of inquisitive babies (available by itself or in the set). The set also comes with a train station and engineer.

How’d They Build That? DVDs Fire Truck and Big Truck show these big rigs in action. An entertaining way to teach tots about the cars they love. These cool DVDs are brand new 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. 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.