Wednesday, November 16, 2016

11 Best Holiday Gifts for Girls in 2016 - Tween and Teen

There are some amazing gadgets and gifts for teen and tween girls this holiday season. My favorites and my tween daughters are below.

3Doodler 2.0 Drawing Pen
This 3D drawing pen by Brookstone made my tween daughters Christmas list. It's one of the hottest toys for 2016 holiday season. Hoping it lives up to its promise - easy to use!




One of the best journals on the market for tweens and teens! It will keep your child engaged by prompting them to do things such as adding photos, painting a page with hot chocolate and coloring outside the lines. Creative and fun!


Wreck this Journal

Wired Cat Ear Headphones from Brookstone
Great tween or teen holiday gift gadget! LED lighted cat ears with over-the-ear cushioning for noise reduction and a secure fit. It also is USB rechargeable—up to 5 hours of playing time per charge.
LED lighted Headphones

Chocolate Bar Maker
Somehow, every year, a food toy makes my daughters list. This year it's the Chocolate Bar Maker by Moose Toys. I'm sure she'll only use it once or twice. I bought it for her because it made her list and I'll get a yummy chocolaty treat that she made especially for me.
Chocolate Bar Maker
Great book if your child is interested in crafting such as scrapbooking and card making. I purchased this along with Tombow Dual Brush Pen Art Markers, Bright, 10-Pack

Writing Lettering for Crafts

Crayola Air Marker Sprayer
My tween daughter loves doing art projects. This Air Marker Sprayer available at many stores like Target and Walmart is another hot toy this 2016 holiday season. It also had great reviews. One thing that I like about it is that you can use any marker versus having to purchase something unique that can't be used alone.
Crayola-Marker-Sprayer
Pie Face! Game
Help! Yes it's hilariously fun! Yes my kids will love this! But I'm still torn between purchasing this game or the Bounce-Off game. Having whipped cream splattered on my kids (or their friends) face will be hilarious! As a mommy of four, I just don't want to deal with the mess it will create and the cost of continually having to purchase whipped cream just doesn't excite me. 
Pie-Face-Game
Smartphone VR Headset with Earphones from Smarter ImagePriced at only $49.99, this Smartphone VR Headset with Earphones from Smarter Image will give you an amazing 3-D experience. We tried it, and absolutely love it! The best part is that it is compatible with all smartphones up to 3.875” W x 7.5” H. 

Virtual Reality Headset

Day At The Spa Gift Set by Creativity for Kids
I did purchase this for my tween daughter. She and her five year old sister asked for this for Christmas. It's a bit pricey, but I think they'll get a lot of use out of it. At least, I'm hoping.

It comes with an inflatable pedicure foot tub, nail dryer that is battery operated, satin eye mask, pedicure slippers and toe separators, nail file, buffer, 4 bottles of nail polish, 1 bottle of glitter polish, 6 sets of printed press-on nails, stick-on nail art, nail stand, cotton balls and satin spa bag to hold all of your supplies. Batteries not included.
Spa Kids Gift Set

Fun gadget when you are doing your homework and need a breather. 

Remote Aircraft Toy

Last, but not least, Spot it! is one of our favorite games to play. It's a face paced game that develops focus, visual perception and strategy.
Spot it! Card Game


Tuesday, November 15, 2016

11 Best Holiday Gifts for Boys in 2016 - Tween and Teen

Every holiday season, I spend hours upon hours researching the latest and greatest gadgets and gifts to purchase for my kids for Christmas. This year, I discovered 11 cool holiday gifts for my tween and teen boys.

Virtual Reality Headset for Gaming and Movies
This is the coolest gadget for the 2016 holiday gift season. Great for kids and adults. I haven't purchased one yet; but it has made one of my son's top Christmas list requests. Right now, I'm highly considering the Smartphone VR Headset with Earphones from Smarter Image. It's priced competitively at $49.99 and has 5 star reviews. 

The following are two review sites that are helping me in my decision process.

PCmag.com Virtual Reality review
Virtual Reality headset by Wareable.com


Virtual Reality Headset


Infrared Laser Tag from Smarter Image
This is just one cool gadget for only $69.99! You get two infrared laser rifles (one blue one green) that “shoots” infrared light, and two (blue and green) visors that records hits up to 100 ft. away. The rifles also can transform to a pistol. Another amazing feature is the visor has a scan” feature that tells you when your opponent is getting close. 
Laser-Tag-Blaster

Virtual Pong from Smarter Image
Smarter Image rocks with cool gadgets for the entire family. The Virtual Pong game priced at only $79.99 is on the top of our list this year. It's great for those cold winter days. 



Atari Flashback 7 Classic Video Game Console
This looks like such a cool video game system! It comes with 101 games that I played when I was growing up. It has mixed reviews. Honestly, technology didn't work well in the 80's and 90's so this console may bring back some great memories. 

I purchased this from Bed Bath & Beyond, using a 20% coupon.

Atari Flashback 7 Video Game Console
Vista Sage 62" Recurve Take-down Bow
My 13 year old son asked for this. After doing some research, I decided to purchase it from Basspro due to price savings. I also purchased him a Vista Recurve Bow and Arrow case from Cabela's, along with some Carbon arrows.
Vista Sage Recurve Take-down Bow

K'nex K-force Mega Boom Building Set

This was a Lightning Deal on Amazon, so I couldn't pass it up as a surprise gift for my tween boy. He loves building Lego's and shooting Nerf guns. Hopefully he'll enjoy this as much. 
K'nex K-force Mega Boom Building Set
Google Pixel
I haven't purchased this yet, but am highly considering it. For the past five years, we've been an iPhone family. With Google playing such a big role in my kids educational lives, I'm leaning towards investing in the Google Pixel for my boy and girl twins.

Google Pixel Mobile Phone
Google Pixel=

Fishing rod
My boys love to fish. This year, my 13 year old asked for a Shakespeare Catch More Fish Rod and Reel Combo for Catfish
Fishing Rod


Not for Parent How to Be a World Explorer

This was another mommy surprise gift for my 13 year old son. 
World Explorer Book



Beats by Dr. Dre - Powerbeats2 Wireless Earbud Headphones - These are one of the hottest gifts of the season. For the price, all I'm hoping is that they truly are comfortable and work!

Wireless Earbud Headphones
Framed portrait of my boys favorite sports team and playerMy boys are big MLB and NFL fans. This year I wanted to get them something they can see and enjoy every day - Rob Gronkowski New England Patriots Framed 15" x 17" Super Bowl XLIX Champions (purchased from Fanatics and used a 40% + free shipping coupon) and Chicago Cubs Highland Mint 2016 World Series Champions 13" x 16" Key Moments
Rob Gronkowski SuperBowl PictureChicago Cubs World Series Framed Picture