9TH ANNUAL HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

2020 OREGON FAMILY

Holiday Gift Guide

Cozy Cool

With a toasty Shred Dog Jacket, your kiddo is set to enjoy the colder months. We like this jacket for its everyday style, waterrepelling fabric and light insulation. It can be worn as a standalone or layered with a hardshell for a day on the mountain. Right now, it’s also half-price. shreddog.com. $60.

Give ’Em the Boots

Designed in Boise, Idaho, Lone Cone Boots keep kids dry and comfortable and let them express a little of their personality. The boots come in dozens of great patterns and are certified free of harmful chemicals. As we head into the winter months, Lone Cone Boots can easily keep up with your little adventurer. LoneCone.com,

Amazon. $14 - $35.

Never Felt So Good

Letter boards of all sorts are all the rage. Give your kids their own to personalize their space with this adorable Birdy Boutique Felt Letterboard. It comes with 130 letters, numbers and characters. The Birdy Boutique is a women and veteran-owned business with all sorts of cute and creative designs. https:// birdyboutique.com/ $15.

Holiday Gift Guide

Tby Kelli Matthews

he holidays are coming at us fast. While our in-person celebrations may look different, gift-giving can be a way to make things feel a little more normal.

This year, for our 9th annual gift guide, we found creative and imaginative gifts for kids. From toddlers to teens, our intrepid reviewers played games, sampled snacks, made art and went on imaginary adventures. Family Game Night

We love board games in our house. ThinkFun and Ravensburger sent us their latest and greatest to review for the Oregon Family Magazine holiday gift guide every year.

My keys to success: we can all play, it doesn’t take longer to set up the game than it does to play it, and it’s quickly understandable. Our three favorites this year were Mystic Market, Chicken War and Strike!.

Mystic Market is a commodity buying and selling game is easy to pick-up and fast-paced. The concept is that you’re buying and selling magic potions with the values continually shifting. Amazon, Eugene Toy & Hobby. $20. What could be more entertaining than building a chicken army? Chicken War is a deduction game for 2 to 4 players. Each of the 81 Chicken Tiles features a unique combination of 4 different characteristics. You choose a leader and then recruit an army that shares that leader’s characteristics. If you think you know who your opponent’s leader is, you can lob an egg and try to be the last chicken standing. Amazon. $20. A classic family-friendly dice game, Strike was easy to learn and a blast for everyone in our house. The game is easy: Roll. Match. Win! The last player left with dice wins. That’s it. Games are fast, so you can even set up a best-of tournament series. Amazon, Target.

$20.

My family enjoys cooperative games (Ravensburger’s Horrified is a favorite) and we the movie series, so Back to

the Future: Dice Through Time

Board Game was a no brainer. It’s a little more complicated to set up and learn than the previous three games, but the game’s attention to detail from the movie make it a ton of fun. Target exclusive. $28. Sometimes, you just want to play solo and the Moon Spinner is a classic brainteaser. Your goal is to scramble the various colored sections and then figure out how to rotate them back to their starting positions. The way the circles interact with each other makes this an addictive challenge. ThinkFun.

com, Amazon, $13.

There’s always a fine line between a gift that’s “too” educational and feels like school and something that your kids find fun and exciting but - surprise! - kids still learn something. I think these four ideas are more the latter.

The Mel Science subscription boxes for chemistry or physics have awesome experiments for would-be scientists. Each month has a theme and enough “ingredients” to do at least two of each experiment. This is serious science with real lab equipment but accessible for tweens and teens. MEL also has a kids box for ages 5 - 10. melscience.com $34.90/mo. with 3 hands-on learning games. Our third-grade reviewer was enthralled with this kit. Watch your child learn to code as they connect colorful blocks of code in the physical

The Scoot Hands-Free Hover Drone Duo Set puts an intuitive twist on drones. I’m a terrible drone pilot, but these cuties are controlled not with a remote control but with your hand. So easy and fun! You can even pass the drone from person to person. The high-tech sensors detect obstacles and have indoors. Amazon $60.

Designed for ages 5–10, OSMO Coding Starter Kit builds coding skills in progression a lightweight, crushproof shell, so they’re safe

world to chart the adventure on their screen. Amazon, Target $80+. This creative building toy is part origami and part building block. The Clixo Building pieces are magnetic and can be built anywhere - even on the go. It’s intuitive and straightforward and can really be made into anything. And when playtime is done, the pieces snap together and are even dishwasher safe. www.myclixo.com $30+.

Art instruction may be limited during remote learning and these two subscriptions and gift ideas are an easy way to add a little creativity and art back into your kids’ lives.

This drawing how-to curriculum uses dots to guide the young artist (as young as 4) through creating their own masterpieces. The Guide Dots starter kit includes a light pad and high-quality art supplies. Each project walk the kiddo through the project step by step with a series of videos. Each project takes 45 - 60 minutes, so my reviewer’s attention ebbed and flowed and needed some nudging. But we ended up with a project he’s so proud of. https://guide-dots.com/ $15 - $30.

The Marmals defy category, but this clever new toy’s creative approach gives it an arts and crafts spot. The Marmal is an engaging “fidget” toy with interchangeable magnetic parts. Creator Jeff Lawber (Portland, Ore.-based!) calls the Marmals “your new imaginary friends.” Each one comes as a blank slate that can be customized with the included markers or with paint, pencil or any other media. The Marmal can be a wonderful little character in your kid’s imaginary adventures. https://www.marmals.com/. $25.

Orange Art Box is a subscription art box with several projects that kids and families can create together - or that kids can do on their own, giving you a break. The box comes with plenty of supplies and clear instructions. We enjoyed the crafts together as a family. https://

orangeartbox.com/ $28 - $38.

Years ago, when we started this gift guide, it was primarily focused on tech toys for kids, so this category always has a soft spot for this reviewer.

It looks like mom’s iPad, but Animal Island Learning Adventure (AILA) Sit & Play is a more focused, virtual preschool jumpstart for toddlers. The tablet comes preloaded with content, and kids play in short 15-min intervals. The parent app gives you total control and helps track your kid’s progress. Our young toddler tester loves it, and his mom is impressed with his focus on the content. Animalisland.us, Amazon. $199.

If we were rating this year’s guide by cute factor, the Octobo plush robot would be pretty high on the scale. There’s a pocket for a small device screen (a large phone or small tablet). When activated, Octobo comes to life, interacting with kids through guided storybooks and educational apps. Octobo gives emotional feedback, conveying empathy and cooperation. thinker-tinker.com, Amazon. $199.

CINEMOOD is the world’s first noiseless, 3” ultralight standalone projector that converts any surface into a 12-foot cinema. The projector comes preloaded with kid-friendly entertainment — movies, games, e-books and bedtime stories - that can be projected on any flat surface inside or outside the home. No plugin and no wifi required. Or you can stream content from your phone. Amazon. $399.

After a day outside, it’s time to refuel with some snacks.

With a Universal Yums subscription, you get a new box from a new country each month. My kids have been fascinated by the differences in textures and flavors. Universal Yums sends a unique variety of sweet and salty snacks with a 12+ page booklet with trivia and recipes from the country of origin. universalyums.com $15 - $35 (three sizes)

The idea of eating roasted crickets got lots of giggles and silliness from the reviewers, but wait! They actually liked them! Gym N Eat Crickets are absolutely unique and memorable — an excellent way to expose friends and family to entomophagy (eating of insects). Did you know that insects take a fraction of the food, water, and land to raise the same amount of protein as traditional sources? We liked the smokey BBQ and fiesta flavors best. https://www.gymneat-

crickets.com/ $16 - $50.

Something Special

Our last two special gift ideas defy category but will delight your kids. We hope our guide gives you some fresh gift ideas for the kids in your life. Stay safe and healthy this season!

Your little girl may be looking for ways to express her style. Isabelle Grace Jewelry Girls ID Necklace is a perfect choice. The ID necklace has her name, a heart or star and you can also add a birthstone charm to make it extra special. My niece has been asking to wear her mom’s jewelry and this will be a unique piece to start a collection. Hint: Isabelle Grace has beautiful big girl jewelry, too.

https://www.isabellegracejewelry. com/ $65.

This snack box from Snack Riot was a huge hit. Each comes with nine different brands to discover with duplicates of each snack. The brands all have a “healthy snacking” approach to their goodies. I love that it’s mom-founded, so you can be sure the snacks are yummy (what’s the good of having snacks no one will eat?) and practical. snackriot.com $38/month.

The pre-school set is the easiest to buy for. Everything is amazing! Even so, these ideas are sure to delight and keep your young ones entertained for at least a few minutes.

The super-soft snuggler from Slumberkins comes with small board books that help little ones understand and manage their emotions. The Rainbow Unicorn Snuggler has a book and poster about authenticity and staying true to oneself. It’s a charming message, and the beautiful snuggler is a perfect nighttime companfrom iPlay iLearn is covered with soft, removable/washable plush fabric. Easy to use- just inflate with the included hand pump and off you go! The shark is small, so it’s best for the 2 - 3-year-old ion. https://slumberkins.com/ $45+. Road trips and camping adventures build family memories. The Haba Little Friends Camper Vacation set gives young kids the accessories to recreate and imagine their own adventures. The set comes with two chairs, a detachable awning and a boy figure. Elephant’s Trunk,

Amazon, Target. $50.

If you want to elicit giggles and squeals from your toddler, Mr. Blue My Dancing & Singing Bird is your bird. This adorable dancing bird will come to life in response to noises or movement (like getting tossed across the room). The bird scoots along the floor, coos and chirps sweetly and is also soft and snuggly. Am-

azon. $20.

Trains! The first of two is the SmartMax My First Animal Train for ages 1 - 5. Each of the two halves of the engine, coaches and animal passengers connect with magnets. If you have too. Amazon, Target. $35.

This friendly Hopping Shark other SmartMax sets, they’re compatible,

range. Amazon. $25. Brio wooden toy train sets are classic! The 37-piece Brio Smart Tech Sound Action Tunnel Travel Set ups the ante with the battery-powered Record & Play Engine to respond to the tunnel accessories. With the corresponding app, you can change the lights, control the speed and direction and more. I’ll admit to being charmed by this set, right along with my toddler reviewers. Elephant’s Trunk,

Amazon, Target. $180.