The Christmas shopping season is fast coming to a close. Hit the malls now and you’ll be fighting some serious crowds. It’s not fun for most people.

It’s time to consider whether gift cards are the right choice. I like giving them for Amazon, just because people can buy just about anything they want there, and most of the time the prices are good. Not always, but most of the time. And of course you don’t have to fight the crowds at the mall to get it. At this point it’s late for mailing them, but you can arrange for it to be delivered by email on the day of your choice.

The one trouble is that if you don’t send it in the mail, there’s nothing to put under the tree. Not good if you’re celebrating together. That is the one advantage to buying gift cards in person.

But where?

That depends on the kind of gift you want to give. Are you going highly practical? Wanting the recipient to indulge? You can get gift cards for anyplace from Walmart to most restaurants. Think about what you want to be done with it.

While gift cards don’t come out immediately as the perfect gift, they are often quite welcome. There’s the assurance that whatever is bought with it, it will be much wanted. That’s a very good thing.

Technorati Tags: gift ideas, gift cards, holidays, christmas

One of the things I look for in Christmas presents is something that will not cause clutter. Most adults I know already have a problem with clutter. This lead to one of my favorite presents to give when budget allows… Netflix.

The memberships can be pretty cheap, starting at $4.99 a month, which translates to a bit less than $60 a year, and the person can get up to 2 discs a month. For a lot of people that’s probably plenty. How many movies do you usually rent a month anyhow?

Netflix is really, really fast about shipping out discs. That’s one of the things that always amazed me, that they could be so efficient at it.

This is what my sisters and I got for my mother last year, although it was a more than minimum subscription. She’s gotten good use out of it.

It’s a gift I’d enjoy too, although I really don’t watch that many movies. The selection is just amazing, more than you can get at a regular video store or even those vending machines that rent movies I’ve seen a couple places.

Technorati Tags: netflix, gift ideas

1. Hooray for online shopping! I get to avoid the lines and the crowds.
2. Why is a daughter who wants everything she sees advertised on TV so hard to shop for?
3. If online shopping is so easy, why am I not done yet?
4. Too bad my inlaws will be out of town. Kids are going to miss their grandparents. But at least they get to see my sister-in-law have their next grandchild. But we’re doing their shopping for our kids too.
5. I love shopping at Amazon.
6. ThinkGeek.com can be a lifesaver when I don’t know what else to buy.
7. Or eBay when my shopping ideas are a bit more obscure.
8. It was fun finding a certain special gift for one of my nieces just by accident when my sister had been looking all over town for it.
9. Really have to finish shopping soon or pay extra for fast shipping.
10. Keeping the kids’ presents hidden is a part of the fun.
11. I have to get Cars for my son. He loves that movie and he’s never seen the whole thing.
12. They may not be old enough to read them on their own, but my kids are getting The Dangerous Book for Boys and The Daring Book for Girls this year. They’ll still be fun to go over together and should last for years.
13. One good thing about my inlaws being out of town - I get to borrow their car, making any local holiday shopping that much easier.

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These just look like a delight to me. Such a simple design but I have no doubt that my kids would have a blast with them. They’re high on the list of presents I’m likely to buy soon for my son for Christmas… not that I don’t think my daughter will enjoy them too.

They’re available through Amazon or Magic Cabin. The reviews look quite promising, and they toys could easily be used for more than simply stacking into interesting shapes.

There are some really great toys out there for kids to get really creative with, and I love that. The hard part for me has always been choosing which to buy.

Technorati Tags: kids toys, dado cubes

Many kids love geeky gifts just as much as adults do. Geek toys allow them to explore and to be creative.

On the light side of geekdom, my husband bought our kids an MP3 player. Just a cheap one, since the oldest is 5, but to me this is very practical too. We can download music as well as fill it with the CDs they already have. Considering how hard kids are on CDs and DVDs, I wish it were more reasonable to do similar with their movies.

There are a lot of really great science toys out there for kids, and some are even pretty popular right now, like the Eye Clops. I can also really picture kids enjoying the Blue Man Group Percussion Tubes, which I saw and played with last year. Didn’t quite fit in the budget, but even now I still think they would have been a great gift.

But some options are perhaps a bit more directly geeky. Such as the DIY Telescope Kit. Great for the kid who is really into astronomy. A quick lesson in what goes into making a telescope, perhaps as a lead in to a future, bigger telescope. Or for the kid who has everything, including that dratted cold they gave you, Giant Plush Microbes could be a fun idea. Cuddly yet noninfectious… at least until the kids get their hands on them when they really do have a cold or flu.

For older kids, I really like the Khet Laser Game. We try to do game nights every here and there, and while my kids are too young yet to really strategize, they do get a kick out of playing. We have some pretty unusual games too, since my husband is a big fan of Cheapass Games.

And of course, geek t-shirts are a consideration. ThinkGeek has them mostly in infant and toddler sizes, but some of them are pretty cute. I suppose it is challenging to come up with good shirts for the range where their friends won’t get it, and even if you explain it, the kids may not understand either.

The Learning Resources Gearbotics® Robot Motorized Set caught my attention too, as a switch from the usual R/C prebuilt robots. I mean, the Roboreptile is cool, but it’s always fun having kids build their toys to encourage still more creativity. That’s probably why I like the plain LEGO sets, Capsela, and K’Nex.

I have to admit, I’m not always so good at following my kids’ wish lists for gifts. After all, according to my daughter, every commercial she sees is her favorite toy. Why go and get her something she will probably play with at every one of her friends’ houses when she can have something more unique at home?

and how better to encourage her own geekdom (I hope)?

With Christmas approaching, I have fun wandering sites thinking about what I might get for various people for Christmas. Since I know none of them read this blog, I’m going to mention some. But I won’t say who they’re for, just in case I’m wrong about that. And I’m not promising that any will actually be purchased.

Great Geysers Kit

I know too many people who want to do the Mentos & Diet Coke thing.

Bi-Color LED Blow On-Off Candles

Not quite as romantic as real candles, but no worry about fires. Seems pretty nice to me.

USB Microscope - QX5

Rather like the Eye-Clops that is so popular right now, but for the computer. I kind of like that better. It also looks to be more flexible, with 3 different magnifications available.

Geeky Wrapping Paper

More to wrap with than to give, obviously. I especially like the ChristmasBots paper.

R2-D2 Laundry Baskets

Ok, I’ll admit it. I’m thinking of this for my son. He’s 2, he’s not going to read this!

No, I will not fix your computer t-shirt

More to give my inlaws a scare than anything. You don’t want to know how often I’ve fixed their computer for them.

Inconceivable t-shirt

A lot of Princess Bride fans in my family….