Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Holiday gifts: hits and misses?

Just curious what was successful or not at your house this Christmas and Hanukkah.

DS's Perplexus has been driving us all crazy, in a good way. DD was excited to get her children's philosophy book, though she complains that some of it is not philosophy (and she's right). The card game Bohnanza has been a huge hit with everyone. The bird trivia game DS got for DD is good in terms of difficulty, but will be "used up" in a week or so because there aren't enough cards, so that one I consider a miss. DD's surprise gift, a keyboard, was a HUGE HIT. We have yet to figure out how to best take advantage of it since she does not want to take lessons, but she really is very interested in composing. But we have time.

DS dropped his favorite book, "The Scrambled States of America" in the toilet a couple months ago so I had to throw it out. He has a new hardcover and was very pleased to get it.

Snap circuits have yet to come out of the box which surprised me, since DD likes our other set.

Dh bought the kids a game "Portal 2" for the PC and that is the new Minecraft, for now. Dh let them play Portal 2 all day yesterday, much to my dismay (Minecraft has been an obsession in our house for several years).


DD really liked her pottery wheel which she asked for, but has yet to produce anything resembling pottery.

They both liked the card game Timeline.

And the game "Spot it" although DS started to get upset because DD was faster than he was (her slow processing speed was definitely not showing up with that game).

travel chess set/learn-to-play book for DD5 - first and only thing she's pulled out so far, unless you count asking a million questions about what makes *my* Thinking Putty work.

hope y'all had great holidays!

So far Lego Friends are the clear winner in our house. Both girls have been putting together Legos since Christmas day and still have a couple more boxes to go. The iPad minis with iTunes cards (from grandparents) would be runner up. Up to this point we have only allowed free apps on their iPods...needless to say Minecraft was the first app to go into the iCloud, with Cut the Rope close behind. I added Stack the States and Duolingo (which is free). Now they are really giving some thought to what else they want to purchase and debating what they can get with the amount they have left.

The other set of grandparents got the girls gift cards to Build A Bear. This was a huge hit while they were in the store picking stuff out, naming them, and dressing them up. They played with them for a while but now they are just sitting there with the other gazillion stuffed animals they have. We are having a stuffed animal purging very soon!

Like Blackcat...they were excited about the Snap Circuits when they opened that present, but it hasn't been touched since then. I think it will be a hit, but I may have to drag them from the Legos to get them to open the box.

DD8 got the first "Olivia Kidney" book and DD9 got "The Phantom Tollbooth". Both girls didn't seemed very thrilled with those when they opened them, so I'd say for now that is a miss. However, I know once they start reading them that will probably change.

Our surprise hit was a cheap microfiber throw for DS5 - he has been carrying it all over the house, including into our bed at 6AM this morning (unusual for him).

DS6 got six different science kits - Disgusting Science, a little biology lab, a chemistry set, crystal growing set, Mind Blowing science and a batch of triops eggs to hatch. These were all from different friends and family members.

He is so excited! He is setting up a laboratory in our basement. The first experiment he thought up is to grow bacteria using the disgusting science kit and then see how it reacts to the chemicals in the chemistry set.

He very seriously told me that he plans to make medicines that fight diseases but that he won't try to make money from his discoveries because helping sick people is very important.

Both boys love their bikes! Ds6- says his bike was "meant for him", "a perfect match".

Ds3 is loving his roller skates and pretend vet clinic.

Ds6 can't stop reading his new books- what's new?

A fail: the rainbow loom. I'm the only one who's made a bracelet.

KJP - that all just warms my cold little heart.

DD9 has rejected the loom and the hook, but has made some stuff out of the rubber bands. I need to show her how to see the videos on Youtube of how to use it - haven't done that yet.

i made a set of colored stuffed felt numbers with little button eyes and arms for math-obsessed DS3...that has gone over better than all the expensive stuff, lol.

...I'm not exactly sure why i bothered buying so much other stuff in the first place!