holiday 2017 Archives - NY Foodie Family

Stocking Stuffer Ideas for Tween Boys

Posted on November 28, 2017 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

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By now you probably have an idea of what you’re getting your kids for the holidays. If you’re like me though, you end up at the last minute scrambling to buy the little things to fill your kids’ stockings. Here’s a collection of stocking stuffer ideas for tween boys. These are products that my 9-year-old son has enjoyed and make for fun, small gifts.

EDIBLE:
In my opinion, food is never a bad gift choice for anyone. But you can never go wrong getting candy for a tween! If you want to go the safe route, buy some of his favorite candy. Gum is always a good bet as well. Especially fun gum, like Bubble Tape. But f you want to give them something more adventurous, try these ideas:

Bean Boozled – This is a fun game that can be played with friends or family. You spin the spinner and have to eat the jelly bean it lands on. Will it be juicy pear or booger flavored? You don’t know until you try the jelly bean! Be warned, some of these jelly beans taste disgusting!

Ultimate Warheads Candy Lovers Variety Bundle - 8 Great Varieties Including Extreme Sour, Smashups, Chewy Cubes, Hotheads 7 More! (8 Total Bags)

Warheads Candy – According to my son, the new game at lunch is sour and spice wars. Kids bring in Warheads and other sour candy and face off with each other to see who can last the longest! This 8-pack has Warheads most popular varieties!

USEFUL:
It’s always nice to give a stocking stuffer that kids actually need and can use.

Socks – Boys always need socks. Especially long ones since many tween boys wear shorts to school all year-round, even in winter! My son’s favorites are long basketball-style socks with either an athletic brand logo or a fun design.

Watchitude – (c/o Watchitude) Who remembers the fun of slap bracelets?! Watchitude has combined the fun of those bracelets with the usefulness of a watch. There are many different bracelet including different sports balls, cupcakes, doughnuts, lightning and other fun, colorful designs.

JUST FOR FUN:
Sometimes, you just want to give your son something fun. Here are a few things they don’t need or maybe they don’t even know they want, but are just fun!

Funko POP! – Funko makes a POP! for almost every interest out there. Perfect for stockings are POP! minis or Pocket POP! keychains. Funko has a POP! for fans of Disney, Marvel, Star Wars, Harry Potter and more.

LEGO mini bags – If your son loves LEGOs, a perfect stocking stuffer is a LEGO mini set. These are smaller, more reasonably priced sets that kids can put together in minutes. My son has this parrot set from LEGO Creator. It makes a fun room decoration, or he can take the pieces apart and use them to build something else. LEGO has several different mini sets including a yellow airplane, transporter plane, mini sports car, clown fish and more.

Manifold origami mind bender puzzles – My son’s friend gave him this after he found it too hard to do. Each paper needs to be folded into a 4×4 square so the black areas are on one side and the white areas on the other. There are 100 pages that get harder as you progress. This is recommended for ages 10+ and is perfect if your son is a puzzle lover. My husband enjoys doing these too!

What are you putting in your tween’s stocking this year?

Hot Holiday Toys for Preschool Children {Holiday 2017}

Posted on November 20, 2017 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

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I think preschool children are some of the easiest to shop for. At this age they are into their favorite television characters and toy manufacturers are very aware of this! They are also at a great age for starting to learn to play games and do crafts. Although there seems to be unlimited options, here are some of the hot holiday toys for preschool children this holiday.

Disney Junior Doc McStuffins All-in-One Nursery – Doc McStuffins helps your child take care of their baby dolls in this all-in-one nursery set. It comes with a cradle and a scale. Included in the many different doctor accessories are a light-and-sound stethoscope and a laptop that has a light-up screen, makes sounds and plays music. This is a preschool toy of the year finalist. The laptop and stethoscope each require 3 x AAA batteries, not included. Recommended for ages 3+. Retails for $79.99.

Go! Go! Smart Wheels Race & Play Adventure Park – Watch as Gavin the Go-Kart races down the track and off the jump ramp! This set includes a ferris wheel that spins, a tumble-down carnival game and a swinging gate. It plays 40 songs, melodies, sounds and phrases. Requires 3 x AAA batteries, not included. Recommended for ages 1 -5. Retails for $39.99.

LeapFrog LeapStart – This is LeapFrog’s new interactive learning system. Using the stylus, children use one of the 25+ books (sold separately) to engage in over 30 different learning activities. Recommended for ages 2-7. Retails for $39.99.

Moonlite – Moonlite is a children’s storybook projector that attaches to almost any phone. Using the flashlight function it projects story images onto the wall or ceiling. Recommended for ages 3+. The projector retails for $24.99 and each story reel retails for $7.99. Available stories include Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, The Ugly Duckling, Duck & Goose and more.

Luvabella – Luvabella is an interactive baby doll. She moves, talks and plays, learning as kids play with her. She comes with four interactive accessories including a spoon, bottle, pacifier and stuffed animal. 4 C batteries are required, but not included. The doll is available with blond hair, brunette hair or dark brown hair. She retails for $99.99.

Paw Patrol My Size Lookout Tower – Paw Patrol fans will love this 2 1/2 ft.+ tower. It has interactive lights and sounds and comes with a Chase figure and vehicle, 2 Chase pup packs, one Marshall figure and 2 Marshall pup packs. Requires 2 x AAA batteries, not included. Recommended for ages 3+. Retails for $99.99.

Paw Patrol Sea Patroller – For Paw Patrol fans, Spin Master’s newest addition to the collection is the Sea Patroller. This boat makes sounds, has flashing lights and comes with a detachable anchor. The set comes with a Ryder figure and Ryder’s rescue ATV vehicle, an octopus and two lifesavers. This is a preschool toy of the year finalist. 3 LR44 button cell batteries are included. Recommended for ages 3+. The set retails for $59.99.

Rusty Rivets - Rivet Lab Playset

Rusty Rivets Rivet Lab – Fans of Rusty Rivets will enjoy this transforming playset. This set includes real lights and sounds from the show and comes with an exclusive Rusty figure. There’s a moving crane, elevator and blaster. You can add to the lab with other Build Me Rivet Systems sets, that are sold separately. Requires 3 LR44 batteries, included. Recommended for ages 3+. Retails for $39.99.

Soggy Doggy Board Game – In this game players move their piece around the board, taking turns bathing the doggy. But the dog likes to shake himself dry. If he shakes himself on your turn, you get wet and have to go back to the start. Requires 3 x AA batteries, not included. Recommended for ages 4+. Retails for $19.99.

Hot Holiday Toys for School-Age Kids {2017 Gift Guide}

Posted on November 9, 2017 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

(This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting this blog!)

It’s that time of year again. The toy catalogs are coming in and the kids are starting to make their holiday wish lists. Don’t get stressed out because I have rounded up this season’s hot holiday toys in NY Foodie Family’s 2017 Holiday Toy Gift Guide. I recently attended Play Fair in New York City, where the biggest toy brands were showcasing their newest toys, just in time for the holidays! Here are some of the recent new toys that are sure to be a hit with the school-age kids on your list!

Air Hogs 2-in-1 Hyper Drift Drones – These remote controlled can race on the ground or in the sky. The drone detaches and has a self-righting cage so it always lands upright. Each set comes with one hyper drift drone, one controller, one USB charger, an instruction sheet and spare propellers. Sets retail for $39.99 each.

Grossery Gang Muck Chuck Garbage Truck – Muck Chuck Garbage Truck is one of the newest additions to the Grossery Gang. It has a trash launch catapult and lots of storage space to hold Grosseries. The cab and sides open for battle mode. The truck comes with two exclusive grosseries. Recommended for ages 5+. Retails for $19.99.

Hatchimals Surprise – The newest from Hatchimals is Hatchimals Surprise. Inside each speckled egg are twin Hatchimals. Help them hatch and then watch as they learn new things. Choices include Peacats (shown above), Giravens, Deerioles and Ligulls (sold exclusively at Target), Puppadees (sold exclusively at Toys ‘R’ Us) and Zuffins (sold exclusively at Walmart). Recommended for ages 5+. Retails for $69.99.

L.O.L. Surprise! BIG Surprise – You will be lucky to find a L.O.L. Surprise (Little Outrageous Little Surprise) BIG Surprise this holiday season. The toy, released back in September continues to sell out and if you do find one, expect to pay a lot more than the $69.99 it retails for. The L.O.L. Surprise! are blind bag dolls and accessories. Inside the BIG Surprise are 50 surprises, each individually wrapped, resulting in the ultimate unboxing experience. If you can’t get your hands on the BIG Surprise, smaller mystery pack dolls are more readily available. Recommended for ages 6+.

LEGO Kylo Ren’s TIE Fighter– Legos are always popular with children of all ages and there are always new sets coming out. One of the new sets this season is Kylo Ren’s TIE Fighter. Recommend for ages 8-14, this set has 630 pieces. It comes with three mini-figures and a BB-9E figure. It retails for $79.99. Other new sets include Star Wars First Order Star Destroyer, Minecraft Waterfall Base, Witch Hut and Jungle Temple and NINJAGO Destiny’s Bounty.

Shopkins Cutie Cars – Cutie Cars are one of the newest additions to the Shopkins line. They are sold in 3 packs (pictured above) as well as in single packs. Each car comes with its own Shopkin. They are diecast and can be pushed. There are 37 cars to collect in Series 1. Recommended for ages 5+. 3 packs retail for $12.99, single packs retail for $4.99.

WowWee Chippies – These are remote-controlled puppies that can dance, sing, chase their tails and more. They have LED eyes and posable hind legs. There are four different puppies to choose from: Chipper (blue), Chippette (pink), Chippo (black) and Chippella (white). Recommended for ages 5+. Retails for $39.99.

WowWee Fingerlings Monkeys – Fingerlings Monkeys were just released in August of this year. These baby monkeys hang on your fingers and respond to sound, motion and touch. With over 40 different animations, kids can interact with their Fingerlings by petting it, blowing kisses and more. They can grip on to different surfaces. Parents, do not worry, there is an on/off switch! There are currently six different Fingerlings (Bella, Boris, Finn, Mia, Sophie and Zoe) which retail for $14.99. Recommended for ages 5+.