group/family gift ideas for my boys

[caedmyn]

I’m trying to think of group gift ideas for my boys (there’s five of them, ages 2 to 12).  There’s not really any museums or activity places around here so it needs to be more along the lines of a toy they could all use or indoor/outdoor play equipment.

[mommyoffive]

What do you already have?

trampoline

bounce house

play structure

ninja course

Do you live somewhere cold or warm?

pool

sleds

Edited December 4, 2020 by mommyoffive

[Spryte]

The trampoline was probably our best, most used toy purchase ever.

Laser tag kit - we have one by Laser X, you can buy extra add ons for more people. This gets more use with more people, so it fizzled out for our two kids at home when Covid started keeping friends away.  But it was fun before that!

Ninja course is fun.  We added extra things on the ground for those waiting their turn.

Do you have a swing?  I can’t believe how much even the teenager loves to swing.  Ours hangs from a tree, and is the circular spinny kind. The ones that are like skateboards are really cool!  I think Hearthsong might have those.  

[domestic_engineer]

truckload of sand/dirt/pea gravel and shovels (short handled ones work great for the Youngers) and buckets and wheelbarrows.

bows and arrows and targets and quivers and wristguards (I guess this would only work for the older 3 boys)

nerf guns and tons of bullets and tactical vests

[caedmyn]

1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

What do you already have?

trampoline

bounce house

play structure

ninja course

Do you live somewhere cold or warm?

pool

sleds

We have:

laser guns

Nerf guns galore

large swing/play set

bounce house

We had a ninja course that they liked but DH disliked it and threw it out.  They’d love a trampoline but I’m afraid someone will seriously injure themselves on one...they don’t follow rules well and realistically, I’m not going to be able to enforce a two person limit unless I spend all day every day sitting outside by the trampoline.

We have a four seasons climate.  They have a few sleds but we don’t ever actually go sledding so they just drag each other around the yard.  Maybe next Christmas (or two) an above ground inflatable pool will be an option.  I’m afraid one of the little ones will drown if we get one before they’re old enough to swim a little and have some common sense.

[Spryte]

What about something like a massive Rube Goldberg Machine making kit?  We have some big collections of Haba Ball tracks, domino runs, hape marble runs.  These have often been combined to make absolutely huge contraptions that fill the entire basement.  They are often filmed (failures add to the fun), and edited later with sound added.  You could sort of prime them for this, and see if they’d like it,  by playing some YouTube videos.  OK Go has some great videos for inspiration, too.  
 

True story: we once had our house alarm go off in the night, everything was fine,  but the police officers who checked out the basement had to step over and and under all kinds of contraptions.  They were really cool about it, and interested.  The kids gave an impromptu demonstration at 4 am, and it was pretty cool, as a stress reducer.

[Jaybee]

Basketball goal (and a smaller one for the littles)

Soccer goal

 

[saraha]

Ooh, Walmart has the skateboard swing, we bought one in the spring!

Soccer net?

Spike ball?

Some kind of movie making kit? When our six ranged 2-12 a popular activity was to "write" and film movies. The older ones would lead and we even have a movie where they dressed the 2 year old up in an alligator halloween costume and made him the monster destroying a wooden block town 😆

Inside fort kit?

 

[Drama Llama]

Our kids are older, we have 6 - 13, but the two group gifts I think they're getting are inflatable indoor/outdoor tracks for gymnastics

https://www.amazon.com/FBSPORT-Inflatable-Gymnastics-Cheerleading-x0-32foot/dp/B078815CXR/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=inflatable+gymnastics+mats&qid=1607103310&sr=8-5

Which I think a 2 year old would love too,

and this game. 

https://www.target.com/p/franklin-sports-billiards-golf/-/A-76167572?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&fndsrc=tgtao&DFA=71700000014807088&CPNG=PLA_Sports%2BShopping_Brand&adgroup=SC_Sports&LID=700000001170770pgs&LNM=PRODUCT_GROUP&network=g&device=c&location=9007807&targetid=pla-554380889021&ds_rl=1246978&ds_rl=1248099&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuvCx8u607QIVnimzAB0uyw3bEAQYASABEgK1AvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

But, I think that golf clubs might be dangerous in the hands of a 2 year old.  

I also agree about soccer nets and soccer balls.  Those get a lot of use in our household, even when the kids were little.  

We love spike ball, but it's definitely too hard for a 2 year old and the net looks temptingly like a trampoline while not being safe to use that way.  

[Carol in Cal.]

2000-4000 Kapla blocks and the artsy books of complex structures to build.

Even my husband likes Kapla blocks.

There used to be a Kapla room in a kids’ science museum in Berkeley, and when there was a homeschooling field trip there, a group went crazy and built a traditional beehive structure that was about 6 feet tall.  It took ages and they had the best time.  One or two of them were walled in, so they pushed out a low doorway, and the structure still stood!  It’s amazing how compelling Kapla blocks are if you have a lot of them.

A few games that seem to be easy enough for almost everyone but enjoyed by adults on down:

Up The River

Mexican Train

Pirate dress up clothes?

A fridge box each plus paints and other supplies to decorate them with to make your own town?  Maybe a few extras for a jail, a church, and a doctor’s office?  

[caedmyn]

15 minutes ago, BaseballandHockey said:

 

https://www.target.com/p/franklin-sports-billiards-golf/-/A-76167572?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&fndsrc=tgtao&DFA=71700000014807088&CPNG=PLA_Sports%2BShopping_Brand&adgroup=SC_Sports&LID=700000001170770pgs&LNM=PRODUCT_GROUP&network=g&device=c&location=9007807&targetid=pla-554380889021&ds_rl=1246978&ds_rl=1248099&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuvCx8u607QIVnimzAB0uyw3bEAQYASABEgK1AvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

But, I think that golf clubs might be dangerous in the hands of a 2 year old.  

 

Those golf balls would be dangerous in the hands of any of them lol.  That looks like a super fun game, but all I can think about is how many broken windows and holes in the wall we’d end up with if we let them play with golf balls.

 

I’m thinking about an indoor gymnastics bar like this https://www.walmart.com/ip/Pro-Gymnastics-Adjustable-Gymnastics-Kip-Bar-Horizontal-Training-Fitness-Junior-Kids-Heavy-Duty-Curved-Legs-Cushioned-Hand-Bar-Height-Expandable-Up-5/371683959?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=101030227&&adid=22222222227377480863&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=t&wl3=470063106704&wl4=aud-1025716567856:pla-970122425268&wl5=9021219&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=259469673&wl11=online&wl12=371683959&veh=sem&gclid=Cj0KCQiA2af-BRDzARIsAIVQUOfJKH1hfRciWzHeutN-zhcEVLFBFvU9q3unUDVm2OKpYy9_I71uWmQaAvIVEALw_wcB. A friend has one and they loved in when they were there and want one.  I’m just not sure if they’d lose interest after a week or two, or whether they’d use it to fling themselves into walls.

Edited December 4, 2020 by caedmyn

[caedmyn]

20 minutes ago, saraha said:

Ooh, Walmart has the skateboard swing, we bought one in the spring!

Soccer net?

Spike ball?

Some kind of movie making kit? When our six ranged 2-12 a popular activity was to "write" and film movies. The older ones would lead and we even have a movie where they dressed the 2 year old up in an alligator halloween costume and made him the monster destroying a wooden block town 😆

Inside fort kit?

 

I think I will make them an indoor fort kit...I have 7 84” long grommet curtain panels that are no longer used.  I could combine those with some plastic clamps and Velcro loops (to use with the bean bags we already have to weigh down ends) and I bet they’ll love it.  I still have to come up with an idea for Grammy though.  I’ll have to look up movie making kits...they’d probably love that.

[mommyoffive]

ping pong table

air hockey table

[Drama Llama]

9 minutes ago, Carol in Cal. said:

2000-4000 Kapla blocks and the artsy books of complex structures to build.

Even my husband likes Kapla blocks.

There used to be a Kapla room in a kids’ science museum in Berkeley, and when there was a homeschooling field trip there, a group went crazy and built a traditional beehive structure that was about 6 feet tall.  It took ages and they had the best time.  One or two of them were walled in, so they pushed out a low doorway, and the structure still stood!  It’s amazing how compelling Kapla blocks are if you have a lot of them.

I have wondered about Kapla blocks for us.  My builder is 10.  Are they a good choice for that age?

[Carol in Cal.]

19 minutes ago, BaseballandHockey said:

I have wondered about Kapla blocks for us.  My builder is 10.  Are they a good choice for that age?

Yes, but you need a lot of them.  The starter sets with just 100 can’t really do much.

They start being a good choice around age 4, and pretty much go through adulthood.  The magic of them is that they are all the same, they can be used to build extraordinarily stable structures, and they are relatively small so not heavy enough to be weaponized, LOL.

[PeterPan]

1 hour ago, BaseballandHockey said:

I have wondered about Kapla blocks for us.  My builder is 10.  Are they a good choice for that age?

I got a scad of them a couple years ago and they have gotten a lot of use. However I got the cheap knockoffs. They're lighter and slightly different in dimension from the name brand. The weight is the main thing. For what ds does, the weight doesn't really matter. He stacks them to make forts for battles. But if you have the money lying around for the heavier ones, they'll work better for contraptions I think. 

https://www.amazon.com/MindWare-KEVA-Contraptions-400-Plank/dp/B009AEULYM/ref=sr_1_9?dchild=1&keywords=kapla+blocks&qid=1607111776&sr=8-9  Keva I think are the heavier maple. Kapla are maple. But the knockoffs will usually be pine. My ds enjoys the knockoffs, using them a ton. And I think I got them for like $14 a box (100), so that it was such a deal I couldn't pass it up. That $93 for 400 is probably a really good price. If you bought several sets, you'd be swimming in them. 

[Drama Llama]

6 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

I got a scad of them a couple years ago and they have gotten a lot of use. However I got the cheap knockoffs. They're lighter and slightly different in dimension from the name brand. The weight is the main thing. For what ds does, the weight doesn't really matter. He stacks them to make forts for battles. But if you have the money lying around for the heavier ones, they'll work better for contraptions I think. 

https://www.amazon.com/MindWare-KEVA-Contraptions-400-Plank/dp/B009AEULYM/ref=sr_1_9?dchild=1&keywords=kapla+blocks&qid=1607111776&sr=8-9  Keva I think are the heavier maple. Kapla are maple. But the knockoffs will usually be pine. My ds enjoys the knockoffs, using them a ton. And I think I got them for like $14 a box (100), so that it was such a deal I couldn't pass it up. That $93 for 400 is probably a really good price. If you bought several sets, you'd be swimming in them. 

Thanks!  

I just might change my mind about DS10's big present.  

[PeterPan]

1 minute ago, BaseballandHockey said:

Thanks!  

I just might change my mind about DS10's big present.  

Yeah, I also really like K'nex, but I can't find that their Ball Machine is being sold right now. And really, the planks are so universal, easy to use lots of ways.

[cougarmom4]

We made an awesome marble run for our kids one year. We purchased a huge sheet of metal and hung it on the wall. Then we took various lengths of pvc pipe and attachments, glued strong magnets to them and put them all in a huge bin with a big set of marbles. 

[Drama Llama]

22 hours ago, PeterPan said:

Yeah, I also really like K'nex, but I can't find that their Ball Machine is being sold right now. And really, the planks are so universal, easy to use lots of ways.

I like K'nex too.  

I am really thinking about the Keva though.  How many planks do you think makes a good gift?  Are any of the add on sets a good idea?  Are there websites or books with challenges? 

[PeterPan]

11 minutes ago, BaseballandHockey said:

I like K'nex too.  

I am really thinking about the Keva though.  How many planks do you think makes a good gift?  Are any of the add on sets a good idea?  Are there websites or books with challenges? 

amazon sometimes has the downloads for the books. Your set will doubtless come with a book. I think ours did and I think I found more that I printed. My ds just tends to play with things in unusual ways, sigh. It's the autism.

I think you could go as high as your budget. They can do something with 400, definitely. I have a tote, maybe 40 gallon?, and it's basically full. That's probably 1500 ish, if I'm guessing. That's a stupid lot. Now my ds actually uses them because he builds these forts. But could you build something nice with 400 or 800? Sure. So I think just look at your budget. That was a pretty good deal though. Maybe 2 of those 400 sets? You've talked about your relatives being very generous, so if you combined people it could go 2-3 on the sets and be very wow. But it's not like 1 is not wow, kwim?

[PeterPan]

16 minutes ago, BaseballandHockey said:

I like K'nex too.  

I am really thinking about the Keva though.  How many planks do you think makes a good gift?  Are any of the add on sets a good idea?  Are there websites or books with challenges? 

https://www.kevaplanks.com/project-page

https://www.mindware.orientaltrading.com/pdf/instructions/48001.pdf

https://resources.demco.com/kevaplanks_teacherguide.pdf

Edited December 5, 2020 by PeterPan

[wendyroo]

My boys are 11, 9, and 7, and then a 5 year old daughter.
We are doing mostly joint gifts this year:

Oculus Quest 2 Virtual Reality

Sagrada Board Game

An IOU for a large Makeway marble run set that should have been here by now, but Covid delayed it by a bit.

200 old used (good condition) comic books (a mix of Marvel, DC, independent, and some Barbie comics for DD).

Lego Boost Creative Toolbox from my in-laws

 

[Spryte]

We’ve loved our keva planks.  They are generally used in conjunction with the other contraption-making things I mentioned above.  Our kits - we have a bunch - all came with books.  I agree, the more the better.

@wendyroo That marble run is wonderful!

[Drama Llama]

3 minutes ago, Spryte said:

We’ve loved our keva planks.  They are generally used in conjunction with the other contraption-making things I mentioned above.  Our kits - we have a bunch - all came with books.  I agree, the more the better.

@wendyroo That marble run is wonderful!

How old are your kids?

Do you think Keva is a good gift at 10?

[Spryte]

Just now, BaseballandHockey said:

How old are your kids?

Do you think Keva is a good gift at 10?

I definitely think they are a good gift at 10.

We got ours a bit younger - I think DS was in 2nd grade or so?  We found them at a science and tech show, and there was a play area with just sooo many - he had a ball.  We slowly grew our collection over a few years, and then  DD came along and loved them, too.  All the neighborhood kids have used them, too, all ages.   DS is 16 now, DD is 9, and keva planks are one of those toys that they go back to over and over.  At 16, DS isn’t building as much as he used to, but he’ll still pull them out and work them into the massive Rube Goldberg machines I mentioned - he and DD will build and film those once or twice a year. It’s a good older kid/younger kid kind of bonding project.

[Carol in Cal.]

Kaplan are the original ones.  When we realized how mesmerizing they can be, we bought a set of 1000 that came in a big box with castors.  It was all DD and her friends’ favorite indoor toy for years because we had a lot.  BUT!  The first box we got arrived a bit damaged.  When I complained, they sent us another one, and we transferred the blocks over and put the first one aside to junk.  Then we realized that getting 1000 planks into that box was a project in and of itself.  So DH roughly patched up the damage, and we divided the planks among the two of them, which they can almost fill if you just toss them in loosely.  

1000 was plenty for everything except the huge LHS beehive structures, and two big boxes was all the space I was willing to dedicate to them.  

You can get whichever ones you want, but I feel good that we chose to get the originals.  They are the ones who started this craze, and I hate to see knock offs benefitting from that inventiveness.  YMMV, that’s just how I felt.

[JennyD]

I have 3 boys, ages 10 through 15, and my MIL bought them an outdoor ping-pong table.  (Actually, first they made their own ping-pong table out of scrap wood and used that for a while until it warped terribly, and then MIL bought the real table.)  It is THE BEST GIFT EVER in a pandemic!  I believe it was fairly expensive, but that thing is just in constant use.

 

 

[kbutton]

Tetherball pole with a ground sleeve so that it can come inside when they are down. The ground sleeve also lets you mow over the hole but still find it when you want the pole in the ground.

They make soft touch balls so that they don't hurt hands--even I can play with those. 

https://www.amazon.com/Park-Sun-Sports-Tetherball-Accessories/dp/B00004SYN6/ref=asc_df_B00004SYN6/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167133777536&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=18061265222917344736&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9015622&hvtargid=pla-272967142950&psc=1

Seems like you might want to swap out some hardware with a swivel hook, but I can't remember the details--I think it has something to do with the rope and making it fray less.

Badminton or volleyball net? You could also do ground sleeves for the poles.

Throw down bases and a whiffle ball set--they make some nice orange bases you can see more easily.

Stomp rockets?

Magnetic dartboard?

Punching bag (be sure to get gloves): https://www.amazon.com/Whoobli-Punching-Boxing-Gloves-Adjustable/dp/B07S6K6B27/ref=sr_1_21?crid=24O8YI8PHLMMP&dchild=1&keywords=toys+for+boys+age+8-12&qid=1607233578&s=sporting-goods&sprefix=toys%2Csporting%2C192&sr=1-21

Spin off on badminton but can be indoor or outdoor: https://www.amazon.com/VIAHART-Goodminton-Easiest-Outdoor-Year-Round/dp/B00LWDRQ6A/ref=sr_1_27?crid=24O8YI8PHLMMP&dchild=1&keywords=toys+for+boys+age+8-12&qid=1607233654&s=sporting-goods&sprefix=toys%2Csporting%2C192&sr=1-27

I think there are knockoff brands too: https://www.amazon.com/OgoSport-OgoDisk-OgoSoft-Koosh-Balls/dp/B00W2RJ7KI/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=ogo+sport&qid=1607233709&s=sporting-goods&sr=1-4

[medawyn]

I’m glad to see so many people recommended Kapla blocks.  That’s “Santa’s” investment in our playroom this year, so I’m hopeful for many years of play out of them.  I got a bunch.