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Please post your ideas for holidays gifts for gifted children.

We're focusing on a mostly toy-free Christmas in my family. Gifts will include books, clothes, magazine subscriptions, and museum memberships.

I am going to get one of my sons (who is gifted) a hydrogen powered car. Sometimes they ask for the most ridiculous things. However, he did not get a birthday gift this year because he could not think of something he truly wanted. I will get him one eventually, but it has to be the "right gift." I'm sure those of you with gifted children know about how difficult it can be to choose something appropriate.

We don't do "toys" either which makes it difficult. It's not like you can go to Toys R Us and find a suitable gift. The closest we get to toys are Legos and ride-on toys, like bikes. The little ones have dress up clothes.

Thanks, Bubbles! I have never heard of a hydrogen powered toy car. I'll have to take a look, as it sounds like a good fit for a nephew of mine. Do you have a link?

Dress up clothes are also a favorite here. We have tons of old Halloween costumes and garb from past Renaissance faires. The kids never get tired of it. One tip though- for anyone looking at fancy dresses for little girls, take a look at the scratch factor. Many gifted kids are extremely sensitive to touch and cannot stand to wear scratchy lace or tulle next to their skin. If you see a dress like this you cannot resist, make sure the child has a good soft slip to wear under it.

I think gifts that are appropriate vary widely based on interests. When our ds was, I think maybe 12, the best thing we could give him was wire and bolt cutters. (He was making chainmaille.) One year, the two things he asked for were a dictionary and a fish.

This year, he really wants a new camera (his good one, a hand-me-down from my father, died) and Rubik's cube, and timer mat for cubing. Odds are, your kids might NOT enjoy the same gifts. And I think that if I got him dress-up clothes... well, let's not go there! ;-)

When I was a kid, the gift I got THE most excited about, were the books I got.

I did not read books - I ate them, LOL, still do! The year my mom got me the entire set of CS Lewis "Chronicles of Narnia" I thought I was in heaven. Of course I don't think I left my room for about 2 weeks....

anybody got any good suggestions for a building set for a pg 5 y.o.? doesn't like legos because they don't flex enough. had the same problem with tinkertoys - he's bent about half of the rods so that they suit the angles and sizes he needs. K'nex are just too tiny to keep track of and keep ending up in the vacuum! but he LOVES to build things! any other good ones? or DURABLE (he is 5 and has a 2 y.o. brother) model-building sets?

if you have one, you're my hero. the family is asking for xmas lists!

Zandes-

If your son has strong hands and is good at manipulating things, you might consider Zome Tools. These can be a bit difficult for younger kids to utilize, but they are great fun and designed to build cubes, buckyballs, prisms, DNA models, bridges, and more. I can't say enough goood things about Zome. They are a big hit with the Davidson Young Scholars. Check it out here:
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My children enjoy Magnetix. Some of the pieces are flexible tubing.

Chain mail sounds way too cool!

Here is the link for the car:
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I personally am not a fan of Magnetix. The magnets are able to come out of them. In my area, the 21-month-old brother of a boy who owned Magnetix found some of the magnets on the floor, swallowed them, and the magnets bonded together in his intestinal tract (which causes fatal blockages). The 21-month-old died.

This is a news article about the recall that took place on the Magnetix sets back in 2006:

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