Gifts to Go

With the holidays just around the corner, you’ve probably started making your shopping lists.

Today, Amy Bevins, Assistant Editor of Washington FAMILY Magazine, shared a few great ideas for this holiday season on the Moms Like Me segment on WUSA9.

Here are her choices for Gifts to Go,” items that are lightweight and inexpensive, making them perfect to mail, give in gift exchanges or use while your family is traveling. You can find many more toy ideas in the current issue of FAMILY Magazine. Go to our web site for a list of locations where you can pick up the magazine.

If you are looking for a stuffed toy, here are two great choices.

Normally you wouldn’t think of plastic water bottles as cuddly, but Fuzz That Wuzz stuffed animals from Mary Meyer Corporation are actually made from recycled plastic bottles. Swingzzz Monkey has more than 20 different Fuzz That Wuzz friends, including a moose, an elephant, a bear and a snowman.

Lubies, made by Rocket USA, are a wonderful combination of a soft, stuffed ball and a snuggly friend. So you can combine a little toss and catch with a sleepy time pal. There are over 20 Lubies available, including a flamingo, a panda, a shark and even a Thanksgiving turkey.

Here are three great things to keep kids busy while you are traveling.

YamSlam from Blue Orange Games is a fun, fast-paced game that combines a little Yatzee-type action with intriguing poker chip scoring for a great mix of luck and strategy. Best of all, the dice roll quietly in the game case and everything stores neatly, making it a perfect on-the-go game.

Gallison Mudpuppy makes wonderful magnetic figures for keeping kids entertained. Each one has several backgrounds and lots of outfits for imaginary play, all of which store in a tin box. Depending on your child’s interest, Mudpuppy makes sets from monsters and robots to fairies and mermaids.

Adams Cube by ThinkFun is a 6-in-one brain teaser puzzle cube. Best of all, the puzzle pieces store inside the cube, making it perfectly portable. It’s great for kids who love a challenge.

And if you need to wiggle, the JellyFlyer, by Noodlehead Fun can be tucked in a pocket, purse or backpack and pulled out wherever there room to play frisbee. Because it is made of soft silicone, it can be used indoors and it won’t hurt little fingers. Amy’s family loves things like this for long car trips. They pull them out at the rest stops and get everybody moving to shake out the wiggles.

For more great ideas, you can find Amy’s article “Gifts to Go” on the Washington FAMILY Magazine web site, www.washingtonFAMILY.com

What suggestions to you have for some holiday “Gifts to Go?”