One Family's Blog: Christmas Gifts for Kids between 5 and 12

Age and gender appropriate gifts are important for a gift to be of good use in this age group. The same strategy of using lists can be applied in this age group as well to ensure that your purchases fit your budget – first create a list of items by scouting for potential gift ideas for kids and categorize them by age group (5 to 8 and 9 to 12) and gender (unisex, girls, boys). Tweak the lists to establish counts – works well if there are several recipients in each of the age and gender categories. Once these lists are established, in a few iterations, purchases can be balanced without exceeding your budget.

Below is a list of frugal Christmas gift ideas for Kids 5 to 8:

Product	Thumbnail	Gender	Best Price	Description
Nerf N-Strike Maverick		Boys	$9.75	Six-dart barrel with flip-open action for easy loading. Rapid launching action, pullback mechanism, and auto-advancing barrel. Comes with six darts and instructions. Can snap it onto Unity Power System.
Lego Walkie Talkie by Digital Blue		Boys	$19.99	Talk up to 1 mile away, Easy to use one push talk button, volume control, single channel.
Angry Birds: Knock on Wood Game		Unisex	$22.65	Based on the best-selling phone app game - Angry Birds. Features three Angry Birds, green pigs, one slingshot-style launcher, structure pieces, and mission cards.
Spot It game by Blue Orange		Unisex	$12.09	Fast-paced observation game, four mini games, spot the matching symbol to win. Sharpens cognitive skills in a fun atmosphere.
Zhu Zhu Pet Hamster		Girls	$16.97	2 AAA batteries. 40 different sound effects depending on environment. One of the year's hottest toy - featured in Good Morning America.
Squinkies Bubble Pack - Series One		Girls	$9.99	16 different squinkies in this pack with 100s of others left to collect.
Uncle Milton Moon in My Room		Unisex	$17	Creates an authentic lunar landscape with view of 12 lunar phases in your room – phases illuminates in 5-second intervals. Light sensor allows auto-illumination in a darkened room with shut-off in 30 minutes. Comes with remote & 15-minute audio CD.
Bananagrams		Unisex	$12	A handy game like scrabble only better. Travel Friendly – just a smallish banana themed bag and no board required.
Qwirkle		Unisex	$18	A multi-award winning board game that combines the logic & strategy of Set with the game play of Scrabble. 108 wooden blocks – six different shapes and colors in the designs.
Blokus		Unisex	$23	Most awarded kids board game of the 21st century. 400-piece gameboard with raised edges, 84 pieces in four translucent colors. Promotes spatial thinking as players form images in the mind that are reproduced on the board.
Webkinz Pom Pom Kitty		Girls	$10	The plush toy comes with a secret internet code that allows the owner to interact with a virtual version of their pet on the Internet.
Melissa & Doug Incredible Illusions Magic Set		Unisex	$17	19-piece wooden set that features illusions and slight-of-hand tricks that are easy to learn.
John Deere 7430 Tractor with Duals (1:16)		Boys	$28	Great for farm related imaginative play or for a sandbox. Not die-cast, but still very durable.
Melissa & Doug Jumbo Coloring Pad		Blue-Boys, Pink-Girls	$5	Features make these coloring books special – Oversized 14x11 thick premium white bond paper with outlines, one-sided pages along with the thickness prevents smudging, and clean easy tear-out allow more than one child to simultaneously enjoy coloring and/or display the masterpiece once completed.

Below is a list of frugal Christmas gift ideas for Kids 9 to 12:

Product	Thumbnail	Gender	Best Price	Description
Rory's Story Cubes by Gamewright		Unisex	$6.71	Pocket-sized creative story generator that reinforces artistic expression.
Ticket to Ride by Days of Wonder		Unisex	$38.56	One of the most popular specialty games of all time. 225 colored train cars.
Sleeping Queens by Gamewright		Unisex	$9.66	A very fun card game. This new game was invented by a six-year old.
Snap Circuits Junior SC-100		Unisex	$24	Winner of multiple awards. Contains 30 snap-together parts that allows building up to 100 projects such as burglar alarm, doorbell, etc.
Quiddler		Unisex	$10	A word-building card game with 118 cards.
ThinkFun Rush Hour		Unisex	$19	16 cars and trucks along with a red escape car. Forty mind challenge cards and solutions. 4 levels of play. National award recipient & 1999 Parents Choice Recommended Toy.
Lego Creator Beach House		Unisex	$32	522 pieces. Instructions for 3 different designs. Great value for a Lego set!
Radica 20Q Artificial Intelligence Game		Unisex	$15	Electronic version of the classic game of 20 questions – players think of something, then answer a series of 20 Yes/No Questions until the product guesses what it is.
K’Nex Value Tub 400 Piece		Unisex	$25	400 parts including bricks, rods, and connectors, Ideas & Instructions for 20+ models. Great value – the older version with bigger parts sold for almost twice the price!
Ball of Whacks		Unisex	$25	30 magnetic design blocks that can be rearranged into different shapes. Comes with a 96-page illustrative guide. The pieces are “golden ratio” rhombic pyramids.
Deluxe Pit		Unisex	$14	Toy first introduced by Parker Brothers in 1904. This Corner the Market cardgame is still great for fast-paced fun with 3-8 players. 74 premium quality cards, silver toned bell and rules.