Gifts Over $50.00

  Toddlers | Age 4 - 8 | Age 8 and up

Toddlers

  Thomas Wooden Railway Roundhouse Set  -- (Learning Curve, ages 3 and up, $499.99) -- the 109-piece deluxe Roundhouse Set is made for the ultimate Thomas fan! The Roundhouse Set includes multiple vehicles, track accessories and the ever-popular Roundhouse. All pieces are stored in a wooden Thomas Box, which features a removable lid/seat cushions. 

Thomas Under the Bed Trundle Playtable  -- (Learning Curve, ages 3 and up, $199.99) This is a fabulous alternative to the full size play tables that our out there.  You can keep the table out whenever you are playing or push it under the bed for extra room when needed.  It comes complete with the play board and a center drawer.  If you have a huge set the drawer won't hold all the pieces, but it will hold a fairly good assortment of track and accessories.  For people who don't have a dedicated play room and toys are in their kids bed rooms this is a great option!

Schoolhouse Rocker (Levels of Discovery) When we gave this to our tester she was thrilled, she is a big fan of Mary Englebreit and felt the design was very much in keeping with that style. Her daughter, our tester loves her rocking chair. When she pulls on the chord it plays the ABC Song and it even has a place to store pencils.  These fabulous rocking chairs come in several themes from the Countdown to Christmas, Time Out Chair,  Fire Engine or Prima Ballerina Rocker. Ages up to 10, $119.95 and up depending upon the style, 

Schwinn Hot Rod 12-inch Boys' Bike (Schwinn)  I have been a cyclist since I was a little kid.  When I got older I worked in a bicycle store.  I used to sell Schwinn's every day.  Schwinn has been making bikes since 1895 and for a kids bike you can't get any better.  This one was tested by tough little 3-year-old and he loved it.  It's shiny blue with a cool chain guard and pads.  A great bike for the small price of $59.99.  Nothing is nicer than the smile on your face when you get that first bicycle! 

For girls, Huffy, also a recognized name bikes, makes a great little Disney Princess bike. Available at ToysRUs.  The bike is available in two sizes 12" or 16" so your granddaughter can ride like a princess for years!

Age 4 - 8

Ryan's Room Majestic Castle (Small World Toys) This awesome set was tested by two boys, aged 3 &5.  They loved the working drawbridge the staircases and towers.  Their mom loved it's heirloom quality and the fact it is made out of wood. It comes with  4 knights and horse so if you have a couple of kids playing with it, we suggest you get some extra people and horses! Age 3 +, $99.99

Sweet Baby Doll (Lee Middleton Dolls)  This doll was reviewed by a 6 1/2-year-old doll lover,  and according to her this doll wins the prize. She had heard about the "Adoption Centers" at FAO Schwarz her mother couldn't afford to do it.  Even though she didn't "experience" the adoption she did get the doll.  This doll is so lifelike said her mother!  The baby weighs four pounds, is 19" tall and comes in a white sleeper gown and cap, diaper and hospital nursery wristband. This doll makes a fabulous sibling gift!  Ages 3 and up. $80.00

Little Sweetheart (Lee Middleton Dolls) This beautiful baby comes with her own bead kit so your grandchild can make a baby bracelet for the baby and herself (or himself!)  Our 4-year-old reviewer just loved this doll and constantly takes it for walks reports her mother! (Ages 3+, $69.95)

Sony PlayStation 2 (by Sony Computer Entertainment, all ages , $199.99)

This is the game system every electronic home gamer wants. Our 31-year-old, 15-year-old, and 4-year-old testers all said the same thing:  "This system is cool." PlayStation 2 has by far the best choice of games, and you can play all the older PlayStation 1 games on it, too. This system also has a built-in DVD player (a feature we didn't test fully because we were busy checking out the games). If you purchase this unit, you should also consider getting the following accessories: an 8MB Memory Card  to store games, and an extra  Dual Shock 2 Controller so two people can play.  Note: The 4-year-old had a hard time using the standard controllers because her hands were so small, however we found a fabulous product (pictured left) called MicroCON by a company called MadCatz.  These controllers are much smaller then the standard controllers and seem to work really well with our 4-year-old testers little hands.  They also make the MicroCON for , XBox and GameCube.  For more information on these controllers click here.  

Age 8 and up

Polaroid Mio Instant Camera w/film  (Polaroid, ages 8 and up, $79.88)
With its contemporary, hip and stylish design, the new Polaroid Mio is a "must have" for the hip teens -- and adults -- on your gift list. The sleek, 5-inch camera delivers instant snapshots that easily fit in a wallet (so you don't need to trim photos to fit in those small compartments). The camera is ideal for parties, a night on the town, or any social occasion where an instant photo can add to the fun!

American Girl Place in New York City.  If you are thinking about getting your granddaughter one of these dolls and live near either New York or Chicago I hear a trip to the American Girl Place is a must! A "Day at American Girl Place"  includes a meal in the Cafe, a live musical show, a CD of The American Girls Revue original cast recording, $130 spending money, Souvenir doll T-shirt and comes in a pretty red envelope.  It costs $250.00 for one adult and one child, but what an experience!

Sony PlayStation 2  (by Sony Computer Entertainment, all ages, $199.99)

This is the game system every electronic home gamer wants. Our 31-year-old, 15-year-old, and 4-year-old testers all said the same thing:  "This system is cool." PlayStation 2 has by far the best choice of games, and you can play all the older PlayStation 1 games on it, too. This system also has a built-in DVD player (a feature we didn't test fully because we were busy checking out the games). If you purchase this unit, you should also consider getting the following accessories: an 8MB Memory Card  to store games, and an extra  Dual Shock 2 Controller so two people can play.  Note: The 4-year-old had a hard time using the standard controllers because her hands were so small, however we found a fabulous product (pictured left) called MicroCON by a company called MadCatz.  These controllers are much smaller then the standard controllers and seem to work really well with our 4-year-old testers little hands.  They also make the MicroCON for , XBox and GameCube.  For more information on these controllers click here. 

Xbox (by Microsoft, all ages, $199.99)

Year two of the Xbox era and it is still turning heads with it’s stellar graphics, cutting edge games and multitude of features. 

The Xbox boasts the most advanced hardware system built for gaming to date with a Pentium III processor, 64 MB of memory, 8GB hard drive and Nvidia graphics system. (See full specifications below). 

Some of the most exciting and visually stunning games are available for the Xbox. There is something for everyone in the selection of games. From “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” or “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4” for the whole family to “Unreal Championship” or “Halo” for Teens and adults. However the majority of games geared towards teens and adults. For younger kids (4-11) Nintendo’s Game Cube would be a better choice.

You can connect up to four controllers to the Xbox to share the fun with your friends or family. However, if there is no one home to play with, no problem. If you have a broadband internet connection just pick up the Xbox live starter kit ($49.99 for the kit and one year of service) and you can connect to Xbox Live and play against other gamers over the internet. Some of the games available for online play are MechAssault, NFL Fever 2003, MotoGP, NBA 2K3 and Unreal Championship.

Tired of playing games? With the optional DVD remote you can play DVD movies on your Xbox. 

Technical Specifications:

• Intel Pentium III at 733mhz 
•   Custom graphics processor at 300mhz, designed by Nvidia exclusively for Xbox 
• DVD movie playback 
• 1920x1080 maximum resolution 
• HDTV support 
• 64MB memory with 6.4GB/sec bandwidth
• 8GB Hard drive, 4 speed DVD drive
• Custom 3-D audio processor designed by Nvidia which supports: 
• 64 Hardware audio channels (256 total) 
• 3D Audio support 
• Midi/DLS2 support 
• AC3 encoding
• 100 MBPS Ethernet Port 
• Optional Modem 
• 4 game USB controller ports 
• Proprietary A/V connector 

For more information on the Xbox go to http://www.xbox.com