If you have a ten-year-old boy, God bless you and good luck keeping their room clean. As a matter of fact if you find a way to keep their room clean please let me know what it is. On the plus side I know what he likes, I step on some part of it every day.
Let’s start with the obvious front runner, Lego. Lego in every color, every shape, every size, every thing they have to offer. It doesn’t matter what set you start with, you never end with anything even remotely resembling what is pictured on the box any way. They don’t care what it’s supposed to be, only what kind of abominable creation is rampaging through their imagination. Of particular interest lately are Bionocle robot type things. I can only assume they are of some Asian influence based on their names which I wouldn’t even attempt to pronounce. I can honestly tell you I have never seen one that looks anything like the picture on the box but they all feel the same when you step on them in the hall after a catastrophic breakup in outside space caused by too much speed in socks on the hardwood floor. Nothing saves them from dispersing to every corner of your universe when they bounce off the wall.
Number nine on the must have list is not only for the kids but for the adults too. Nerf guns. They come in any array of colors sizes, shapes and firing mechanisms. You can get them with laser sights as well as batter operated or pump powered propulsion systems. A word of caution here, choose your dart style wisely. The suction cups are great for sticking to windows, the occasional smooth wall and mirrored closet doors but beyond that they are a bit useless. The ones with the little Velcro ‘X’ on the end though, they are fantastic! They stick to curtains, furniture, clothing, and bedding and if you have a particular kind of dog you can spend hours amusing yourself and annoying the animal. Mind you the kids are not going to like it if you monopolize their guns for your pleasure so my advise, get one for everyone in the family. I know it sounds a bit ridiculous to be thirty something in the toy aisle at the local mega mart deciding which you can wield and reload with the most east but trust me when I tell you it’s worth it. Nerf is an inexpensive, safe, fun toy the whole family will enjoy for hours on end. You’ll giggle every time you pull back a couch cushion and find a stray dart hiding out.
Exciting number eight is the time-honored tradition of a cap gun. I know it sounds a bit lame but what can I say sometimes the more things change the more they stay the same. While the Nerf guns are fun in the house I have found the boys in the neighborhood are drawn to the big bang. The newer caps, not the rolls we had when we were kids are like little plastic encased daisies. No way you can set them off by whacking them with a rock or zipping a pin across them. The problem, where do all those plastic daisies go when they are empty? The lawn. Unless you come up with some system of checks and balances like making sure each child brings back the same number of casings you handed out not necessarily the best plan of attack when the whole crew is out there swapping ammo. Instead offer some nominal prize for the person who comes back with the most plastic daisies in their pocket.
Super seven is far and away the cheapest item I have ever seen hold the attention of five ten year olds for three hours. Total cost of items for all five of them, with tax, $5.35. Yep I typed it, $5.35. What is this miracle of cost efficient behavior modification? A plastic sword I purchased at a dollar store as part of a Halloween costume. I knew there was no way I was going to keep it away from him for the three weeks leading up to Halloween so I bough several in case of breakage. On an after school play date five boys were running around the yard from the time they got off the bus until it got too dark to play with plastic swords. I kid you not! The best part of the whole thing was that the swords came with sheaths and when the kids next door came over and didn’t have swords of their own the boys that did have them offered them the sheaths to use instead! That’s a whole lot of entertainment for $5.35.
Six is significantly more expensive. It always comes back around to the Lego. Lego Star Wars for the computer. I have never played the game nor do I think I ever well as the technology toys are my husband’s forte not mine but it seems to be a big draw. It’s my understanding the Lego on screen reacts to being slammed through with a light saber in much the same way Lego in your hand would react; it shatters and scatters to all corners of the universe. Come on, you have to agree it would have been pretty cool when we were ten if we could have lightsaber Darth Vader into a hundred Lego pieces.
Five. It’s the five finger discounted rack of black velvet posters at your local craft store. Inevitably no matter where you live there are some days of bad weather when the kids no matter how many games, toys, movies, or Lego sets they have get bored. It’s the perfect time to pull out the ridiculously complicated black velvet dragon poster and four measly magic markers that come with it and start coloring. I guess in theory you could get smaller pieces, things like a cat or dog they could finish by themselves in an hour but then they don’t have anything to look forward to the next time it’s miserable and they’re trapped in the house with the parents. It’s always good to get an extra set of markers for this project, preferably washable ones.
Four, remember when they were four? When they liked doing puzzles and still needed your help. Now they’re not so interested in lying on the floor building a giant 65 piece Scooby Doo. And who can blame them at some point puzzles turn the corner for boys. They become too cute in their imagery or too complex and something their grandmother spends a week doing after Christmas. There are exceptions though. There are those wooden triangle and bars with the golf tees in them you get to play while waiting for your food at some Kountryesque restaurants. You know the ones I mean. The key is manipulation. Brains are funny things they like to have tactile input when trying to solve puzzles. So my number four is puzzles but specific puzzles. Wooden or plastic three-dimensional puzzles that can be manipulated and articulated to find the solutions will exercise your gray matter as well as theirs.
Number three; forgive me, Magic The Gathering playing cards. I know, I don’t understand a thing about them either. I don’t know why they can’t learn to play card games like rummy, and gin, and high low jack either but they’re not interested. To them these games require too much thought and are a chore rather than a game. I don’t know what they are thinking because if they did math as well as they do for this card game on their tests we’d have a society of full of Bill Gates. Again I don’t fully understand how it all works but I hear them doing math and planning strategies and formulating trades and I think how bad can this complex thought process be for them?
Two. This one is as much for you as it is for them. Rolling drawers. Some sort of plastic storage on wheels with draws in it. These can be easily stored in their closet a corner of the room or you can do what I do with them and use them as night stands. Obviously no child will put these on their list but once they get them and get their Lego separated from their Nerf rockets, and magic markers they are going to love them. Not only does the whole unit move for their convenience (and yours when you need to clean) but they can remove one drawer at a time and take it with them to the living room where they will leave you presents.
And my number one pick for gift items for the ten year old boy … drum roll please … Showcase Cinemas Gift Pak from AAA. You get two admissions, two sodas, and large popcorn for a discounted rate. You just can’t beat it. Have a play date you don’t know what to do with, let your little man take his friend to the movies. It puts the control in their hands. On a rainy summer day, a cold winter day, a birthday, just about any time you can’t go wrong with this gift item. You don’t have to worry about size, you don’t have to clear your schedule for a special date, and you don’t have to decide what you’re going to see until you get there. (http://ww1.aaa.com/scripts/WebObjects.dll/ZipCode.woa/wa/route)
