Every year, while I was in the U.S., I would go into a toy store somewhere and look at stuff. Originally, the premise for this was trying to find something my nieces would like, but I never had a clue. Instead, I ended up looking around for what I would like... and with only girls in the family, this was not productive. I think when I did buy things for my nieces, they were tolerated more than liked. I'd apologize, but I have no idea what I was doing wrong so... apologizing is weird. Plus, trying to play the suave single uncle in a toystore surrounded by dolls never quite worked for me. In fact, it was pretty lame. Maybe some women have the same problem with buying gifts for young men? No idea.
Well, the toy stores where I am now pretty much suck. So I just checked out Amazon.com
which, I admit, was not as fun as walking through a real toy store, but it's what I have. Based on what I saw, I created a short list of stuff I would have bought for a nephew. The only rule I had was that it couldn't be a computer game.
So, in no particular order, here's what I found which I wish I had when I was a kid. And maybe I still want them. But I wouldn't admit that, because... oh, forget it... here they are:
- LEGO Star Wars Slave I
: Boba Fett's figurine was a special figurine when I was a kid, and Boba Fett just rocks. He looks cool, has some cool Mandalorian armor, and has a cool ship. Legos just rock, no matter how old you are.
- Electronic Playground 50-in-one
: Having had an electronic kit as a kid, I still love these things. But having had one as a kid, I'd advise parental supervision. I did manage not to zap myself too often, but some power outlets will never be the same. We won't talk about that.
- Scientific Explorer Disgusting Science Kit
: No one in their right mind would have ever bought me something like this. Sometimes an Uncle would have been useful to intercede. Come to think of it, I can think of one niece who would have liked this...
- GL-X200 Air Rocket System
: One of the neighbors in Ohio had one of these, only it was water propelled. That's a bad idea, because some kid might think a flammable liquid might be a good idea and destroy his friend's toy- so the air rocket is a good bet once there's no hydrogen laying around.
- Discovery Ant Gel Habitat
: The gel idea is cool. I never understood why I never got one of these. In fact, I almost got one of these for myself years ago (not the gel), but was put off by having to order ants. So if you have to order the ants separately, stuff like this sucks.
- Discovery Build Your Own Robot Kit
: Oh yeah. Who doesn't want to build their own robot?
- Cstar Educational Series 50 x 600mm Table-Top Refractor Telescope
: Having a telescope is just cool. Adults think it's for educational purposes, but it's really about seeing what is over there. On the flip side, I think microscopes suck for the 0-16 age group.
- Radio Control Jet Hovercraft
: Land and water? Remote control? Cool! On the flip side, radio control submarines suck. Unless they can transmit live video so you can explore instead of wondering where the heck it is. Then an uncle might have to jump into murky water to find it, and that might suck.
- 50-Model "Best of" Erector Set
: It's just cool to build stuff.
- LEGO Mindstorms NXT
: Umm. Well, I have the original version of this, and haven't played with it as much as I wanted to in the last (oh wow) 7 years. I might dig it up and see if it's still working if I can find time... Of course, this is for the hardcore lego/computer kid.
That was my entertainment tonight. Rummaging through toys at Amazon. On a Saturday night. I *must* be getting old...
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