(Mindware $22.95) A craft kit that may well become a keepsake. They come with all the paints and supplies needed for making their own unique ornaments. Parental help will be needed for baking them to set the paint. If you prefer, consider MindWare Countdown Calendar: 12 Days of Color Your Own Ornaments (26.99) A dozen small porcelain ornaments are hidden each of the 12 windows, ready for kids to decorate with markers and hang on the Christmas tree. These also make special l

(Thinkfun $12.99) My First Math Dice Game is labeled for pre-kindergarten skills, but in fact, most kindergarteners and many first graders will benefit from the various games suggested with this hands-on counting game with chips that fit on towers and big colorful dice. The games reinforce number recognition and one to one correspondence between chips and numerals by using concrete objects. There’s also a “more than” and “less than” game and one with simple addition. All thre

(Doodle Hog $16.99) Our tester had fun painting the four unicorn squishies with the paint, glitter, and brushes, all supplied in this kit. The Narwhal was the favorite, but the Unicorn, and rainbow plus the Unicorn on the Moon, all made a hit. This makes a good rainy day, what can I do project. Best of all, once the paint dries, the squishy slow-rise end-products are good for desktop, tension relief or small gifts for others. Might be a good project for sleep over fun or play

(Madame Alexander $34.99 each) For that first baby doll, choose a soft fabric huggable like this. For safety sake, clothes are not removable, the face has no open-close eyes, no hair, just a sweet face with painted eyes and a puckered up mouth looking ready for food or a kiss. My First Baby Doll is lightweight and squish-ably huggable. Babies have limited interest in doll play, but they do like the humanoid face of a doll to gaze at and a safe little body to hug from time to

(Mindware $20.99 and up) No glue, no pegs, no colors, no various sizes—this is a totally open-ended building set with 200 planks ($49.99) of smooth pine wood that can be built into more than 40 different structures. Using these all of a kind planks, the variations call for stacking, balancing, and figuring how make an infinite number of towers, bridges, and original constructions. It comes with a 24 page booklet with ideas that will introduce kids to hands-on principals of ph

(Mindware $44.99) Younger builders will be able to do this smaller Sparkle Butterfly kit. Unlike some of the more complex Q-Ba-Maze kits, there are fewer pieces and connections to make but plenty of satisfaction in making a marble run that really works. Step by step instructions call for "reading" the images and working in an orderly fashion. Designed in pink and sparkles to appeal to girls...we generally steer clear of gender specific toys, but if pink and sparkle will attra

(Mindware $19.99) The wooden pieces of this toolbox go together with ease. Everything you need is pre-cut, smooth and un-splintery, and ready to assemble. Once that deed is done, there's plenty of paint to give it a one-of-a-kind look. The finished toolbox can be used to hold any number of items. Most five-year-olds won’t have "tools" as such, but the box might be useful for holding art supplies, gardening tools, or whatever. Note: The photo shows tools, but none come in the

(SmartGames $14.99) A fun brainteaser game for solo play. Your playing board includes a two-sided, five-part apple that can be twisted to match the challenge and three caterpillars that you will bend to match the challenge. A small booklet holds 60 different puzzles that you must replicate on the apple by bending the caterpillars to match. There are games that grow ever more difficult as you progress. Happily, if you get stuck there's a mini answer image for each at the back