Here’s something you might not know, but should: Kids don’t really care about another pair of mittens or a dress shirt they’re likely to outgrow before Easter. They secretly want to cry every time they open a present and find those things.

There’s much more meaning to Christmas than gift-giving and consumerism. HOWEVER, if you’re going to engage in all the gift-giving and consumerism anyway, you might as well do a good job and not make kids sad.

Because your nephew totally didn’t think: “Thanks for the scarf, Aunt Edna! It looks exactly like the one you gave me last year and I love it so much because getting presents isn’t what Christmas is all about!”

What he actually thought was: “Maybe I can use this super-ugly friend repeller to pull my Jeep Adventure Pedal Kart out of the mud.”

Because he’s smart and resourceful.

Just like you. So, avoid the scarves and start here:

2015 Holiday Gifts for Kids

Motorcycle Engine Builder Kit

Workman motorcycle engine build kit

We all want the same things for the children in our lives: Solid education, healthy relationships, and the ability to build and repair engines.

In some ways, this cool motorcycle engine builder kit accomplishes all three.

Transparent V8 Engine Model Kit

V8 engine model kit

 

Remember all that stuff you read two seconds ago? It applies here, too. Except… (wait for it)… eight cylinders!

Display Shelves

Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am wall shelf

Kids don’t like regular shelves. They like amazing shelves. And whether they’re into Smokey and the Bandit Trans-Ams, or ’69 Camaros, or 2013 Shelby Mustangs, or ’55 Chevys, or ’66 GTOs, or whatever, there’s a killer hotrod shelf perfect for them to display their favorite photo of you.

Zombie-Opoly

zombie opoly game

Take everything that was great about Monopoly, perhaps the most popular board game, ever. Then, add zombies! Rad.

Dragtracks Slot Car Racing System

Dragtracks slot car system

The track can be configured for drag racing, an oval, or a road course. None of which are bad ideas.

Hot Wheels™ Racing Battle Case

hot wheels racing battle case

Introduced in 1968, we’re rapidly approaching 50 years of Hot Wheels. And in nearly five decades of 1:64-scale toy car supremacy, do you know how many times giving Hot Wheels to kids was a bad idea? If you already bought the scarf, at least throw in a Hot Wheels car to ease the pain. And if you didn’t buy the scarf? Battle Case, yo. They’ll like it.

1963 Corvette 12V Ride-On

1963 corvette battery powered kids car

Unless you’re going to buy them an actual 1963 split-window Chevy Corvette (best Vette ever, probably), it’s going to be hard to top this.

Pink Deluxe Pedal Car

pink deluxe pedal car

Respect the classics. In any color.

License Plates Jigsaw Puzzle

license plate puzzle

We like puzzles. You like puzzles. Kids like puzzles. And these 1,000-piece puzzles depicting U.S. license plates from all 50 states and several eras are great puzzles.

The hug you’ll get after gifting one will be warmer and fuzzier than the best scarf in the world. We promise.

Author: Matt Griswold

After a 10-year newspaper journalism career, Matt Griswold spent another decade writing about the automotive aftermarket and motorsports. He was part of the original OnAllCylinders editorial team when it launched in 2012.