Gifts for 12 Year Old Boys - Dominion

Gifts for 12 Year Old Boys - 5 Great Gifts

I have put together a list of 5 gifts for 12 year old boys that are sure to please the birthday boy. Let's face it, twelve is a tough age to buy birthday presents for. There is always the gift card, but consider something on my list to show you really looked for a special gift. Today I am featuring the first gift on my list, the highly rated strategy game Dominion.

Photo courtesy of Amazon.com

What is Dominion?

Setting: You are the ruler of a idyllic, though small, kingdom of rivers and forests. Unlike your parents, who were rulers before you, you dream of something more. You want a larger and more pleasant land with more people, resources, and power. You want to rule a Dominion of your own!

Small bits of land lie all around you that are home to lesser lords that are constantly bickering and on the verge of war. You want to unite the people of the land and civilize them according to your way of life. Unfortunately, your neighboring rulers have had the exact same dreams of conquest. The race is on to get as much of the available land as possible and see who can reign victorious. In order to accomplish this, you need plenty of people at your beck and call in order to improve your castle, construct needed buildings, and gather as much gold as possible. Live the dream of your forefathers and gain Dominion over the land!

Twelve year old boys (and girls) are usually very into strategy games, whether it is a classic board game like chess, or a game like Dominion. Dominion is a hugely popular game that is enjoyed by a wide range of people. It can be played with 2-4 players and since each hand is different, it can be constantly replayed. It is a great game for a group of kids, or a family to play together. Get him to turn off his phone, computer, or iPad and spend time with friends. The reviews for it are excellent and it is a really popular gift. It has 5 stars on Amazon and almost 1000 reviews!!

Firefighter Halloween costume with fire helmet and jacket

My preschool aged son loves firefighter hats so I decided he should be a firefighter last Halloween. I bought one from a big box store's costume section. It wasn't a pricey costume, but I was still very disappointed in the quality. I thought it could have been a little better. I checked out options online and found the Melissa & Doug Fire Chief Role Play Costume Set

I was so happy when I opened up the box and took the costume out. The jacket is more like nylon than plastic. It is comfortable and it is machine washable. Since I wanted to add it to the dress up box after Halloween that was a big feature for me. The fire chief jacket also features reflector stripes which is so nice for trick or treating in dusk and dark.

The package contains a firefighter jacket, a fire chief helmet, a badge, bull horn, and red hand held fire extinguisher. The jacket also has a name tag you can write on, but we left ours blank. I think our favorite part of the set is the fire chief helmet. It is so much nicer than freebie or dollar store helmets. It is a hard plastic so if it gets dropped it doesn't break. It also can't be crushed or broken.

When I first got the costume I hid the bullhorn because I didn't know how noisy it was. It turns out you need 2 AA batteries so I just never put any in. I can't say if the noises are nice or not. I assume so. The bull horn can hang from a loop in the coat or it can be carried around.

The target age for the Melissa & Doug Fire Chief costume is three to six. My son is four and it fits him fine. It fits my six year old daughter as well. She is on the slim side so I bet it will fit her another year or two. If you want a Halloween costume that will last for more than one year (kid) or a durable costume to add to your dress up box, then this is a great option. I think you'll be pleased with the quality and the price is great too. Yes, it is more than a cheapie Halloween costume, but I think it is worth it.

Sully Costume - Be the Big Blue Monster - Kids Sizes

Monsters, Inc and the hugely successful Monsters University have inspired a lot of kids to dress up as their favorite monster this Halloween.

Sulley is one of the main characters of the Monsters movie. He plays the top scarer in Monsters, Inc. and in Monsters University we see him as a young adult monster getting ready for his career of choice.

Sulley, the big, blue monster with an even bigger heart is a great choice for little kids, or even older ones. It comes with a "license to scare", or at least, a great look for it!

This great looking costume comes with a jumpsuit, a head piece with velcro chin strap, and a detachable tail. Velcro enclosures. Click on: Toddler Classic Sulley Costume to purchase the costume shown right.

For a fuzzier full length costume with hood, available in sizes 18 mo to size 10, check out the costume on the left. The details in it are great. I love the purple dots all over. This is a step in costume that zips up from waist to neck. The hood and tail are attached.

There are stuffed feet with claws at the ankles of the costume. Click: Sullivan the Monster Costume . This looks like a great cold weather costume - perfect for walking around.

Doc McStuffins Costumes Are Available 2013

Last year, if kids wanted to dress up as Doc McStuffins they had to come up with their own costume. I saw a super cute one at my daughter's school. The little girl had pigtails, a doctor's coat and stethoscope, and some clothes in approximately the right colors. It worked great.

For an easy Doc McStuffins costume this year, an official one is available. It is adorable. Check it out: Doc McStuffins costume. It comes with the leggings, striped tunic, lab coat, and stethoscope shown at right.

Another option you could do is to purchase a Doc McStuffins dress up set. If you purchase this it comes with a white lab coat with buttons, doctor's name badge, sparkly headband, and stethoscope. You would need to purchase leggings and a shirt in a similar style to what you see on the right, or just use whatever your daughter has in her closet. This option might work better for kids that are more difficult to fit in pants or shirts.

Doc McStuffins is a super popular character from the Disney Jr television show. She is THE doctor for stuffed animals and toys.

Disney Snow Queen Costume from Frozen

If you read my previous post, you know that Disney's Frozen movie will be out in November 2013. In the story, Princess Anna of the kingdom of Arendelle, makes a long journey to the palace of the Snow Queen, her older sister Elsa.

Elsa is beautiful and extremely talented with snow/ice magic. Thanks to that Arendelle is perpetually iced over and the inhabitants are miserable. Princess Anna hopes to convince her sister to thaw out the kingdom, and perhaps to reconcile with her family.

For little girls wishing to become the Snow Queen Elsa for Halloween, there is a lovely costume coming out in October. It is a luminous blue color with a snowflake pattern. Perfect for an aspiring Snow Queen. See the photo and link to purchase below.

Unfortunately the Disney premier costume from the Disney Store that was sold on Amazon is not available right now (May 2014), but there is a Queen Elsa dress up dress. The quality is similar to what you would find in the toy section of a local retail store. This is definitely a Halloween or dress up type dress more than a party dress.

Disney Princess Anna Costume from Frozen

Have you heard? There is a new Disney movie coming out in November 2013. The movie is called Frozen and is a retelling of the classic Hans Christian Andersen tale about a Snow Queen in a frozen land.

In this story, Princess Anna is the younger sister of the Snow Queen. She journeys to her sister's palace to ask her to lessen her frozen hold on the kingdom. Along the way she meets a handsome and helpful mountain man named Kristoff.

This is the second time Disney has looked to Andersen tale, the first time was for The Little Mermaid. THAT certainly worked out for them! I hope this turns out to be a magical tale.

Many little girls will be captivated by the beautiful Princess Anna. Fortunately costumes will be available in October for Halloween. Even though the movie won't be out yet, I bet they will be popular. Check out a photo and link to purchase the costume below.

It is Halloween Time Again

August is nearly over and it is time to think of Halloween again. If your kids haven't started school yet (mine haven't), then you are still busy with back to school stuff, but before you know it, your kids will start talking about what they want to wear on Halloween.

If you have kids from about age 5 to age 10, it is likely they will want to wear a popular character costume. In years' past superhero costumes for boys and princess costumes for girls have been perennial favorites.

Kids under 5 might want a character costume, or animals are always a great choice. My daughter's first costume was a mouse, the next year a strawberry, and the next year a ladybug.  Other "generic" type costumes like witch, vampire, police officer are also great options for babies through teenagers. Disney movie tie-ins are great. Disney Princess Merida costumes were a great choice last year and continues to be desirable. I think as a character Merida will stand the test of time.

Speaking of teenagers, and I am including age 11 and up here, they are likely to want more sophisticated costumes. Katniss Everdeen costumes were hugely popular last year for this age group. Peeta Mellark costumes were also popular for boys, but not nearly as much. Any other Halloween costumes with movie tie-ins are sure to be popular for kids and teenagers. Another place to look for costumes are for popular toys, such as Monster High costumes. I will be doing a series on those coming up soon.

Over the next few weeks I am going to be posting about new or popular Halloween costumes. I hope you enjoy this series and find something that is useful for you! If you have any costumes you are looking for and cannot find, please leave a link below and I'll see if I can point you in the right direction.

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