Wishlist

Gifts even the pickiest kids and teens will love this holiday season – and why they'll love them

Gifts even the pickiest kids and teens will love this holiday season – and why they'll love them

Gifts even the pickiest kids and teens will love this holiday season

Puro Sound Labs / Magic Mixies / Dumbgood / Sprayground / PowerA

With Christmas on the way, you like have some kids on your shopping list that you'll need to check off soon. Check out our current unique favorite gifting options for even the pickiest little ones (and not-so-little ones) sure to bring a smile to their face at your holiday gathering this year.

Heart Blaster Zodiac Collection Tees

Heart Blaster

Zodiac Collection Tees

Astrology is bigger than ever, in part thanks to young folks popularizing it among themselves on TikTok and other social media platforms. Naturally, that means more of them are wearing their sign on their sleeve.

Look extra cool this year when you give the witchy teen in your life the chance to do exactly that with one of these Heart Blaster special edition zodiac collections tees. HB sent one over for us to try out for ourselves, and it's absolutely worth the hype: The tee shirt itself is thick, made from 100% cotton, and the logo printed on the front has a raised, slightly textured feel to it – aka it's not the type to wash off after one or two wears.

A Heart Blast branded rubber button at the bottom edge finishes off the look and gives it more of a streetwear feel, plus you can choose from white or black to best suit your recipient's personality. Also note the sizing for this particular style is unisex with intentionally generous sizing, and another bonus: Free shipping!

Heart Blaster
$48

Power Rangers Dino Fury Void Knight Gear Up Pack

Power Rangers

Dino Fury Void Knight Gear Up Pack

The Power Rangers have been cool forever, and they continue to delight kids of a certain age, especially when those kids can have the power to role-play battle their friends at home with this Dino Fury Void Knight Gear Up Pack.

Inspired by the Dino Fury seasons of the show, your little adventurer can act as The Void Knight heading into battle and leading the Sporix beasts with their Void Saber. Plenty of other toy packs and costumes are available alongside this Target exclusive; stock up to ensure the whole neighborhood is prepared when it's time for a fight against the Rangers' most armored foe yet.

Power Rangers
$27.99

GE CYNC Smart LED Light Bulbs, Color Changing Lights

GE CYNC

Smart LED Light Bulbs, Color Changing Lights

While light bulbs might seem like a strange stocking stuffer to gift a young person, what you're really giving them is a taste of autonomy over their own atmosphere using the power of ultra-cool lighting.

Whether they're into setting the scene for a fun night of gaming or just want to impress their friends with a cool setup in their room, these GE Cync lights offer Google Assistant or Alexa control, as well as millions of in-app color options that let them customize light shows exactly the way they want them. They also use 84% less energy and last 15 times longer than 60W incandescent bulbs, a boon for ever-increasing power bills and earth-friendliness in one.

Up the color ante by tossing in a coordinating GE Cync Smart LED Light Strip – we're currently testing them out here at Wishlist and loving the fun ways to change the mood in any room instantly.

GE CYNC
$17.94

Where Are You? Extended Christmas Edition

Wonderbly

Where Are You? Extended Christmas Edition

If you've ever been entranced by the mystery of a Where's Waldo adventure, you'll love the way this Where Are You series from Wonderbly gives that fun a new twist by personalizing it to your child's name and avatar.

This series is recommended for ages 4 to 10, and you have the ability to scope out every one of its 44 pages before it ships out. There are 750 different combinations of hair, skin tone, hairstyle, and more to make sure your child's cartoon counterpart is immediately recognizable, and they'll adore having their full name right there on the cover. You can even choose between three cover colors and include a personalized holiday message inside that they'll surely cherish for a lifetime.

While this special Christmas edition tasks your kid with solving a holiday mystery, you can also choose a less seasonal option by going for the standard search-and-find book.

The company has sold more than a million of these adorable books and with a turnaround time of just over a week, they're perfect for ordering now and gifting early for a pre-Christmas treat.

Wonderbly
$39.99

Puro Sound Labs BT2200s Volume Limited Kids’ Bluetooth Headphones

Puro Sound Labs

BT2200s Volume Limited Kids’ Bluetooth Headphones

Puro Sound Labs sent us over this pair of kids' headphones (and another we're still testing – more to come!) and over the past week, they've proven their promises by sounding clear, having a long-lasting battery, and easy to use with strict volume control that ensures your little one's hearing is never damaged. Some notes:

–setup is a cinch: Simply charge them until full for the first use, then connect your device via Bluetooth; your kid will likely figure it out much more quickly than you

–thanks to the extension in the headpiece, I was able to get them around my adult head fairly easily, meaning you can snag them as needed if you forget or misplace your own pair! They're definitely made for a smaller head, though, and the lightweight build manages to be sturdy without a ton of weight – ideal for ensuring your child doesn't get a tension headache

–the metallic colorway above is very nice in person, certainly a top pick for any kid who loves anything blue. There are more than half a dozen other color options, too!

–the volume is self-adjusting even on the loudest songs (aka it held its own against a heavy metal playlist); these headphones comply with the World Health Organization’s recommendation of an 85dB-limited volume range, giving kids a chance to listen on a quality set of headphones without the fear of early-onset hearing damage

–the 30-ft sound range gives the wearer the chance to get up and move around a bit without losing connection

–even when forgetting to turn the headphones off, the battery life is impressive: 20 hours of battery life and 200 hours of standby!

These are a wonderful choice for giving any fledgling music fans or kids who want to escape into their own world for a. bit without hurting their tender eardrums.

Puro Sound Labs
$99

Be A Kid Tye Dye Long Sleeve

Dumbgood

Be A Kid Tye Dye Long Sleeve

Dumbgood makes high-quality streetwear from kids aged 10 to 100, meaning anyone can enjoy their nostalgia-influenced take on the style thanks to a wide variety of pop culture references.

We think this particular long sleeve top captures the essence of current style thanks to the silhouette and tie-dyed accents, while that famous mouse recalls vivid happy memories for a wide breadth of the population - contemporary teens and pre-teens included. Buy it for the stylish Chuck E. Cheese-kid-turned-young adult you know will enjoy slouching about feeling comfortable and cool.

Dumbgood
$78

Magic Mixies Sparkle Magic Crystal Ball

Magic Mixies

Sparkle Magic Crystal Ball

Magic Mixies have our vote for the coolest new toy to hit the market over the past few years, and this updated crystal ball version takes the cake for what's sure to impress magically-inclined youngsters this holiday season.

Like the original Mixie that came in a cauldron, the Sparkle Magic Crystal Ball lets your child cast a spell to "create" their adorable new pet while fun sounds and effects give the illusion of real magic at play. The included wand interacts with the crystal ball itself, and the Magic Mixie that emerges has fortune-telling abilities. Best of all, you'll get a fun show while your little one has the time of their life after opening this new gift from Santa.

Magic Mixies
$76

Death & Sparkles Book 1

Chronicle Books

Death & Sparkles Book 1

If the kid you're shopping for has questions or tendencies that might affectionately be referred to as morbid, this tome from Chronicle Books could be a lifesaver.

Death & Sparkles: Book 1 is a fun graphic novel that follows the adventures of Death, a grim reaper whose never made a real friend, and Sparkles, the last unicorn who also happen to be a celebrity influencer who is immune to dying. The two embark on an unlikely but wholly entertaining friendship that turns into buddy comedy fodder rather quickly.

Chronicle calls this book "Adventure Time meets The Good Place," and it's recommended for reluctant readers who need a bit of a push. Rob Justus' immersive world of fun, eye-catching art only adds appeal to that, making this a great option for giving kids age 10 and up the chance to get lost inside this goofy little universe.

Chronicle Books
$22.99

Sailor Moon Backpack DXLR

Sailor Moon

Sailor Moon Backpack DXLR

Sometimes the best thing you can do for teens is to treat them like the young adults they're striving to be and pick up a cool accessory from an even cooler label like Sprayground.

While decidedly grown-up in their presentation, ultra-cool NYC label Sprayground's aesthetic has plenty of appeal for fashion-forward youngsters who appreciate a bit of cartoon nostalgia in modern shapes and utilities. Sailor Moon has long been a favorite of kids and kids at heart everywhere, so it's no surprise the cartoon would make waves in a streetwear brand like this.

Snag this oversized backpack for the anime fan teen in your life, and make sure to browse the brand's other inspired designs to see which catches your own eye – we're especially fond of their luggage for affordable luxury pieces.

Sailor Moon
$65

PowerA Spectra Enhanced Wired Controller for Nintendo Switch

PowerA

Spectra Enhanced Wired Controller for Nintendo Switch

You might already have a growing gamer at home whose wishes came true last year or the year before when they opened a Nintendo Switch under the tree. Enhance those wishes with a fun PowerA controller designed with LED lighting in eight bold colors with advanced gaming buttons and two mappable buttons on the back.

The controller has a soft touch finish so it feel great while playing, and comfortable ergonomic design prevents cramping for growing hands. It's also wireless with no batteries required, and it comes with a 10-foot braided cable for charging.

PowerA
$34.99 $27.49

Cherub Angel Candle

Friends NYC

Cherub Angel Candle

Teenage girls can be hard to shop for around the holidays, but the Brooklyn-based shop Friends NYC's aesthetic is cool, just grown-up enough to impress them, and they carry agelessly cool pieces like this that are perfect for dressing up a bedroom or small apartment. The pink shade is gorgeous and cherubs are highly on-trend, and you'll love the under-$30 price tag that comes with it!

Friends NYC
$29.99
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