Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Must Haves for Lil' Monsters 2019 Holiday Gift Guide and Giveaway for Tweens and Teens



And just like that Christmas is 1 week away and no thanks to me, our Christmas tree was finally put up on Monday! Every year I swear I'm going to do better and at this point, I don't think my 9-year-old believes a single word. With two visits to LA in just a month's time, somehow the holiday crept up on us but don't think for one second that the tween and teen haven't put in their wishlist requests from us and Santa already! 


We've had the chance to check out some of the coolest new toys for Gen Z kids in 2019 and have quite a few favorites that are definitely Must-Haves for your (not-so) Lil' Monsters. There are some pretty fun finds out on shelves and online and we've rounded them up in 6 categories: Trendy for Tweens, Trendy for Teens, STEM, Family Game Night, Video Games, and Books and Movies


Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links in which should you make a purchase we'll receive a small commission from that we then put towards facilitating the needs of running this site. 

This year we're celebrating 5 years of Holiday Gift Guides and we're offering 1 lucky reader an awesome prize pack valued at over $400 and excitedly all of our incredible giveaway sponsors have donated products to our #LilMonstersGiveBack Initiative where we will be donating even more toys and books to a local school and NY Presbyterian Children's Hospital. More than anything thank you for supporting this giveaway that allows us to support families in need!  A big thank you to The Toy Insider, Nickelodeon, Zuru Toys, Nintendo, Barnes and Nobles, Geomag World for supporting our toy and book donation!




Take a look at our top picks for this year and enter the giveaway down below!


TRENDY For TWEENS

FGTEEV Large TV Set: Anyone else's kids obsessed with this Youtube family? If you ask our 9 year old he'd swear these folks were our own extended cousins. I'll admit this is a really cool giant blind pack and I love that he can store all of the things he's been collecting from this series of toys. Giant mystery teev is filled with surprises including animated plush, collectible character figures, a squishy, 6" Action figure, hanger plush and vinyl stickers.

Zuru  Rainbowcorns Big Bow Surprise: It's like the golden ticket of surprise toys! Hatch open the golden egg to find the fluffiest, cutest Rainbowcorn and 25 layers of surprises. Style the bow in your hair, on your clothes or really anywhere you'd like too. 


Rainbowcorn Sequin Surprise Series 2:  Collect 13 scented characters to reveal 10 layers of surprises and endless fun in each.  


Dino Smashers Epic Egg: Smash through the egg to find 25 surprises. Build your own dinosaur: you'll find your very own scratch map inside the egg, which will show you where your different parts of the dinosaur are. After digging, fizzing and smashing through the different compounds, you can create your very own dinosaur skeleton!

Hot Wheels Id Starter Kit: Kids can play in the physical world and level up in the digital world with this smart track that has challenges that can be played through an app. With 20 configurations your kids won't get bored too easily.

eKids JoJo Siwa Bluetooth Portable MP3 Karaoke Machine: Fans of the Nickelodeon star and Youtube sensation are going to love to sing along to all of her hit songs and hundreds of their favorites on this karaoke machine that has a real mic and light up show.

eKids JoJo Siwa Bow Fashion Headphones with Microphone: These colorful and stylish headphones come with a travel pouch, detachable bow and an inline mic for making phone calls. 

Robo Alive Robotic Dragon:  Whether a fan of Fire or Ice, kids are going to be so hyped to play with these interactive robotic toys that walk, roars and has light-reflecting eyes. 


Pets Alive Boppi the Booty Shaking Llama: I'm not going to lie, every time we've seen this toy I've endearingly called it the twerking llama. It's not at all offensive though, your littles will catch a case of the giggles with this interactive llama who plays 3 songs. 





TRENDY FOR TEENS

Bikini Bottom Eye Palette : This dreamy vegan and cruelty-free palette of eyeshadows have a mix of matte and shimmery colors inspired by the Bikini Bottom. 

Singing Machine Official Carpool Karaoke: Who doesn't love watching James Corden cruising and crooning to favorite tunes with awesome celebrities? Now you can recreate all of those cool moments with your own wireless mic that can connect to any cars FM tuner or Bluetooth stream audio from any music or Karaoke app. 

We Want Reptar Hoodie: Kinda crazy that the animated characters I grew up loving are now considered a cool throwback that my teen fans over. I'm kinda diggin' this Reptar hoodie for myself. 

Arcade 1Up Pacman Countercade: No description needed, this throwback tabletop arcade of the classic Pacman game is a dope way to pass the time away. 



STEM

Geomag Mechanics Gravity Track: This 115-Piece Building Set inspires the imagination with the magic of magnetic construction while introducing important stem skills and engineering principles through fun hands-on play.

Geomag Mechanics Gravity Motor: This 168-Piece Building Set includes a gravity motor and magnetic transmission. Children will enjoy endless magnetic building fun because they are able to combine all of the sets to extend on the learning and play.

LEGO Technic Whack: This 135 piece set will allow kids to be a part of the action! After building this pullback car they can test out it's speed and race it against other cars.


Sphero Mini Activity Kit: Programmable Robot Ball w/ 55 Piece Construction Set
The Sphero Mini Activity Kit has everything you need to get rolling and playing. Control your robot toy any way you like with the Sphero Play app. Drag and drive with Joystick mode, pull back and release with Slingshot mode or tip and rotate your mobile device with Tilt mode. Inspired creators will learn a ton through games and coding.




FAMILY GAME NIGHT 

4 Fun Cosmic Mini Golf (Deluxe Glow): Bring the fun indoors with this 5 hole playset that has a big creative layout and fun obstacles. The entire kit including obstacles, and balls are made with neon colors that glow under black lights(black lights included) so you can enjoy glow-in-the-dark golf. 

Match-O-RamaIn this press-your-luck party game, test how well you can predict what others will say at the table! Get points for matching answers that fall within a specific range of people-whoever gets the highest score wins.

Spontuneous - The Song Game:  This is one of the best board games for family game nights and parties with friends. One player says a word and the race is on for the others to sing a song containing that word. Talent's not required so relax and have a good time!

PlayMonster Meltdown Game: During this fun and suspenseful game players will take turns stacking, slippery cubes atop a tower of squishy goop. If any of the cubes fall while you're building you have to keep them. Player with the least amount of cubes wins!
Ravensburger Disney Villainous:  I can't even begin to tell you how popular this strategy board game is with my boys, their friends, and even my siblings and hubby! 
Playing as favorite evil-doers like Maleficent, Ursula, and Captain Hook, players will take on the role of the Disney Villain and plan their schemes methodically in the way of their Disney Villain to reach their objective before everyone else. Set traps, wield curses, leverage your allies, and most importantly, be cunning!
Frozen 2 Monopoly: Choose from 6 tokens (
Elsa, Anna, Hans, Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven) and celebrate Anna and Elsa's journeys through Arendelle and beyond in this latest edition of the classic board game.




VIDEO GAMES

Nintendo Switch Lite: This handheld version is perfect for keeping kids entertained on the go and is compatible with all physical and digital Nintendo Switch games. The only difference between the two really is that you don't have removable joycons with the lite version and the lite is a lower price.


Ring Fit Adventure: What we've always loved about Nintendo video game titles is that they're usually very family-friendly and some of the games even offer ways for kids of all ages to get up and move. In this new game that's also a workout, you can defeat enemies by jogging, sprinting and high kneeing your way through adventure-filled fantasy levels.  


Pokemon Sword and Shield: Sold separately or as a bundle, these new games for the Nintendo Switch are hot items for gamers and Pokemon trainers. In this latest adventure, we're introduced to an all-new generation of Pokemon that you can catch, battle and trade while exploring new areas and uncovering a new storyline. 


Crash Team Racing - Nitro Fueled: In this latest PS4 kart racing game you can play with the original game modes, characters, tracks, power-ups, weapons, and controls. There's also an option to race friends online. 

Call of Duty Modern Warfare: Every Call of Duty game released for the PS4 makes the wishlist of my teen and hubby. In the dramatic single-player story campaign, the stakes have never been higher as players take on the role of lethal Tier One operators in a heart-racing saga that will affect the global balance of power. 




BOOKS AND MOVIES

Dog Man: Fetch-22  David Pilkey's books are crazy popular amongst the tween crowd and in the latest addition to the series Petey the Cat is out of jail, and he has a brand-new lease on life. While Petey's reevaluated what matters most, Li'l Petey is struggling to find the good in the world. Can Petey and Dog Man stop fighting like cats and dogs long enough to put their paws together and work as a team? They need each other now more than ever -- Li'l Petey (and the world) is counting on them!

Max Einstein Rebels with a Cause : James Patterson and Chris Gaberstein are two of our favorite collaborating authors. Max Einstein is not your average 12 yr. old and in this science-filled caper readers will go on adventure-filled secret missions with a top agent. 
Max and her CMI friends attempt to use their smarts to find solutions to a water crisis happening in both India and a town Ireland, but it's hard to save the world when you're trying not to be kidnapped! A greedy corporation with an eye on capturing Max seems to know their every move. It's almost like the bad guys have a spy inside the Change Makers.

Dork Diaries: Tails from a Not-so-Best Friend Forever:  
Nikki and her bandmates are looking forward to an AWESOME summer on tour as the opening act for the world-famous Bad Boyz! Nikki is a little worried when her frenemy, MacKenzie Hollister, weasels her way into a social media intern position with the tour. But she has a total MELTDOWN when she learns that MacKenzie is her new roommate! Will Nikki survive her dream tour as it quickly goes from AWESOME to AWFUL?! The drama continues in Dork Diaries 14: Tales from a Not-So-Best Friend Forever!

Dr. Seuss's Horse Museum: This never before published non-fiction book from Dr. Seuss would make the perfect gift for your budding artist. Based on an unrhymed manuscript and sketches discovered in 2013, this book is like a visit to a museum—with a horse as your guide! Explore how different artists have seen horses, and maybe even find a new way of looking at them yourself. Discover full-color photographic art reproductions of pieces by Picasso, George Stubbs, Rosa Bonheur, Alexander Calder, Jacob Lawrence, Deborah Butterfield, Franz Marc, Jackson Pollock, and many others—all of which feature a horse! Young readers will find themselves delightfully transported by the engaging equines as they learn about the creative process and how to see art in new ways. 

Dora and The Lost City of Gold: When her parents disappear in search of the Lost City of Gold, Dora swings into action on a wild quest to find them. Follow Dora and her friends as they navigate the jungle, outrun treasure hunters and unlock the mystery of the fabled city.


Pokemon Detective PikachuWhen an ace detective goes missing, his son teams up with a hilariously wise-cracking Pokémon - Detective Pikachu (Ryan Reynolds) - to help solve the mystery of what happened.

Abominable
:
 When friends Yi (Chloe Bennet), Jin and Peng discover a Yeti, they name him Everest and embark on a journey across China to reunite the magical creature with his family.

Disney AladdinFrom Disney comes the thrilling and vibrant live-action adaptation of the animated classic Aladdin, the exciting tale of the charming street rat Aladdin, the self-determined Princess Jasmine and the Genie who may be the key to their future.


Holiday Giveaway 2019 

As a thank you to all of our readers this year we're gifting the above-pictured goodies 
(value of over $400) for your tweens and teens and will announce the winner on January 1st, 2020. One lucky reader is going to start of the New Year with a win of all of the prizes listed below and you can gift them throughout the year or pay it forward and donate the ones you don't need. Good Luck!

To enter: 
Use the giveaway tools form below, each task completed is an entry so make sure you've completed. Winner has 48 hours to claim prize before another person is chosen. 

Prizes included (1) of each: Dr. Seuss Horse museum, Dork Diaries, Dogman Fetch 22, Max Einstein: Rebels with a Cause, Geomag Track, Geomag Motor, 
Detective Pikachu Blu-ray DVD, Spongebob eyeshadow palette, Pokemon Sword and Shield for the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Ring Fit Adventure, Robo Alive Ice Dragon, JoJo Siwa MP3 Karaoke machine. 




13 comments:

  1. Nintendo Switch, Rainbowcorn, Carpool karaoke

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    Replies
    1. I personally need to try out the carpool karaoke!

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  2. Ooooooo this giveaway looks amazing!!! You have some great prizes here and I LOVE the giveback. It's so important to give to those who are in need, especially the little ones. Great job!

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    1. Thank you! I'm happy you like all of the goodies. I'm so glad we're able to partner with such generous brands each year. Thanks for entering!

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  3. I can't pick one! They are all amazing and would definitely be the best Christmas for my kids

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  4. These are all such great gifts! My daughter would love it all especially the Disney villains game!

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  5. This giveaways is awesome! I love how they incorporated Jojo Siwa my little girl loves her, And that Nintendo switch would be perfect for long rides in the car.

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  6. The kids love everything Lego, PS4 or XBox and all things STEM and science. The Robo Alive Robotic Dragon would be fun too. SO many great birthday gift ideas here. Thank you for the list!

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  7. I accidentally put down Brenda Haines for my instagram name on the form. My handle is @thehippiehut32

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  8. My son would LOVE a Nintendo Switch Lite. Thanks for this awesome chance!

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  9. (I commented days ago, but I don't see it.) My son would love the Nintendo and ALL the board games.

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  10. My kids would love the books for sure. What a great giveaway. Patricia E

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