Gift Guide: Nostalgia Edition by Guest Writer George Gensler!
The run-up to the end of the year is a great time to reflect, so here are some gifts that will take you back. These are mainly arts and crafts projects that throw back to childhood but are totally acceptable for adults now. For those of you with limited time or attention, I will also include “chunking” tips, where possible. Chunking is what I like to call activities that I can complete in chunks without either losing the thread or taking up space I need when the family is up and around.
David Kalvitis Greatest Dot-to-Dot Books
David Kalvitis revolutionized dot-to-dot puzzles about 25 years ago. Rather than simple images, which are discernible by the placement of the dots on the page, Kalvitis’s dots number in the hundreds and are so cleverly constructed that you’ll be halfway through before you know what you’re drawing. He has also created different types of dot sequences, including start and stops (stop when you get to a star or other image and then start again at the next number); arrows (follow the direction of the arrows as you encounter them); and image to image where you have to find the image and draw the line to the next image. Challenging and fun and the image can be colored in, by your or your littles, when you’re done.
Chunking Tip: Choose a number (I go for 100) and connect the dots until you hit the next multiple of that number. Or following a line of instructions and set the puzzle aside until you can come back to another line of instructions.
Crayola Limited Edition Collection
Crayola Crayons has released a limited-edition collection of retired colors in crayons, pencils, markers, and a coloring book. There are even crayon sharpeners in the retired colors. The colors include Orange Red, Lemon Yellow, Dandelion, Raw Umber, Magic Ming, Blizzard Blue, Mulberry, and my personal favorite, Violet Blue. And check out those Neon crayons, too!
Chunking Tip: Pick a page or a quarter page or particular item to color and stop when you’ve finished. You can always do more if you have more time.
Hachette Paint by Stickers – 90s edition
There are many forms of sticker books and one of my favorites is Paint by Sticker. While this brand isn’t exactly nostalgic, they released a 90s edition full of images that bring the 90s back to life in full 90s colors!
Chunking Tip: The pages are all perforated, so you can take out the picture you want to work on, along with the sticker pages for that image.
Peter Pauper Scratch and Sketch
Who else remembers scratching black pages to reveal vibrant colors underneath? Peter Pauper Press’s Scratch and Sketch books are a great throwback and the artwork has certainly levelled up. You can decide how you’re going to do the scratching, too. You can fill in the shapes, outline them, only color in the outside of the image, leaving the silhouette, or any combination of styles.
As I’m sure you’ve guessed from all of my puzzle and game reviews, I love solving puzzles. Tree Town Toys Yes & Know! books are full of puzzles and games, ranging from Bingo to baseball to hangman and many others in between. And they’re all played or solved using invisible ink. These are very clever books with lots of opportunities for chunking. I zipped through three books in a row and am kicking myself for not taking more time with them.
Thunder Bay Press Nightmare Before Christmas Paint with Water
Thunder Bay Press Nightmare Before Christmas Paint with Water takes me on a trip down memory lane. Not just back to Nightmare Before Christmas, which is over 30 years old now, even though it is ever present in the Disney world, but back to being a kid and coloring books that changed color when water was applied to the pages. So fun! And the paint brush is included!
Thunder Bay Press Nightmare Before Christmas Paper Models
This update version of paper dolls is delightfully-theme to Nightmare Before Christmas. The perforated paper pieces separate easily from the page and then fold into various people and places in the Nightmare Before Christmas universe, including Spiral Hill, my favorite.
Chronicle Books Disney Parks Mazes
Paper mazes have come a long way from restaurant placemats. In Disney Parks Mazes Sean C. Jackson concocts intricate mazes within the Disney Parks. Find your way through it’s a Small World, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, and more, dodging visitors, characters, and other obstacles. These mazes are very challenging, so wait until you can focus on finding your way through.
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