The Best Gifts Our Kitschy Kids Loved This Christmas

We got the kids a few of these toy pens by Stylus Pens (the SpongeBob Squarepants Etch A Sketch Pen & the Nerf Dart Blaster Toy Pen -- and the Star Wars Darth Vader Lego Pen I kept for myself) and they were huge hits. At such small prices, I'm thinking we'll be adding to their collection with birthdays etc.



But the best gift by far was Flarp -- just 88 cents at Walmart, it was not only the thing the three youngest (ages 4, 7 and 11) played with the most, but the thing they called their favorite gift and mentioned to others first when asked what they got for Christmas. We always say that a purchase of Flarp is the best 88 cents ever spent.

See some folks with Flarp in action:



Lessons learned? Kids are cheap thrills seekers. Just like cats.

You can spend big bucks on the latest toys, but all your cat wants is a wad of tin foil rolled into a ball to bat about, or the plastic ring on a milk jug, or a rubber band... I suspect our kids might be easily amused with the same. But we settle for cheap toy pens & Flarp -- oh, and Silly String. Every birthday party, we arm the kids and the grown-ups (all the way to Great Grandpas & Grandmas) with cans of silly string and that's their favorite part.

Cheap gifts rock.

Take that X-Box, Wii and all you expensive toys.