Great unusual holiday gifts for kids

Looking for a great gift for a child this holiday season? Keep clicking for a range of potential presents for kids of all ages and tastes.

The book "Goodnight iPad," is a board book parody in the style of the Margaret Wise Brown classic "Goodnight Moon." The little bunny characters are tech-crazed, and the old lady in the rocking chair is overwhelmed by the "bings, bongs and beeps of e-mails and tweets."

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

This Hanukkah Dreidel ($29.00) by Pottery Barn Kids is a made of wood and has numbered coins that will add a little mathematical complexity to the dreidel game.

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

Eco-kids' Eco-dough is made by a Portland, Maine-based mom and pop company with nontoxic, natural ingredients and environmentally-friendly packaging.

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

National Geographic's "Ultimate Weird But True" ($19.95) is the next installment in the National Geographic Kids Weird But True franchise, which started as a popular feature in National Geographic Kids magazine. The book features 200 themed spreads of animal antics, wacky inventions, weather phenomena, human tricks, and nature

American Girl's contemporary 18-inch "My American Girl" doll in her holiday outfit.

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

American Girl's new historical dolls, Marie-Grace, left, and Cecile.

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

Pottery Barn Kids' Sherpa Sleeping Bags ($99.00-$119.00) are a soft, fun take on the sleepover sleeping bag.

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

Pottery Barn Kids' Hanukkah Countdown Calendar ($69.00) is a decorative, kid-friendly way to tick off the days of this Jewish holiday.

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

The StinkyKids doll collection ($16.50 each), created by Britt Menzies, is made up of ten diverse characters that come with their own personalities. Each doll comes with a card that lists his/her hobbies, favorite foods, favorite colors, and more.

StinkyKids donates a percentage of its profits to Books, Bears, and Bonnets, Inc., a cancer-related charity founded by Menzies

Looking for a stocking stuffer? Chopsticks are a challenge for kids, but Sushisamba's signature kids chopsticks are a nice way to start kids out. Animal toppers hold the sticks together as children begin to get the feel of the utensils.

Available at Sushisamba Store.

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

Jada Toys' Battle Machines ($59.99) offers air-to-ground laser tag action with a gyro helicopter and 360-degree rotating gun turret. Available at leading retailers nationwide.

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

DoodleMark_ProductPhoto[9].jpg — DoodleMark

The DoodleMark ($7.99) might be a fun stocking stuffer for a kid who loves books. It comes in multiple designs and is available in select specialty toy stores nationwide and online.

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

The National Geographic iPad Case ($37.99) is just one of the colorful covers available for the kid who loves animals and tech. You can find other iPhone and iPad cases here.

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

With micro-sized Nanoblock building blocks, 3D buildings and animals take shape beneath your fingers. Available at Toys 'R' Us nationwide and specialty stores. These are part of the "mini" series ($7.99).

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

This game, the Scruble Cube, combines elements of the popular classics Rubik's Cube and Scrabble. SCRUBLE Cube is a one-piece block you twist and turn to spell words for points before time runs out. Or, if you are feeling ambitious and playing alone, you can try to "solve" the cube by spelling "Scruble Cube" on each of its faces.

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

This game, the Scruble Cube, combines elements of the classics, Rubik's Cube and Scrabble. Scruble Cube is a one-piece block that you twist and turn to spell words for points before time runs out. Or, if you are feeling ambitious and playing alone, you can try to "solve" the cube by spelling "Scruble Cube" on each of its faces.

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

With micro-sized Nanoblock building blocks, 3D buildings and animals take shape beneath your fingers. Available at Toys 'R' Us nationwide and specialty stores. These are "sites-to-see" series models ($14.99).

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

With micro-sized Nanoblock building blocks, 3D buildings and animals take shape beneath your fingers. Available at Toys 'R' Us nationwide and specialty stores. These are "sites-to-see" series models ($14.99).

Pottery Barn Kids' Lionel Little Lines Train Set ($59.00) is a small-scale train set featuring realistic sounds and fun set pieces, sucg as traffic signals. The set has a snap-together track and a remote control for forward and reverse movement.

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

This product image, courtesy of Hape Toys, shows the My Backyard BBQ. Parents looking to keep their 3-year-olds away from the hot backyard grill will appreciate this 33-piece wooden hibachi-like play grill set.

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

The One World Futbol. The One World Futbol Project sells a durable, no-stitch blue ball designed like a traditional soccer ball but for all terrains, and has a "give one, get one" offer to donate a second ball to partner organizations around the world.

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

Tegu blocks are magnetic blocks made from sustainable hardwood harvested in Honduras.

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

"Meet the Cars" is a colorful, but not too wordy hardcover encyclopedia featuring 200 characters from the Disney Pixar movies "Cars" and "Cars 2."

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

A cover of one of the books in the "Dork Diaries Box Set," by Rachel Renee Russell. The set contains the first three books in the heavily-illustrated Rachel Renee Russell series chronicling the not-so-fabulous life of middle schooler Nikki Maxwell.

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

"The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories," by Dr. Seuss, is a collection of seven stories originally published in magazines in 1950-51, but never in book form.

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

"Steampunk!" is an anthology, edited by Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant, from 14 writers in the quirky science fiction-fantasy and very '80s genre of steampunk.

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

The Easy-Bake Ultimate Oven is still a hit. This version of the classic is space-agey purple and doesn't require a light bulb. The baking pan is bigger and also comes with a cupcake pan.

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

"Bumble-Ardy," by Maurice Sendak, features a pig and a belated birthday bash. It's the first book in 30 years both written and illustrated by the 83-year-old Sendak, though he first created it in the '70s.

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

A Rock Paper notebook by Made By Humans. These spiral-bound sketchbooks have slick, strong paper made from chunks of limestone ground to dust (80 percent of content) bound with a nontoxic resin (the other 20 percent).

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

The Play-Doh "Cars 2" Mini Box Playset contains molds to create 12 characters from the movie.

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

"T is for Titanic," by Debbie and Michael Shoulders, has been released in time for the 100th anniversary next year of the sinking of the luxury liner.

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

"The Betsy-Tacy Treasury," by Maud Hart Lovelace, consists of the first four books of the Maud Hart Lovelace classic series in highly-portable trade paperback.

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

"Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7" is a video game available for Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 3, PSP, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS and Games for Windows PC.

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

"America's Great Railroad Stations," by Roger Straus III, Hugh Van Dusen and Ed Breslin.

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

National Geographic's T. Rex Remote-controlled Puzzle ($39.95) is a controllable dinosaur puzzle. Pop out and assemble the 100 pre-cut wooden pieces, add the battery pack, and let it roar. The dinosaur reacts to light and sound in free-roaming mode, or use the remote control to make it run, walk, roar, and chomp. Not for children under 3 years old.

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

National Geographic's "Visions of Earth" ($40.00) is a book of images and facts about the planet, featuring more than 200 pictures of landscapes, people, and animals.

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

National Geographic's Interactive "Laptop" Planetarium ($34.95) teaches kids about the sizes of planets, their distances from the moon, their temperatures, and more.

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

National Geographic's Rainbow Maker ($39.95) is a see-through device that sticks onto any sunny window to create a display of rainbows. A tiny, solar-powered motor spins as twin Swarovski crystals split sunlight into its component colors.

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting

The Grosvenor globe ($85.00) combines National Geographic cartography with an antique look reminiscent of hand-drawn parchment maps of old.

Look to kids' passions for holiday gifts
Toy Hall of Famers include dollhouse, Hot Wheels
Special section: Eye on Parenting