Holiday Gifts for Kids You Love and for Others, Too

Ok, parents, aunt, uncles, grandparents, and godparents: It is already time to get on your holiday shopping. Take a deep breath, clap your hands together three times, shake your shoulders, and then let it go, because I got you covered with some pretty fantastic ideas (if I do say so myself).

Speaking of "let it go," for those kids or parents that haven't been necessarily good this year, may I present for your consideration, the Frozen Recorder set. Less than $10 and guaranteed to make enemies of friends and ecstatic small children, this little gift will keep on giving long after the holidays. Mostly headaches to parents and babysitters.

Another kind of cruel, but mostly funny to give, is the inflatable pizza. Not only can you NOT eat it, but there's a big chance that you can't even use it until next summer. Unless they plan on using this pizza to go sledding on, which will be fun for the first few rides until it inevitably pops or the rider realizes that there is nothing to hold onto as they barrel down the slippery mountain. But, fun to give.

Remember the insanity last year that was the "hover"board? (I have to put "hover" in quotation marks, because we all know they don't actually hover, so it's a misnomer and incredibly misleading.) This year, the fire issues should be extinguished AND you can get a super handy chair to put on top of it, making your "hover"board a go-cart. Which seems safer, anyway. Maybe? I'm tempted to get this bad boy a spin. Can you imagine the epic races you could have on these?

If Pie in the Face was the must-have game of 2015, Watch Ya Mouth will be the game to have for 2016. I just wish they came with more cheek guards, because I'm weird about sharing things I put in my mouth and stuff. Weird, I know, but have you seen what goes in and comes out of kids' mouths? You can buy more (40 more, exactly, because you're going to have so many parties)!

And for a shameless promotion, get your kids and the adults in your life a really cool shirt. Because you're cool and they're cool and we can all be super cool if we had a cool shirt. Cool? Cool. For those of you who read this and buy a shirt from theworstgoods.com use the code GiftsAreCool for 20% off. I'm feeling generous and cool and stuff.

Do you have a product you think I should share for holiday giving? Email me at kidsaretheworstest@gmail.com (notice the extra "est" at the end of kidsaretheworst) and tell me what you got.

AnnaM

Dry skin help FTW

My three boys have had dry, red skin every winter since they were babies. Their hands get super dry and rough, so bad sometimes that they end up licking the backs of their hands to get respite (which of course makes it more cracked). Their hands always end up bleeding sometime in the winter. It's so sad, really. They get other spots of eczema and dryness, but it is the back of their hands that are so extra tragic from all of the hand washing and use.

We have tried prescription lotions, homemade balms, natural remedies, oils, you name it. Sometimes they help a little, but often they cause discomfort and stinging. Or the smell is so strong and the little guys can't handle it. If it hurts or stinks, the whole process is a struggle every morning and night.

I was so glad to try out Mustela's Stelatopia line for eczema and dry skin. It is fragrance, colorant and paraben free, which is a huge plus when it comes to smell and discomfort. My boys use the cleanser at bath time and the creams before bedtime and before school. It makes such a difference in the dryness and cracking of their hands. Their eczema spots are relieved, as well. 

I just wish we had discovered Mustela's Stelatopia line sooner.

You can win one of two Eczema Essentials Bundles from Mustela ($52 each) by following them on Instagram and tagging a friend (or more) on our Instagram account under this picture:

Do your children struggle with eczema or really dry skin? Have you tried Mustela? I'd love to know what you have tried and what works for you.

*This post was sponsored by Mustela, but all of the opinions are 100% mine and true.

Boards that kick!

We are doing one of the most delightful giveaways with a really stellar company, Micro Kickboards! When we first got our Micro scooters, my kids weren't sure about the two wheels in the front and the different steering. But after about three laps around the kitchen island, they were all sold. These scooters are the real deal. Even our neighbor kids tried them out and loved them. I got texts from mothers asking what kind of scooter their kids were saying were so much faster and cooler than the ones they have.

I thought about getting some Micro kickboards for my kids last Christmas and I don't know why I changed my mind, because they would have been so stoked getting these scooters. And they come in a ton of colors. My kids chose red, orange, neon yellow, and blue, and honestly, they all wish they would have picked the neon yellow now. It's the coolest color. 

Would you like to win a scooter? Ok. We are giving away two Micro Kickboards! Choose between a (Mini or Maxi) or a Mini2Go (have you seen these? Sit-on scooters for the tiny people that convert to scooters as they grow! genius!) simply by following @kidsaretheworst and @microkickboards on Instagram, liking the Micro Kickboard photo and tagging a friend. (Real friends only, btw. If you tag a celebrity or an account that has a ton of followers because nobody will know... guess what? I will know and you will be disqualified. Which always bums me out. I want everyone to have a chance.) So tag a friend or two or seven. Win a Micro scooter or Mini2Go and win at parenting.

Make trick or treating FASTER with a Micro. My kids are going to get so much candy this year with their Micro scooters. I can't wait!

All photos and videos by the talented Angie Monson of Simplicity Photography. If you are a photographer, you need to check out her photoshop and card templates and instructional videos. Girl is a genius. 

Good luck!

Five crazy kid alarm clocks

We start school in two weeks. Over the summer some of the kids shifted into different bedrooms and how we managed school mornings last year isn't going to work this year. While we were discussing our new wake-up routines, I told the kids about the alarm clock that I had as a kid. It was a rooster playing the guitar and it sang the most annoying song over and over again until you pushed on its head. And like any millennial parent, I thought I'd see if it was on youtube to show my kids. Ten seconds later we were watching the terror of my childhood mornings:

Can you feel the emotion?

My brother had the alarm clock with a gorilla playing the drums. And my mom had a clock where a wino clown whistled at the top of the hour. That one freaked out my friends during high school movie nights. 

Apparently I don't own enough whacky clocks as an adult. But watching all of these clocks from my childhood caused my children to want a crazy alarm clock for their school mornings this year. We did a little internet searching and here are some of the whackiest and most amazing alarm clocks we found right now:

A dancing, rapping bacon alarm clock. What is not to love? (LINK)

This gun alarm clock has my little boys the most excited. You have to shoot the target to get the alarm to stop, which sounds fun to them and painful to me. (LINK)

If your kids like cars and racing, imagine how revved they would be to wake up every morning to "start your engines" and the intense sounds of race cars. I might have a heart attack, but if you've got a deep sleeper, this could be your/their answer. (LINK)

Star projection at night and eight different sound options to wake your child. I love this one, but my boys aren't buying it. I love ceiling projections. (LINK)

A cuckoo alarm clock perfect for kids. It's vintage and current and I want one for my room. (LINK)

A new alarm clock might be just what we need to get everyone up on the first day of school. And every day of school thereafter. Let's hope so, at least.

Do your kids wake up with an alarm clock or do you wake them up?