Welcome to the Boogers and Burps Gift Guide 2009

You may be wondering what exactly is the Boogers and Burps Gift Guide for Boys? And possibly, where did Paula find time to put this together? Well, I'll tell you. Many people find it more difficult to buy gifts for boys. One reason may be that the majority of the gift buyers are women, and frankly, we don't totally get boys, having never been one ourselves. Oh, we can try, and we can come pretty close, but I think there will always be that element of mystery about what makes a boy pick up a snorkel and start using it as a gun.

Another reason is because there is just so much for boys in the toy store, we get overwhelmed. I mean, was Pokemon last year, and is it now Bakugan or Chaos, and what kind of creatures are these even, and what the heck do you do with these cards, and where does Ben 10 fit in with all this? Do they even make Yu-Gi-Oh anymore? Ugh. (Side note: We have about 15 Yu-Gi-Oh T-shirts from Boy #1, and the other two boys have never even heard of it. Of course, I make them wear them anyway.) They all look alike to me, and honestly, when I walk down the "boy aisles" of action figures or cars, I might as well be walking down the plumbing aisle of Home Depot. No clue what any of it is, nor how to use any of it. (And, honestly, no interest in learning either!)

And here's what generally happens with these movie- or TV-show-of-the-moment-themed toys: They get played with for approximately three days and then get lost under the couch or thrown into a bin in the closet, never to be heard from again. Now I say generally because some boys really take a liking to certain characters or shows and stick with it. For instance, my two youngest and Pokemon. However, the Iron Man, Spiderman, Superman, and other figures have all suffered under this allegiance to Pikachu and pals.

So my quest was to find gifts that kids can use and enjoy well beyond the holiday break, toys that appeal to boys and allow them to use their imaginations and maybe even learn a little, but while being "boys." Toys and gifts that you probably won't find at WalMart but can easily order online, and you won't have to worry about getting a gift receipt just in case they received 5 others. Oh, and if they don't cost a fortune or eat batteries like candy, all the better.

I've decided to put the gift ideas together by theme for a couple reasons: 1) It's fun for me, and 2) You could choose a few things from one post and put together a fun themed gift for that special boy. I love themed gifts!

We haven't personally sampled or tried all of these gifts. I wish we could! However, I am including quite a few that have been rigorously "tried and tested" by the Boogers and Burps Boys. I'll include this Approved icon beside those, just so ya know...



I'll roll these out one theme at a time. I've got quite a few gifts all ready to write about, but I'm not sure how many I'll get done before the Holidays. You know, organization and me...not really on speaking terms right now. But if you have some other ideas about a certain theme, comment away! Or if you have other ideas for gifts, please email me!

Oh, and to answer the question of where I found time to do this, I just neglected my children and laundry. Priorities, right?