Do you hear that? It’s the sound of sleigh bells and Christmas carols…and motors rumbling. With Christmas creeping around the corner, it’s once again time to get shopping as those of us in the parent club get ready to help Santa with delivering goodies for our good little girls and boys.
Yet, the age old question lingers: what do you get the kid that has everything? Around here, we have a little boy who wants nothing more than to be just like his daddy. If one has a wrench in his hand, so does the other. If Dad can drive it, he wants to drive it, and no matter what it is, if it has wheels; there nothing cooler.
If you have a little one in your house who wants to be a pint-sized off roader, there is no better gift than one that lets their imagination and passion for mud run wild. With that in mind, we’ve compiled a list of a few of our favorite off-road themed gifts for your little adventurers this holiday season:
Remote Controlled Trucks
I clearly remember my first remote controlled vehicle. It was a red Dodge Ram, lifted, with a roll bar and if you hit the stairs on the patio just right you could launch it far enough to hit my dad while he BBQ’d in the evenings. That’s the stuff childhood is made of. Today, the selection of remote controlled vehicles runs the gamut from pick-ups to ATV’s and side-by-sides. In a variety of colors, you can even pick up a pink one for your off-road princess. Or, for the teenagers in the house, consider a gas-powered model that you can spend some time working on with them.
Tool Sets
If Dad’s wrenching on something, there’s no reason your little one can’t start to learn to. For toddlers, pick up a life-like plastic set that they can whip out to fiddle with while you’re out in the garage without hurting anything, and if your youngster’s old enough not to give themselves a concussion with a socket wrench, consider picking up a small set of wrenches and sockets they can use to learn some basic mechanics. This is ground for bonding of the best kind!
Push Toys:
Our son has a pickup truck with a large handle attached to it that he pushes around the yard incessantly. Up the dirt mound, down the dirt mound, on the pavement, off the pavement, up the stairs…You get the point. Off-road push toys are a fun way to let your little guy or gal play driver and get a little activity time in.
Powered Driving Toys
Commonly known as “Power Wheels,” this is the next best thing when your kid isn’t quite big enough for a quad of their own. These mini-vehicles, powered by a 12-volt battery, let your kids drive around the yard at slow speeds and hone their skills before they get the keys to the truck in 14 years or so. With models that mimic sand rails, side-by-sides, quads and trophy trucks, your kids will be master drivers in no time. Either that, or the dog will learn to run for his life.
When it comes to Christmas for an outdoors family, there’s nothing that will make everybody happy like toys that encourage an interest in the family hobby. So get one, and get your kid out from in front of that TV.
