Unique Gift Ideas: A Taylor Swift Book, Squishmallow, and an Escape Room Game for Screen-Free Fun

The fast-paced action of 800 Pound Gorilla, a new game from the creators of Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza, will keep distractable children focused and energetic kids entertained. The easy-to-learn game is filled with hilarious phrases, flying bananas, lovable gorillas, and silly performances. Playing time lasts 10 to 15 minutes, and this gift is suitable for all ages, making it a Family Game Night favorite.

The Swiftie in your household will love channeling their favorite ‘era’ and testing their Taylor Swift prowess with The Unofficial Eras Activity Book. Inside, kids will find 50 pages of word searches, coloring sheets, mazes, and more. Just cue up their favorite Taylor’s Version and watch them get to work!

Rubik’s Phantom Cube provides a new twist for puzzle fans and Rubik’s Cube collectors. Touch the 3x3 cube tiles to reveal their colors. Then, work quickly before the tiles fade to black. This brain teaser is one of Rubik’s most challenging and taps into players’ working memory and problem-solving skills.

Children with ADHD and sensory sensitivities may dread going to the dentist, but this toy may just help them delight in pretending to be one. The Melissa & Doug Super Smile Dentist Kit is a 25-piece playset, including all the essentials needed to give cleanings, treat cavities, and fit retainers and braces on an oversized set of pretend teeth. Some teeth even wiggle, so kids can ‘practice’ extractions. This gift reinforces good dental health practices and may help ease kids’ fears or anxieties associated with dentist visits.

Squeeze, cuddle, play — there’s no wrong way to love a Squishmallow. These egg-shaped plush toys gained a die-hard following thanks to their cuteness and marshmallow-like, pillow-soft texture. Squishmallows feel squishy and lightly stuffed, making them the perfect toys for an anxious or emotionally dysregulated child. Each character has a unique name, ‘squad,’ storyline, and personality — Romano (pictured), a 16-inch, mythical blue hippo, is known for being charismatic. And he is just one of more than 1,000 ’mallow characters available to begin building your child’s collection.

Creating a masterpiece just got easier with the Crayola Light Up Tracing Pad. Budding Van Goghs can use the toy’s traceable images of fashion, animals, and more to seed an image of their own invention. The LED drawing tablet illuminates the tracing sheets so kids can stretch their imaginations in daylight or at night when the glow-in-the-dark fun begins. The kit also includes a graphite pencil, tracing sheets, blank sheets, and colored pencils. (3 AA batteries required. Sold separately).

The National Geographic 10-piece geode set is one gift you’ll encourage your child to break. Once they crack open a geode, your child will marvel at the crystals inside and get a hands-on crash course in geology. A colorful guide explains the science behind the formation of geodes, and the set’s three display stands can showcase their favorite rocks.

Dungeons and Dragons: Bedlam in Neverwinter offers the excitement of the iconic RBG D&D game but in a three-part escape room board game. Up to six players can join forces to investigate a series of disappearances. As players move their figures around the board, it builds and changes, revealing mysterious places and clues. Players must decipher puzzles, from wordplay problems to multi-card visual riddles, to unlock locations. The cooperative strategy game has three acts, lasting approximately 90 minutes each.

Bumpas weighted stuffed toy was designed for the child who loves the pressure of a weighted blanket but not the bulk. Each Bumpas features 3 lbs. of distributed weight in its arms, legs, and body. Its arms are sized to give realistic hugs or to drape across children’s shoulders so they can carry Bumpas around hands-free. The super soft and cuddly plushies’ hands form a heart to show unconditional love. Choose from four Bumpas characters: creative and quirky Shin Shin, daring and adventurous Zeek, gentle and soulful Oz (pictured), and cheery and encouraging Lucky.

Kids can pull off epic tricks — safely — with a fingerboard, a scaled-down replica of a skateboard that a person “rides” with their fingers instead of their feet. Fidgety fingers will love creating obstacles for their ‘mini skateboard’ using Tech Deck’s Berrics Transforming Park. This 30-inch-wide customizable skatepark includes a fingerboard, ramps, rail stairs, ledges, and more. When the day’s shredding is complete, the playset folds up for easy storage.