The traditional season of gift giving is nearly upon us. If you haven’t finished your holiday shopping, you may be in deep trouble, especially if you have several people on your list who are hard to shop for. Here are some helpful ideas for solving your gift-giving problems.

Younger children always enjoy a new plush animal. Webkinz® plush pets are more than cute, cuddly toys. Each Webkinz animal comes with a code that allows a year’s worth of fun interactive adventures on the computer in the Webkinz world. Kids play games, answer trivia, and care for their pets online. The website, Squishable.com offers animals that are so big, round, and cute you just want to squish them (hence the name). They also offer plush animals that are constructed of recycled materials and some for which proceeds are donated to help social and
environmental causes.

For pre-teen boys, consider a LEGO® Mindstorm® robotics kit. Mindstorm combines the fun of LEGO bricks with a powerful computer that can be made into any number of cool, programmable machines. For girls the same age, consider a Nintendo® DS handheld game console with mind-expanding games like Brain Age or the Professor Layton series of puzzle games.

For hard-to-buy-for teens, consider the Apple® iPod touch®. Apple combines the multi-touch interface of the iPhone® to their popular digital media player. Pair it with an iTunes gift card for the music lover in your family. For teens that like to read, consider the popular Twilight vampire series of books by Stephenie Meyer. Or, consider a digital camera or video camera as they are decreasing in price and increasing in quality.

For kids and adults of any age, the number one gift again this year is the Ninendo® Wii™ gaming console and associated components. The Wii’s remarkable wireless controller experience lets players interact in game activities as never before.

For more holiday shopping ideas for all ages, check out www.squidoo.com.