Stay tuned for a cool toy line launching at Targets later this year. The Beatles Yellow Submarine toys by K’NEX® are bound to be in the Christmas wishlists of the hipster parents, I mean, of the kids of the hipster parents. Music lovers, young and old, will be able to build and play with characters from the iconic rock band, The Beatles.

The Beatles redefined music for their own generation and generations to come; they also redefined art, fashion and entertainment. The Beatles were responsible for several films that were well ahead of their time, including their only animated and possibly most recognizable film, the animated classic – Yellow Submarine. K’NEX captured the essence of Yellow Submarine in all of its whimsical charm in a new collectible line that launches with a four-piece buildable figure set.

The Beatles Yellow Submarine toys are designed for kids, but I have a hunch they will have an older audience as well. The Beatles Yellow Submarine buildable figure packs will be available exclusively at Target, target.com and knex.com in Fall 2012.

I added several gifts from Scandinavia or with Scandinavian influence in the Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide for Kids and wanted to highlight some of my favorites from the gift guide, and add a few others as well.

Scandinavian Clothes for Kids

Polarn O. Pyret Wind Fleece Bunting $87 Nordic moms know how to bundle their babies even on the coldest days. One of their secrets is Swedish Polarn O. Pyret and their high quality kids clothing. This fleece bunting makes a cute gift for any baby!

Snowflake or The Elk print mittens $21.50-$25 is another great gift idea from Polarn O. Pyret and follows the Nordic traditions. I got many pairs of mittens like this when growing up for Christmas – knitted by my mother.

Marimekko’s Lumikoja one piece for babies (top right picture) $79 Finnish Marimekko made the original Scandinavian stripe shirt already in the 1950′s and still sells stripes for everyone in the family. If Marimekko’s high prices are not appealing, also Polarn O. Pyret has their own line of classic stripes from socks to underwear to rubber boots.

And when talking about Scandinavian style children’s clothing… Let’s not forget our American alternative for Scandinavian style: Hanna Andersson. This year, check out the classic Swedish moccasins $14 (sale price) or the gorgeous Speaking of Sweden collection, my favorites are the hoodie romper for babies and the sweater dress for girls.

Scandinavian Classics

Scandinavian Suitcase Puzzles $26.59 This beautiful puzzle suitcase has two puzzles in it. You can choose from Finnish Moomin or Swedish Elsa Beskow’s Forest Children Puzzles, both beloved Scandinavian classics.

Maileg Little Brother/Sister Mouse toy Starting $25.75 This cute little mouse from Denmark lives in a match box.

ISAK Fika Cups set $34 Cute heirloom cups in a gift box. Modern and timeless design, perfect for toddler – or adults alike. The designer is originally from Sweden, and her design inspiration is clearly Scandinavian, even though her company is based in UK.

Gingerhaus® Ultimate Gingerbread House Kit $29.95 While this Gingerbread House isn’t coming directly from the North, baking gingerbread cookies is a Scandinavian Christmas tradition you should not miss. If making the gingerbread house from the scratch isn’t for you – this gingerbread house kit from Sur La Table is for you.

Favorite Furniture

Stokke Tripp Trapp Highchair $265 This Norwegian designed chair is worth every penny, and makes a great gift for anyone in the family. We own 3 of these, and all of my children still use them daily, now they have just moved from around the dining table to accompany the school desks. Perfect from starting 6 months old to grandpas.

DODO rocking chair by Oiva Toikka $229 This modern rocking chair is designed by famous Finnish designer Oiva Toikka and manufactured by Magis. Now, only if all kids toys looked like they came from modern art museum.

Angry Birds Gift Ideas from Finland

You can’t go wrong with Angry Birds gifts for kids this year. You may not know this but Angry Birds are from my home country Finland!

Angry Birds: Bad Piggies’ Egg Recipes $10.99 (sale price) This eggcellent cookbook is a must for budding chef at home.

Angry Birds T-Shirts $12.99-$19.99 If cooking isn’t his thing but Angry Birds are the hit in the house – check out the wide selection of Angry Birds t-shirts available on many stores.

Angry Birds: Knock On Wood Game $27.49 I know… you’d rather have your kiddo off the Angry Birds game and the phone.. No problem, there is an Angry Birds gift for that too. This Angry Birds Knock on Wood Game will be fun for smaller Angry Birds fans of the family.

BRIO & LEGO Toys

Two of our family’s favorite toys companies LEGO and BRIO are both from Northern Europe, BRIO from Sweden and LEGO from Denmark, and their toys seem just to get more and more popular in the US as well each year! The best about the Brio and LEGo toys is that they are heirloom quality and your kids’ kids will be able to play with mommy’s or daddy’s toys one day making spending the big bucks for these sets double worth while.

Brio Metro Railway Set $114.81 This Brio train set won several best toy of the year awards in 2011 in Europe, and it is already hard to find in the US and sold out in many places. This link works for now – but order fast if you want to make sure to get it.

BRIO Record and Play Railway Station $68.99 is another great holiday gift idea from BRIO.

LEGO Space Shuttle $30.02 is one of the most inexpensive yet most popular LEGO sets for this Holiday season. But if you think that your home is already filled with LEGOs and adding more building material is not an option, now worries, there are plenty of gift ideas for your LEGO fan that don’t include adding more chaos to the playing area.

LEGO sort and store storage box by Blip $29.99 (sale price) LEGO enthusiasts love this storage box. You can find it from Toys’r'Us and Target for the cheapest.

LEGO Star Wars Darth Vader Mini-Figure Alarm Clock $23.99 (sale price) is another popular gift idea for boys.

LEGO headlamp $11.50 (sale price) No explanation needed, all boys will love the LEGO headlamp.

Note: I use the term “Scandinavia” loosely, and ultimately wrong. Scandinavia technically only consists of Norway, Sweden and Denmark, and I refer more to Nordic countries including also Finland and Iceland. As a Finnish person though, I’ve always considered myself as “Scandinavian” and “Nordic” and with very little difference with the words.

We just published The Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide for Kids with over 50 gift ideas for kids of all ages from the best baby gifts to best toys. I wanted to highlight some of the favorite gifts for boys this Christmas, but make sure to check out the gift guide, more ideas there!

Muppets Kermit Plush Toy 16” H ($16.50) is a classic AND trendy gift at the same time! Muppets movie (premiers November 23rd) is sure to be hit this Holiday season, and all Muppets products will make a great gift for kids.

Street Surfing GLX Grind Board ($69.60) is a great choice for street boarders of many skill levels, and boys love how they can do tricks with it easier than with regular skateboard. Great for boys over 8 year old.

Fly to the Sky Snoopy ($40.50) is another great classic. Hid dad will remember getting one as a kid.

Trash Amps Speaker ($55) amp up the music in a fun way. Because sometimes headphones are just not enough. Great gift for teen boys who are hard to think of anything to buy for.

iHome Kermit Speaker ($19.99) is another cool speaker for boys for a lower price.

Burton Day Hiker 12L Backpack in Color: True Black Bobber Plaid ($51.95) is a great gift for boys who do snow sports or skateboarding. Trendy and functional.

Mr. Small and Mr. Large Robot Pillows from Ferm Living ($32 small/$42 large) are cute for boys under 5 years old. You might think he doesn’t like soft packages, but this one he will gladly take.

Angry Birds T-shirts ($15.99) come in variety prints and sizes for boys of all ages.

Little Citizens Pajamas by Tea Collection ($39) benefit the Global Fund for Children, and they are adorable! They go all the way up to size 12 and are great for Christmas morning photos.

DC Comics Vintage Comic Covers Pint Size Glass Set ($31.06) is an universal gift that goes for boys of almost any age.

Looking for a holiday gift for a teenager who already has everything? For a mom who loves taking pictures of her kids? For a music lover who loves downloading music online? Seagate External Hard Drive is a great unexpected techy gift under 100 bucks for almost anyone in your list.

One of our clients at Collective Bias is Seagate – they are THE maker of external hard drives. I have to admit – I was embarrassed to admit to even my team at first that I didn’t own an external hard drive. And this even after two years ago our car was broken into and my laptop got stolen – and I lost memories worth two years and a book that I had written for 11 chapters. One the reasons why I hadn’t gotten the external hard drive before was that I always thought it was that techy stuff that I wouldn’t know how to use it. But I bought a Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Home Network Storage System from Walmart.com and love it! Truth to be told, my husband broke it out of the box and helped me to set it up, but it is so easy to use. It’s wireless and we can send files from all of our computers from the entire house to it (both PC and Mac!) and not just that but I can send and get files from it also when traveling. It’s so easy and the best of course: I don’t have to worry about losing my data anymore.

I think the Seagate External Hard Drive makes a great gift idea for many of those people in your list that are hard to buy for – or who already have everything. Parents like me tend to have a lot of video and picture files they storage in their computers and teens have movies and music files. You can learn more about different types of hard drives at Walmart.com. They sell them in stores as well, but I liked ordering mine online – it’s easy and super fast. The Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Ultra-Portable Hard Drive also comes in fun colors like red, blue and silver (black too) making it your techy holiday gift even cuter.

WIN IT! SEAGATE EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE GIVEAWAY

Enter to win a Seagate External Hard Drive!

Prize: Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 500GB USB 2.0 Ultra-Portable Hard Drive ($89.82)
Seagate GoFlex ultra-portable drive easily stores and backs up all your files. As the world’s most versatile drive and the core of the GoFlex storage system, you can upgrade to a faster interface or access your drive on your TV, your network, or by simply pairing it with other GoFlex Storage System products.
Key Features:
Capacity: 500GB
Store up to 63 HD movies, 222 standard movies, 125,000 songs, and 250,000 photos
Interface: USB 2.0
Plug and play
Compact, portable design
Enter to win:
One entry per method, two different ways to way:
1. Comment with your data loss story and leave an email address so I can contact you if you win.
2. Tweet “Enter to win Seagate external hard drive at @skimbaco http://goo.gl/fb/wzqfD #GoFlexMemories” and comment with a link to your tweet. It would be great if you also follow @skimbaco at Twitter.

DEADLINE: December 20, 2010, midnight est.

Disclosure: Seagate is a client of the company I work for, but I bought my own hard drive and my opinions are my own.

The hottest toy of Holiday Season 2010 is the Fisher-Price BigFoot the Monster toy. It’s the scary, fun BigFoot that kids can remote control to do fun stuff like throw a ball, lift weights or even eat and sleep. This is “toy with personality” and his face shows several emotions and he can talk several impressions. This toy has made kids go gaga over and it’s the “Tickle me Elmo” of 2010 – and if you are buying a gift for a 3-6 year old boy, you can not go wrong with the Big Foot the Monster.

The BigFoot the Monster toy is recommended for 3-8 year olds, but my friends who have little boys say that even 2 year olds are excited about it. I found the cheapest price for the Bigfoot at Toys’R'Us website on sale now for $79.99 and Walmart has it for $84.99 but they are currently out of stock online, the suggested retail price for BigFoot is over 100 bucks. Good news for parents who want to get the BigFoot, there is a cool Bigfoot Facebook Application and all you have to do is to create your own BigFoot with a mood and background and post it on your Facebook page and you can enter to win the toy and you can enter daily.

Tip: you can recruit Grandma, aunts and uncles to win the BigFoot the Monster toy on Facebook too by inviting them to enter the sweeps.

Disclosure: This is is sponsored post but my opinions are my own.

Skimbaco Lifestyle and Skimbaco Home will be featuring gift ideas this Holiday season, in addition we welcome all bloggers who have created their Holiday Gift Guides to link your up here. Finding the best gifts just got easier!

Did you already check out the Polarn O. Pyret sale? You know I can’t get enough of this Swedish clothing brand, and I am happy to welcome PO.P as a Skimbaco Lifestyle advertiser this summer.

It’s a great time to shop and love PO.P – their summer sale started last week. Here are some of my favorite picks.

We are leaving for Rockport, MA, this weekend, and I just love these stripes for the beach. I can just see my kids running the entire beach vacation in these summery stripes, watching the fishing boats to come to the dock, and playing in the beach sand. I know that I can wash these clothes again and again, and they will look as crisp and beautiful – I don’t know which I love more; the looks or the high quality.

Make sure to like Polarn O. Pyret at Facebook – on the top of their summer sale, they are offering daily deals on their Facebook page!

Today only! Flip MinoHD on sale get 40% off – normally $199, today on sale for $119.

Flip MinoHD is a great little video camera, so easy to use that my kids can do it. Ok, fine, let’s not insult my smart kids, I meant.. so easy that I can use it.

Taking video is simple, with touch of one button and downloading the video to your computer is even easier – no cords needed, the USB arm of the Flip plugs directly into your computer and it automatically opens its own software. Great gift idea for almost anyone in the family. Teens and tweens love making videos, the video camera is a must for parents recording family memories and it’s great even for grandparents to record their own videos of the grandkids. You can fill the 60 minutes of the video camera – so you are not just gifting the camera, but also personalized message.

Buy the Flip MinoHD today on Amazon, and you will get it -40% – normally $199, today only $119.

If I had to give a few fast tips for gift giving for boys it would include one or more of these brands: LEGO, Star Wars, Nintendo and The North Face, best of course when mixed (Wii Star Wars game or Star Wars LEGO set). Gifting boys can be so easy, yet if you are looking for something unique, it may be trickier. No worries, here are about 30 ideas for boys of all ages starting from the elementary school aged to tweens and even teens boys. Games, clothing, tech and more.

CLOTHING

My little man actually likes clothes, as appropriate for a Hanes model (he will be in the upcoming Hanes catalog!).

Speaking of Hanes.. if you are stocking up with socks and underwear, they are as low as $3.99 at the Super Sale at Hanes.com (use code TIERORD for 30$ off your $100 order). If you are looking for something little more exciting than basics, here are some suggestions.

Kids’ Synchilla Marsupial by Patagonia ($65) is a soft, fleece hoodie, which is made from recycled and recyclable fleece. Comes in several colors and is a must have in any boy’s wardrobe for winter.

The North Face ($99) Apex Bionic Jacket is a must have for anyone in the family, and it’s my son’s favorite jacket of all times. High quality, you can wash it over and over and it still takes all that a boys’ jackets take.. Oh, and this windproof and waterproof jacket also looks cool.

BOOKS

My son loves pop up books and is somewhat obsessed learning more about Titanic, making the Titanic book by Martin Jenkins ($28.48) on the top of his wish list. David Hawcock Books makes several other cool educational pop up books for your little boy’s interests.

One of the newest pop ups books in the market and surely one of the top hits this holiday season is the Star Wars: The Clone Wars pop up book ($16.49) by Rob Valois.

TECH GIFTS

Dell Inspiron Mini Nickelodeon Edition Netbook ($328) is a smart joint venture between Nickelodeon and Dell (and Walmart who sells it exclusively). Basically the Nick edition is just a kid version of the popular of the Dell Mini Inspiron – with a few features like parental control, customizable Nikelodeon content and cool slime design and a very low price tag for a netbook. Note that this one doesn’t come with a DVD slot, other than that it is your laptop in mini version. My kids love the Inspiron for its Mac-alike features and easy functions. The Nickelodoen version is a great first real laptop for younger kids.

My little dude wants an iPod for Christmas, and I’m thinking the least expensive, the older model iPod shuffle ($199.95) and adding a few cool iPod accessories with it to make it even cooler. The Speck Zipper-Puck Carrying Case for iPod shuffle 2G ($8.99).

The iBoo speaker dock ($78.56) for iPod is scary cool. The sound system in this one is one of the best in the inexpensive iPod dock speaker systems, but of course will not quite replace a home stereo system, making this a perfect gift and addition to any boy’s room.

ACTIVITY GIFTS

Got snow? My first instinct would be to say get your kid into skiing or snowboarding, but if that’s not an option, make sure he still can have plenty of fun in the snow. Get him a sledge for backyard sledging, Stiga makes the best ones. STIGA Snow Racer Pro Line sledge ($75) has a sports seat and a steering wheel and it’s made for speed.

Make his room the way that he can’t wait you to say “Go to your room”. IKEA can help you with this. Their furniture is inexpensive and lasts the years until he is ready for a teen room, and the best for active boys is their hand rings ($8.99) and the rope ladder ($14.99) – just waiting for fun to happen.

Jokes on you! Prank set ($24) will make you regret the gift, but I guarantee it will be a hit.

GAMING

When it comes to gaming, I hear Wii ($199.99) is the way to go for families. I am by no means an expert – Wii is on our Christmas wish list this year. In addition the the gaming console, we will need some games to go with it. And it’s really all the accessories that makes Wii Wii – like the DreamGear Racing Wheel ($14.99) needed for some of the most fun racing Wii games, like the Mario Kart ($44.99).

We love LeapFrog toys in our family. They are educational and fun. One of their cool educational gaming systems is Didj, and the Didj Indiana Jones Adventure Gift Pack ($119, now on sale for $49.99) would be a great way to get started with Didj. It is interactive learning, yet fun gaming! You can customize both gaming and learning to fit the learning needs of your child. Perfect for boys aged 5 to 10 years.

Games don’t have to be all high tech… HABA Keep it Steady Game ($15.29) is a fun game to teach fine motor skill for kids and patience too (for the kid and you..). It’s a perfect game to play in the family where there are kids in different ages – it’s recommended for over 6 year olds, and it’s a game that your little guy can talk the older siblings to play with him – or for the entire family to enjoy.

Honey I Shrunk the Foosball Table ($59) is mini sized Foosball table – endless fun for your dude, recommended for over 8 years old.

TOYS

If you were to ask my 6 year old about his favorite toy, one word would be enough: LEGO.
One good thing about LEGOs is that they make gift giving easy – your gift giving problems are solved for a few years when you have a LEGO enthusiast in your family. This year’s most popular sets are the LEGO Star Wars, starting at $11.75 with the LEGO Star Wars Clone Walker Battle Pack pictured above. Even if Star Wars, Indiana Jones nor Sponge Bob are something you want to gift, there are several LEGO gifts that are more classic than the movies and pop culture. Like the Empire State Building ($19.99) – who wouldn’t want to build that one?

If your little man is into Transformers, the Hasbro Transformers Ultimate Bumblebee Figure ($179.99) is a top notch gift for him. The sleek 2008 Camaro turns into Transformer character Bumblebee. Sounds, motion and action – everything that you would expect a highly detailed robotic Transformer toy to do. This toy is collectible, which he will keep forever.

ACCESSORIES

Swiss Army backpacks are popular among boys, small and big. My son loves his Swiss Army backpack for school, and I’ve seen a lot of them even for older “boys” in the conferences (for laptops). What ever age your boy is, this Victorinox Swiss Army Almont Collection Rhone Notebook Pack ($63.99) would be a great high quality gift.

Never underestimate an impact of a cool watch when it comes to boys of all ages.

For boys 6-9 the LEGO Kids’ Star Wars Han Solo Watch ($16.88) is going to be a hit, at least according to my theory everything LEGO and Star Wars related will get highest points.

The Swatch women’s watches are perfect size for boys, and are great quality even for active boys. They run around $50-$165, the one pictured is called Something New ($50).

My kids are already school-aged, but many of these products are tested to be good by my own kids and for the quality and price get my seal of approval. A toy that amuses a child year after year, and lasts from sibling to another (or to cousin too) is what I think children’s toys all should be like.

One of my top choices for girls or boys is the Little Partner’s Learning Tower ($171), perfect for little helpers in the kitchen or craft table. The tower is a steady, solid wood, step stool with safety railing around, and two children can stand on it at the same time. Also – a blanket on the top and it makes a magical playhouse.

Winter Adventure Holly Moose ($47.50) is Build-A-Bear’s fellow to make your little one’s Christmas merry. She is absolutely adorable, and can be of course personalized. But to be quite honest – Build-A-Bear store experience is so cool, that I would recommend a gift certificate and taking that special child to the store location to make her/his own stuffed little friend. It’s the experience that makes a 50-buck-stuffed-animal priceless.

LeapFrog toys have been my kids’ favorites ever since they were babies. LeapFrog TAG has been a popular toy in our family, and I’m excited that this year LeapFrog introduced the LeapFrog Tag Junior ($23.97) for even younger kids to learn to explore reading.

LEGO Duplo School Bus ($24.99) will amuse the little ones. Duplo LEGOs are awesome for kids not ready for the small blocks yet.

Zoobie pets were in my last year’s Holiday Gift Guide too – this year my favorite Zoobie pet product is the Very Hungry Caterpillar Toy, Blanket & Book ($41.99) Classic with a twist, or um, with a blanket and a toy.

Svan Scooter ($99.95) will be a hit for tots – for scooting around the house (starting at one year old). Ride-along toy that actually looks great, can I get a “hurray” for that?

Manhattan Toy Automoblox A9-S White Convertible ($30.58) and Automoblox C9 Red Sportscar ($29.26) are Manhattan Toy’s one of the newest in their award winning wooden car line. Made of beech and colorful plastic and inspires child to modify the look of the car – innovation, design and ultimately lots of fun for the kid.

Kids love playing outdoors, no mater what the weather! Keep your little one warm but stylish with the selection of Vincent Shoes. I like the Kajsa ($59.95) for little girls.

Madison Sloan Placemat ($18) from FineStationery.com is a perfect gift for the little ones in the family – you can personalize the placemat in their names, and you can choose the color, motive and font style to make it his/her own. The red stripe one would be great for holiday table – you’ll love keeping your table clothe clean and your child will love the personalization.

Need more toy ideas..?
See American Specialty Toy Retailing Association’s (ASTRA)
Best Toys For Kids 2009 list.