'Brainer' gifts for kids.

I mean 'brainer' in both meanings of the term, but mainly in the sense that giving a kid the latest hot video game cartridge is a 'no-brainer'.

For the RIGHT kid, 'hands-on' fun and creative, dont need to be opposite of 'educational'.
Here's a great example that just came to my attention, via Instapundit

Elenco's Snap Circuits

I'm thinking of buying this for at least one kid on my list. Read the full customer reviews section.
- The LEAST positive review is from some chicken little who was put off by the ubiquious content warning label. I suppose HE bought a set of knee and elbow pads to go along with the helmet he bought that kid last year.

The reason I like this is it makes me a little wistful for my childhood.. the lack of such didnt bother me, but I had to do all my experimenting the hard way. If you know a kid who displays even the least bit of tech curiosity geekiness, this would be a good one to maybe spark a greater interest.

In the same general category:

The Dangerous Book for Boys and The Daring Book for Girls