A Ten-Year-Old's Christmas Wish List

Well, it's that time of year, time for family, friends, good food and every commercial you see on TV to be preceded with "OH MY GOSH! I WANT THIS!" That's right, it's Christmas time.

For any kid, this is the time to load up your list with every toy, video game, bike or piece of candy that you have wanted for the year and hope that Santa Claus brings you anything but coal. This year, Micah has been very conservative with his list, more so than he has in the past. It might be that he is getting older, so the things he wants are more expensive? I dunno. But, regardless, there are several video games that have made his cut. I'm posting this list, not for you to go purchase these gifts for Micah, but to get an idea of what a ten-year-old may be looking for! Let's preview some of them:

NUMBER 1: Disney Infinity 2.0

HULK SMASH!...in Disney Infinity

Having been in love with the Skylanders games over the past few years, this feels like he is graduating high school and going to college. I'm not sure why, really, same concept as Skylanders, but he gets to control some of his favorite comic book heroes...AND several cool Disney characters that him and his sister love. (hello, Baymax anyone?) I think he will feel closer with some of these characters than he did with the first version of Disney Infinity, especially now that Skylanders isn't vying for attention.

Your kids, especially the ones who love super heroes, could start seeing Skylanders in the rear-view mirror, with the availability of playing as some fan favorite Disney and Marvel characters. Next up for Disney Infinity? Didn't they just buy rights to one of the largest franchises in history?...In a Galaxy...Far Far Away....

I hope some of you took advantage of some great black friday sales this weekend if your kiddos wanted this game. Some stores had this starter pack (Game with Ironman, Thor and Black Widow) at $40 (normally $75). Currently, I'm seeing some smaller sales, like $10 off here and there. Finding sales on some figures on the other hand is the tricky part. The game is available on all major gaming systems.

NUMBER 2: Pokemon: Omega Red/Alpha Sapphire

ROAAAAAR!

Is it just Micah, or does Pokemon seem to really be picking up steam again? It seems like recently he has been in the "gotta catch 'em all" phase...more so than usual. I'm talking like...playing Pokemon Y nonstop, asking to play Pokemon cards, watching the TV show...Pikachu this, Charizard that. Honestly, I'M LOVING IT! Cause I hit this phase about the same age as him, so I understand it. The excitement of catching all those critters can dominate your life! But, don't worry buddy, I'm here for you.

This one is on the handheld system, as most of the Pokemon titles have been, the Nintendo 3DS. This just came out in November so I didn't see many black friday sales on this, however, Toys R Us has a good deal going on where you can buy this and another 3DS game and get a $25 gift card. Other than that, pretty standard - $40-45. I can see why Micah wants this awesomeness!

NUMBER 3: World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor

For the Horde...and Alliance...just not Garrosh!!

This one is kinda my fault. I let Micah play WoW earlier this year for the first time, then we kind of fell off of it. Now, I've shown interest in the new expansion, Warlords of Draenor, and he is thrilled out of his mind. This game isn't for the little kiddos, but I definitely think 10+ is appropriate, especially with some parental settings on their account. The only draw back to playing WoW is the monthly payments, and the fact that we would have to re-buy the game for Micah to have his own account, so we could play together. But, if he gets this, I could see him making the investment worth it.

This expansion allows your characters to reach level 100 and to help with new people starting to play it, they give you a free character boost to level 90. The early levels are where Micah will find his best moments, because things get harder and more team-based at higher levels. This game is only available on the PC and so far I haven't seen any discounts on the expansion. However, you can get the original game and the first four expansions for only $20. You can also create a free-account, however it only allows you to play to level 20.

NUMBER 4: Super Smash Bros. 

Let the Button Mashing Begin!

The tradition of smashing buttons randomly to beat the crud out of Two-Dad is here! Smash Bros. for the Wii U is the newest in the franchise that allows you to play as your favorite Nintendo characters and fight it out! As methodically as I play fighting games, it is really pointless when playing Micah...he literally beats me all the time by just mashing any button combination he can muster. Regardless, it is super fun and he has a blast. This version is a bit different than previous iterations though.

Amiibos coming to Wii U!

Super Smash for the Wii U allows you to use a new technology, similar to Skylanders or Disney Infinity, called Amiibos. These are little action figures that you can store information on. I will have a whole article on Amiibos soon, but they aren't necessary to play Smash...they are a REALLY cool accessory though.

Much like the other games on this list, this game just came out so there weren't many sales during Black Friday. Same goes with the Amiibos.


That's it for this post! Keep in mind, there are several other kid-friendly games that could be on a holiday list. These are just games that Micah has shown the most interest in. I will post up some other ideas soon, but for now, this is what goes on in the mind of a ten-year-old during Christmas prepping.

- Mike
(I don't own the images used in this post, used my friend Google Images to retrieve them)