Pleasing people young and old

Staff report

Fun and games? Puzzles? Grown-up delights? Sure, why not.

Santa’s mailbag offers plenty of things to spark young imaginations, to sooth parents’ psyches and to bathe everybody in luxury.

Besides, he’s also got a few tricks up his sleeve that you just wouldn’t even imagine in your wildest dreams.

THE TOYS

Mega Bloks, the company that makes building sets that sometimes look like Legos on steroids, has a number of fun offerings this year. For the youngest kids, there’s Smart Builders Piano, which allows kids to put things together and make music.

The Magnext 360 Case allows somewhat older children to assemble things in a limited space and then fold everything up into a neat package with the built-in case.

Kids who love sword and sorcery can tackle the King Arthur Battle Action Castle.

And the real engineers can make marvels from the Struxx Robotrixx kits.

Warning: Many of these toys have small pieces. so they’re not appropriate for the youngest kids. Be sure to check the boxes for appropriate age ranges.

Kohl’s, meanwhile, is offering lots of Curious George books and stuffed animals for those who aren’t yet ready to play with those small pieces.

The child can enjoy the stuffed toy while you read the stories.

No surprise, but there’s another raft of “Star Wars” collectibles. You can flip through a chart of all the various characters or just how off your knowledge of the “Star Wars” universe.

THE SOOTHERS

You won’t know whether to smell the items in this list, wear them or eat them. (Eating is not recommended, but it’s tempting.)

Dionis has a line of cosmetics that could make you smell a little like a holiday cookie. The ginger mint hand cream and body wash/bubble bath whispers Christmas. Luckily, the fragrance isn’t too strong, so it isn’t overpowering.

If you don’t really want to go that far, you could try the company’s sugar scrub, also in ginger mint, for smoothing the skin.

Not ready for being the center of the party for all the wrong reasons?

Check out Princepessa’s line of bath and beauty products with names like Cattiva Diva, Dolce Dreams and Fresh Fiore. It’s an ever-so-sweet grouping that comes with its own bath scrubber. The advantage is that while you might smell nice, people won’t be quite as tempted to take a bite.

Something called Heaven Scent is a vanilla perfume. Maybe not good enough to eat, but close.

Those items may be sensory overload for women, but Surgeon’s Skin Secret for men offers a face conditioner, beeswax moisurizer and a refresher spray all in mountain mist. It’s a lighter version of what you’re used to in typical men’s cosmetics. And it won’t make you smell like a cookie.

THE PLEASERS

A company called American International Industries offers nail polish in festive colors for the holidays — Gussied Up Green and Branding Iron.

The former is a metallic green, while the latter is a deep, lustrous red.

Or you could try Honeycat’s “Cat on a Hot Tin” relaxation candle made from soy in a coconut milk/mango “flavor.”

Another option is the Kukui candle in passion fruit/citrus.

Either ought to alter your state of mind.

Bath by Bettijo offers a lavender chamomile tea that you’re supposed to use in the bath (and NOT drink!), so if you’re looking for something super-relaxing, you don’t have to smell quite so sweet.

Once you’ve soaked and primped, and battled the cold maybe you need to do a little tweezing?

The folks from Japonesque sure hope so, becaue they’re selling some “artisan slant tip tweezers.” We gave these to somebody who actually likes tweezers, and she said they’re great, because they really do grasp those tiny eyebrow hairs, so you can tweeze them the first time every time.

This time of year, lots of people struggle to stay warm. A couple of products are intended to make that easier to accomplish.

First, there’s the Shoul, a variation on the shawl, which is claimed to stay in place far better than the traditional shawl.

Then, there’s the Warming Scarf. It has pockets in which you can put bags of rice that you’ve warmed in your microwave. Instant hand-warmers, right there in the ends of your scarf.

THE HEAD-SCRATCHERS

When we saw these, we just had to include them.

Practical? We don’t know.

But there are two more products for the bathroom that you just might want to know about. They’re Poo-Pourri and Royal Flush.

Yep, they’re for the toilet. You’re supposed to spray them on the water before using the bathroom, and they’re supposed to trap any odors under a think chemical film. (A former sanitary engineer tells us that such chemicals really are used in, er, professional circumstances.) Once you flush, the chemical lets loose a mild aroma. Poo-Pourri is femine, while Royal Flush is masculine.