Holiday Ideas: For the Little Nature Lover - Ants, Ladybugs & More

It's a good thing I'm not a squeakmish Mom as I have two typical boys. They love anything that crawls around - it seems like the fuzzier and the more legs, the better.

So lately I've been letting them bring a variety of incests into the house in a controlled environment of some kind of toy or kit. (I'll draw the line when they ask for a tarantula!)

I have to say, it's actually really neat and a bit like a fun science experiment with some of these kits. Here are a few fun ones that would make great Holiday gifts this season for any boy or girl who loves the nature and loves to look at bugs outside:

Rainbow Ants - my youngest just received this last night as a gift for his birthday. He's been asking for it for months! This kit is really neat because first it's a bit of sand art. The child can decorate the inside of the container with the provided sand art and make whatever pattern or decoration he or she wants. You then send away for ants (you pay only for shipping, which is $3.50 in the Continentel US) and put the ants inside. We haven't done this part yet but apparently once inside they dig and move around make some neat patterns with the sand art. My kids are so excited to do this. Get it for $15 plus at various retailers online.

Last spring, we got a Butterfly Garden Kit from Insect Lore. It was the neatest experiment. We received caterpillars in the mail and watched as the went from chrysalis to butterfly in a few weeks time. My kids were so excited to check on this daily. Eventually we released the butterflies while we were on vacation at the beach. I'm sure we'll do this again next spring as it was so much fun and educational, too! Get the Butterfly Garden Kit for $15+ at various retailers online.

Insect Lore also makes the Ladybug Land, which my 4-year-old is asking for, for Christmas. Same concept as the Butterfly Kit, only with Ladybugs. It's also $15 plus at various spots online.

Lastly, remember Sea Monkeys? I can't believe it but even the kit looks the same as when I was a kid. They're affordable too - you can get one for as little as $9.