Toys for grown-ups bring back the joy of Christmases past

Paper and ribbons litter the floor. All that remains on Santa's cookie plate are a few crumbs and sooty fingerprints. Mom is brewing a second pot of coffee in the kitchen and you're in your bedroom, on the phone with your friends, comparing cool gifts and making plans for playing with your new toys.

When was the last time that described your Christmas morning?

Sure, they're overrun with commercialism, but that doesn't mean the winter holidays have to lose their fun. By giving toys to the grown-ups in your life, you can bring back some of that giddy joy you used to feel. Here are some gift ideas for the big kids.

BIG FEET PJS 

Pajama party
The last time you spent Christmas morning in onesie pajamas, no doubt you were still a firm believer in Santa Claus. Big Feet PJs, a mail-order company based in Las Vegas, has finally put the feet back in our pajamas. They come in cotton flannel ($39.99), micro-polar fleece ($44.99), a lighter jersey knit ($39.99) and luxurious 100 percent cashmere ($119.99) that's even machine-washable. And yes, they come in a drop-seat version. Order online at www.bigfeetpjs.com.

WILTON ENTERPRISES

Cakewalk
Baking can be a blast -- if you have the right toys. Wilton Silly Feet Reusable Silicon Baking Cups are a sure way to have fun in the kitchen. Pick up a set of four ($9.95) at Mrs. Cook's or Sur La Table with a few other cake-decorating tools to create goofy characters out of your cupcakes. Santa feet are available in a special holiday edition.

PRISM DESIGNS 

Go fly a kite
Nothing puts the wind back in your sails like flying a kite. REI has kites to fit all manner of enthusiasts and price ranges. Their Mini Delta Kite ($5.50) has a 20-inch wingspan and packs down small, perfect for stuffing in a backpack (or a stocking). The Prism Designs E06 Box Kite ($35) is a spectacle of dancing prisms that's sure to turn a few heads, and it's easy to launch into a moderate wind. For aspiring experts, there's the Prism Designs Quantum Kite ($90), an entry-level stunt kite that will have you looping, diving and swooping for joy.

CODY ELLERD

All a-board
Blue Highway Games in Queen Anne spells out its raison d'etre quite simply: Unplug and reconnect. Take their advice and gift the guy with a mouse glued to his palm with a good, old-fashioned board game. "Quelf" ($29.95) is this year's party game. A roll of the dice and you're suddenly behaving in ways you never could have imagined (have you ever written a haiku about your armpits?) Or try "Bang!" ($10), a role-playing card game with a Wild West theme, or the geopolitical strategy game "Settlers of Catan" ($38), in which players compete for the territory and resources of a previously uninhabited island.

FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS 

Just picture it
Graphic novels give us a way to reconnect with the illustrated page while still enjoying the grown-up plots and themes that get us going. Eric Reynolds, publicist and editor at Fantagraphics Books, recommends "Palestine" ($29.95), a first-person pictoral reportage of the Mideast crisis by journalist Joe Sacco. For a rollicking read, he suggests "I Killed Adolph Hitler" ($12.95), a genre-bending science-fiction adventure by Norwegian cartoonist Jason (no last name) in which a man is sent back in time to assassinate Hitler before World War II happens. Or return to the classics with "The Complete Peanuts" ($28.95), 50 years' worth of original comics released by Fantagraphics in eight volumes; or E.C. Segar's "Popeye" strips from the early 1930s ($29.95), in an 11-by-17-inch hardcover edition packed full of vaudevillian comedy that was mostly lost in the TV cartoon version.

CODY ELLERD

Take a shot in the dark
Think a new "toy" for the photographer in your life has to cost an entire paycheck? Not true. Chances are, they haven't had a go with the Holga ($32.99), a simple, medium-format camera with a plastic body and a cult following of devotees who adore the Holga's seat-of-the-pants approach to taking pictures. Don't think. Shoot from the hip. Forget everything you know. The golden rules of lomographic photography are perfect for the child in everyone. The soft-focus, ethereal shots it produces look like they were taken in a dream. Pick one up at Glazer's Camera or online at http://shop.lomography.com/shop/.

VERIZON WIRELESS

An easy cell
Watch your Bubbie turn into a 15-year-old girl, calling her friends and chitchatting the day away with her brand-new phone. The Verizon Coupe phone ($19.99 with a two-year contract) is specifically designed for the 65-and-older set. It has a larger font that's easier to read, and the volume, battery and headset are color coded for those who are less tech-savvy. The menu options are simplified, and certain keys are dedicated to emergency phone numbers. The phones are available at all Verizon Wireless and Circuit City stores.

NINTENDO 

Mario killed the video star
What's your old pal Mario up to these days? Catch up with him in space with one of Nintendo's latest releases for the Wii, Super Mario Galaxy ($49.99 at Best Buy). He transforms into a buzzing bee and a spooky ghost as you guide him through his new interplanetary adventure. Or you can take your "CSI" habit to the next level and solve the crimes yourself with Ubisoft's "CSI: Hard Evidence" for Wii, XBox and Windows ($29.99-$39.99 at Best Buy).

SPEEDBALL ART COMPANY

I screen, you screen
If you have a friend who's always saying, "That would be great on a T-shirt!" hook him up with a Speedball Fabric Screen Printing Kit ($39.99 sale price at Utrecht art-supply store), a basic introduction set that has everything you need to put your own designs on shirts, pillows, posters, etc., through various screen-printing techniques like stencil and photo emulsion. If you're lucky, you'll get one of his awesome T-shirts for Christmas next year.

VESPA 

Cars, scoot over
Just say the word "scoot" and you're already having more fun. Hop on and hit the town on a scooter, and boring old "alternative transportation" suddenly feels like an amusement park ride. Despite its soggy skies, Seattle is the number-one market for Vespa sales in the country, and the local dealership has models to fit a variety of lifestyles and desires. Scooters range in power from 50cc to 250cc, and cost from $3,000 to $6,000. Filling them up is cheap, there are holders for two lattes and you can bring your little dog, too.

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