That a tough one when All a nine year old and his friends live and breath Pokemon. What ever happened to monopoly and let's say street hockey. If the children enjoy painting, get some water colouring tube.
Children love to spend time with parents.
For this holiday season, we tried to stick to the basics in toys. We purchased a couple of board games on her intellectual level. It will require some help from myself or dad too. Best of luck. My daughter is 10.