Our tabletop telescope from Celestron is an excellent choice for traveling or as a first telescope, which explains its “FirstScope” name. It’s a 76mm reflecting telescope with 20mm (15X) and 4mm (75X) 1.25” eyepieces and mounts for a finderscope. The mount/stand has a lazy-susan style swivel and a variable tension knob. The Accessory Kit includes 12.5mm (24X) and 6mm (50X) 1.25" eyepieces, a moon filter, a 5X24 finderscope, planetarium software ("THE SKYX") for Windows 7, XP, Vista, Mac 10.4.8 or later, a nylon carrying case for accessories.

You should put buying new batteries in your calendar. These “AA” alkaline batteries, GP Ultra Plus+ brand, are marked as lasting until 2/24. You’ll get (4) packs of (2) batteries, which is (8) total, and yes, we know you just did that math in your head.

Nothing is certain except death, taxes and smudges. Take care of at least one with these lens-cleaning kits. They include a 7”-square lens cloth, (5) double-headed swabs, and a 1-oz vial of ammonia-based cleaning fluid in a spritz bottle.

Actually, your chickens, plural, since our each is multiples of lovely, plucked and naked chickens in full chicken color. And unlike the real thing, these are small enough to carry in your pocket, because you never know. In molded plastic, you pick the dozen micro-mini pullets at 1-1/2” long, or the 3-pack of 3” long birds. Either way, you’re prepared for any chicken emergency you’re likely to encounter.

Do we have baseball caps? Do bears have hair? Does the Pope wear white? We have a passel and a half-- logo-free, adjustable backs, solid colors, two-tone, fabrics, plastics, even some leather. Some with “Perma-Curv” brims, some awaiting your personal curvature, or not. Made in the Dominican Republic, the Land of Middle Infielders. Buy a couple and we’ll pick (2) different caps and surprise you, because we heard you really like surprises.

There’s no end to the things we all need to spray around the homestead--water at plants and cranky husbands being just two of them. You need our plastic (PETE) pistol-grip spray bottles. You pick: the black, 18-oz bottle, 8-5/8" x 4-1/8" x 1-7/8" with a red top; or the red, 20-oz bottle, 7-3/4" x 3-1/2" x 2-5/8" with a gray cap.

Or barrier strips, or terminal blocks, depending on where you are and who you ask. Ours is a (4) position x 2 block rated for up 30A. Standard screw-type terminals, and measures 3-1/4" long x 1-1/4" x 5/8" with a pair of 3/16” mounting holes at each end.

These mighty nice little ceramic disc magnets measure 18mm dia x 6.5mm thick, which in America, Burma and Liberia is 23/32" x 1/4", and for those of us still math-impaired, roughly a stack of (5) dimes. They have a 1/4-lb pull. No crafter should be without an enormous supply of these. Also note the physics-class-friendly bulk price.

This pair of 3” pliers-style alligator clips for quick wire connections have red and black insulator boots, and are good for up to a whopping 30A. Crimp connections are under the rubber insulators.

What if you crossed Boris Spassky with Han Solo? Checkmate with a beam of light. This is the former KHET 2.0, now updated to a space chess theme. Includes (26) game pieces, including kings, switches, defenders, deflectors and lasers, all on an 8 x 10 grid game board that measures 12” x 9-3/4”. Features (5) distinct board set-ups, and is a two-player game for ages 8+. Trust us--it’s a blast. Includes replaceable button-cell batteries, too.

Eschew plastic models. Go ahead, we won’t tell. And then try these nostalgic wooden kits from Pathfinders Design & Technology. All pre-cut pieces, held together only by wooden pegs, they each take about an hour to build. You pick: the Catapult, approx 9” tall on an 11-1/2” base, and including a few clay balls for assaulting castles (ages 14+); the Ballista, as used by the Romans, which will stand approx 7-1/8” tall x 10-5/8” long (ages 14+); or the Trojan Horse, which will stand approx 11-13/16” tall x 12-3/16” long (ages 8+). Note, figures not included.

Here’s a replacement, no-frills power cord for most shavers, boomboxes, TVs, etc. Measures 6-feet long with an 18-2AWG cord, and a 2-pin, shaver plug.

If Louisa May Alcott had moved on from Little Women and Little Men to little critters, she’d have been all over this collection of beasts. All approx 3” to 3-1/2” in hard rubber with articulated jaws, so they can look vicious or contemplative. We’ll send you a pack of (3) different ones, possibly including a lion, tiger, white tiger, hippopotamus, crocodile or cheetah.

It’s a sweater in England, but here it’s a 4" double cord with a molded female 1/8” standard headphone jack at one end, and molded left-right (white-red) male RCA jacks on the other.

He does this through new incarnations of his awesomely clever devices. And somebody trademarked him. Build these Rube Goldberg™ kits and watch simple tasks being performed by hilariously complicated chain-reaction machines. You pick: the circus acrobat shot out of a cannon using a monkey, snake, tennis racket, peanuts, wagon and a tightrope; or the castle escape machine that uses a princess, dragon, spiral ramp, drawbridge, flaming balls, hat ribbon and a cannon to get Rube out of the castle. For ages 8+.

Call it the My First Trilogy kit. Our each is a boxed set of (3) 24-page, 3” x 4” blank books with blank hard covers. Includes (9) assorted markers and (6) sheets with a passel of ready-to-color stickers. You add one creative kid and a rainy afternoon. For ages 4+, from Faber-Castell’s Creativity® for Kids series.

Our Crystal Mini-Worlds growing kit from Klutz comes with crystal powder; 2” squares of air-dry clay in yellow, blue, pink and white; glue; (4) 8” chenilles (pipe cleaners); glitter; (20) punch-outs; thread; craft sticks; dye tablets; and (3) tiny figurines: a seahorse, a dragon and a unicorn. For ages 8+, includes a 48-page instruction booklet.

No, no, we’re more culturally attuned than that. This is a machine to spin your way to artistic fame, or at least an afternoon of fun for the kids. Battery-operated (you supply the “C” battery), with a 6-5/8" dia turntable, it comes with (5) one-ounce bottles of paint in red, yellow, green, purple and blue, plus some gold and silver glitter, which Rembrandt would have used if he’d had it. Includes (10) black and (10) white cards, and has slots for round paper as well.