It's the most wonderful time of the year once again. That is a lyrically but not sarcastic reference. I do love the Christmas season. So the kids (or the bigger students) might be asking for some astronomy-related items. I can help a bit, so I shall.
Let's start with the telescope request. If you are willing to spend over $200, you can ask me for specific advice. General advice becomes very hard to give once you start looking at the higher price range, and you need to give me details not only on what you want to spend, but what you want the telescope to do for you. More than willing to help if this describes your situation..
But for under $100, there is really only one reasonable choice. Celestron sells a "First Scope" Newtonian reflector. Amazon has this selling for $50, or an amazing $37 if you are a Prime member. Its a table-top 3" reflector. The mount is reviewed to be very stable, and the optics superb for the Moon and planets. I'd go farther and say that whatever object you can see visually in the sky will look very nice in this little compact telescope. And if you are willing to spend the time to try hunting for objects you can't see with the naked eye, this telescope should be able to show you many open clusters, some globular clusters, and even a few nebulae. The price is right for this! Whatever you do, don't spend those $50 on a refractor. The FirstScope is a much better instrument for the price.
Next, at least one family has asked me about green lasers. I will answer with some caution. Any laser is not a toy. Any laser can blind you. Any laser can also get you some major (if ludicrous) attention from local law enforcement if someone points it near an aircraft. That being said,, if you want to draw lines in the sky to point out constellations, here is what you need. Buy a 5 miliwatt laser. Nothing brighter (even I am amazed that 100mW lasers are marketed as laser pointers. That's flat out dangerous). You need to make sure you are buying a laser, however. I've seen some misleading ads selling LED green flashlights as pointers - those won't work at all. And the laser needs to be green - red will not diffract off the water vapor in the atmosphere, and you won't see a line. There are plenty of places to buy one online. You should be spending between $30-$70. Less and it is either a flashlight or will be unreliable. More and you are either being taken, or you are buying too bright of a laser. The model I have is no longer available.
Here is one I might buy if I were looking: http://www.amazon.com/INFINITER-Green-Pointer-Bright-bright/dp/B0015S4KFC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1416797445&sr=8-2&keywords=astronomy+laser+pointers
For the reading student, I recommend magazines over books. The best magazine, for the serious observer and/or adult amateur astronomer, is Sky and Telescope. A great second choice, and probably better for children under 16, is Astronomy. There are others, but these two have been around since I was a kid geek, and I would go back to them if I had time to read astronomy magazines. (Don't worry, I certainly do my share of reading, but mostly much less or much more serious than astronomy magazines).
So those are some ideas. If you have more specific questions about gift ideas, I'm here for you. Just ask!
Enjoy the holidays. I'll leave you with my idea of what this season means. This season celebrates our personal accomplishments by allowing us to send and receive tangible representations of our production. We have traded that production for wealth, and we now use that wealth to acquire those tangible objects which are of value to ourselves and our loved ones. I know that many of you see this holiday through other perspectives, but for our family this is a celebration of the wonder of Capitalism.
Whatever your perspective may be, I hope you and your family find joy in the season.
-Aaron