nickolodeon

It never fails to amaze me that there very popular kid's shows out there -- complete with extensive merchandising -- that I've never heard of (though I write about entertainment for a living). Nickelodeon's iCarly is one of those shows.

I wouldn't know an episode of iCarly if one sideswiped me in LA traffic, but no one at the network nor anyone associated with the show could give a chimp since the series comes packed with an extensive following, cross-media popularity for star Miranda Cosgrove, Emmy nominations and a wide variety of product tie-ins -- including two new video games from Activision.

In a world full of games inviting me to kill zombies, take on Nazi Panzer divisions and out-scheme NFL masterminds, I couldn't imagine where to begin a game about a plucky early teen who creates a web series with her perky friends. But Activision's game designers came up with successful new titles for the Wii and Nintendo DS.

"Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? Popularly licensed and profitable is he!"

That's not how the SpongeBob SquarePants theme song goes, but the statement is factually correct. The Nickelodeon yellow legend is still immensely popular across various age ranges. And that gives you some easy gift ideas for kids in and around your family.

Rather than merely give the kid in question a stuffed sponge for the holidays, you can dig a little deeper and offer up a couple Spongebob board games from Hasbro for less than $25 each.

The SpongeBob SquarePants Edition of "Kid Cranium" mixes up artistic activities with a trivia-based board game to let kids express themselves while they kick your grown-up butt.