Top Ten Toys in Greenwood will hook you up. Check it out. It's a pretty great toy store.

Impressing kid AND parents is a tricky one. The crafty toys tend to collect dust on a kid's shelf, while he plays with empty cardboard boxes and sticks from the yard.

But, you can't go wrong with wooden blocks. They are simple, inexpensive, creative, and will actually get played with for an extended period (years even).

http://www.thinkgeek.com/clearance/on-sale/60b6/

Might be better for 3-4 y/o, but...

Seattle Children's Hospital published a series of five brochures for different age groups of children describing appropriate toys for the developmental skill levels of each group. I used them with parents frequently in my work as an OT in the schools.

I checked and they have now updated them for the digital age and they are available as pdf's at this website (search for the word "toy").
http://www.seattlechildrens.org/safety-wellness/category-index.aspx?taxid=2218
I have included the specific links below.

For this age group 1-2 year olds go here:
http://www.seattlechildrens.org/pdf/Ce193.pdf

For the next age group up, 3-5 year olds go here:
http://www.seattlechildrens.org/pdf/Ce195.pdf

Review the recommendations, print out a copy and go to any of the really good developmental toy stores. These are generally your small local toy stores - they don't have enough shelf space to stock junk and often you will find the folks working there really well versed in what is very successful for different age groups (as well as being able to stay within your budget.

Here are some toy store recommendations from Qland:

http://questionland.com/questions/17935-what-are-some-good-toy-stores

Try the card game "Uno" by Parkers Bros.
Or, do you recall the "How and Why" series of science books? (They might have been a subset of the "Time/Life" books.) If you can find one on a subject that the kid enjoys, you could hit a home run and advance his studies as well...

You might also consider a comic book "graphic novel"... there are plenty to choose from... ask for help at your local comic book shop or Walden Books, or Borders, if you can find them. Just make sure the content is age-appropriate...there are a lot of mature themed books out there... worse than just Wolverine popping his claws!

Five gallon bucket and a wooden spoon. Ok, maybe a smaller bucket. Kid gets a drum and thinks it's awesome; parents have to feign gratitude. Win win.

How about either a wooden truck, painted to look like a firetruck...or, a "work bench" complete with hammer and "nails" or pegs that get whammed and driven through the "board"?

*I remember that used to engage me at that age, but only for a while. Once I realized the futility of the toy, I abbandoned it.

Clever?? That's hard.
You might also look for one of those wooden puzzles with just six pieces so that they have to match the picture on the piece with the picture revealed in the whole.

Or, there are always the wooden beads strung on the wire roller-coaster wires rods. Some kids spend hours pushing them around. Again, see point #2 above.*

I think I've seen them at Fred Meyer (but call first to double-check).

Bartell's and Target carry them locally, though not the full line. They had them on Zulily.com in the past couple months at a discounted rate.

Well, certainly from their website:
http://mypillowpets.com/

Locally, try Bed Bath & Beyond.

My thought is the the RATIO of natural experiences to digital ones could be the most important thing. In other words, if the kid spends a lot of time outside, in parks, forests, and farms, playing with friends, hanging around with animals. etc., exposure to digital media should be less of a problem.

How much of the stuff do you need? I'd think that if you're filling up a whole sandbox with it, buying it in bulk might be a lot cheaper than buying individuals bags retail. Shipping should be cheaper because it will come on a pallet on a delivery truck instead of UPS.For example, that sandtastik company takes bulk orders: http://www.sandtastik.com/sandtastik-sand/sandtastik-white-play-sand/128-sandtastik-safe-sand-bulk

Even one of those little turtle-shaped sandboxes will take 150 lbs of sand, so you could probably easily justify a 200 lb order.

However, if I were you I'd just call around to local rock and and sand dealers. The issue isn't with silica in sand (most sand is virtually all silica!), but with extremely fine-grained silica crystals that can be inhaled. In natural sand, this isn't a problem because the same geologic processes that sorted the sand into sand-sized particles washed away all the smaller stuff. It becomes an issue with manufactured sand, where they take larger quartz-containing rocks (quartz is the same thing as silica) and crush them up into sand-sized grains, leaving finer stuff in there too.

But given where we live, I'll bet that practically all the local rock yards and landscape places that sell play-type sand are selling natural sand. Locally-harvested natural bulk sand should be perfectly safe and much cheaper to boot (to say nothing of the environmental costs of hauling sand all the way across the country from Florida where true silica-free carbonate sand comes from).

Now, if you'll indulge me in a slight tangent, I think the safe-sand thing is a bit of a scam. The whole thing got started because in California silica-based sand is required to contain a Prop. 65 warning saying that it contains material known by the State of California to cause cancer. But the risk this refers to is only applies to workers who are frequently exposed to dust produced by sandblasting. There is absolutely zero evidence to suggest there is any risk posed by just playing in the stuff, even if it is the manufactured kind that could contain silica dust. But since the play sand is basically the same stuff as the sandblasting sand, it also has to carry the warning. The kid's play sand with the cancer warning on it elicits images of Irwin Mainway* and so someone came up with the bright idea of selling non-silica based sand that doesn't have to carry the warning. After all, what decent parent would choose the cancer sand? It's a variation of this principle: http://xkcd.com/641/

*http://snltranscripts.jt.org/76/76jconsumerprobe.phtml

A gift card to Gamestop. They are everywhere & there is no doubt in my mind that the 11 year old boy in question has some type of gaming station. He can buy new or used games and accessories.

There are some great graphic novels out that boys love love love. You can go to your local bookstore, or take him to HIS local bookstore and let him choose.

Kind of along the same lines that sphinx said, I would find out if he has general interests in certain areas. However, instead of a book or thing, take him to a cool place! Does he like sciency things? Take him (and maybe a friend) to a science museum. Animals? Hit up the zoo! You get the idea. Make sure he has a camera and can take photos/record the day somehow, because I know when I get into things and had a really good time, I like to spend the next several days/weeks sharing the cool stuff I learned/experienced. Sharing is caring in the internet world, or so I've heard.

And plus, if his parents are comfortable with the idea, he might just enjoy spending a day with someone who isn't his parents that treats him with respect (like an adult!)

Totally had a cabbage patch doll. but I don't remember its name. But I DO remember visiting the ACTUAL cabbage patch (factory) in Atlanta! Its actually one of my first memories. It was heaven.

I got my little brother a Venus Fly Trap once and he LOVED it. Sometimes you can find them in containers, so you might be able to travel with it.

From the sounds of it, these are aimed at the fashion crowd, but of course little girls will want them, too. I admit, I'm torn. Their faces have more character and variation, but those toothpick arms...yikes.

Also, I just have to say that I think this -- "I don't know why, but I get a Barbie collector catalog mailed to my house" -- would make a great opening line for a short story. I dare you, Kristin!

She's losing weight from all the olympic training and running for president and flight attending and executiving and swimming and ballroom dancing and safaring she's been doing. She's a busy girl, no time for silly things like food.

Had to google that one- wow. Their boobs are smaller too; at least that part is accurate. It all bears the question- which is worse... the new Bulimia Barbie or the original Porn Star Barbie?

New generation of image-conscious girls coming up.

I wasn't allowed a Cabbage Patch doll. My dad was afraid playing with dolls would make me gay. I was only allowed ACTION FIGURES.

25 years later, I love vagina. Thanks, Dad!

Yes, I did have a Cabbage Patch doll, but I remember neither its name or what happened to it, although I suspect it was sent to Goodwill. I never really got into dolls as a child, but I loved me some Transformers.