Just got another batch of Iwako eraser sets for my nieces that have been growing their novelty eraser collection for a few years with a bit of help from yours truly. These Japanese erasers can easily be taken apart and put back together in different combinations. The Maneki Neko (Lucky Cat) and Kokeshi doll models are available in 6 different colors each. The kimono on the dolls is actually a wrapper decorated with colorful fabric prints. Reportedly they work well as erasers too, but I have not test that claim myself.
These puzzle erasers would make great classroom incentives and gifts for the school-age kids in your list. I bet quite a few grown-ups would also be happy to receive any of them. Who could refuse a "Lucky Cat" or "Kokeshi Doll" eraser to brighten a work station or cubicle?
The second batch of samples I received from Mega Brands also included some wooden pencils: one pack was clearly designed for girls given their glitter-covered barrels with spiral motifs decorations, and the other fun pack was obviously meant for boys given their racing car designs. Both packs were made in China.
Sample doodle on Maruman Croquis sketchbook. The graphite lead was smooth, slow wearing, and closer to your average H grade in darkness.
The sparkling wooden pencils equipped with the Fashion Grips for a wider more comfortable grip during long note-taking sessions.
For school age boys, this Wooden Pencil Fun Pack would make a nice classroom prize. It included a couple of racing car erasers and matching sharpener. The sharpener did a fair job initially cutting the wood away, but its blade broke and snapped off the graphite lead a couple of times before I decided to sharpen the whole lot with my trusty Classroom Friendly crank sharpener. The erasers worked well enough for making writing corrections, but left a faint blue hue on the erased area. thus I would recommend using a dedicated white plastic block eraser for making corrections while drawing with the racing pencils. Both varieties of wooden pencils featured functional erasers on their end caps, whimsical designs tailored to each gender, and strong smooth-writing graphite leads that were also adequate for sketching. Worth trying for school use.
Had the opportunity to gather some more photo reference of Florida wildlife and natural backgrounds on a visit to the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.
Red Shoulder Hawk hunting for mice near the forest ground.
Gator hiding in the vegetation.
Hawk soaring in the sky.
Lettuce Lake near the midpoint of the boardwalk.
Vulture spreading its wings under the rain.
Wasps nest.
Picked a couple of souvenirs from the gift shop: a gator soap and the Twist-Up Crayons set of 8.
The crayon set was made in Korea.
Twist-up crayons assembled and taken apart.
Color reference chart on white card stock and quick test doodle. Colors were fairly bright. Twist-up advancing mechanism worked well, and crayon leads simply had to be firmly pushed into the barrel when they came lose.
Found this carded set of novelty erasers for a buck at a local big box retailer. I recall spotting them in the stationery aisles of some drugstores as well.
Each piece can be taken apart and put back together like a mini puzzle.
The white rice section of the Tamago egg omelet eraser did a fair job in removing its sample of the HB swatch, but the black base of the salmon roe eraser failed to do the same and left an ugly smudged surface behind. 
The poorly trimmed edges of the disassembled red sushi roll eraser.
It might be possible to use a sharp knife to clean up some of the rough edges, but it hardly seems worth the trouble. The erasing performance of these Chinese Crazerasers is rather poor, and they are crudely put together especially when comparing them to the flawless fit and high quality of the original Japanese products they are trying to imitate. Not recommended for fine stationery fans, but they might provide some small amusement as party favors or play food.
Browsing through the Target Back-to-School supplies section, I spotted these neat pencil accessories for $1.19: the Maped Tip Top cap pencil sharpener and pencil cap eraser set. They strike me as a value alternative to the Faber Castell Perfect Pencil without the extender function. They were available in several bright colors, but I naturally picked the yellow orange one to match my Maped Zenoa eraser.
When attached to the back of the pencils, the cap sharpener and cap eraser allow the pencils to be clipped to a sheet of paper. Can't imagine this to be a particular useful function, but thought to mention it since this feature is highlighted on the back of the packaging card.
Both accessories fit nicely as pencil toppers on the Mitsubishi Hi-Uni and Mitsubishi Unistar pencils.
Time to test the effectiveness of the cap eraser on this HB graphite doodle.
The cap eraser works quite nicely though it tends to get soiled fairly easily as shown by the graphite smudges on its side.
Tested the new sharpener blade sharpening a few Caran D'Ache Pablo colored pencils and a couple of graphite pencils.
The cap sharpener yields some nice sharp pencil points and can effectively double as a point protector.
I am pretty happy with the initial performance of these inexpensive pencil accessories and have made a place for both of them in my premium graphite pencils case.
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