A hobby not only builds character and cultivates responsibility, it keeps otherwise idle hands from self-destructive thumb wars or destroying credit with impulse dials to infomercial hotlines. Distract mischievous mitts with all the hobby splendor they can hold with today's Groupon: for $20, you get $40 worth of hobby products from Hobby Wholesale on Gateway Boulevard.

Hobby Wholesale enchants hobbyists with everything from remote-controlled cars and woodworking supplies to doll-house architecture and model trains. A Lego Large Blue Brick Box ($39.99) makes castle building a reality, which modular architects can then move into and defend with a battalion of Robo Champs ($12.99). Toys, games, and puzzles turn homes into armories of fun with classics like Shrinky Dinks ($9.99). Buyers can rule both earth and wind by attaching a monarch butterfly kite ($17.99) to a 1/36-scale micro truck ($89.99) but will have to do their own alloy-dipping before calling out fire.