Before you start your Christmas shopping this year, check out these gift ideas for kids!
Lately, I’ve been so overwhelmed by the amount of kids’ toys with little parts, that after doing a big purge, I decided we are having a non-plastic-toy Christmas this year. I even convinced my mom to stick with this plan for our kids! If you’re in the same place as I am right now, overwhelmed, by too much “stuff” that the kids barely even use, then this list of non-toy gift ideas might be just what you’re looking for!
For Creative Play:
One of our most beloved non-toy gifts is a Puppet Theatre. We got this 2 years ago, and the kids enjoy it as much now as when it was new. We picked out this one because it was so easy to store when not in use. However, they enjoyed it so much that we attached it to the lid of our sensory table to use all the time.
Of course, you can’t have a puppet theatre without puppets!! We love the Melissa and Doug puppets. These kits would also be an awesome gift alongside the theatre!
Our kids also loved a few years ago when their dad built them custom workbenches for the garage! You don’t have to go that extreme, but many kids would love having their own sets of tools!
These V-Tech cameras are so loved in our house. One of our Kidizoom cameras has lasted almost 7 years and is still used often. We’ve also upgraded our son to the video camera which he loves!
Now, you may have relatives that are *really* hard to convince to avoid toys altogether. In that case, I recommend open-ended building toys that our kids love! Magnetic tiles, castle blocks, lego/duplo, city buildings, cars, and play rugs!
For Downtime & Calm:
Next week, I’ll share more about one of our very favorite things, Yoto players! We use these as part of our homeschool, just for fun, and on long car trips. Stay tuned to find out more reasons we love our Yotos! This code will get you 10% off your first purchase: https://prz.io/k5g5GoAUB
We love our Yoto players, but another fun way to enjoy stories is through books on CD. Disney has a TON of stories (some are no longer in production, so we have purchased many used copies).
Our 8 year old enjoyed having his own calendar in his room this year. He loved crossing off dates as they occurred and recording upcoming events. All three of our kids will be getting 2025 calendars as part of their Christmas gifts this year!
They will also be getting their very own magazine subscriptions. For our soon-to-be 9 year old son, I subscribed to Owl. Our six year old daughter will be receiving the Ranger Rick Jr. Magazine, and our 4 year old daughter is getting Chirp. Monthly subscription boxes can also be fun! My parents sent our kids the America’s Test Kitchen boxes for two years and they were super fun.
You can make your child a personalized photo book from Shutterfly. We have one for each of our homeschooling years.The kids love pulling them off the shelves to relive favorite memories and field trips. I showed how we create our homeschool yearbooks in this post!
Speaking of books, we have several of these Disney Look and Find books that we save for long trips in the car. The kids LOVE getting new ones for our collection.
For Family Bonding & Playing Together:
My daughter used some birthday money to purchase one of these dance pads. I was convinced it would be junk based on the low price we were paying. However, it turned out to be very good quality and one of those things that’s been fun for the entire family (mom included!)
Our children love “family movie nights”! This year they’ll be getting a set of reusable popcorn buckets and their own movie theatre boxes of candy to accompany the 3-set DVD of Spy Kids movies.
Families always have different feeling on board games! They can be especially difficult when sibling rivalry and “not fairs” rear their heads during what is supposed to be a bonding activity. That is why we absolutely ADORE cooperative board games! Some of our favorites are Cauldron Quest, Disney Eye Found It, and for adults or older children, Pandemic and Forbidden Island. If your kids can tolerate a little bit of competition, we also love Spot It, Monopoly Jr., any matching game, and Risk Jr.
The big Christmas gift our kids are getting to share this year is an Air Fort. I can’t speak to the quality yet, but I loved how small it folds up and I think they will really enjoy it! It’s pretty pricey as an individual item, so our kids are getting one to share that will be all set up on Christmas morning and will be the “big/high impact” gift of the year!
Staying Active:
Our fun “big gift” last year was scooters for our older two & a big wheel tricycle for our youngest. These are great for older toddlers.
Any gift that encourages the kids to be active is a win in my book! These turtle shell stepping stones are fun alone, but also come with a card game to guide kids in movement challenges!
We purchased this set of tunnels and tents at the beginning of 2020. They were fantastic to help burn off energy while we were stuck inside. We set up these throughout our house, along with the stepping stones I shared above. They’re still getting regularly played with 4 years later. This is yet another toy that is HIGH fun impact/exciting, but stores super small. (Also, check out this bean bag game and hopscotch rug for more “big fun” activities that store away well!)
A Few More Ideas:
Thinking of starting a household chore routine with allowance in the new year? We absolutely LOVE these Moonjar savings banks for practicing good financial habits young.
Family memberships to local places are always appreciated, too! Think zoo, aquarium, state parks, children’s museum, trampoline parks, etc. And to personalize it, or have something exciting for the kids to open alongside the membership or gift card, you could include a picture book or craft kit that follows the location’s theme!
A few other non-specific ideas that could be tailored to your child’s interests are books, snacks, puzzles (check out floor puzzles!), craft kits, art supplies, robes & slippers, special outfits or shoes, and a new bag or backpack for their favorite extra curricular activity.
What’s missing from my list? I’m still on the hunt for more awesome non-plastic-toy Christmas gifts for our kids! Let me know in the comments what you’d add!
This post includes affiliate links which, at no extra cost to you, provide small earnings that we use to purchase items for our homeschool. Make sure that you supervise children when using all gifts, and thanks so much for shopping through our links!
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