A Guide to Gifting Mindfully for Kids

I've been spending so much time perusing the interwebz looking for gifts for our kiddos (3 and 6) this year that take up LESS space, last LONGER, are made with LESS plastic, and promote connection and experiences rather than consumption and fleeting entertainment.  I think we've all seen either in our kids or the kiddos in our lives, or OURSELVES back in the day, what can happen when we get the latest battery powered electronic gadget, only to lose interest in it a few days later. Our kids don't even play with everything they have now, so why bring more of the same stuff in to the house to start the process over again??

So I've finally set down to create a list of all the things I've had my eye on for our kiddos (we usually follow the want/need/wear/read gifting idea for gifts from us/Santa).  This is the list I'll share with our friends and family when they ask about what to get for our kiddos as well. I encourage you to have that conversation with your family, if you're trying to take a more minimal approach to gifting this year - it can be hard, but definitely a conversation worth having!  

Experiences

Experiences are the gifts that your kiddos will remember!  If you or your family member want to gift an experience but are also dying to see your kiddo's face light up as they unwrap something, I recommend buying a small gift that goes WITH the experience (see some examples below!):

• Camping trip + tent, hiking gear (chair, backpack, etc), state park passes 

• Kids Museum passes

• Aquarium Day Trip + Montessori Ocean Sorting Game or wooden ocean play gym for littles

• Geo Caching + GPS tracker (this would be most interesting for older kids, I can't wait to do this with Bear!) 

• Childrens Theater tickets or passes (plus a gift that has to do with the show you're seeing!

  • I'm putting this Harry Potter costume on our list as well as children theater tickets for an upcoming Harry Potter play!

• Zoo Passes + these timeless animal figurines (my kids love these sturdy and lasting animals!)

• Farm Day Pass + Wooden Farm Playset

• Half Priced Book Date (get hot cocoa, and browse the used book store - let your kiddo pick!)

• SPLURGE: Great Wolf Lodge stay (there's one of these in Texas and we're dying to go!)

• Jumpy Place Passes (great for indoor play during the winter!)

• Movie Passes + costume for whatever movie you're seeing (is anyone else freaking out about Toy Story 4 and frozen?!)

• Game Nights for the Year (get 12 age appropriate board games for the family and plan a game night every month!)

  • I'm putting these Peaceable Kingdom Cooperative Games on our list this year!

  • I love these games for as little as 2 yo!

Books

• Magazine Subscriptions - kids LOVE getting mail!!

  • Some of the ones I'm looking at for our kids are: 

    • National Geographic KIDS (6+)

    •  National Geographic Little Kids (3-6)

    • Highlights High Five (2-6)

    • Highlights (4-8)

• Subscription Boxes 

  • Awesome Pack - The Family Pack provides games and activities to encourage family time.

  • Kiwi Crate - boxes for every age 0 and up, to encourage creative play based learning! (looking at these for Bear and Cami!)

  • Little Passports - inspire your kiddos to learn about the world!

  • Owl Post Books - monthly books delivered to your door for your kiddos!

• Set of Books 

  • Elephant and Piggie (THESE ARE OUR FAVORITES!)

  • BOB books (early readers)

  • The Magic Treehouse

  • Frog and Toad Books

  • Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls

  • She Persisted Boxed Set

  • Boynton's Greatest Hits

  • Babies Love Science

  • The First 100 Set

  • Create your own Family Book each year for your kids using a service like Shutterfly (they will LOVE to read it and see the pictures of themselves!)

Learning

• Magnatiles  (these are plastic but our kids will play with them FOREVER)

• Blocks 

• Legos  (plastic but a CLASSIC)

• Puzzles 

• Stacking towers  - one of my favorite companies!

• Animal figurines 

• Wooden rattles 

• Grasping toys 

• Activity Boxes 

Practical Life

• Montessori Style Dishes

• Wooden table and chairs

• Learning tower 

• Nylon Knives for kids 

• Mop and Broom Set

• Cami is asking for a baby doll this. year, and we are thinking about thisone!

Artistic Expression

• Lessons 

• Instruments 

• Art easel - we have this one!

• Art supplies 

Physical Fun

• Balance Bike 

• Athletic balls 

• Trampoline - big splurge but our kids play on ours ALL THE TIME.

• indoor gym set 

• Gymnastics mat -  we bust ours out for some good indoor wrestling/play!

This list is by no means exhaustive, but I hope it sparks your imagination to get creative with gifts this winter!  I keep thinking, the less exciting the toy is (in terms of flashing lights and sounds) the more challenged our kiddos will be to use their imaginations to create a magical world!  I hope you enjoy!