Hello!
We are getting closer to Christmas, and you may or may not be done shopping! Wanted to note: ALL of these items will still arrive before Christmas!!
I wanted to share just a few gift ideas for your kiddos you still have time to order before Christmas that fall under the categories want, need, and read. I have already shared a few need items on my black friday shopping post for kids, and a few something to read posts already, so my main focus on this post is something they want! Most of these items would fall under the “something they want” category! I hope you enjoy and gives you a few ideas for your kiddos!
something they want . . .
PicassoTiles – these provide endless fun and creativity and kids just LOVE them. An activity that toddlers/preschoolers can do and even elementary age kids love these!
Imagine Ink Coloring Book Bundles – There are so many options for these if this set doesn’t suit your child, BUT these are great for kiddos of all ages. My kiddos will sit and do one of these for 20 minutes straight whenever they get a new one. They are also PERFECT for kids sitting with you during church if you also do not have your nursery open. An easy thing to throw in your bag with you on Sunday mornings for them to do that is quiet and doesn’t have them staring at a screen!
Large Toy Dump Truck – Tommy loves his! Even Collins enjoys zooming around the house with this, loading up the truck, and dumping things out. This would be a good sandbox toy too!
Kinetic Sand – I know I shared this on my black friday post, but this is worth sharing again. Like the magna tiles, another item that is not only a sensory toy, but provides endless fun and creativity. Kids are mesmerized by this stuff, as are adults! 🙂
Little Tikes Basketball Hoop – A great gift idea for the kiddos. It’s a nice indoor item to have during the long, cold winter months. The kids get all rosy cheeked when they play with the basketball hoop. A good energy burning toy for the kiddos!
Customizable Name Puzzles – both C and T have these! A great hands-on gift idea for them that helps with identifying their name, spelling their name, letter identification, and even color identification!
Melissa and Doug Kitchen Toys – we have the coffee maker, and the kids use this regularly when they play with the kitchen set, BUT I was eyeing this toaster set for them too, and found this set! You can purchase them individually, but I thought this could make a great gift that you could split and gift to two children in your family!
Strider Bike – We got this for C a few years ago, and these really are as great as people say! We were amazed at how quickly she picked this up and how well her balance has gotten in such a short period of time using this bike! This past spring, she hopped right on, and just took off all over the driveway, taking even longer strides in-between putting her feet down to “pedal”. It was so cool! Great gift for your kiddos!
Melissa + Doug Vet Play Set – I think I shared this on one of my prior kids gift guides, but I’m reshaping it, because my kids still love this play set and take it out often! They love playing vet for not only the kitty and doggy, but for all their “stuffies”
something they need . . .
Kids water bottles – these are our favorite! We have also had the kids hydroflask ones and those are also good, but we use these most often. I have never been a huge plastic cups fan, they just take up space and you end up taking a sip of one, leaving it, then grab a new one, and pretty soon you have 25 cups all over the place. I have always went to water bottles for the kids once they were at an age they finally figured out how to suck from a straw! We have a “water station” at the house, so they always know where they are/go and can easily get them themselves. It works great!! This pack has one of each color if you have a boy and girl, but there are several two and three packs you can find that would be great Christmas gifts for your kiddos!
Good pair of winter gloves – these mittens are so great, because they zip all the way down to the thumb! No more trying to wiggle little hands into a glove and work little fingers into their correct spot! A little more pricey, but worth it! I just get the black for both C + T in different sizes, so that they can be passed down and reused!
Boys Winter Hat – I bought this for Tommy and it is so cute on him (and keeps his head nice and warm!). I also love that he matches daddy now too 🙂
Neck Warmers – we bought this for C last year, and it still fits her great! We originally got her a plain black one, but that was a smaller size, so we got the next size up for her in a more girly option for Christmas last year. Tommy wears the black one now! Comes in many other color options!
Hatch Baby Nursery Light/Sound Machine – Both kids have these in their rooms, and this is just as much a gift for the parent as it is for the child! We have used these for a few years now, and can’t say enough good things about them! If your child has trouble staying in their rooms, either if that’s in the mornings and they wake up earlier than you’d like them to come down or during nap times… this thing is a game changer! It is a night light that you can customize for the child right from the app on your phone. You can pick the color you want it to glow when it’s rest time, the color you want it to change to when it turns to the time you have set that lets the child know they can get up, and these are all set to whatever time you easily set it from your phone on the app, so you don’t have to worry about if it’ll change every day or not. You can also have a variety of sounds on during rest times if your child likes that. They have a rainbow mode too for the colors, so it can rotate through all the colors if that is something that would soothe/help relax your child during rest/bedtime. C still comes out of her room from time to time of course to go to the bathroom or something, but this made SUCH a difference when we introduced this to her when she was a little over 2. We have one it Tommy’s room already, so that when we switch him from crib to toddler bed, he’ll already understand when it’s time to come out of his room and when it’s still time to rest in his bed/room.
Kids Size Table – The one we have is currently not available, but I found one nearly identical to the one we have! The chairs are slightly different than ours, but otherwise it is the same! I love this table and chairs set because it’s neutral colors 🙂 and also because it is SO helpful in fostering independence for your littles!! I remember after we had Tommy, this table was a lifesaver at times with Collins. Especially after having a C-section, lifting her was a no-go for the first few weeks, so not having to lift her up to a high chair or table for meals was so great! It’s a great place for them to play, eat, have snack, or read a book! This would make a great something they need gift for their play area!
Adidas Shoes – We love these shoes for both C + T! We grabbed her and him a bigger pair of these during black Friday. The pink for C and the grey for T! 🙂 They’re also on sale again right now!!
something to read . . .
Okay, so I have shared a handful of books already, but wanted to share some school/other reading materials that you could gift to your kiddos this year! Reading letters, numbers, sight words… there are lots of ways to get words/letters in front of your kiddos, so I wanted to share a few of those for this section, along with some other manipulatives that you can do a ton with for all sorts of different activities with your little ones that may be helpful to have on hand. Especially with so many of us still with kids learning/schooling from home (maybe you’ve even transitioned to homeschooling this year?), I thought sharing some of these things we love and use weekly around here would be helpful.
Letter stamps – They have this uppercase letter set, and lowercase letter set and we love using these to work on letting identification or building words/practicing writing our name! You can also use these for any letter matching activities you might be doing. For example, we were working on an activity that had all uppercase letters on the page and you had to find the lowercase matching letter and pair them up. The directions said you could use those dot stickers with each letter written on them, but I did not have dot stickers on hand, but I did have these! So she simply put the lowercase stamp on top of the matching uppercase on the page, simple as that! We didn’t stamp the letter, because I want to reuse our activity book, but that would’ve worked too and been fun for her! Anyways, that’s just one example of another way you can use these stamps, besides stamping. Don’t forget to snag some ink pads too!
Magnetic Letters with Storage Bin – another great manipulative to have on hand for all things letter identification, word building, and free play! Use them on a whiteboard, fridge, or cookie sheet and have your child practice sight words, spelling words, writing their name, or finding letters! We love these as well.
Counting Bears – toddlers LOVE these (lower elementary kiddos do too!) Great for counting, sorting, grouping, adding, subtracting, dividing, even/odd numbers, color identification activities, and so much more! You can do lots of fine motor activities with these too like the “Save the bears” activity @dayswithgrey shared one time where you put one bear in each spot on a muffin tin, then put masking or blue painters tape in strips across each column and then the other way across each row of the muffin tin, then the child has to “save the bears” by practicing their fine motor skills (and cutting with a scissors skills!) to cut the tape off and save the bears! This is a great manipulative to have on hand that your kiddos will love!
God’s Very Good Idea (Tales That Tell the Truth) – Here’s something to read that is very timely. I shared it earlier this summer after everything happened with George Floyd, and then the many injustices that followed. It is a book about God’s very good idea about how He created lots of different people, of all sizes, shapes, colors, and ethnicities, enjoying loving him and loving one another. It is a fabulous resource for parents to begin to teach your child how to have a biblical worldview on people who look different than you and to celebrate them and love them, because God made them and it was His very good idea to build His kingdom that will be from every tribe, tongue, and nation.
It’s All About Jesus Storybook Bible – I always share this on my something to read gift guide for kiddos, because it is one of our most loved storybook bibles we have. We read from this bible almost nighty. We love that each story has a “Christ Connection” bubble that helps connect whatever story of the bible you just read and how it points us to Christ. There are also a couple questions to think about and answer with your children for each story, too. If you don’t have this one at home, I highly recommend it!
PLUS PLUS Big – Open Play Set – These are new to me, but I was so excited about them when I saw them. They reminded me of magna tiles in a way, because there are just so many different ways kids can play with these! They are in my cart for the kids. I wanted to just mention, there are PLUS PLUS Big and Little version, and the little ones are so itty bitty that I don’t think they are as kid-friendly, especially preschool age kids, as the Big version, so my suggestion would be to get the Bigs, not littles!
Wooden Pattern Blocks + Tangrams – Ages 3-9, these are awesome! My students LOVED whenever I would take these out for a station activity or when we were learning about shapes. I loved that these have the full size tangram cards and that the blocks are wooden, so they are durable and safe!
Wooden Geoboards – Another GREAT gift idea that kids ages 3+ love. There are so many ways to play with these. Elementary age kids love these, this was another big hit in my classroom with my 1st and 2nd graders whenever I would pull these out! Obviously the biggest concern with these are the rubberbands, so I would suggest these for ages 3+ and also just thinking about fine motor skills. These could be trickier for 2 year olds, but for a kiddo like Tommy who has really good fine motor skills already, he may be able to do these, especially if he’s watching his big sis busily play with these!
Unifix Cubes Set – Do you remember these from school? I hope so! They’re still alive and doing well, and the kiddos love them. Hands on, with many different uses such as: counting, adding, subtracting, pattern work, grouping, sorting, counting by 2s, 3s, 4s … 10s! A great manipulative to have on hand for many different math activities!
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