Did you know 26.8 million toys are thrown away each year? Australia alone spends over $1 billion on new toys at Christmas time. That is a lot of toys! This year instead of gifting the kiddos toys, try another variety of gift giving. You get to be more creative with presents and the kids will feel just as excited to receive them.
Non-toy gifts can be anything from tickets to events and museums to musical instruments and camping supplies. Non-toy gifts don’t have to be boring. More times than not kids get even more excited to receive them. Who wouldn’t want to visit a children’s museum or get their very own camping supplies? Let’s dive into a list of clever non toy gift ideas for kids this year’s holiday season.
Art and Craft Supplies
Art and craft supplies are a wonderful gift that keeps on giving. Some gift ideas are coloring books and star shaped eco friendly crayons, bracelet making kit, scrapbooking supplies, finger paint, and even a mini birdhouse painting kit. There are so many options to choose from for all ages. There are even craft supply subscriptions. What a cool gift for the creative child in your life!
Tickets to Events
Event tickets are a gift in multiple ways. It’s exciting when the kids unwrap them, the anticipation of waiting, and when you finally get to go! Some event ticket ideas are museums, sporting events, ballet or theatre shows, kids comedian, concerts and even monster truck shows. These are just to name a few. There are so many endless possibilities with this gift idea.
Camping Supplies
If your kids love the outdoors, get them a few camping supplies of their own. If you do not enjoy camping but your kids do, that’s okay! Have indoor camping in your living room or even out in your backyard. They’ll have a blast. If you are a camping lover, pair this gift with a camping trip for a bundled gift idea. Some camping gift item ideas are, sleeping bags, mini lanterns, a book bag, water bottle, and even binoculars.
Sports Gear
For the sport loving kiddos, gift them some sporting gear of their own. If they are fans of football, give them a pair of gloves, a nice football, and even a jersey. If they are fans of basketball, get them a mini basketball goal and basketball. For kids that don’t know what they like in the sports world, gift them a collection of sports items so they can learn what they like the most.
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Instruments can be both fun and educational. While your child is learning to play their instrument, it’s working a different part of their brain that normally isn’t exercised. You could gift them something simple like a recorder, flute, or keyboard. Or you could go with a guitar or mini piano and pair it with lessons for a bundled gift.
Puzzles
Puzzles are good gifts for kids of all ages. Whether you have a 5 year old or a 15 year old, there’s something for everyone. You can go with the traditional puzzles with a scenery your child adores or you can do an untraditional puzzle. Untraditional puzzles are mind time games that you try to solve. There’s an endless variety of choices.
Sewing Items
Sewing is a wonderful skill for any child to learn so why not make it fun? This year for Christmas, gift your kiddos a mini sewing machine, knitting supplies, or even crocheting supplies. If you aren’t sure how to sew, head over to YouTube and learn the basics or join your kids and learn together. Get a few different colors of yarn or material and let the kids pick what they want to use. You could make hats, scarves, blankets, and even slippers together.
Classes
The variety of classes you could gift a child is endless. There is truly something for everyone. Some ideas include cake decorating classes, horseback riding lessons, art classes, karate classes, dance classes, and even baking classes. Your little one will gain new skills and have fun while doing it.
Experiences
Experiences can be one of the best gifts to give a child. Some ideas include horseback riding, cookie decorating, ice skating, visiting a local farm for a petting zoo, making homemade ice cream, indoor rock climbing, and even going to the movies. Gifting an experience is all about immersing a child in something they love. Here are some experience gift ideas for adults as well!
If you’ve got a little one who loves adventure, take them rock climbing. If you’ve got another one who loves animals, gift them a trail ride at your local state park or farm.
Books
Books can be such an awesome gift to give anyone, especially children. If your kids aren’t able to read yet, pick out fun bedtime stories with cute cover art. Your little ones will go wild for the cute drawings on the front.
If your kids are in elementary school, gift the easy-to-read books about their certain interests. Maybe one of your kiddos loves adventure, pick out a travel fiction story or an expedition story about finding hidden treasure.
For older kids, gift them books full of interesting facts, personal growth for the teen years, and stories about things they love. If you’ve got a preteen son, gift him a book all about cars if he’s interested in vehicles. If you’ve got a teenage daughter, find a book all about high school drama or a love story.
Educational Items
If your kiddos are crazy about science or dream of becoming a doctor, scientist, or dentist, gift them a kid’s microscope. They usually come with sample slides and a few other tools to collect your own soil to inspect.
Maybe one of your kids loves to travel and explore. Gift them a Disney Plus subscription to watch the National Park documentaries and Earth shows. Or if you’d rather have something non-electronic, gift them a globe and a travel journal.
For toddlers, you could give them building blocks or little kids’ bingo. These educational items will help them develop hand-eye coordination and other skills while having fun.
Do you know of any cool non toy gift ideas for kids? Be sure to share them in the comment section!
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