The soft sound of jingling bells. Dinner plates clanking, the sounds of laughter and chatting. The soft sound of a fire crackling in the background. Can you feel it? The Christmas season is coming with all its joys and wonders!
Holidays can be especially joyous if you have kids. I love seeing the wonders of Christmas through their eyes. Watching them open the perfect gift is what makes these times so special. But what if your kids have everything? How can you find the right gifts for kids if they don’t need toys or anything else?
Gift ideas for kids that have everything don’t have to be hard! There are plenty of gifts that aren’t clothes or toys. We’ve assembled some of the best gift ideas for kids that have everything. Gifts that create memories, help them develop lifelong skills and develop and grow your family bonds throughout the entire year, not only at Christmas.
What if Your Kids Have Everything?
Maybe you’ve looked into the kids room and saw that they have no need for any new clothes or new toys. How can you make Christmas gifts exciting for someone who doesn’t need anything?
We all want to make sure that our gifts are fun but if your kids don’t need anything new, maybe it’s time to change your gift giving approach. Instead of simply giving things, you can find ways to create meaningful, memorable and educational gifts that will stay with them forever.
Are Your Kids Less Excited About Gifts?
We love giving gifts in our house! As a parent, there is almost no greater joy than being able to give a gift to your kids that they are really excited about. The look in their eyes, the smiles on their faces and the elation in their voices are precious. But what if your children already have everything?
Children who have everything they need and most of the things they want, can be less excited about their new gifts. This is a result of “adaptation”. It’s the process of adapting to new stuff and no longer feeling excited about it. This happens more frequently when you have more things.
Studies have found that while positive feelings for possessions decrease over time, the positive impact and feelings of experiences increase. In our mind, it seems like experiences can age like fine wine, and gifts of things can age more like milk!
What Makes A Great Christmas Gift?
How to recognize a great gift when you see it? If gifts of toys and clothing are no longer what you are looking for, how do you know what gift to choose? If you’re thinking of a gift, it can be a good idea to ask yourself these questions:
- Is it educational?
- Is it exciting?
- Does it help them develop motor skills?
- Will it lead to longer playtime?
Just because it isn’t a new toy doesn’t mean it can’t be amazing. Science activities, board games, art projects and tools for building can all be fun gifts. Developing skills and taking classes will be fun and will have the added benefit of having a lasting impression on us into the future. What kind of gifts?
Amazing Christmas Gifts That Aren’t Toys
Experiences
Experiences are the gifts that continue giving. Experiential gifts, as opposed to physical ones, make a lasting impression on us and tie us to those that we shared the experience with. Memories are formed and bonds are strengthened when we have experiences with each other. Take a look at these examples of experiences that you could gift your kids.
■ Subscription to a local museum or zoo
Learn about history and the natural world together, again and again. Subscriptions to places like this can also lead to discovering your kid’s passions and interests!
■ Membership to a play gym
All kids love the play gym. Getting this gift for your kids is healthy and promotes free play and interaction with other kids.
■ Online kits
One of the coolest new types of gifts we have seen and love for our kids are online kits. These are ordered online on a subscription basis and they come with all the materials you need for a handful of activities, which the kids must put together! Everything from games to electronics, your kids build them, play with them and learn, all at the same time!
■ Exotic subscriptions
Did you know that you can order, and have delivered to your home, boxes of popular Japanese snacks? Imagine what you could learn about a new culture by eating their favorite snack foods? This is just one of the cool ways to open your eyes to new cultures and experiences.
■ Subscription to a magazine
The options of magazines available for kids today are amazing. No matter their interest, you can find a magazine that caters to it. Magazine subscriptions are recurring gifts that continue to deliver (no pun intended) the same level (or even more) excitement from the kids as the previous month’s magazine.
Precious Commodities
■ Puzzles
The beauty of these is that they teach kids and parents to work together and overcome challenges while working together. That is why these are great gifts. They do not have the same effect if they are given to kids but are not worked on together as a team. Use this time to teach your kids about patience and perseverance (or maybe learn a lesson or two from them)!
■ Your time
It is well known that children spell love as: TIME. Life can get hectic and sometimes the daily activities of life can overtake sending quality time with your kids. Give the gift of time by setting aside special time for play dates and activities or simple one-on-one time where your kids can decide what happens. This takes intentionality but the reward is worth it!
Events
Do you remember any special events you went to as a kid? One or two memorable events? Create those memories with your kids by gifting them special events!
■ Go to a show
Have you ever experienced a play? How about a magician’s show or a circus? Maybe a live concert? Humans have a natural tendency to gravitate toward these types of events. Gifting a show, no matter the type, to your kids is a phenomenal way to explore their interests and passions. You might also have an amazing time as well!
■ Sponsor an animal
There are many animals and causes that need sponsorships or donations. Sponsoring an animal is a great gift for kids because they can have a feeling of comradery and affection with an animal, even if it can’t live with them at home.
■ Order a dinner
For some reason, ordering dinner makes the meal that much more exciting for kids… and adults too! As a gift, special meals that can be ordered are a phenomenal way of getting kids involved in food. This is good for all kids ages.
Inspiring Creativity
All kids have creativity bubbling up inside them. All they need are the right supplies and the proper environment and you will be amazed at what your kids produce. What are some kid’s gifts that can inspire creativity?
■ Recordable books
Recordable books are amazing. They have all the educational impact of a book that you can read to your kids. It also has recordable pages that can be used to develop and fine-tune their reading skills. On top of that, they are re-recordable, letting them continue to be used and add value for years to come.
As a parent, recordable books provide a way to teach how to read, write and speak properly. For kids, they are fun because they get to hear their own voices, they can listen to their favorite stories and the books can grow with them. All around, the recordable book may be one of the best experiential gifts you can buy your kids. Get our holiday gifting bundle and enjoy a memorable Christmas with your family!
■ Playdough
Let your kid’s imagination run free with playdough! With unlimited options for molding and sculpting, playdough continues to be a great gift for kids of all ages.
■ Drawing board
Whether it be chalk or erasable markers, a drawing board is another gift that continues to provide fun learning opportunities, day in and day out. The perfect gift for kids from 0-12, can be everything from a map to a a drawing board, to one of the indispensable supplies of a young mad scientist.
Don’t Wait Until the Last Minute!
As a parent, you will now be given an assignment before Christmas. You heard that right! For the next few weeks, actively investigate what your children are interested in. Take time to ask them questions and watch them. Consider how this will pertain to what they might like in the future. You will need this information to buy the type of specific gifts you are looking for.
Christmas happens every year at the same time. We tend to wait and put things off until the last minute. Don’t do that! It creates unnecessary financial and mental stress and it is completely unnecessary. There are plenty of early sales throughout the year that are geared towards the shoppers that are looking to get ahead of their Christmas shopping so use them! What are some of these pre-sales?
- Black Friday
- Cyber Monday
- Amazon Prime Days (earlier in the year)
- Free Shipping Day (in December)
- Black Friday in Summer (some companies do a halfway to Christmas sale)
Gift Ideas for Kids this Season
Let the holiday season begin! Finding the perfect gift for kids can be a challenge but it is worth the effort! Gifts that build motor skills, board games, projects, craft supplies, tools and science stuff always make great gifts. Books, events, experiences and creative endeavors are also all amazing.
Remember, the important part is being with and loving your family. Give the gift of love and each other’s company and be present with your family. Be intentional with your gifts this year so that your kids can enjoy them now and into the future. Have those gifts help shape who they become by giving them meaningful experiences to grow and learn from. Most of all, enjoy the holidays!