A Simple and Intentional Christmas Gift Guide for Kids
As our family has grown over the last ten years, our house has not. I’d like to say our journey to intentional, minimal gift-giving started with a high moral conviction, but it was really just born out of a desperate need to simplify our life.
The fruit has been tenfold though. I adore having toys that my kids play with year-round. And I enjoy the thrill of the hunt to find sweet little treasures for a good deal. Don’t get me wrong, I still get overwhelmed sometimes, but I am smitten with my home and the things in it. Including the toys.
This isn’t an exhaustive list, it’s just a few things that we either already have purchased and love, or plan on buying. I never want to recommend anything that I’m not personally supporting. And a lot of them are from small, family-run businesses. So yay for that!
I like to focus on gifts that foster imagination, creativity, and independence but they also have to be fun! And bonus if they are aesthetically pleasing, no shame there. If it’s going to be strung out all over my floors I might as well like how it looks! So while I have five boys, most, if not all of these, are suitable for girls, too.
We’ve naturally fallen into a rhythm of everyone getting a couple of “big” gifts and then a few smaller, accompanying ones.
Simple and Intentional Gifts for Kids
Linen capes from KHEPP (pronounced keep)
I stumbled across these at a booth during the Wild + Free Conference. These are beautiful, high-quality capes. Last year we bought play silks and my kids tore holes in them in about 2.5 seconds. I would much rather pay a little bit more for the Khepp capes and have something that will last through all my boys’ shenanigans.
25% off sitewide with code SIMPLESEASON2022. Valid through December 7, 2022.
I *highly* recommend The Green Ember book series to go with your cape.
Make believe wooden toys by Treasures from Jennifer
We bought swords, bow and arrows, and an ax. We are in a major imaginary play phase and the quality of everything we’ve purchased from Treasures from Jennifer is incredible! She also has *loads* of educational/homeschool resources.
Yoto Player
I’ve been on the fence about this for a few months. Not because of anything with the product, I just wasn’t sure we needed it. We have an iPad that I will occasionally play stories on through audible or the library app. But I like them having a screen free option that they can operate independently.
We use these headphones for our roadtrips and so everyone can listen to their own stories without disturbing each other. Another great gift for all!
Legos
It’s the year of the legos. We’ve done Magna tiles for the last few years which I still highly recommend. It’s probably one of the best Christmas gifts for kids ever. But my older boys are wanting a bit more of a challenge so legos it is!
Wooden Toys
Most of ours have been bought from consignment sales and thrift stores. I can almost always find Melissa and Doug Toys for 1/3 of the price there. But I am buying this adorable cash register from amazon.
Intentional Gifts for kids under $10
These are the gifts I don’t put a limit on and also highly encourage friends and relatives to buy. The key focus is that most are consumable. This is hands down the easiest way to control clutter. It provides plenty of fun for the kids and opportunities to spend quality time together. Not to mention most don’t take up permanent residence in your house!
- Stickers and sticker books
- Puzzles
- Activity pads
- Art supplies
- Canvas pencil pouches ( I ordered two of these and two of these)
- Journals and notebooks
- Small treats like gum, chocolate, popcorn, etc.
- Books (everyone gets at least one in my house!)
- Hot wheels cars
- Gift cards to their favorite restaurants to be used for 1:1 dates
- Science projects
And that’s the plan for simple, intentional Christmas gifts for our kids.
Remember, it’s not about what you give, but your posture in giving. May you be filled with the ultimate gift of Christ’s love, which can never be taken away.
