Ideas4Kids Holiday Gift Guide (Part1)
curating the best educational & fun gift ideas for kids aged 0-10
Welcome to the nineteenth edition of “On, Off, All the Time”!
Intro (for first-time readers, otherwise feel free to skip)
This newsletter is dedicated to fellow parents, grandparents, teachers and anyone else involved in caring for kids, who wake up stressing out about having to come up with a healthy ⚖️ of on and off-screen activities to keep children educated, entertained and safe.
For many of us, this 🤹 responsibility (especially these days) exists literally all the time, at least until our kids are shipped off to boarding school, college or Hogwarts :)
Today is part 1 of a special edition focused on gift ideas..featuring recommendations of 18 educational & fun presents for kids 0-10 including reasons why parents and kids alike will enjoy them.
Gift Idea recommendations:
I have tried to curate this list of gifts with the following factors in mind:
🧮Fun & Educational -> unlike (most) adults, kids LOVE to learn, and these days there are so many great toys that fulfill both these criteria, so why not aim high?
🚫📺Avoid screens where possible -> As readers of this newsletter will know, screen-based activities can be amazing, but I still encourage families to prioritize off-screen, especially when kids are younger.
🏺Durable -> I am a big believer it’s worth spending a bit more $$ if the product is going to last
🔁Replay Value -> eg appeals to multiple ages, or contains several play variations
🎁Easily Re-giftable -> kids preferences and hobbies can change overnight, so it is sometimes important to ensure gifts can easily find another home if needed
Babies & Toddlers (aka 0-2yo):
💲 (under $20)
(Melissa and Doug) Alphabet Nesting and Stacking Blocks
💑(Parents love these because): so many developmental options for different ages..from throwing a ball at the blocks, to sorting/stacking to identifying pictures and eventually reading the alphabet
🧒🥰(Your kids will love it if): they love building (and destroying) towers or looking at colorful pictures of animals
(Tomy) Toomies Squeak Toy, Hide & Squeak Eggs
💑: highly durable & colorful toy, perfectly sized for young hands and great to teach toddlers matching and sorting skills
🧒🥰: suited for kids who love opening and closing boxes, or toys that make cute sounds
💲💲 (between $20-$50)
(Fisher Price) Little People Big Yellow School Bus
💑: classic toy that can serve as a base for hours of playtime, with plenty of room on the bus to add more Little People or other figures.
🧒🥰: kids who love vehicles, playing pretend school or annoying their parents by playing the same song on repeat
(Fisher Price) Laugh & Learn Learning Kitchen
💑: a great ‘first’ kitchen that can be played with sitting or standing. comes with high quality set of accessories.
🧒🥰: great for kids who love to play kitchen or dance along to music (tip: this edition comes with Spanish option, which my kids loved!)
💲💲💲 (over $50)
(Step2) Push Around Buggy Toddler Push Car, 10th Anniversary Edition
💑: very versatile. can be pushed by parent or driven by child when they are older. even includes safety belt
🧒🥰: kids who like to be backseat drivers
(Baby Care) Play Mat - Haute Collection
💑: double-sided design, comfortable, safe, easy to clean and durable. Our playmat at home has already lasted 9 years and is like new.
🧒🥰: great for kids who love having their own play space
Pre-schoolers (aka 3-5yo):
💲 (under $20)
(Melissa and Doug) Bear Family Dress-Up Puzzle
💑: great mix & match activity (clothes, sizes and emotions), durable pieces and comes with storage box
🧒🥰: they love dressing up and/or bear characters
💑: great outdoor activity, suitable for the whole family, washable
🧒🥰: this set even comes with a glitter crayon, always a hit!
💲💲 (between $20-$50)
(Fisher Price) Little People Launch and Loop Raceway
💑: comes with two cars but works great with other Hot Wheels cars
🧒🥰: they love racing against a friend or sibling
(PicassoTiles) 60pcs Magnet Building Tiles
💑: great starter set, similar quality to MagnaTiles for half the price
🧒🥰: they love building or knocking things down
💲💲💲 (over $50)
(Lego) Duplo Modular Playhouse
💑: kids can spend literally hours creating different combinations. this is the Duplo set that gets the most playtime in our house with all ages.
🧒🥰: they love imaginative play, especially when they can add on pre-existing sets or characters
💑: easy to use and screen-free audio player. can record custom content (eg family members reading stories)
🧒🥰: adorable playback control (eg volume controlled by touching the ears of the included ‘tonie’ figure), can collect different characters
First to Third Graders (aka 6-9yo):
💲 (under $20)
(Stomp Rocket) The Original Dueling Rockets Launcher
💑: this set comes with two bases so two kids can play at once. no batteries required
🧒🥰: for kids who love rockets and jumping up and down
Dry Ice (best found in local supermarket)
💑: great way to learn science for all ages although adult supervision required
🧒🥰: they love doing fun and creative experiments and are responsible enough to listen to their parents (a rare combo 😂)
💲💲 (between $20-$50)
(Wishouse) Rechargeable Walkie Talkies for Kids (3-pack)
💑: during the 1st lockdown our kids had great fun talking to the neighbors using these!
🧒🥰: they love having ‘meetings’, solving mysteries or talking to their friends on the phone
(DK Smithsonian) Picturepedia Encyclopedia
💑: chock-full of detail, including over 10,000 photographs on 360 pages.
🧒🥰: if your kids love asking ‘why’, this is the perfect book for them!
💲💲💲 (over $50)
(Lego) Creator 3in1 Caravan Family Holiday (Set #31108)
💑: this is a great 3-in-1 model set. great value for money.
🧒🥰: which kid doesn’t love Lego? this set includes a stunning-looking lighthouse and a caravan full of details such as a lamp, cooker and fold-up tables and chairs
Snap Circuits Pro SC-500 Electronics Exploration Kit
💑: really well done electronics kits, this particular one comes with over > 500 experiments
🧒🥰: they love programming their own games or learning how things work
Conclusion
Hope Part 1 of this Gift Guide comes in useful this holiday season! As always, would also love to hear if you have any recommendations of your own.
Have a great rest of week,
Yaakov