Holiday Gift Guide For The Kids In Your Life
Welcome to the SIE Holiday Gift Guide For Kids!
This may end up being the longest and most extensive gift guide out of all of them! As a heads up, we’re focusing primarily for ages toddler-elementary school, although some gifts may flux above or below those age ranges!
Make sure you check out our other holiday gift guides, too! We’ve got a gift guide for ladies, my favorite small and ethical shops guide, and a holiday gift guide for the guys in your life as well!
I’m sharing some of the things we’re getting for our kiddos this year, as well as what’s been a hit in previous years. There will be stocking stuffer ideas, too! Each picture is also linked to the product.
As a Mama of 3 young kiddos, we’ve had LOTS of experience testing what’s worth buying and what’s not. Happy reading and share with a friend if you find this holiday gift guide for kids helpful!
Toddler Holiday Gift Guide
Magnetic Writing Board
Did you have one of these as a child? Our 1-year-old got this for her birthday and all of our kids love it! Great for practicing writing letters and drawing for our big kids, too.
Play Doh
Our 18-month-old is LOVING playing with play-doh right now!
Water Table
A water table is a staple for summer fun in our household! I put this under the toddler section, but my big kids who are 4 and 5 also LOVE playing with this in the summer.
Wooden Rainbow
I teach the 2 year olds at our church, and they all go crazy over this toy! I bet my 1 year old would love it, too. And there’s something so classic and nostalgic about wooden toys that also look nice in your home!
Wooden Race Track
Our friends have this wooden race track and our kids flock to it every time we’re at their house! They can learn their colors and numbers while they play with this fun toy.
Bubble Machine
I went hunting for a highly rated, more durable bubble machine because we’ve had soooo many that have pooped out after just a few months. This one is highly rated on amazon and the reviews were great! Worth it to spend a few extra bucks if it will last more than a few months.
Inchbug Personalized Gear
We are loving the Inchbug products for labeling our kiddos’ stuff! These labels are THE BEST and will even stick on clothing through the wash. We’ve put them inside shoes, jackets, shirts, lunch boxes, and bookbags.
These bottle labels were originally designed for baby bottles, but work great for water bottles, too! We don’t leave home without everyone’s water being labeled. It’s been so convenient for going to school, church, or even playdates so we don’t get our waters mixed up!
Stocking Stuffers
Pop Its
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I put this under toddlers, but all of my kiddos LOVE playing with these. Great for anytime they’re stuck waiting like the doctor’s office, stroller rides, or even for car rides! The multi-pack small ones would make a great gift for friends or a class for Christmas.
Pop Tubes Sensory Toy
Again, your older kiddos may love these, too! I’m all about the sensory toys that help get rid of some of that extra energy that ALL toddlers have. My 18-month-old is especially into figuring out cause and effect, which these are perfect for!
Preschool And Elementary Age Holiday Gift Guide
Kinetic Sand
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This is a FANTASTIC sensory activity for kiddos, and one of the things that will have our kiddos sitting and playing for a while. (I’m doing you a favor and NOT linking colored sand. Trust me, don’t do it.)
Water Beads
Our other favorite sensory activity! Grab a plastic bin and you’re good to go. Our kiddos LOVE playing with these inside on a rainy day, but also have taken them outside and put them in the water table for some summer fun.
Water Paint Books
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These are one of our kiddos’ favorite activities! Plus, who can’t love a no-mess craft activity?!
Water Doodle Mat
My sister got our kiddos this last year, and it’s a great activity to pull out on a rainy day or for some quiet play time.
Legos
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There are lots of options, but since our son turned 5 and got his first lego set, he’s been addicted! These are a few that he has loved putting together.
Magnetic Tiles
Between legos and magnetiles, it has helped our kiddos so much with their visuospatial skills and ability to think and build creatively! (Which of course makes my PT heart happy). This is another purchase that is WELL WORTH IT. I promise you that your kiddos will get their use out of them.
Superhero Cape Set
This cape set is played with weekly by all three of my kiddos (ranging from 18 months-almost 6!) They have soooo much fun dressing up and playing superheroes. I’d love to have some hooks where these can be hung and ready to be played with because I think they would wear them even more. This has been a total hit with our kiddos!
Balance Bike
A balance bike is how our kids learned to balance on a regular bike! It’s been shown to have a faster transition than using training wheels first. This Huffy brand one is a great price!
Play-Doh Creation Set
Play-doh is great for such a wide range of ages! But this play set is perfect for slightly older kiddos.
Wooden Geometric Blocks Set
Do y’all remember these from your childhood? I’m eyeing these up for my kiddos for Christmas this year. Not only are they a great way to work on shapes, but this activity is also AMAZING for visuospatial skills (the ability to create something that you see and/or reproduce an image) that are essential for development. This is PT approved!
Wooden Magnetic Letters
We have magnetic letters, but some of them have broken and we are looking for an upgrade because this is one of the ways my kids have been engaged the most with learning their letters. We use baking sheets to spell things out. These Melissa and Doug letters look like the perfect replacement!
Lite Brite
My son has been RAVING about lite brites ever since he used one at school. This is also something I am keeping in mind for him for Christmas! Great for fine motor skills, and it’s fun!
Timers
We got these last year to use for quiet time, but there are about a million ways you can use these for kids! Setting a timer to pick up their bedroom or for other chores is a great way to motivate kiddos. These have been used daily since we got them. We’ve pretty much got them in rooms all over the house!
Piggy Bank
We wanted to have a way to divide up the kids’ money for spending, saving, investing, and giving to church. I hear about this piggy bank from Phylicia Masonheimer and it’s been a great visual for the kids! You do have to use change, but we made a trip to the bank to get some coins and it’s been an easy way to help them learn how to save, spend, invest, and give away their money.
White Boards
Ya’ll we have gotten so much use out of these whiteboards! We use them to practice letters, drawing, and take them on trips to pass the time in the car. We’ve even taken them into doctor’s appointments and they’ve been so effective to keep my big kids occupied for a few minutes.
Our Favorite Books
Chronicles Of Narnia Set
I got this set for our kiddos last year, and we have been reading them out loud together as a family! It’s a classic series that also points to Jesus, not to mention it’s great for helping with their vocabulary. I’ve enjoyed reading these, too!
When God Made You
This is my favorite children’s book. We try to be very intentional about what books we read to our kiddos and what messages they send. The truths in this book are so beautiful and point kiddos to the beautiful and intentional way that God made them! I’ve bought this for so many friends and baby showers over the years. This book is the best!
When I Pray For You
This is Jonny’s favorite children’s book (by the same author as When God Made You). I LOVE the illustrations in this book and the truths in this book are beautiful as well.
Don’t Forget To Remember
My friend got us this book when our youngest was born, and this has become one of our favorite books that we have also bought for many friends and family members. We LOVE all of the beautiful illustrations in this book, and my kiddos’ favorite part of this book is all of the animals in it. Ellie Holcomb is a beautiful songwriter, so it’s not surprising that she wrote a beautiful children’s book that points them to God.
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
This isn’t a Christian book, but it is one of my kiddos’ favorites and just happens to be a book that I loved as a kid! Not only is this book fun and silly, but it’s also been great for teaching my kiddos their letters.
Jesus Storybook Bible
This is a must-have children’s Bible for your bookshelf! The stories are told in such a beautiful way, and I love how each story is tied back to Jesus and the gospel. We use this Bible for our Jesse tree activities for Advent, so make sure you grab it before the Christmas season this year and you can follow along with us!
Bible Stories Every Child Should Know
This has been my favorite Bible for my kiddos once they hit age 4 or 5. It takes the stories a bit deeper and has AMAZING discussion questions for you to go over with your kiddos.
Stocking Stuffers
Liquid Timer
We learned about these liquid timers from our oldest son’s preschool teacher a few years ago. They’re amazing to help calm down a kiddo who’s having difficulty controlling their emotions, or when you need something to help them have some quiet time for a bit. I personally feel calm watching the colors, too!
Card Games
We’ve been playing a few card games with our 4 and 5-year-old kiddos, and it’s been so fun! Here are a few of our favorites lately:
Uno
Go Fish
Here’s hoping this short and sweet holiday gift guide for the kids in your life helps ease the pain of holiday shopping this season! We’d love if you’d share this holiday gift guide with friends and family for them to use as a resource while they shop for the kids in their life, too.
Thankful for you!
