Our next gift guide is all about the kiddos! I have two girls, age 5 and 7, so this guide is mostly geared towards kids in the 5-9 year old range – but if you have kids in that age range I’ve got a lot of great ideas for you! If you’re looking for gift ideas for younger kids, check out my gift guides from previous years to see our favorite toys for those ages! (Hint: Magnatiles is pretty much always the answer.)
1. I’m kind of obsessed with this wood castle set. It’s completely modular, so your kids can build any castle that comes to mind. I can totally see my kids creating a castle filled with their favorite figurines!
2. This might be pretty specific to my kids, but they play with these Lightfury and Toothless figurines for hours – so I thought I’d include them! I try not to have a million dolls and figurines in the house, but these seem to inspire a lot of imaginative play so they get my stamp of approval.
3. If dragons aren’t your kids’ thing, my kids are also super into all things horses and Spirit. This walking Spirit is at the top of their Christmas list, but they love any horse figurine like this or this with long hair that they can comb and braid.
4. This star projector would be so beautiful as a bedroom nightlight.
5. We discovered these Peaceable Kingdom board games at our local game shop, Labyrinth, over the summer – and we already have three of them! The games are cooperative, meaning everyone wins together and there are no losers (especially tiny younger siblings) with hurt feelings. Feed the Woozle is probably our favorite so far, but we also love Gnomes at Night and this Fairy Game! We also really love this bug building game from Lakeshore Learning.
6. My kids scooter all over the neighborhood – this one folds flat and has light up wheels!
7. Thank goodness for beautiful wood toys. I love the colors in this Montessori counting toy for younger kids, and this minimalist wood counting toy for kids above first grade.
8. This shapes puzzle set is perfect for visually-oriented kids! Let them build something entirely from their imagination or work on their problem-solving skills by trying to build the designs shown on the cards. Would make a fantastic travel toy, too!
9. I’m thrilled that Polly Pocket is making a comeback! We have a couple sets already and my girls love them – and they’re small enough to be fun stocking stuffers, too! This unicorn set is on my list.
10. My kids are absolutely obsessed with temporary tattoos – especially metallic tattoos! This Melissa & Doug temporary tattoo book would also be a wonderful stocking stuffer.
11. Bracelets with secret messages! So fun!
12. We took the kids to the International Spy Museum a few weeks ago, and they’ve been obsessed with all things secret and sleuthy ever since! I feel like we’d get a lot of mileage out of this Super Sleuth kit – but an invisible ink pen also makes a wonderful stocking stuffer!
13. Give me all the STEM kits! This Snap Circuits kit looks like so much fun, and there’s also a Magic Rocks kit and a build-your-own Robot Spider kit!
