The No Fail Christmas Gift Guide for those that Stink at buying Gifts

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I’m just going to be honest, I’m not a great gift giver. I cringe at the idea of buying someone a birthday, anniversary, baby, or Christmas gift. I’m not good at it. I spend hours thinking about what I should buy and hours more researching reviews and prices, not to mention the anxiety that comes with wondering if they will even like it! I’m terrible at it. I would rather someone just tell me exactly what they want, and I’m more than happy to wrap it!  So this no fail Christmas Gift Guide, is less about what I have purchased and more about what my family has really loved over the past few years.

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Gift Ideas for 2-4 year olds

We received one of these remote control cars for a Christmas gift a few years ago and my daughter loved it! It doesn’t have complicated buttons, it’s easy to maneuver and they are able to successfully drive it right away. It’s still a hit with younger guest that visit our house. There are lots of different cars to choose from as well.

 

You can never go wrong with little people, or the weeble wobbles for that matter. Oh, how we loved to play with those little figures and  their houses. I can still hear the music in my head!

 

When my kids were little, we did lots of gardening and they loved having their own tools that were just their size.

 

These Magna tiles are awesome. If you have a child that loves to build these will keep them occupied for hours. Seriously. They are addicting. We also have the Magformers, they work the same way but are a little more substantial. We loved them both.

 

Blocks, We have always had a bin of blocks for our kids to build with. There was nothing fancy about them, but they loved building fortresses and setting them up and knocking them over. And you can never go wrong with Duplos. Another classic toy is the wooden train set, now that our children are older I am passing ours off to my nephew who loves trains.

 

I really prefer to have toys that are not necessarily gender specific. Don’t get me wrong, we love our dolls, doll houses, princesses and nerf guns, but I have found that things that everyone can play with takes up less space, and allows for more playing together and I’m always looking for ways to build sibling relationships.

Gift Ideas for 5-6yr olds

If toys with parts puts you into a panic, this one will do you in good. Pro-tip, keep it in a small tote and only bring it out when the kids say “Mom, I’m bored.” This toy has given me hours to myself to sit back, eat Bon Bons and catch up on my Netflix shows. OR at least get the laundry finished.

My son also had a set of these take apart toys when he was little. His were cars but the concept was the same. He loved being able to use the tools to put together and take a part the cars. These dinosaurs look fun!

And if you have a child that loves the outdoors, this Kids explorer kit is the cutest. Imagine nature walks, bug hunting and birdwatching.

 

If you have children that love a little drama the puppet show theater might be the perfect Christmas Gift for them. My father in law built us a curtained puppet show and we bought some great puppets that have kept the kids entertained for years. They love putting on shows for us. We have collected a lot of puppets over the years!

 

Keeping with the make-believe theme, we have always had a dress up trunk that has served us well over the years.

 

Toys for 7-9yr olds

The Stomp Rocket, has been number one on my list of gifts that I give any 5-10 year old boy. My girls had fun with it too! If you want something a little more educational we have had this Snap Circuit kit at our house for years and it continues to be fun and a good boredom buster.

 

Legos, Legos and Legos. I’m almost embarrassed to tell you how many legos we own- believe me when I say…it’s a lot. Like a lot. For nearly a decade it’s almost all my children asked for at Christmas and on birthdays. My oldest will still play with them! Pro tip: Use the train table that they have grown out of to build and house their Lego cities. 

 

Do you have any crafty kids. This non-hardening clay is a step up from play-

 

Gifts for 10-15yrs olds

What kid doesn’t want a drone! This drone was my son’s favorite Christmas Gift last year.

 

If you have someone in your home that likes to bake or cook. One year we asked for all cooking and baking supplies for our daughter and now she has her own drawer in the kitchen where it’s just her special supplies that she uses when she wants to be creative in the kitchen.

 

No one has broken anything yet! knock on wood, because we love these outdoor toys.

 

Do you have any readers? My son isn’t the biggest fan of sitting down with a book, but this series had him hooked. He would even sneak past his bedtime to read more. So you know they have to be awesome!

 

Do you have a child interested in playing the guitar or ukulele? Our kids have taken lessons for years and have loved it.

 

You can also check out this post on online Guitar Lessons.

The Best Games for Gift Giving

We love games! Over the years we have collected a lot of them. I’m only going to share the ones that we play regularly.

 

Non-Traditional Gifts

If you are looking for non-traditional Christmas gifts consider these:

–Magazine subscriptions to magazines like Time for Kids, National Geographic, Ranger Rick, Zoobooks

-Memberships to Museums, Zoos, Art clubs

-Music Classes, Art Classes, Cooking Classes

-Box subscriptions like Little Passports or Kiwi Crate