Thoughtful Christmas Gifts for Young Children
The Christmas season is upon us, and if you’re anything like me, finding meaningful, educational, and fun gifts is on your to-do list. Over the years, I’ve discovered some truly wonderful items that have become favorites in our home.
Many of these gifts tie beautifully into what we’re learning in Cycle 2 of our Classical homeschool. Others are simply timeless treasures that my children continually love to play with.
This list isn’t sponsored, I’m just a mom who loves to share things that have worked for our family. These are all gifts we own, use, and cherish.
Whether you’re looking for educational tools, imaginative play ideas, or practical stocking stuffers, I hope you’ll find something here to make this Christmas extra special for your young learners!
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.
Here are my Christmas gift ideas for young children:
Lulu Jr. Illustory Book Making Kit. This adorable kit lets kids write, illustrate, and publish their very own hardcover book. I’m so excited to give it to my six-year-old this Christmas! She loves creating her own stories, and this makes the process feel extra special. It’s a wonderful gift for any child who enjoys writing, drawing, and bringing their imagination to life!
Mini Mailboxes. I am so excited about these! I’m planning to put these in my girl’s rooms and leave fun notes in there for them. I will also encourage them to write me notes or draw me a picture if they have something they want to tell me. I love the idea of giving my girls another way to communicate with me. Plus, it gives me an excuse to leave them notes too!
Europe Geo Puzzle. These puzzles are a fantastic educational tool for helping kids learn geography! I love how each puzzle piece represents a country, state, or region. This Europe puzzle matches up great with Cycle 2 geography. They also have puzzles of the world, Asia, Africa, South America, the United States, and Canada!
Memory Work Wonderland game. Review the Classical memory work with this fun Christmas/winter themed “candy-land” style board game! I made this game because I love to create fun ways for my kids to practice the memory work we are learning in our Classical homeschool. There are cards to review timeline, math, English, Latin, science, history, and geography. This game goes along with memory work topics from Classical Conversations (all cycles!) Check it out in my Shop! Also check out my Skip Counting Holiday Pie Review to help your kids review the skip counting they have learned! You can download this and other fun games for FREE from my resource library!
The Cat and the Hat’s Learning Library books by Tish Rabe. These books are an excellent resource for kids! They combine Dr. Seuss’s signature rhyme and whimsy with engaging, factual content, making learning fun and memorable. We have collected books that relate to all 3 cycles in Classical Conversations. There are 50 books total in this collection, so make sure you check the others out too.
- There’s a Map on My Lap! – All Cycles!
- There’s No Place Like Space – Cycle 2
- Inside Your Outside! – Cycle 3
- Miles and Miles of Reptiles – Cycle 1
- Oh, the Lavas That Flow! All About Volcanoes – Cycle 1
- Clam-I-Am! All About the Beach – Cycle 1
- Wacky Weather: All About Odd Weather Events – Cycle 1
- Oh Say Can You Say What’s the Weather Today? All About Weather – Cycle 1
Toniebox Audio Player. If I had to pick my favorite toy that my kids have ever been given, it would be their toniebox! I am such a huge fan! It is an excellent gift for young children because it combines screen-free storytelling and music in a durable, kid-friendly design. Toddlers can throw it around and put the Tonies in their mouths, and it doesn’t hurt them or the Toniebox. My children independently enjoy listening to stories and songs by simply placing the character-shaped Tonies on top of the box. My girls will literally dance around for hours while listening to the songs. I highly recommend! The Peter and the Wolf Tonie and the Maestro Tonie go along great when we study orchestra beginning in Week 19 of Cycle 2 in our Classical Homeschool. Also check out the Creative Tonies! I have gotten several of these for my kids and love recording the Steve Green music or and Wonder Kids music on them!
The Nugget play couch. We bought this play couch for our kids several years ago, and it has been worth every penny! My kids love constructing forts, obstacle courses, using it as a slide, a tower to jump off of, and more! It is extremely durable because it is in great shape after years of being jumped and tumbled on. I love that my kids are being super active as they play with it too! This play couch is a less expensive option but the same idea from Amazon.
Magna Tiles. If you haven’t discovered this toy yet, it’s a winner! My kids have spent hours and hours building endless 3D structures. I love how these help my kids develop spatial awareness and fine motor skills while sparking hours of imaginative play. We bought this original set and we recently added to our collection with these magnetic tiles which are less expensive and essentially the same thing. There are also fun pieces that aren’t included with the original Magna Tiles. My kids have these little people too that stick to the magna tiles which is fun!
Legos. Of course this is one of the most valuable toys for kids that can enjoy for many years. Last year we bought this Holiday Ski Slope and Café set for my oldest daughter because our family loves skiing. She is at the age now where she can follow the instructions and put together most of the set by herself. It’s a great activity for her independent quiet time in the afternoon. This year we bought my older daughter the Heartlake Community Center set and my younger daughter this Simba Lion King set.
Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree by Robert Berry. If I had to choose my absolute favorite Christmas picture book, this would be it! This is a delightful story about a Christmas tree that’s too tall for Mr. Willowby’s parlor. This leads to its top being trimmed and shared with others. As each piece brings joy to different homes and creatures, the book celebrates the spirit of giving and spreading cheer. I also bought An Orange for Frankie by Patricia Polacco to read to my kids this year.
Christmas Advent Calendar and Playset. This is a Christmas tradition I love to do with my kids each year! I let my children set up the nativity scene on our kitchen table and I love that it’s not breakable. Each morning in December, I hide the star and when my children come downstairs, they try to find it. When they find it, they put it back with the nativity scene and we read part of the book, A Star from Afar (comes with this nativity set) together. This game is similar to The Elf on a Shelf, but I love that it is centered around the nativity scene and focuses on Jesus. Read more about my favorite Christmas traditions with my kids here.
Personalized Purses and Wallets. These turned out beautifully and I’m so excited to give my girls their own purses and wallets (with their names sewed on them!)
Here are a few other gifts I’m excited to give me kids this year:
- Where’s Waldo: my girls love going through this book with their dad before bed!
- Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White: this is the next chapter book I’m planning to read with my girls.
- Trash Truck by Max Keane: My two year old is in love with trash trucks so this book will be perfect for him!
- Twistables: My girls love coloring!!
- Cardboard Picture Frames: I love hanging up pictures around my girl’s rooms!
Also, make sure to check out my 30 all-time favorite Christmas picture books for young children. These books are the perfect length to captivate my 5-year-old’s attention while also delighting her younger sister during our cozy read-aloud moments. You can download a free printable list below.
