Meaningful Gifts for Our Sweet Kids
Almost no batteries in here
for the little
A family photo board book ($36) for quiet time, airplanes, church, etc.
A little pig family ($42) and my favorite pig book, I Like Me ($8).
Recommended by my sister, mother of three readers! A bookish gift that can double as an heirloom: a monogrammed book press ($24).
A box of tissues with an embroidered cover ($86), because you know your baby just wants permission to pull every. single. kleenex. out of the box! Thank you to Coral & Tusk for giving Handpicked readers 25% off with the code HANDPICKED25.
Especially for the 1- and 2-year-olds: a small switchboard sensory toy ($17).
A great big garbage truck ($36) — my boys love this toy.
A wood puzzle of their name ($38+). By the way, my kids play with my mother’s name puzzle, so this one goes in the heirloom category, too.
If your little one is chatty, Zingo ($19) is the simplest, quickest board game (do yourself a favor and skip Candyland!).
Oh, how I wish I’d gifted my oldest a counterside helper tower ($239) when she was tiny, all my kids would have loved to stand beside me at the sink.
Way more fun than Memory with matching flat cards: a memory sound game, made from wooden eggs ($37). Create your own pairs filled with rice, acorns, mini jingle bells…
Quick note: I recommend signing up for no-strings-attached cash back from Rakuten. My link gets you an extra $40 for free.
for the middle and the big
Yoto mini audiobook player ($70). Simple, screenless, and the narrators read in almost as funny of voices as me! (My 10 year old is aging out of the Yoto, so I’m thinking about a Kindle Paperwhite ($139) for her.)
There’s something extra special about real dress ups, like vintage hats with flowers and netting ($25) or an authentic cowboy hat ($30). Other fun ones: royal crown ($24), a pack of wands ($14), a wizard costume ($108), a sparkly cape ($34).
Can’t tell you how much my kids love mini food made in a mini skillet ($10).
An embroidered pocket pillow ($144), absolutely beloved by all four of my kids (and me!). Thank you to Coral & Tusk for giving Handpicked readers 25% off with the code HANDPICKED25.
Two STEM-y gifts, deeply beloved by Eleanor: Snap Circuit kit ($30) and Mark Rober’s Crunch Labs ($25/ea).
A window rainbow maker ($35) for a bit of magic in the late afternoon.
Games I love sitting down and playing with my kids: Hues and Cues ($20), retro Chutes and Ladders ($33), Mancala ($24), Bop It! mini ($9), Tenzi ($27), and card games like speed, slap, and James Bond with metallic silver playing cards ($10).
What is more thrilling than opening your own box of super gourmet chocolate chip cookies? ($29)
Monograms mean *the world* to my children. They’d all love a hand-painted mug ($32), a cheery beach towel ($59), a duffle bag ($50) for trips to visit grandparents.
This year I’m giving my quietest child a classic braided friendship bracelet book ($14) and this helpful tool ($17) to go with it.
My all-time favorite stocking stuffer: crafty, wacky, waxy, Wikki Stix ($5), for road trips, restaurants, and quiet time.
Polaroid camera ($149) and film ($77), because Gen Alpha deserves analog photos from their childhoods, too.
My most meaningful gift: a trip to the art supply store with my child, carefully exploring every aisle and letting our imaginations go hogwild.
Last of all, a gift that will mean more as your child grows: the I Want You to Know portrait journal ($18). You follow the prompts to create a portrait of them, from favorite memories to specific sounds that remind you of them. For only $18, it makes a lovely heirloom.
Thank you so much for shopping my links, I truly appreciate every click and purchase! xo
PS: More gifts for awesome elementary school kids and brand new babies, plus all my favorite kids books.
These recs are so good!
Of course this was great and I ordered a couple of things already!