These minimalist Christmas gifts for kids are perfect for any child, specifically for young children. 

 

Really the reason I’m calling this a “minimalist” gift guide is that these gifts are very intentional. They promote creative thinking, independent, creative, play, and are not meant to add extra clutter to your home. 

 

While they will, of course, take up space in your home, these gifts will bring true value to your child’s life. These gifts will hopefully be loved by your child and be played with over and over, instead of only a few times before they are forgotten about. 

 

There are a lot of gift ideas on this page. Please understand you do not need this whole list. Just pick a couple that your child will really love! You can also give a few of these ideas to those you know will be buying them gifts. 

 

Plus, other moms will thank you for giving their child such an intentional gift. 

 

 

 

Imaginative Play Gift Ideas

 

Magnet tiles are the best. They are very popular so you may have already heard of these. They are perfect for any age. We use these almost every day. If you don’t have a set these would be great for your own children or as a gift for another family. Having more than one set is great too! I linked to an off-brand because they are cheaper. They are the ones we have and are fantastic. 

 

Small Animals – my daughter uses these specific Wild Animal ones almost every day. She loves building zoo’s with the magnet tiles or using these animals when she is playing with playdough. They are great for adding to sensory play. The possibilities are endless with toys like these, which really helps build their imagination. 

 

These come in Farm Animals and Sea Animals as well. 

 

Tin Tea Set – This is a timeless playtime activity. I prefer the tin set over a plastic set because it is higher quality and can potentially be passed down. Plus, the woodland animals one I linked to is adorable. 

 

Snap Jewelry Beads – if any of your kids love jewelry this is a really cool way for them to design and make their own, over and over again. 

 

Dress Up Clothes – kids love dressing up and playing make-believe. You can cater to their interest by getting clothes to dress up as characters or real-life people they are interested in. I linked to some princess dresses and here some ideas that are less girly and perfect for boys. You can also find firefighters, policemen, doctors, etc. on Amazon. 

 

Paw Patrol Pups – my daughter is always pretending to play paw patrol so I thought these would be perfect for her. These will be under the tree this year. Paw Patrol is really popular so these would make great gifts for a lot of kids. I got the four main pups, Sky, Marshall, Chase, and Rubble. 

 

Creative Learning Gift Ideas

 

Mess-Free Coloring – it seems that most kids prefer to color with markers. Probably because the mess is more fun! I love these mess-free markers. They are even more fun because they seem to work like magic! They only color on the paper they come with. I linked to a cool activity set or you can cater to your child’s interest by getting them a Frozen mess-free coloring book, Paw Patrol, or even blank paper. 

 

Wonder Sticks – these dustless sticks can be used on just about any surface and can be wiped clean! They pair perfectly with a whiteboard. They can be used for learning or at home or just for fun. 

 

Crayola Light-Up Tracing Pad – this is perfect for those kids who love art. It allows them to learn how to draw even if they don’t have that much skill yet. 

 

Boogie Board– I just learned about these this year and they are super cool. A boogie board is this paperless device that kids can write on and erase instantly. It’s like a modern-day Etch A Sketch. You will probably need to check it out to see exactly what I am talking about. 

 

Me Readers – these book sets come with 8 small books and a little sound box that will read the story to your child. They come in a variety of topics and are one of my daughter’s all-time favorite things for the last couple of years.

 

Kiwi Co. Crates– I’ve had my eye on these for a while. It’s a subscription service that delivers hands-on, STEM-based, activities right to your door. You sign up for whatever crate matches the age of your child. This is going to be gifted to my daughter this year by her grandparents and I know she is going to love getting this each month. 

 

Sensory Play Gift Ideas

 

Water Beads are so fun! They come really small, you add water, and watch them grow. Then your child will love touching them and playing with them for a long time! Plus, a little bit of beads goes a long way. They are super fun on their own or add in those sea animals I mentioned earlier for even more imaginary play. 

 

Kinetic Sand – again this is something super fun for the kids to touch and feel. They can also mold it into whatever they want. Plus, it’s a great item for the small Wilderness animals I mentioned above. It also comes in multiple colors. 

 

Even though this kinetic sand is not nearly as messy as regular sand, all sensory play can get messy. I recommend getting a large plastic tub to do your sensory play in and setting that over a reusable, plastic table cloth. 

 

Play Snow – you can use snow powder to set up an imaginary winter wonderland. The snow plus these polar bears lead my daughter into a really fun imaginary world where the Polar Bear family is walking across the artic and climbing mountains. Have your child watch a video on polar bears and they will be loving this too. Plus, the snow is just super fun to pick up and squash in your hand. 

 

Playdough sensory kit subscription –  You can buy a subscription or just a box at a time. Each box comes with different colored playdough, that was hand made, and I believe some are even scented. Then it comes with a bunch of cool pieces to go with whatever theme you got. I’ve seen unicorn themes, fairies, space, construction, and she also does them to match the seasons and holidays. This is a great way to shop small this year. 

 

I hope you found something useful here. Don’t forget your child does not need ALL of this. In fact, they don’t NEED any of it. What they really want for Christmas is you, so find a way to make some fun memories this year and don’t stress so much about the presents. 

 

Read More:

Have A Clutter-Free Christmas

Christmas Gift Ideas for the Minimalist Mom

 

Before you go…

 

Thank you so much for being here. My main goal with this space is to encourage women to be the homemakers they were created to be by helping them build systems and routines that make homemaking easier. I share tons of decluttering, organizing, and cleaning routines. 

 

If this sounds right up your alley, then stay awhile and have a look around. You can get all the printables in my free printables library and get weekly cleaning and decluttering tips… RIGHT HERE. 

 

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