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My husband and I were strolling through Costco the other day and we started going down the toy aisle when my husband turned to me and said “lets not get Corbin any toys for Christmas”. I completely agreed. He has tons of toys and lots of them he doesn’t even play with. He honestly prefers an empty water bottle or a spatula. Toys are great for the first couple days then kids get bored of them. I wanted to come up with some different things to get our son this year. Here are some non-toy gift ideas:

1. An investment account. Put the money you would of spent on toys into an investment account for your kids. Your children might not like it now but, once they are eighteen, or whenever you choose to give them access to the account, they will be thrilled! This will last so much longer than a silly toy that will wind up at the Goodwill or in a landfill somewhere.
2. Books or a library card. Books are wonderful! They are so great for kids imagination and they can learn so much from reading. Try finding books that you loved when you were little to read with them. My favorite books were the hilarious Junie B. Jones books or the Magic Tree House books. A library card would be really exciting for children to help them learn responsibility. They get the excitement of going to the library, picking out their own book, taking good care of the libraries property then getting to return it and pick a new one.
3. Camping supplies. Every kid should get to go camping at least once. A perfect gift would be some of their own camping supplies. You could get them their own sleeping bags like this Paw Patrol one, fishing poles also Paw Patrol and stuff to make s’mores. Kids would be thrilled to open camping gear because it means they get to go on a fun adventure!
4. Tickets to a show or museum. Planning adventures with kids can be hard but, it is so worth it. Some more adventures you could get them would be tickets to a movie on ice or to your local kids museum. These would be fantastic entertainment for you and the little ones!
5. Classes or lessons for your kids would be another great gift. You could get them classes to a nearby art/pottery studio, swim lessons, tennis lessons, dance lessons or maybe they want to try karate. Whatever your child is interested in, I’m sure they would enjoy learning from a professional.
6. New dinnerware. We all know kids love to eat. They eat breakfast, lunch, dinner and about a thousand snacks a day so, why not get them a new plate, cup and silverware with their favorite character on them or in their favorite color. This set is super cute. I remember when I was little we had a highlighter pink cup. My sisters and I would always fight over who got to drink out of that pink cup. It was really special and I know I would of been thrilled to open a brand new one on Christmas morning.
7. A bike. If your children are old enough, a bike makes a fantastic gift. They can go outside and ride bikes for hours or you can all bring your bikes to a nearby trail and go for a family bike ride. If you are like us and have a child too young to ride a bike, you can buy a kids bike trailer or a little seat for them to ride in behind your bike. They love getting out and seeing the scenery. Here is a Paw Patrol bike and a princess one.

I hope these non-toy gift ideas helped, I know my house wont be nearly as cluttered as last year 🙂 Let me know if you have some other gift ideas to add to the list!

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