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The Ultimate List of Non-Toy Gift and Stocking Stuffer Ideas for Kids

Looking for some non-toy gift ideas and stocking stuffers for this year’s Christmas? If so, I’ve got 40 wonderful ideas that are creative, educational, useful, and fun.

So, whether you are trying keep your house less cluttered or simply wanting to switch up the types of gifts you typically give your kids, I think you will get some great ideas from this non toy Christmas gifts list.

With that begin said, let’s jump right in! Here are 40 Non-toy gift ideas for kids:

40 Non-Toy Gift Ideas for Kids

(This list contains Amazon Affiliate Links.)

  1. Magazine Subscriptions: Our personal favorite is Highlights. You can get age-appropriate subscriptions that come each month, filled with educational stories, crafts, puzzles, and recipes. Other great subscriptions for kids are Zoobooks, or National Geographic Kids.
  1. Subscription Boxes : Little PassPorts sends a monthly box filled with adventure from around the world. There are also Groovy Lab boxes for your science gurus, and surprise book boxes for the kiddos in your family through Story Box.
  1. Memory Books: Our kids love looking through pictures of when they were smaller. Taking the time to get the pictures off of your computer’s hard drive and into a beautiful, colorful book makes a meaningful gift that your child will enjoy their whole life. (You can use any photo site like Shutterfly, Picaboo, or Mpix.)
  1. Butterfly Kit: You can have a Butterfly Kit (a cup of caterpillars and a habitat) sent to your home and your kids can experience the life cycle of a butterfly first hand.

Non-toy gift ideas can be fun.

  1. Zoo Membership:  If you had a zoo membership you could pop in and out whenever its convenient and let your kids have plenty of time to really explore everything your zoo has to offer.
  1. Swing Set: A swing set is an awesome family gift that will get hours of use, and you don’t even have to pick it up! You can order a swing set off Amazon and have it shipped to your front door. (Winner, winner, chicken-dinner!)
  1. Classes or Lessons: Buy a few music or Karate lessons, gym sessions, or art/craft classes.  This is a great gift that can get kids more involved in their interests.   
  1. Play Mat or Rug: Instead of buying more cars, trains, or action figures buy them a rug or play mat that would coordination with the type of play they like to do.
  1. Chick-fil-a Gift Card: Give your kids a little extra spending money for a milkshake or one of those chocolate chunk cookies. (Maybe they’ll even share it with you.)

Gifts that are not toys can be both fun and useful

  1. Mini Golf or Laser Tag Gift Certificate: For another family-friendly, non-toy Christmas gift idea for kids is to give them the gift of fun and time with a planned day out to mini golf, bowling, skating, or laser tag.
  1. Gift Certificates for Books: Scholastic or Barnes and Noble offer gift certificates that your child can redeem throughout the year on books that are fascinating to them.
  1. New Movie and Snacks: Get a gift the whole family can enjoy together, and don’t forget to include snacks.
  1. Coupon Book: You can use your creative skills to make a coupon book for your child. Some things you could include would be: a trip to the playground, a free read aloud, or a cookie. Note: This would also make a wonderful non-toy gift idea that your kids can do for their grandparents or other family members as well.
Bird Feeder Ornaments
  1. Hobby Kit: Introduce a new hobby with a kit that includes everything they need to get started. Some ideas might be a Sewing Kit,  Cake Decorating KitRock Tumbling Kit, or a  Wood Working Kit.)

Non-toy gifts can be practical.

  1. New bedding: You can update their existing bedding with a new duvet cover, or go all new with a set that will match their personality. Also soft blankets and pillows make a great gift, as well
  1. Wall Decor: You could take this opportunity to hone your crafting skills and make something new for your kids walls. Perhaps a painting or some thing decor item they could add to their room.
Christmas Wood Signs DIY
  1. Growth Chart: Make or buy a growth chart so your kids can have fun keeping track of how much they’ve grown.
  1. Cooking or Art Apron: Every thing is more fun with an apron on. Plus it might save a few more outfits from the untimely demise due to paint and food.
  1. Craft Supplies: Do your kids love crafting? If so, put together a bag full of their favorite craft supplies . These non-toy gifts can include things like paper, pencils, markers, glue, yarn, or  stickers.
  1. Kitchen Tools for Kids: If your kids like to help out in the kitchen you can get them some kitchen tools that they can learn with and still have an element of safety.

Non-toy gifts are still great gifts.

  1. Calendar Already Filled with ActivitiesMake or purchase a calendar board and fill it with fun activities for the next month. Include things like family movie night, mini golf, story hour, special snacks, or later bedtime.)
  1. Board gamesFor a non-toy Christmas gift that all the family can enjoy, get some age appropriate games that your kids will enjoy and use frequently.
  1. Clothes and ShoesWhy not get your kids underwear for Christmas? They need it right? Perhaps throw in an outfit and shoes too. This non-toy Christmas gift idea of clothing is great because it’s practical and will still, more than likely, be enjoyed and appreciated by your kids.
25 Christmas Countdown Activities
  1. Sleeping bag: If your family likes camping or any overnight trips that require bedding, give them their own sleeping bag.
  1. Personalized Camping Chair: Camping chairs are so convenient when you are spending the day away from the house at sporting events, camping, or a day at the lake. You can get your child their own Personalized Chair.

Gifts that are not toys can be educational.

  1. A Pet: If your kids are up for the responsibility, get them a pet. (eg. Fish, hamster, kitten, or even a little puppy.)
  1. Busy Books: Busy books are hands on activity books for toddlers and preschoolers. These interactive books are great for quiet time or travel entertainment while making for a wonderful non-toy gift idea for toddlers and preschoolers.
Christmas Counting Busy Book
  1. Rain Boots: Depending on where you live, Rain Boots are a necessity. (For us, it rains here over half of the year, so we always make sure each of our kids has a working pair.)
  1. Nature JournalNature journals are a log of all our child’s outdoor discoveries. It’s an awesome learning tool with lots of useful information, and is something they can look back and enjoy for years to come.
  1. Water Bottle: Give your kids their own water bottle or Sippy cup that is available to them whenever they get thirsty. You can keep it filled at home and also take it with you when you go.
  1. Plant: Get your child a low maintenance plant to learn about and take care of. Consider a succulent, bamboo, or and herb plant to begin with.
  1. Tool Box: Get your kid a new tool box! Start off with the box then add new tools as they get older.
  1. Musical Instrument: If you child is already taking lessons or is showing a genuine interest in an instrument, this may be the perfect time to get them their own. (KeyboardGuitarViolin, or possibly a Harmonica.)

Non-toy gifts can be family-friendly.

  1. Sports Equipment: Ball, bat, glove, or cleats make great, practical gifts that you know will be well used and appreciated.
  1. Camera: If your kids love taking pictures, you can get them a kid-friendly camera that they can practice their photography skills with.
  1. Bike: This is one of those bigger tag items but you know they will be used. Their eyes will definitely light up when they see a girl or boy bike waiting for them by the tree.
  1. Beach Towel: If you live near a beach or travel often to the coast, a new beach towel might be a great option.
  1. Bird House or Feeder: If your kids are like mine, they love watching the birds from the windows. Adding a bird feeder might boost the bird traffic for your little bird watchers.
  1. Microscope OR Telescope: whether your kids enjoy looking at the stars or observing the hairy fibers of a bug, a telescope or a microscope would be a neat tool to get them.
  1. Backpack: Our kids regularly use their backpacks for overnight stays at their grandparents house, library books, and play.

 

More Non Gift Christmas Ideas

Looking for some more fun ideas for the Christmas season?  Here are some other Christmas crafts for kids, as well as, gift ideas, and printable resources to get you started!

Can you think of any more non-toy gift ideas for kids?

This post contains Amazon Affiliate links.

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8 Comments

  1. I love love these ideas, the more activities that stimulates the brain and learning is better than endless loops of screen time! My favorite must be the Hobby kit and the Zoo membership, thanks for the ideas. 🙂

  2. Hi Jessica thank you for so much for this wonderful list! I’m really interested in doing the subscription box another lady that I follow get this for her kids. We have the coupon book which is fun and also Zoo membership. You have given me lots of food for thought. I think we have more than enough toys in our house now. Have a great rest of your day hugs Terri xoxo.

  3. What a terrific list! I just wanted to add that you can make your own subscription boxes too. I’ve made them before for different countries (actually I’m pretty sure I still have it all saved as a Google Docs if someone wants it) and with science projects. It’d be easy to do with craft supplies, or pretty much any other ‘theme’ you wanted to use. With both of them, I had a large manila envelope filled with everything they’d need to study that particular country or do a series of science projects related to a certain theme. The envelopes were marked with a month. I really didn’t care if the kids opened them up early; but the kids were very good at waiting until the start of a month to open their next kit. DIY subscription kits tend to be much more affordable, and you have a greater level of control over what goes in there – for instance, if your family has a connection to a certain country, you can make sure to include it; or you can make sure the science kits you select are age- and level-appropriate for your kids. However, they still aren’t cheap! Once you add in all the little bits and pieces, the final cost can be a bit of a surprise. And it’s very time-consuming to organise an entire years’ worth of activities.

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