Are you searching for the perfect non-toy gift ideas for your kids? Whether it’s adorable clothes, craft supplies, or science experiments, there is a gift for everyone on your list this year! (Even for the toddler who has everything).
Do you want to know what it’s like to see penguins attack? Those adorable, sweet, and happy animals?
All you have to do is stand back and watch my children spy childhood’s sacred toy ad from across the store.
Their little legs waddle, their bums shake as they twist their feet in a dance to cross the finish line and reach up for this ad.
We all laugh, but secretly we all dread this magazine because cries of “I want this” and “I need that” begin to fill our ears. (Not to mention the heart-attack from the price tag, yikes!)
My kid’s toy box is already overflowing with all of their toys from birthdays, grandparents, and past Christmases.
And it seems every time we clean out their toybox, more toys appear.
So, one year, my husband and I said, enough.
We weren’t going to overwhelm our children with countless toys they’ll neglect in a few days (and my husband will eventually step on).
And friends, this was one of the best gifts we gave our kids.
Not only did we save money on being creative with some of the things they need (you’ll love the cute socks below), but our children wouldn’t stop giggling at some of their other gifts!
On this list, you’ll find ideas for your favorite fashionista, scientist, artist, adventurer, and any fan of glitter and sparkles.
Gift Ideas For The Fashionable
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Girls 5 Pack Cartoon Dog Cute Socks – These cute socks are made of 80% cotton and 20% spandex, soft and stretchable. These socks are the best fit for small ladies’ feet. As with any article of clothing, please check your size carefully before you order.
And if you are thinking about gifting your child a dog in the near future, you’ll love looking through these uncommon dog names. (Our dog’s name is Loki).
Fashion Headbands: Make 10 Unique Headbands – This DIY tween hair flair kit guides young girls to create their own fashionable headbands. This kit has everything your child needs to create one of a kind hair accessories! Includes headbands, beads, yarn, paper flowers, satin ribbon, craft wire, sewing materials and much more.
Sewing School Book: 21 Sewing Projects Kids Will Love To Make – This inspiring guide includes 21 fun sewing projects for children ages 5 and up. With easy-to-follow illustrated instructions and cut-out patterns, young crafters will quickly be sewing up colorful pillows, potholders, dolls, blankets, and more. These kid-tested projects require only minimal supervision and most can be made using simple hand stitches, so no sewing machine is required.
Hair Chalks Set: 10 Colorful Hair Chalk Pens (Temporary Colors) – This set includes 10 fantastic temporary hair chalks – last for 80 applications per pen. 5 vibrant & 5 metallic colors – fully safe and compliant ingredients.
Boys Fashion Socks – 18 Pair TeeHee Kids – TeeHee Kids Boys Fashion Cotton Crew 18 Pair Pack. Non-skid lettering on the bottom of the socks on sizes up to 24-months to prevent slipping. Other sizes include 3-5 years, 6-8 years, 9-10 years.
Cartoon Animal Calf Knee-High Socks – Cute Cartoon pattern high knee girls socks keep your girls warm with fashion look. Made of 85% Cotton and 15% Spandex, these socks are soft and breathable! They’re stretchable, durable, and machine washable. These socks will fit most girls 3-10 years old.
Chiffon Flower with Pearl Hoop Headbands – 10pcs chiffon flower with pearl design hair hoops headbands accessories. These headbands are super cute and would be perfect for anyone who loves their hair.
Superhero Masks (Party Favors for Kids and Adults) – These superheroes party masks include 28-felt masks, perfect for your superhero! These masks fit adults and kids alike. People have left reviews of themselves wearing these masks, which I encourage you to check out.
Cat Ear Headphones – This headphone with cat ears includes flashing LED ears and is foldable and adjustable. The headphone is iPhone, Android, Stereo, iPad, PC compatible and is perfect for kids, or kids at heart.
Pink Mermaid Tail Blanket – This cuddly mermaid tails blanket with its bright pink color and beautiful cable knitted pattern is perfect for any girl who wants to be a mermaid. This crocheted mermaid blanket can be machine washed at a low temperature and tumble dried.
Gift Ideas For The Artist
Pencil Eraser Zoo Animals – Set of assorted animals with an approximate size of 1″x1″ (some are shorter or longer than 1″ pending on the animal). These erasers are made with eco-friendly recyclable non-PVC material.
64-Piece Premium Quality Art Set Designed for Kids – This deluxe 64-piece set includes some of the most popular Faber-Castell art supplies. The set includes 24 colored EcoPencils, 8 watercolor EcoPencils, 2 grip graphite EcoPencils, 18 oil pastels, 12 washable DuoTip markers, a sharpener, paintbrush, and high-quality artist paper.
Eat, Sleep, Art, Repeat T-Shirt – This shirt is perfect for your favorite artist who feels they’re more non-traditional. Tee sizes vary from small to 3XL.
3D Pen For Kids – 3D Doodle Pen (3D Printing Pen) – This is COOL! Create your imagination with this 3D pen. This gift is great for artists who want to try something new.
Comic Book Artist Guide – The secrets to comic book creation are at your fingertips! This comprehensive guide details the steps to becoming a hit comic bookmaker—from creating compelling characters and illustrations to getting published and marketing a finished product—and is full of insights from world-famous artists from such companies as DC, Marvel, and Dark Horse.
Gift Ideas For The Adventurer
Outdoor Adventure Set – This set supports STEM learning and encourages scientific exploration and love of nature. This adventure kit almost has everything your kids may need for your little explorer outdoor exploration. It’s exciting packaging, useful tools, and unique & practical case will instantly motivate them to sprint outdoors and explore everything nature has to offer.
Thomas & Friends Adventure Set – Make the next adventure one you’ll never forget with the all-new Thomas 3 Piece Adventure Kit! It comes fully packaged with binoculars, a 3.5mm camera, and a Thomas the Train Flashlight!
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Adventures Around the Globe Book – This special edition in our beautiful “Adventures In” sticker book series takes young readers aged 3 and up on a non-stop tour of the continents, adding fun and humor along the way. Find out fun facts, decorate sticker scenes, add color and patterns to some iconic sights, and solve puzzles as you travel across the world.
Outdoor Exploration Kit for Hiking and Camping – A fun gift set that supports STEM learning and encourages scientific exploration and a love of nature. Fantastic for bird watching, sporting games, hunting, nature walks, and wilderness expeditions. This set includes binoculars, flashlight, compass, whistle, magnifying glass, and backpack.
Digital Camo Waterproof Military Sports Watch – Perfect for those following an active lifestyle, this digital, waterproof (50meters) wrist boys watch is designed to withstand all weather conditions and go without a hitch for a long time. It’s extra durable, shock resistant, PC poly-carbonate front case design, and scratch-free screen makes it perfect for all kinds of indoor and outdoor activities.
Kids Walkie Talkie Two Way Radio – This kid’s walkie talkies feature an impressive 3-mile range and 22 channels enable long-distance play and open a world of possibilities within your child’s outdoor adventures! Your kids can keep in touch with each other while hiking, spring outing and summer camping
The Travel Book – Take a world tour through 200 countries with this brand new edition of the bestselling kids’ version of Lonely Planet’s popular The Travel Book, loaded with thousands of amazing facts on wildlife, how people live, sports, hideous and mouthwatering food, festivals and a wide range of other quirky insights on every page.
Emergency Survival Gear Kit – 10 in 1 Outdoor Survival Tools – Versatile survival gear including a fire starter, scale, flashlight, compass, loud whistle, key light, and tool card. I would strongly encourage this gift to be given to older kids who have an understanding of the contents of this kit.
Light-up Terrarium Kit – Let your child discover the beauty of nature by creating their own beautiful terrarium with this all-inclusive kit. Watch as it grows by day and glows at night with the innovative LED light under the lid.
Kids Action Video Sports Cam – This gift is perfect if your kid wants a Go-Pro but you don’t want to pay the high price for one. This waterproof camera comes with a 900 mash battery, with continuous photo-taking and recording time of up to 4 hours.
Gift Ideas For The Glitter & Sparkle Fan
Glitter Nail Art Set – Everything you need to create glitter nail art right at your fingertips. With plenty of sparkles, this kit includes 3 bottles of water-based, peel-off glitter polish, 6 glitter pots, confetti, and rhinestones.
Glitter Sparkle Tape for DIY/Crafts. – Wise Bird glitter tape collection is great for scrapbooking, card making, invitation decorating or for jazzing up your stuff. 32ft length (over 640 feet for the entire pack) / 0.59 inch wide. Rainbow collection with 19 assorted colors + 1 rainbow stripe pattern (20 total).
Jumbo Cheer Elastic Hair Ponytails – Picture perfect boutique big sports cheer bow made of 3-inch metallic fabric bonded grosgrain ribbon. The cheer bow size is 6 in wide and comes in an assortment of colors.
19-pieces of Kids Rings (imitation gem glitter). If you have a kid who LOVES dress-up, sparkle, and princess, then you’ll not want to miss this one. Great gift for kids pretend play and dress up, your little princess will love wearing these sparkling jewels on her fingers.
Unicorn Sparkle Flower Headband with Gold Glitter – This pretty headband perfect for all unicorn lovers and is sure to bring a smile to her face.
20-pack Super Glitter Colored Gel Pens – By widening the inner tube, these pens are packed with the MOST amount of ink possible in a standard gel pen. They last 2.5 times longer than other gel pens so you can write, draw and color for much longer!
6 Crayola Glitter Markers – 6 dazzling colorful Crayola new colors: Fire Flecks, Gold Dust, Violet Glitz, Emerald Zest, Blue Blazes, and Silver Sparks. Add glimmer and sparkle to every page you color.
She Believed She Could So She Did – Made with gorgeous luxe gold foil and premium pure white matte card stock, this foil art print measures 5 inches x 7 inches.
Unicorn Sparkle Squad Glitter Captain Kids T-Shirt – Cute magical fantasy themed faux glitter design shirt for girly girls who love fairy tales and bright rainbow colors that shimmer and glow! A must-have on your unicorn fan.
Gift Ideas For The Scientist
Playz My First Coding and Computer Science Kit – This Playz science kit allows kids to learn about computer science while creating binary necklaces, ancient encryption devices, sorting races, mystery mazes, pixelated pictures & much more! 30+ tools, Ingredients, & parts combined with a fun and simple instructions book make for hours of fun education at home.
The Scientific Explorer: My First Mind Blowing Science Kit – 20 piece kit allows your young scientist to explore and learn the basics of science from chemical reactions to the use of science tools. Supplies Included: 2 cotton swabs, 3 test tubes with stand, 3 plastic cups, pipette, 2 sticks, 2 measuring scoops and activity guide.
Microscope for Kids and Science Beginners Kit – Ideal for the little scientist to experience, observe, learn and explore more about biology, bacteriology, and histology. It has all of the components for kids to understand how microscopes work.
STEM Club Subscription (Ages 3-4 | 5-7 | 8-13) – Discover highly-rated STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math) projects from leading brands handpicked by Amazon’s team. These STEM toys encourage understanding and exploration of STEM subjects for children in a fun and entertaining way.
4M Magnet Science Kit – The Magnet Science Kit teaches young scientists about the effects of magnetism through a combination of fun science experiments and games. The kit contains materials to make interactive magnetic objects like the Super Power Horseshoe Magnet and the Magnet Wand.
Fizz! Chemistry Science Kit with 32 Experiments – Welcome to the exciting world of crystals, foam, and Prussian blue and become an expert in all things that fizz! 32 experiments and 16 lab tools that allows your little one learn important chemical principles and test materials that snap, crack, and spark
Shark Tooth Dig Kit by National Geographic – Kids will love digging up these fossilized teeth and learning all about sharks! This kit makes a great homeschool lesson as you learn to identify teeth from the Sand tiger, Otodus, and Crow sharks and learn awesome shark facts with the included learning guide.
Nancy B’s Science Club Stir-It-Up Chemistry Lab and Kitchen Experiments Journal – Set includes beaker, 4 test tubes, rack, graduated cylinder, lab glasses, dropper, funnel, and stirring rod. This set also includes an activity journal (22 pages) filled with experiments using common household ingredients that encourage kids with engaging activities and writing prompts.
Mad Scientist On-Call Metal Sign – Vintage style, 12 by 9-inch aluminum UV plus metal sign. This sign has a gloss finish, deep colors for a fantastic look, and four holes for easy mounting!
Child’s Lab Coat – Everything you need to play the part of scientist, doctor, vet, dental hygienist, professor, artist, sculptor, etc…… the possibilities are endless with this versatile lab coat. Sizes vary from toddler to youth.
Science Microscope Kit with LED – This set includes 1 microscope, 1 plastic container, 1 tweezer, 2 collection bottles, 5 prepared slides, 6 blank labels. Three magnifications:100x 400x 1200x to choose from, focusing accurately, suitable for little scientists.
Crystal Growing Kits. Become a scientist and grow amazing crystals with this classic science kit! There is a variety of colors to choose from including, blue, purple, red, and glow-in-the-dark.
If you know of a parent who is struggling with finding the perfect non-toy gift for their child, will you please share this list with them? I know they’ll appreciate the help (as all of us parents do!)
Micah Klug is a wife, homeschooling mother to five children, and author. She teaches time-tested solutions to help parents remember what matters most in life, including strengthening their home, faith, and family relationships. To learn how a child who grew up in an authoritarian home is now creating an environment of peace and joy in her own home visit this page. If you want to contact Micah, send her an email here or email [email protected].
I am so glad I found your list through A Wise Woman link-up! I am your neighbor there today! I am bookmarking this post, I saw a lot of ideas for my 6 year old, thanks for compiling this!
Thank you so much, Jennifer.
This is an amazing list! I love the thoughtfulness of each item. Definitely pinning!
Thank you, Cassandra.
Wow! This is quite a list! Thank you for sharing your resourcefulness and creativity with us all at the hearts at home blog hop.
Thank you so much!
I love these ideas! My daughter is only 6 months old, but I have some older kids on my shopping list this year that I never know what to get them. I love the scientist ideas!
Thank you so much! I’m so glad this list has helped you.
I love all the creative gifts! My nephew and niece both love to be crafty. Thanks for all the fun ideas!
-Lauren
I hope you have fun with the crafty ideas. This list was a blast to put together.
Great list. I found a number of items my grandkids will love. I had to bookmark your page so I won’t forget.
Thank you so much!
I love that you have them in useful categories – each child is a different shopping experience, lol! I adore TeeHee socks – too bad my son’s feet have outgrown them but they last forever! Good buy.
TeeHee socks are amazing! I’m so glad you found the categories helpful. Thank you for stopping by!
Thank you for linking this up at Mommy Moments! It was the top viewed link and will be featured in the link up today! Congrats!
Thank you so much, Faith. This has made my day. =)