10 Great Non-Toy Gift Ideas
December 4, 2012 by Heather
As any gift-giving season approaches (be it Christmas or birthdays), you’re likely to have several loving friends and family members ask you for a wish list of items your kids might like to receive. Have you ever glanced at your child’s toy stash and wanted to say ‘NO MORE TOYS PLEASE!?’ Are you in that situation right now?
I have one daughter’s birthday in December and the other in January so, combined with Christmas, ‘tis the season to wonder where the mountain of toys came from!! That being said, I totally understand the desire of grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, etc. to give them a gift that they’ll be excited about.
So, today I want to share with you a list of ideas we have come up with for non-toy gifts that you could put on those wish lists:
10 FUN Non-Toy Gift Ideas
1. Lessons (gymnastics/swimming/dance/sports/instruments/etc.) Maybe you’d love to give your kids the experience of dance lessons, have them join a team, or take up an instrument, but the cost is a strain for you. Maybe Grandma & Grandpa could help out by giving the gift of lessons!
2. Uniform or other required items for the lessons. Make the gift of lessons even more fun by including the needed costume/uniform/or instrument required for the lessons! The tangible item makes it more fun to open!
3. Science Kits/Baking Kits A kit could be something that is very fun, can be done once (and you get to do it with them!), can be a learning experience, but doesn’t have to be stored on a shelf (or all over the playroom floor) forever.
4. Tickets to a theater performance/movie One of the best gifts I can think of is time. Wouldn’t it be fun for your kids to open a gift to find a note from you or their grandparents/aunt & uncle, that says they’re going to go out for a movie or a show together one day? You could tell them all about the snacks you’ll be sharing (maybe even include a small bag of treats), or tell them which movie you’ll be going to. Think of the excitement this builds & the quality time they’ll spend together!
5. Mini-vacation How fun would it be to announce to your kids that you’ll be taking a little vacation together? This could be as big or small as you want. You could go for a night to a hotel nearby with a pool and just enjoy the fun of getting away together and focusing on each other. You could plan a week away for something big if you’ve got the time & funds for it. Maybe let them in on the surprise slowly by giving them gifts that they’ll need for the trip- a bathing suit and sunscreen to start, maybe a pair of flip flops… and when the kids look confused, let them in on the secret!
6. Coupons for Grandma/Grandpa or Auntie/Uncle Outings (bowling, mini golf, a sleepover, out for ice cream, to your favorite restaurant, etc.) My kids love to go to Chuck E. Cheeses. They would be SO excited to open a gift to find a pouch filled with tokens to one of their favorite places with a note promising a trip there soon!
7. Tickets or a Membership to the local Zoo or Museum
8. Snack Splurge Find out their favorite snack that they don’t get very often and give it to them as a gift! (My kids love Dunkaroos, but we don’t usually buy them. My daughter would be so excited to open a box of them! Then she could decide whether to have one each day for a week or spread them out and savor them). You may want to go the healthy snack route. There are a lot of healthy & fun snacks out there that tend to be a little more expensive. Take this gift-giving opportunity and splurge on some of the best ones!
9. An Extension to, Game for, or Refill for something they already have. You’ve already got a DVD player, a game console, or an Easy Bake Oven? A new DVD, game, or refill for a larger, pre-existing item would make a great gift!
10. Useful Items. There’s nothing wrong with giving a gift that isn’t “just for fun”. You’ll notice in the Gift Guides that were posted on HowDoesShe earlier, that we’ve included useful things, and things you might get for your kids anyway like the alarm clock or the DIY canopy shared on the Girls’ Gift Guide.
I hope you find this list of ideas helpful!
Thinking about other options has definitely been helpful for me and I hope to use some of these soon.
Do you have other great non-toy gift ideas? Please share them in the comments!
And to check out our fabulous Neighbor/Teacher Gift Ideas here:
Over 36 Neighbor Gift Ideas…and Counting!
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Heather I love that picture of you in the middle of the toys! I feel like that a LOT! Thanks for the ideas:) I really love the performance tickets idea. Thanks!!
haha
Thanks Would you believe the playroom was actually tidy the niht I decided to take that photo? Man, of all the days! 
My husband & I had fun messing it up for the picture 
My daughter has an early February birthday, so I kind of get that feeling.
One gift I give my daughter is a little basket filled with bubble bath, bath crayons, a new toothbrush, toothpaste and other similar things. Most are things I need to get her anyways, but with some extra fun things and picking the ones that have her favorite character on makes it so exciting for her.
I love number 1 and 2! I’ll have to give that a go when she gets a little older. (she’s almost 3)
Thanks for the great ideas.
That IS a great one! My sister & her boyfriend once gave my daughter some Dora foamy soap, bath fizzy colour things (what are they called??
, and shampoo. Such a fun gift, and doesn’t add to the toy pile! 
I loved it & so did she! After reading your comment yesterday, I spent some time checking out the Cinderella & Strawberry shortcake body wash at Walmart last night 
I love all of these especially the mini vacation surprise idea.
These are such great ideas! I had to add one my kids’ favorite gift to give is personalized pillowcase. They pick the fabric and I sew them and add a name.
Just wanted to share.
Oh, that’s so fun! I made my older daughter a Christmas pillowcase one year (while my other daughter was still in a crib, not using a pillowcase)… I still need to get the 2nd daughter her pillowcase (she’s just turned 4
I hope to check that off this year!
Love these ideas! This year we’ve definitely been trying to stay away from the clutter of lots of toys for Christmas. I’m trying to get my girls more books instead of toys this year.
I love the book idea. There are some classics that I found on amazon with really pretty hardcovers that go together. I have them pinned on Pinterest, hoping to start a library for the girls when they get old enough for novels!
What kind of books is J reading now?
I’ve been doing this for years! My girlfriends gifts are always a fun outing :tea party, manicure/pedicure, picnic, photo shoot (both friends are photographers), bowling, arcade, etc. I love it! They were kind enough to listen to me when I requested no more gifts (our rooms look like the one above) and instead take them out on a outing. Now if I can just get grandma to buy into it…
I love that. Outtings with friends are a great idea! Sometimes it’s hard to make “girls’ nights” happen often enough!
great post! thanks.
I really like all these ideas. I like to give crafty gifts. I made a gift basket for my niece, who’s at the age where she still likes Disney, but not necessarily dress up and other “little kid” activities. So, I filled the basket with a “learn to crochet hearts” kit, glow in the dark lanyard jewelry kits, etc. (and included a nail art kit, because that’s the grown up version of dress up!) I made my nephews those popular fort kits, which are still toy-like, but take a little more imagination, and less cleanup time and effort. Also, books are a great gift for kids. Find out what their favorite thing is, and find a book focused on it.
I love crafty gifts but I’m not very good at getting started on them early. Last year two of my girls’ aunts made homemade gifts and I LOVED them!!! (so did the girls
They mean so much when you took the time to make them, too! I STILL have a raggedy anne doll that my aunt made for me when I was young. (actually you can see it in the photo above of me sitting in the playroom- cuz my girls play with it now!)
Of course, it’s also a good idea to teach your kids some valuable lessons by donating their toys regularly. Some parents do it during the holidays, so that the kids are “rewarded” with the upcoming presents. However you decide to do it, it teaches them about giving, how fortunate they are, and that things aren’t as important as people.
YES! My girls have a couple of younger cousins and it’s fun when we can choose to pass a toy on to one of them. That way they’re putting some thought and love into a gift. And donating to children who need the toys more than we do is a lovely opportunity to teach about giving, and about service.
We have started giving things to our kids that are directed to being active, like tennis racket, ping pong table, trampoline. Those things don’t go in the playroom and it encourages our kids (and us) to be more active.
I love this! We live in Canada & it’s always way too freezing for outdoor activities, so I tend to overlook that option. (plus all of our birthdays are in the winter!) Summer birthdays would be awesome for giving gifts like bikes! (giving them in the winter isn’t as fun b/c they can’t use them anytime soon!)
Heather, these are sooo great! I’m forwarding this page to all grandparents! I especially love the gift of lessons.
Thanks Nicolette!
Yes, that’s one we thought of this year, and my parents are going in with us on some gymnastics classes for one of my daughters who has been talking about gymnastics ever since the olympics!
Those are good ideas, Thanks.
If you need some more inspiration have you visited http://www.whyimbroke.com yet? They have some interesting unique stuff there.
Oh boy, my kids would go bananas for the Chuck E. Cheese tokens! Great list!
I would also add a big box of art supplies that maybe they don’t get to use on a regular basis.
Thank you for your non-toy gift suggestions which are helpful as I have family members that I’m sure have their fill of toys.
My kids have been getting subscriptions to their favorite magazines from Grandma for several years. They love it and think about Grandma every time one comes in the mail. Plus they’re learning something new each month.
One year I got my son a box of his favorite cereal that we had a hard time finding. He loved it. Also would be good for those cereals they beg for that you don’t really want to let them have
Thanks for this post! I have 3 kids but my 2 son’s birthday are Dec 29th & Feb 3rd so it seems like overload!! I love that my Mom gives them a cheque to put away for their education and my Dad’s wife gives them a subscription to a educational magazine.
This is a bit time consuming but completely worth it! Go through the old t-shirt stash and pick out some of the old favorites that no longer fit. Cut the front (or back) designs and sew into a quilt. Add a little batting and an old flat sheet (you know you have spares) and you have a quick quilt full of awesome memories!!! The extra T-shirt material can be used for patch sizing adjustments or a cute block border. Makes an EXCELLENT graduation gift too!
so many great ideas…..honestly, I hadnt thought to regift tokens….and this would be great for a toddler neighbor, and a distant toddler cousin that will happen to join our festivities this year. Thanks. I’ll come back and share one, once I think of it, that is!
I agree with all of these! One of the best gifts I gave my daughter two years ago(she is 8) last year was a certificate I had purchased from Living Social for an afternoon of ice skating. We all went and had a TERRIFIC time! In fact, it has now become an annual winter tradition to go skating at least once or twice.
Oh, just thought of another favorite (which is a great family gift from the Grandparents) – a membership to your local zoo or children’s museum. That is a wonderful gift that lends itself to many fun outings throughout the year.
Another great idea is a magazine subscription. My friends in New York last year sent an email to my kids in Florida saying they each had a one year magazine subscription starting in January. They love getting them in the mail each month.
I just came across this on Pinterest today. What a great list- I hope that many will listen to this great advice. I actually just finished up a blog post on a very similiar topic. My favorite gifts to receive are experiences, so I made a menu for “The Perfect Day” for my nephew. He was exhausted and crabby during the last hour after all of our fun, but those first 23 hours were a blast!
The link is below, if you would like to check it out (I linked this post at the end of mine, in case someone liked the idea of the activity gift but didn’t want to put all the time into the menu idea.
http://www.lightingtheworldonfire.com/2013/01/your-perfect-day-gift-idea.html
We almost always give gifts that are, in this order:
1) Something needed
2) Experiences (I have given my nieces and nephews “dates” with me since they were about 2. This is where I give them a homemade gift certificate on their birthday and then they get to choose where we go and what we do)
3) Books.