Holiday Gift Ideas for the Family

I made a list of the shopping I have yet to do. It’s long. Very long. And yet…not too horrible, mostly little things left. I do not, however, have any wrapping done. BUT many of us are still shopping- if we’ve started at all. Here are some great gift ideas for everyone in the family for you:

Holiday Gift Ideas for the Family

For Adults:

What adult doesn’t need a little pampering? In today’s busy world, a gift certificate for some time to relax and recharge is almost always appreciated. I’d love a SpaWeek gift card!

SpaWeek gift cards are great because they can be used in so many places- and on such a huge variety of services. Give them the gift of relaxation!

Have a friend who loves beer? Get them a kit so they can make their own and try their hand at brewing…my husband’s coworker has come up with some pretty amazing flavor combinations and it all started with one simple beer kit he got for Christmas. Now he makes special beer just to give for gifts. Tim suggested we head to Northern Brewers for a 1 gallon starter kit to make beer at home.

A great item to go along with that is How to Brew

I’m a bag girl. Bags, bracelets- especially my favorite Wishing Bracelets from Stella and Dot. The sweet elephant bracelet is my latest favorite, although I have all of them here at the house. So simple and sweet but they go with everything!

I also love a nice bag… especially one that will hold my phone and my necessities and not be cumbersome to carry. The Crossbody bag is a favorite for me- I can pop the strap off and use it as a wallet, but also use it as a hands-free small purse with the strap on. Win-win.

For Kids

My most favorite discovery this year for toys- although it’s hard to call this one a toy- the Kano Computer Kit. Kids ages 6+ can learn to code and build their own computer. Still waffling on giving this to myself. I’d love to learn to code! But really- SUCH a cool gift. They get a fun electronic to play with but they have to build it first, and learn a whole lot along the way. It’s also $20 off thru the end of December…Kids can create the computer and there are apps for it, they can draw, talk to it- there’s even a kid-sized keyboard.

The Kano is amazing. Such a great idea for today’s kids. Most of them want electronics- why not have them learn HOW those come together and how they work? They’ve also come out with a screen kit you can grab to go with the Kano (about $80 off right now through the end of December)! Listen, if someone got ME a Kano Kit, I’d be super excited. I might be tempted to see if I could make the keyboard pink, and sparkly, but I’d be really excited. The possibilities and learning potential- for all of us!

The American Girl brand is a longtime favorite of mine. They have wonderful, quality dolls, of course, like Kit Kittredge, but they also have great accessories, furniture, apparel, accessories, pets, and a really REALLY great line of books that cover a whole lot of girl and tween topics- in a fun, engaging way.

There are dozens and dozens of options if you are thinking about a new doll for someone at the holidays-from a historic doll to the Girl of the Year (remember, they are gone after 12/31 every year, because a new girl arrives in January), to look-alike dolls. They are a pricier doll to purchase, but quite frankly, my oldest is over 4 years into playing with her American Girl dolls and accessories and nothing is worse for the wear. It holds up to hours of play and attention, the wigs stay put no matter what kind of crazy things she does with the hair, and I long ago lost count of how many hours we’ve played with Holly, McKenna and Molly… and now little sister has begun her adventures with her own dolls- so the love continues along with the play.

One set that goes along with the American Girl dolls that’s ALWAYS in demand, no matter who is hosting a play date, is the Feel Better Kit. It’s super fun to have your dolls break a limb and need crutches, I suppose. If she’s got the doll(s) already, get her some fun accessories or playsets to go along with it!

Things to create and make- Craft kits, art sets, anything to keep kids’ imagination and creativity flowing. My kids are having lots of fun making bracelets for their friends with Strand Bands– the stretch is really the key reason why we’ve gotten so into these kits. It’s a lot easier for the kids to create when there is some give in materials- and the Strand Bands offer that stretch!

One last idea for kids- and these are great for ages 3 and up… and they actually mean “and up” on these fun marble mazes. My kids were at Camp Invention this summer and every kid in attendance was building and playing with the Marble Maze at some point during the week when I was dropping off or picking up. Kids through grade 6 were at that camp. We do have a Q-Ba Maze set here, but it’s a lot harder for kids to connect and put the pieces together so I’m suggesting a more simple Marble Maze. There’s really something therapeutic about marble runs…my kids will build and rebuild and connect multiple sets (at my sister’s house there are 2 sets) up and down a stair just to see what happens. It’s definitely one of my favorite battery-free, creativity encouraging toys.

For the Whole Family:

Games, games games. What’s that saying? The family that plays together, stays together? Start a family game night tradition!

Dixit -Fun for all ages 8+, and it’s also good for up to 6 players. Lots of games don’t go to 6! Lots of humor and storytelling, and only takes about 30 minutes to play.

Jenga Giant– We’ve all loved this game and the traditional version has come on many trips with us- the giant version would be a lot of fun outside! The classic game now stacks up to 3 feet tall!

Apples to Apples in any form- this is SUCH a fun game. For any age group. There are lots of variations on it, and it’s almost guaranteed laughter when you play. We love the Junior Version and the Disney one- our kids are still elementary aged.

For Baby:

aden and anais anything. Or everything. I love their muslin blankets as baby gifts, but their apparel and other items are just as wonderfully soft on baby’s skin, and the prints are simply darling. Their items are simple and sweet- and a perfect gift for the littlest ones in your life! Lots of kids I know who had the aden and anais swaddle blankets as babies ended up using them as their lovies.

Books- Oh, how we love our books. When the kids were babies, we did the classic board books, but we also loved all things by Roger Priddy, especially the Baby Animals Touch and Feel book. Ours is packed away in the attic, but that tiny little board book had so much love and attention for so many years. All three kids adored it.

A Gertie Ball– this one is a gift they’ll play with for years. Literally. It’s this great material that makes it super easy to catch and hold onto, the heat of your hands can make the color change (temporarily), and it’s just tons of fun. There are simple, basic colors and even themed Gertie balls now!

Holiday Gift Ideas for the Family