This year has looked different from top to bottom! With the holidays approaching, we took a hard look at our children’s toy inventory and wondered if it was possible that they simply had enough “stuff.” Our usual gift guide of “something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read” was sounding more like “Something to take up space on the counter. Something to take up space on a chair. Something to wash, something to throw over there” and we thought it may be a good year to take a different approach.
We wanted to give our children more hands-on experiences, but with many places closed and our options limited, we knew we would have to get a little creative. Thankfully, that’s kind of our thing! We wanted to share our thoughts with other parents (and aunts, uncles, educators, and grandparents!) who may be looking to come at giving from a new angle, too. So here is our list of no-clutter gifts we’ve been eyeing for our favorite families this year. We hope it helps!
Every child has their favorite snacks, but has your family ever wondered what children in Turkey take with their tea? Do children in Greece nibble goldfish crackers, or have they discovered a completely different kind of cracker to dunk in their tomato soup? Do Italian toddlers eat ice cream?
One fun and exciting way to connect with other cultures is to subscribe to Universal Yums snack boxes! Each month your family will be sent a box of assorted treats from a different country. Each box contains a mixture of sweet, salty, sometimes sour or spicy, crunchy, or chewy treats, along with a booklet explaining each snack and some of the country’s traditions. Every month you’ll find something new to spark a conversation, which may include recipes, games, trivia, and quizzes.
Prices start as low as $13.75 per month, and many of the snacks come in shareable sizes!
With Equal Opportunity Book Box, your child will explore worlds beyond their own, right at home! Choose your child’s reading level, and each month they will receive three books exploring the ideas of diversity, culture, and inclusivity. In addition to these beautifully made and written books, for each book sold, one will be sent to a child living in a “reading desert.” These children don’t often have access to quality reading material, and your subscription ensures they will have their fill of the beautiful physically, culturally, and ethnically diverse material they deserve!
Subscriptions start as low as $29.99 per month, and each box contains at least one hardcover book and two additional books. The boxes and packaging are 100% recyclable and subscriptions can be canceled at any time.
Parent Review:
Alexa Yax said “Representation and books are both huge in our home, so finding The Equal Opportunity Book Box was a major win! This month’s box theme was ‘peace’ and we couldn’t be more excited to add these three books to our collection!”
Do you have a little engineer on your hands? A budding artist? A master tinkerer? Kiwi Crates has you covered! Simply choose your child’s age group and interest and Kiwi Co will ship your family a monthly project to complete together, or to explore independently on their own time. These projects vary in difficulty level, allowing you to curate a crate that grows with your child! Nothing beats hands-on learning for lasting interest in education! Prices start as low as $9.95.
Parent Review:
Bree H said “My son loves these crates. They challenge him, teach him, and give him a sense of pride and accomplishment.”
Your child will delight in these STEM experiment boxes sent on the tenth of every month. Appropriate for children ages eight and up, these projects are messy, interesting, kinesthetic fun for the whole family!
Prices start as low as $34 a month for a six month subscription.
Parent Review:
Michelle Carew, Web Director at PDX Parent said: “Overall, the Loop Lab box was fun and educational, and I was impressed that we were able to do so many experiments and use the same box for several hours. We found the science lessons interesting and easy to understand; in fact, the lessons lent themselves to conversations about other applications and ideas. There was some mess and a little prep, but the Loop Lab box was pretty turnkey.”
An “App”ropriate Gift that Keeps Giving!
Finding educational apps that grow with your child means giving every time they reach for their device. We are passionate about creating safe, appropriate content for your little ones, and are excited to keep building our world in 2021! If you find yourself shopping for a preschooler, be sure to visit us on the App Store to download Number Island, Letter Meadow, Molly’s Paper Plane, or visit our Print Shoppe for posters, prints, and cards of their favorite Wonder Bunch scenes and characters!
We hope we have given you some fun ideas for your little ones, and we can’t wait to continue finding opportunities to make learning and connecting with your little one even more fun!
Happy holidays, from our family to yours!
xoxo
Meghan and Alex
