Momfessions‘ ‘Tis the Season holiday gift idea carnival continues for the remainder of this week.  Today, the theme is gifts for children.

To avoid adding to the clutter, we like to consider consumable items.  Art/craft supplies are a favorite.  (Not all of these are consumable, but consumable things like paper, crayons, and stickers go in this category.)  One thing we’ve done in the past is a stamping “kit.”  This can be done pretty inexpensively, too.  Purchase a washable (washable!) inkpad, and a few rubber stamps.  Rubber stamps can usually be found at the dollar store, and/or in the $1 bins at Michaels.  If I’m giving a single inkpad, I like to do a rainbow one.  It just seems more fun.  The one we have is primary-colored stripes, and the brand is StampCraft, but I can’t seem to find it anymore, even online.  This one from Melissa & Doug would be a good alternative, although it costs more than ours did.  (Avoid one with gradient stripes.  I think this would just muddy the color.)

Speaking of Melissa & Doug, I have to echo Sheila here and say that we really love their stuff!  I don’t know that I’ve seen anything they make that we don’t like.  They make high-quality toys without the high prices to match.  Our girls really like their magnetic wooden dolls.  (We have Maggie Leigh and Nina Ballerina.)  And their unit blocks are a terrific value!  They are by far the least expensive standard unit blocks I was able to find, and we love them.  They don’t have all of the fancy add-on packs some other places sell but, since they’re standard, the other add-on packs should work with their basic set.

Another great thing about unit blocks is that they are one basic thing for which add-on’s are available.  This is another terrific option for avoiding clutter when gifting: adding on to an existing set of something.  Building blocks (wooden blocks, Legos, TinkerToys, etc.), 18″ doll clothes, dress-up clothes, Littlest Pets, matchbox cars.  Anything the child already has some of, and which it doesn’t hurt to have more of, can be a good gift option.  (This has the added advantage that you usually already know the child likes it.)  Most of these are also good “imagination” toys.  And that’s my next category.

Toys that engage the imagination. In general, I am not a fan of electronic toys.  (There are a few exceptions to this rule.)  I prefer toys that, by themselves, do not do anything.  Rather, I prefer toys that engage children’s imaginations.  I believe these are better for their developing minds – and they tend to be less cluttery-looking and less annoying to me as a parent, as well.  Any of the things mentioned above are good for this.  Also, educational games and puzzles.  (Most children enjoy these, so don’t be scared off by the word “educational.” It basically just means it isn’t all “fluff”!)  Children also enjoy smaller versions of real-life tools.  (Not fake ones, real ones that they can use, but sized to their smaller frames.)   Brooms, aprons, mixing bowls and whisks, hammers and screwdrivers, etc.

And, last but not least, we cannot forget books!  For babies and toddlers, I prefer board books, as they hold up better.  A series we recently discovered that we really enjoy is Julie Merberg’s Mini Masters series.  These are rhyming board books for little children, with the illustrations all being replicas of art pieces from great art masters.  They’re such an effortless way to expose our little ones to great art!  We enjoy a variety of books, though.  Fiction.  Non-fiction.  Classic children’s stories.  Books of poetry.  (Try these.)

For more gift ideas for children, visit the carnival.
For the grown-ups in the family, see my earlier posts about gifts for her and gifts for him.
For more holiday/celebration tips, visit this week’s Works for Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family.