Non-toy gifts for children

Toys are great, with the wide variety of creative, educational and fantasy options available.

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But if your home is overflowing with toys, there are other non-toy gifts that the kids will love.

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A few ideas are:

•  Tickets to an event or concert that they have been wanting to attend.
•  A personalised book. These are great as gifts as a way to remember what special thing happened that year.
•  Take them somewhere. Go hiking, on a picnic, anywhere that gives you one on one time.
•  Passes to an amusement park.
•  If your child, or the child you are buying for, enjoys reading then a book store voucher is a great gift to give.
•  Classes at a local gym, art studio, dance studio or soccer club, whatever they are into.
•  Voucher to get their ears pierced. Before giving this gift check with the child’s parents first.
•  For younger children, dress-up clothes make good gifts. This also encourages the child to use their imagination and can easily be packed away in the child’s cupboard.
•  Board games that will keep the little ones busy and entertained.
•  A good set of headphones that will last. These are especially great for older kids or young teens.
•  Subscriptions. Kids enjoy getting things in the mail. Why not encourage their reading by getting them a magazine subscription for something they are interested in.
•  Musical instruments. Listening to music is essential, but making it and creating your own sounds, melodies, and rhythms is even more so. Whether it’s small, like shaker eggs and maracas, or large, like a guitar or keyboard, the ability to create music informs and shapes the mind and spirit.
•  A watch. Not only does having a watch help a child develop a sense of time and how quickly a certain period of time passes, but it gives a sense of independence.
•  A digital camera. See the world through your child’s eyes and give them the gift of discovery.

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