Holiday Shopping Guide: Best Wholesome Toys for Kids!

Homeschool & Education

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Now that Black Friday’s behind us, I’ve checked off quite a few gifts for friends and family members…but still find myself with lots of shopping to do for my kids. I always go a little overboard during the holidays because, come ON…it’s CHRISTMAS! If you can’t spoil your kids during the holidays, when can you??

We’ve done some major Kon-Mari-ing up in this hizouse lately and so I’ve had to reevaluate our toy situation over and over again. I find myself asking “Would I replace this if the house burned down??” And to be honest, there are only a few actual “toys” that I feel are valuable enough and get enjoyed enough to meet this criteria.

However, if you’re looking for wholesome, non-electric toys that will guarantee hours and hours of imaginative play, check out our favorites below!

christmas toys

  1. Little Tikes Princess Castle – This is one toy that has truly been played with for hours upon hours! It comes with those tiny little chunky Little People of all the Disney princesses and the girls (and Finn, hehe) love them to death. Even when the princesses get misplaced (often), they have lots of fun with it using with other dolls, cars and animals. It’s a bit pricey so I’d recommend shopping around, but well worth it! (I linked to the cheapest one I could find)
  2. Lemonade Stand – (The cardboard stand pictured is no longer available but I updated the link to a SUPER cute wooden one!) The kids LOVE playing pretend store and whatnot with this and actually had a few real live lemonade sales as well. They felt super legit with an actual roof and everything!
  3. Lego Idea Book – My boys are like every young boy on the planet and are obsessed with Legos. The only problem is, after you spend hundreds of dollars on these fancy Lego sets, the instructions get lost or kids get bored and you’re left with a whole lot of pieces and no real plan for them. Enter this book: it’s chock full of genius ideas for taking existing Lego pieces and transforming them into oodles of exciting creations!
  4. Magna Tiles – If my kids only had one toy for the rest of their lives, we’d probably all agree on these! They’re plastic shapes with magnetic sides which means they’re both easy enough for toddlers to put together, and sturdy enough for big kids to make and play with. They build garages, houses, castles, cubes, boxes, you name it! Honestly, when we first got these, 2 years ago, everyone from my 6 month old to the 8 year old was enthralled. The kids all still love to play with them, as do all our little visitors. I think I might even buy a second set this Christmas. They’re not cheap, but they are well worth the investment!
  5. Ikea Easel – Another inexpensive yet very entertaining pick! One side is a whiteboard and one is a chalkboard and my kids love it. You can even buy Ikea’s roll of drawing paper and attach it to the easel so that your kids can draw with pens, pencils or crayons as well.
  6. Plasma Car – This is my kids’ favorite outdoor toy! They are great for all ages: perfect for a toddler practicing his steering but fun enough for big kids to race on. Also a tad pricey, but we’ve had ours for years and they look great, even after being abused almost daily.
  7. Cocoon Swing – (The swing pictured is no longer available but I changed the link to a similar one from Amazon!) We’ve hung this fun cocoon swing in both the playroom and on the patio. Perfect swing for little ones learning to balance, bigger kids to twist up in and also makes a cozy reading nook!
  8. Step2 Playhouse – We don’t actually have this specific outdoor playhouse but we’re building one for the little girls this Christmas and trust me – this is WAY cheaper! Playhouses are always a good idea, for kids of both genders. This one has great little details (a sink! shutters!!) and consistently great reviews on Amazon.

Hope this gives you some ideas and helps you cross a few more names off the list! Happy Shopping!

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1 Comment

  • Reply
    Ultimate Guide to Cool Gifts • Bonnie and Blithe
    December 5, 2017 at 3:52 pm

    […] Magna Tiles: I’ve talked about these before.  They are the only toy we’ve ever had (bought about 4 years ago) that entertain every child […]

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