As a mom of seven, I have a love/hate relationship with Christmas shopping. I do love buying gifts for others. I also look forward to seeing the excitement on my kids faces when they upwrap their gifts. However, it can also be a little stressful! Trying to work our three gifts into the budget means a lot of double checking their Christmas gifts and second guessing if an item purchased is really worth it. Today I’m sharing the some of the best Christmas gifts for kids. These items aren’t just what we’re buying this year–although there are some of those too. These are the gifts that have withstood the test of time and my kids continue to use year after year! Links contain affiliates, all opinions are my own.
best Christmas gifts for kids from a mom of seven
I’ve compiled a gift idea list that will interest a range of ages and will fit a variety of budgets. You’ll find great stocking stuffers from $10, and gifts worth the splurge in the triple digits. Keep in mind that a lot of items are already on sale for Black Friday! If you have any last minute shopping to do, or if you haven’t even started yet, I hope this list of best Christmas gifts for kids help you cross some things off your list!
gift ideas for younger kids
I feel like younger kids are easier to shop for because they seem to like pretty much anything. However, it can be hard to sift through all the gift ideas out there! Here are some of the favorite gifts my kids have unwrapped over the years. The following gift ideas are in no particular order.
7 gift ideas and stocking stuffers
This Melissa & Doug Disney Snacks & Popcorn Cart was a favorite Christmas gift last year and my little ones still love it! We even used it for my daughter’s vintage Disneyland birthday party earlier this year. It is so well-made and has a lot of fun touches to it.
Truth be told, we have several magnetic tile sets and all of them are great. In fact, I have a whole Amazon Idea List full of our favorite Magnetic playsets. This Bluey Tile Town set that was a Christmas present last year is pretty cool though, and even my oldest kids were excited to play with it when it was first unwrapped. Bonus? It’s cheaper than when I pre-ordered it last fall!
Here’s a great stocking stuffer idea–travel microMAGS from Magna-Tiles. We have two of these sets, and I just ordered one of the Winter Wonder travel sets for Christmas! I told you we love magnetic tiles, haha!
If you have little ones that always want what their big sister or brother has, I recommend the VTech KidiZoom Smartwatch! Two of our kids have had one for several years and they’re lots of fun! They mostly use them for games (which is great for road trips!). However, one of my daughters also loves using it to count her steps. Like mother, like daughter, haha.
This Teepee play tent is almost as much a gift for me as it is for my kids. Not only is it fun for them to play in, but it looks great set up in our family room. We’ve had ours for several years and it’s still going strong!
If your child really loves indoor fort building, I recommend a Nugget play couch. We got ours several years ago when you had to rush online anytime there was a product drop. Now you can easily order from Amazon! Perfect for saving your couch pillows from fort building, and for sibling sleepovers in the playroom.
Our family loves all Color Wonder products, but the new Color and Erase reusable activity pads are a step up! I love that they’re the perfect size to carry along in my purse and they’re reusable. The price point and size makes them the ideal stocking stuffer too!
gift ideas for older kids
If your kids are bookworms I have several ideas for you! I have a few items that were bit hits in previous years, but I’m also sharing one item that we purchased for a gift this year!
6 gift ideas and stocking stuffers
This Qlaway electric scooter from Amazon is more economically priced than several others out there but works great! We bought a couple last year, and they were such a hit we just ordered two more. And they’re cheaper than when we bought them a year ago!
If you have a kiddo that is obsessed with puzzles, a puzzle roll-up mat is a great gift idea! It’s something that’s budget-friendly, but will be used over and over!
My kids love to read so last year I bought all my older kids rechargeable book lights as stocking stuffers. The ones I bought from Amazon are great and come in a variety of colors so all your kids can keep track of their own!
Looking for a great book suggestion for your avid reader that’s age appropriate? My 13 year old loves the Fate Born series by Michelle L. Robison. The first two books are out, and are perfect for young readers who enjoy dystopian sci-fi.
Several of my kids love the Hunger Game series and there are so many great sets out right now! You can purchase your bookworm the hardcover book set–including The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and Sunrise on the Reaping. Or, you could upgrade their set with this Deluxe Edition my 13 year old loves.
One more gift idea for kids that like to read. However, in the effort of full disclosure, this is a gift a couple of my kids are getting this year. So truthfully, I don’t know for sure that they’ll be a hit–I’m just assuming they’re going to be thrilled to open up their Kid Kindle Paperwhites on Christmas morning.
Do you shop early or wait for the last minute?
