With the winter holiday season, many parents, grandparents, aunties, and uncles are scrambling for gift ideas, preferably options kids will actually play with, long after the wrapping paper is cleaned up and the relatives have gone home. While there is much to be said for granting a long-held wish for the bestselling toy that has been advertised since Halloween, there is a unique charm to gifting something that was never wished for but instantly becomes a favourite.

 

When buying gifts for young friends and families, here are some places our educators recommend for inspiration:

 

A Mighty Girl Holiday Guide: This site could be called ‘Mighty Options for All’ with the breadth and depth of resources they boast. A Mighty Girl’s site has an impressive book list, an option to sort by age and topic, and gift guides for everything from construction to coding, crafts to chemistry. And, the Keva blocks are a huge hit in our classrooms from Preschool all the way through to Grade 6!

 

 

Real Simple’s list of 43 Creative, Cool Gifts for Kids: This thoughtfully curated list has a wide range of high-quality, unique and beautiful gifts for all ages at a variety of price points. We especially like the Bubble Wand Set and the ‘Are We There Yet?’ Chalkboard Laptop.

 

 

Uncommon Goods Kids: While this is a shopping site and not a gift guide per se, Uncommon Goods carries beautiful, unusual, and fun toys, puzzles, books, craft kits, and even kid-friendly decor 

(astronaut and unicorn bedding!). You can search the site by category and by price point, making it an excellent source of stocking stuffers or small activities to keep kids busy while travelling. Their customizable books make beautiful keepsakes, and there is even a section for family gifts, full of projects and puzzles the entire family can enjoy. 

 

(P.S.: The long-distance love lamp would make an especially touching gift for a faraway grandparent.)

 

 

And, direct from our Preschool and Junior Kindergarten classrooms:

 

If you are looking to splurge, Little Colorado makes gorgeous, heirloom-quality solid wood toy boxes and children’s furniture. They are where CFIS bought the play stands in any of our Preschool and Junior Kindergarten classrooms, which have inspired rich dramatic play for many years now. They have been turned into everything from dragon’s caves to igloos to ice cream shops and make for a sturdy, high-value addition to any playroom. 

Tegu makes multicoloured wooden blocks with magnets inside them, opening a whole new world of block play. The appealing texture and beautiful colours make them irresistible to almost anyone, from toddlers to grandparents. They also have a line of wooden toys for babies.

 

Happy shopping! We hope these suggestions help you find the perfect, unexpected, and instantly beloved gift for all the kids (big and small) on your list.

 

To learn more about the learning environment at CFIS, contact our Admissions team at admissions@cfis.com.