Balloons

Balloons are fun and don’t last forever. They make a day/week special.

Bubbles

My kids love bubbles they are typically a one afternoon outside fun. Nothing I have to find space and it gets them outside.

Bubble Bath

My little girl love bubble baths. I do not buy bubble bath regularly but they become great Christmas morning stocking suffer or birthday gifts for fun bath time. Bath salts, face masks, nail polish and lotions are also a perfect gift for older girls. 

Flowers

Those little girls feel so loved when given a sweet little bouquet of flowers! They light up when the flowers are for them. Household plants or garden plants or even seeds can be just as fun for your kids to take care of and watch grow.

Foods, Snacks, Treats

Candy, snacks, favorite foods are another fun gift to give. Be sure to make sure over sugar someone else’s kids and ask the parents if they have suggestions or restrictions that they give their kids when it comes to food.
side story: For my oldest sons first birthday his aunt got him a banana. He was so excited he cried when I tried to get him to open the next gift. We had to take a break and let him eat his banana before moving on with the party! It was hilarious and has become a tradition with our family to give a banana for the first birthdays.

Ice Cream Money/Gift Card

My son was so excited when he got a card from his great-great Aunt with $5 in it specifically for ice cream. He love’s going out for ice cream at our local creamery and it made for a great gift. 

Tickets to Events

Children’s Museum, plays, movie theater, aquarium, zoo are great ideas for experience gifts.  These are great gifts to talk to the parents about first. If you are giving the gift of an event or experience gift make sure its something the parents approve of. Also don’t leave out the parents from experiencing the adventure with their kids. These gifts are great for the whole family. Don’t take your grand kids to the zoo for the first time without their parents, unless the parents wish it. 

Scavenger Hunt/Treasure Hunt 

Adventure! You can make up your own scavenger hunt or treasure hunt that geared to your child or check out these 35 awesome scavenger hunt ideas for kids. Scavenger hunts can be so much fun for all ages. You can adapt you hunt to being in one room or a whole town. This gift can be very simple to extremely extravagant. Some treasures can be toys that they can keep or candy and treat that goes away when finished. 

Sidewalk Chalk

My two oldest boys have a great time and will spend hours outside with chalk. Making rocket ships, race car and car tracks, even numbering all 84 squares in the side walk to the corner of the block. Kids love chalk. A great gift that once is done its gone

Water balloons

Water balloons are an amazing gift in the summer. On a hot day the kids can have a epic battle while cooling down in the water. One used they are done. 

Audio Books

For the younger kids who can’t read yet, audio books are a great gift. Starting that love for reading early can be done with audio books. Listening to a book in long car rides, or during quiet time/nap time while they color or play with legos is a great way to introduce a love for reading. You can get gift cards for amazon to use towards audible or purchase a monthly subscription for someone. For other audio books apps check out Everyday Reading’s review.

Board Games

Even with our 3 and 4 year old we like to introduce board games, even if we don’t play exactly by all the rules with the little ones we have a lot of fun.

Books

One of the best gifts you can give is books. Books form people and character. A love to read can produce a love for knowledge.

Camping Gear

If the family is a camping family then their kids will love items like a compass, flashlight, binoculars, or a magnifying glass. These gifts make the family activities even more special. 

Clothing

Something practical can also be special meaningful gifts. A sweet little dress, or cool new pair of rain boots can become a very special outfit when given from someone they love. 

DVD’s

In a world of streaming this gift my seem out dated but my kids love being able to pick out what they want to watch by looking through their DVD’s. I feel more comfortable that ad’s I don’t approve of aren’t randomly popping up and shows they are not allowed to watch aren’t an seen as an option. They also get to take their favorite movies to their grandparents and cousins house for fun movie nights.

Flower/Plants

Those little girls feel so loved when given a sweet little bouquet of flowers! They light up when the flowers are for them. Household plants or garden plants or even seeds can be just as fun for your kids to take care of and watch grow. The gift of flowers is also a great gift for older kids and even adults. This Christmas my dad got me money for two fruit trees of my choice. Now every time I water my trees I think of my dad’s love for me. 

Fun Money

I remember getting $2 dollar bills in Christmas stockings or for my birthday, they are rare and exciting and you want to save them instead of spend. My brother in law once made a treasure map and hid a treasure chest full of $3 works of pennies that his son and my sons (ages 4-5) got to split up between them. They love the adventure and 100 pennies is a lot of money for a little boy. 

Piggy Bank

Now what to keep your treasure in? A piggy bank! It doesn’t have to be a pig, there are lots of cute ideas out there. I personally like the ones that easily open so that my kids can count their money over and over again (homeschooling points) or the ones they can see through and see grow as they save their money. Kibelly Wooden Banks are a great example.

Photo Album

My daughters loves looking though my wedding photo albums and their baby albums. You can create personal photo books at Shutterfly, Snapfish, Mixbook, Chatbooks or even Walmart for less than $10. This year my kids and I made “cousin books” and gave them to our extended family. Photo albums are great for family that lives out of state, especially if you can get photos of their family and your family together in one book. When family is separated by distance its always a meaningful to see each other on the same page of one book even if not the same photo. 

Mail

Personal letters from you can be very special especially if you live far away or like to travel. Postcards, birthday cards, drawings and art can be very exciting to receive in the mail. Sending mail monthly can be something those kids can look forward to

Subscriptions

There are lots of wonderful creative kids subscriptions you can sign up for. Magazine subscriptions like National Geographic Kids, Highlights, and more. Activity boxes like KiwiCo, Little Passports, Highlights High Five and Lovevery. Something new every month that produces creativity and learning. 

Scavenger Hunt/Treasure Hunt. 

Adventure! You can make up your own scavenger hunt or treasure hunt that geared to your child or check out these 35 awesome scavenger hunt ideas for kids. Scavenger hunts can be so much fun for all ages. You can adapt you hunt to being in one room or a whole town. This gift can be very simple to extremely extravagant. Some treasures can be toys that they can keep or candy and treat that goes away when finished.

Acrylic or Watercolor Paints

Fun fancy paints for older kids a great way for them to feel older and take seriously their art projects. Don’t forget a few nice paint brushes that go with out fun paint. 

Art Paper

Water color paper, thick card stock, sketch pads are wonderful gifts for artists of all ages.

Coloring Books

Coloring books for any age! There are so many different types of coloring books out there I’m sure you can find something they will love.

Journal

A journal can be a great way to encourage creative writing or simple finding words to express yourself. For younger kids you can get a drawing journal or a journal with prompts. 

Photo Album/Scrapbook

You can make your own photo album as a gift or but a blank album that the kids get to fill in themselves. Print pictures for them and let them make their own memories.

Sticker/Sticker Book

Sticker books are a lot of fun and a perfect gift as long as the kids are old enough to know the stickers don’t go on the furniture. 

Science Projects

Like Doctor Jupiter’s Science Kit, or Stem Robotics Kids or a gardening Root Viewer Kit. There are lots of different ways to experiment and grow your kids knowledge while having a lot of fun! 

Sidewalk Chalk

My two oldest boys just spend hours outside with chalk, making rocket ships, race car and car tracks, numbering all 84 squares in the side walk to the corner of the block. A great gift that once is done its gone.