gift list 2022

Are you gift shopping this year or opting for experiences and quality time instead? What's the best gift you've ever given or received? Our gift list is updated for 2022 with items our family or friends have loved and we hope it gives you some ideas! In the busyness of life I’ve found myself referencing our gift list for our children’s friends’ birthdays (it’s easy to forget what once sparked joy at younger ages!) What’s on your list this year?

One year:

• Baby moccasins or first walking shoes
• Lakeshore Learning What’s Inside? Soft Feely Box
• Hape Pound & Tap Bench with Slide Out Xylophone
• Pretend telephone
• Duplo
• Stacking toys
• Nesting dolls
• Teething toy
• Handmade or minky blanket
• Toddler lounge chair
• Personalized towel, hooded towel, or pool towel
• College fund contribution
• Board books
  • Goodnight Moon
  • Boats Go
  • Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
  • The Very Hungry Caterpillar
  • Karen Katz books
  • Touch and feel books

Two years:

• Stickers
• Stainless steel soft spout water bottle
• Sand table or sensory bins
• Toddler trampoline
• Step 2 Roller Coaster or Extreme Coaster
• Minky blanket
• Very soft squishy pillow or stuffed animal
• Trains and train track (we skipped the table- our kids build on the floor) – some quality generic brands fit most popular brands
• Bubble blower and bubbles
• Crayons, paint sticks, Color Wonder
• Play kitchen
• Play food and dishes
• Water table
• Lifetime kids picnic table
• Personalized towel or pool towel
• Zoo, aquarium, or museum membership
• Books (some of our favorites):
  • Sandra Boynton Books - Are You a Cow? Silly Lullaby, Blue Hat Green Hat, The Going to Bed Book, The Belly Button Book, and others
  • Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
  • Chugga Chugga Choo Choo by Kevin Lewis
  • Jamberry
  • The Goodnight Train
  • Go Dog Go
  • Snowmen at Night
  • Trucks Roll by Lyon and Frazier/ Planes Fly by Lyon and Wiggins
  • Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site
  • Are You My Mother? by PD Eastman

Three Years:

• Minky blanket
• Leap Frog Scout or Violet talking puppy
• Play doh
• Sticker dolls or scenes
• Kinetic sand
• Magnetic tiles
• Wee Sing Book and CD
• Books on CD
• Watercolor paint
• Dress up/ costumes
• Baby dolls
• Balance bike and helmet
• Hopper ball
• Bubble blower wand and extra batteries
• Candy Land, Don’t Break The Ice or other age appropriate board and card games
• Sled
• Personalized towel or pool towel
• Micro kickboard scooter or similar 3 wheel scooter (we bought the off brand and our kids use them in the driveway)
• Zoo, aquarium, or museum membership
• Books (some of our favorites):
  • Lola reads to Leo
  • ​Blueberries for Sal
  • Pout Pout Fish
  • The Gruffalo
  • Pete The Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons
  • The Little Engine That Could

Four-Five Years:

• Stocking stuffers: color changing cup, Imagine Ink, maze book, pull back car, flashlight, slap bracelet
• Waterproof watch
• Minky blanket
• Leap Frog Adventure Globe (disclaimer: this globe includes some history dates that are open to debate.)
• Perler beads
• Scribble Scrubbies
• Stomp rockets
• Baby doll
• Action figures from favorite TV show – Super Wings transformers are a favorite here
• Floor puzzles
• Matching game
• Lacing cards
• Brain Flakes
• Candy Land, Sneaky Snacky Squirrel, Sum Swamp, Monopoly Jr. or other age appropriate board games
• Color pencils
• Zoo, aquarium, or museum membership
• Micro kickboard or similar 3 wheel scooter (we bought the off brand and our kids use them in the driveway)
• Bike and helmet
• Personalized towel or pool towel
• Bubble blower wand and extra batteries
• Lessons
• Educational CDs and DVDs like Leap Frog or Preschool Prep series
• Books (a few of our favorites):
  • Christmas is Here by Lauren Castillo
  • What should Danny do?
  • Ready, Set, Read!: The Beginning Reader's Treasury, Mouse Tales, Poppleton, BOB books, or other Early Readers/ I Can Read Books
  • Hop on Pop
  • Elephant and Piggie series by Mo Willems
  • As An Oak Tree Grows
  • Becoming Bach
  • 20 Hungry Piggies
  • Zondervan Children’s Bible
  • Berenstain Bears
  • Further Tales of Peter Rabbit with CD by Emma Thompson
  • Beatrix Potter audio collection
  • Mind Your Manners BB Wolf
  • Simple science books

Six to Nine Years:

• Stocking stuffers: color changing cup, infinity cube, Imagine Ink, origami kit, flashlight
• Snap Circuits Beginner
• Vtech Marble Rush
• Akedo Fighters
• Beyblades
• Maze cube
• Board games – checkers, Uno, Zingo, Gravity Maze
• Fine tip markers and other art supplies
• Lego
• Perler beads
• Friendship bracelet or other crafts
• Sewing kit
• Felt sewing machine
• Science experiment kit
• Paint by sticker
• Roller blades
• Micro kickboard or similar 3 wheel scooter (we bought the off brand and our kids use them in the driveway)
• Helmet and pads
• Personalized towel or pool towel
• Waterproof watch
• Bike
• Tales of Buttercup Grove Series (early reader - age 5+)
• Secret of the Hidden Scrolls Series (7+)
• The Boxcar Children (7+)
• Imagination Station Series (7+) or read aloud
• Sharing the Bread by Pat Zietlow Miller and Jill McElmurry
• Charlotte’s Web
• Mr. Popper’s Penguins
• The Glimmer Girls by Natalie Grant
• Halfway Herbert by Francis Chan

Ten to Thirteen:

• Gel or erasable pens
• Bookmark
• Skating rink/indoor climbing, trampoline park passes
• Sports equipment
• Gift cards to favorite store
• DIY bath bombs or other crafts
• Fun socks
• Fun throw pillow
• Chronicles of Narnia series
• Lord of the Rings series

​Fourteen to Eighteen:

• Gel or erasable pens
• Bookmark
• Journal
• Fuzzy socks
• Nail polish or nail appliques
• Mani/ pedi
• Gift cards to favorite store or restaurant

​Teachers/ Day Care Workers:

• Hand written thank you note
• Gift cards
• Gift basket. Some filler ideas:
  • Kind Bars, Goodness Knows, or other healthyish treats (watch out for school-banned ingredients), fragrance free hand sanitizer, nice pen, notepad, Emergen C, special blend coffee or tea, kitchen towel

Adult Family Members:

• Donation to a charity or sponsoring a child or family for the holidays on their behalf:
  • Partner with your local church’s outreach initiatives
  • Salvation Army Angel Tree
  • Food For The Poor
  • Operation Christmas Child
  • Every Home for Christ
  • Exodus Cry
• Plan a family outing or activity – sometimes the best present is to be present.
  • A special meal
  • Candy house competition
  • Snow tubing or ice skating
  • Caroling at a local nursing home
  • Participating in your church service day and sharing a meal afterward
  • Bundle up and do a Christmas scavenger hunt
  • Card making/ exchange with meaningful letters
• Essential oil candle
• Custom leather bookmark
• Nothing Bundt Cake sampler
• A La Maison Rosemary Mint Hand Soap
• Department 56 or other lighted house/ church/ building
• Create a family tree
• The Chosen DVD series
• Bluetooth speaker
• Customized kitchen towel
• Scout tote bag
• Foldable all terrain wagon
• Customized garden stone
• Rechargeable battery fan
• Special blend coffee or tea
• Local honey
• Regional salsa, sauce or other gourmet food
• Coffee frother
• Pour over, French press or percolator
• Framed family photo or acrylic photo block
• Family photo session
• Keepsake or nostalgic item from their childhood decades or hometown
• Book or audio book for commute
• Glass water bottle
• Plush throw blanket in a neutral color
• Battery vacuum
• Meal kits delivered
• Restaurant gift cards
• Portable DVD player or tablet (especially families with kids)
• Amazon prime membership

And when in doubt…socks!
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