I’m SO excited about this years Christmas list for our kids! So far I’ve made a list with 8 affordable kids Christmas gifts to spark creativity and I just hope my kids end up loving what I’ve selected as much as I think they will!
This will be our second Christmas here in the beautiful PNW. Last year was so special being so near to all the evergreens and snow. The only downside was my husband and I were still recovering from moving from the Midwest and last winter was so hard on us health wise! Finances were a little tighter than normal too, and my husband had to work half of Christmas day!
Perhaps it’s needless to say I’m looking even more forward to this Christmas. There’s just something so special about being among the snow and evergreens for Christmas!
This post contains my affiliate links you can purchase through using your own Amazon account-please note that using these links doesn’t cost you a PENNY extra.
Since we have a larger family I wanted to get a head start and begin collecting gifts in October, but we ended up blowing the budget fighting off a miserable flea infestation that our girls kitty brought in! It was a nightmare!
So I’m just getting started on the Christmas shopping. Because of October’s curve ball I don’t know yet if we will be able to get everything on the list, but I’m praying we will be able to and just leaving that in the Lord’s hands. We may have to stretch Christmas out over two months, but that will just extend the joy, right?!
Why I Like Toys That Spark Creativity for Christmas
Being a homeschool mom means I’m always wearing two hats-usually both at the same time. One is a teacher hat, one is a mama hat. It took some getting used to initially but I think wearing both hats comes pretty much natural most the time now.
My point in explaining that is because all the gifts on the Christmas list are undercover educational and sensory toys!!! Sneaky sneaky teacher/mama!! What can I say, when you are a homeschool mama on a budget your brain is just wired differently and you look for ways to sneak education in any way you can, lol!
But there’s another reason I love selecting toys that double as educational toys.
For many years we lived in a very small home. By the time we had our fifth child we had been squeezing into homes that were 1,100 square ft and less for 11 years. Through that time we learned minimalism in pretty much every area of life, including toy minimalism (which I highly recommend doing before Christmas!).
It was during those years I discovered which toys were just junk and clutter to my kids and which ones were of value and brought the most extended quality play time. I talked about this in my post, Minimizing Toys.
The toys I’ve included below fit the criteria for being among the types of toys that get the most play miles, and the kind it seems most children enjoy the most!
Before you think this is going to be a boring list take a look! Here’s what’s on the list.
A wooden rainbow. I can’t decide between this one;
I’ve been eyeing these wooden rainbows for about 1.5 years now. I recently took a closer look at them and realized all of the things kids can do with them! Here’s a YouTube link-check out how versatile these are in play!
I would love to get this Rain Rush toy for the youngest (above). I know he would love it! I might not be able to get it for Christmas- if not it will make a good birthday present.
Below; I’ve been meaning to get these for about a year now. Did you know that toys like these wooden dolls are good for children’s brains and inspire creativity and imagination? I know my 4 year old especially is going to love these so they are a must have for Christmas. I know they will get miles of play and they are under $15.00! I’m trying to decide whether we will paint them or leave them as is….If there are any Montessori and Waldorf mom’s out there I would love your input on this!
We’ve been building our kids Lego’s collection for quite some time now. I think everybody knows that Lego’s are good for kids development but just in case you haven’t had a chance to look into it check out this article on the Top 10 Ways Legos Are Educational. I’m hoping we can finally go for the gusto and get the big set this year! If not I’ll just get a smaller set.
Below; I’m hoping to get this for the youngest with high hopes it will entertain him while I’m teaching the older kids lessons.
So far here’s what we have already collected.
I’ve recently discovered CubicFun 3 D puzzles. One of our middle boys still struggles with living in town vs the country, and he get’s bored easily. He loves building things though and so I thought these might be of particular interest to him.
I want to get all these puzzles for the kids as geography enrichment for school! I started with London though. I think both the middle boys will love putting these together! I love that they will be getting a little culture and learning while they play!
Below; You guys! THIS BOOK IS AWESOME! When I bought it I thought it was just a beautiful book. Once it came in the mail I realized it’s a cut out book to teach the children the phases of the moon! So not only is it lovely but it’s totally BRILLIANT! I want to collect all of Britta’s beautiful books now!
I got this for our youngest (below). He get’s to play on one in the Dentists office and there was also one at the eye Dr.s and he had so much fun with it, so I decided it would be a perfect gift for him.
I don’t know about you but these toys get me SO excited for Christmas this year! Do you have your Christmas shopping done yet? Leave a comment and let me know how your Christmas preparations are going!