“Look mom!” my two-year-old declared. “Paw patrol tower!” He pointed to his latest creation: a very tall stack of duplos, complete with what he said was a “slide” at the top. It was not, in fact, a slide, but more Duplos. (Affiliate links included).
His creativity astounded me and almost convinced me that he didn’t need a Paw Patrol tower for Christmas (but his obsession has been so long running, it’s his big toy gift this year). Even so, I loved seeing his creativity and how a simple toy encouraged his imagination.
Kids are naturally curious and creative. Give them the freedom to explore and discover, and more often than not they’ll make some incredible connections and creations. As the holiday season approaches, I try to focus on gifts that have multiple uses… and ones that allows my kids imagination to run wild (after all, we’re big fans of quiet time over here). Bonus: they’ll love playing with the boxes these toys come in too; cardboard boats, after all, are a favorite around here.
Here are a few of my favorite gifts for kids this year, all which will inspire and encourage creativity and imagination in some way.
PB+J Crafts
There is magic — and imagination — when it comes to believing in Santa. That’s why I adore the Christmas Eve box created by small biz owner Brittany Parenti. She adds to the magic of the holiday with this set of gifts, including a personalized stuffed animal, mug, and ornament, along with a variety of other items sure to power your child’s imagination. It’s all topped off with a personalized certified Nice List letter from Santa dated December 24th. Due to the personalized nature of this extra-special gift, it takes Brittany about two weeks to make. Orders can be placed through her Facebook page.
Art Supplies
One of my daughter’s favorite things to do is to sit down in front of a blank page and draw (or practice her writing). We’ll even staple together a few pages so she can write and draw her own stories. Don’t feel very crafty or a Pinterest mom? Don’t worry, I’m not either. I give them the supplies and then give them the space to create. The two year old still basically scribbles, but at age 5, Little Miss loves to create whatever strikes her fancy (drawing unicorns and Octonauts are her subjects lately).
Some of our favorite art supplies:
* Construction paper
* Glitter Gel Pens
* Stencils
* Recycled Paper Beads
* Stickers… like these story sheets
* Feathers
* Popsicle sticks
* And last but not least googly eyes
Dolls, Puppets, Figurines
Ever since my daughter’s first doll, she’s created adventures for her “characters,” whether they be dolls, puppets, or figurines. I love hearing the stories that she comes up with a result. I won’t lie; some of this has been inspired by my kids watching other kids play with toys on YouTube, something I once vowed I would never let my kids watch. (Funny how things change when we become parents, isn’t it?)
My kids take what they’ve seen and turn it into their own adventure. Regularly, my two year old yells, “Octonauts, to your stations!” Nowadays you can buy just about any figurine for just about every TV show and character there is, but there are plenty of figurines not related to TV or movies as well.
Some of our favorite dolls and figurines:
* Octonauts
* Disney characters
* Animals
* Dinosaurs
STEM toys
Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) toys aren’t just about building critical thinking skills — although that’s incredibly important too. STEM toys are also a great way for a child to envision what they want to make and then come up with a way to get to that finished product. Or, in the case of my two year old, he really uses his imagination to make a “garage” for his cars with magnatiles.
Some of our favorite STEM toys:
* Magnatiles or Picasso tiles
* Legos and Duplos (I love that some of them have figurines that go with them)
* Construction and engineering toys like this
* Lincoln Logs (a fav of mine growing up too!)
Dress Up Clothes
Playing dress up is yet another way to encourage our kids’ imaginations. After all, they put on the costume and they can pretend to be whoever they want! Not going to lie; all our Halloween costumes turn into dress up costumes without fail every year.
Some of our favorite dress up clothes:
* Princess Rapunzel, complete with gloves
* Fairy outfit
* Paw Patrol Chase (yup, that’s who my two year old dressed up as this year)
* Superhero capes
Gifts for kids that aren’t toys
In pursuit of encouraging my own creativity, while also fostering my kids, I’ve been reading “The Artist’s Way for Parents.” It’s a fabulous book in that it has been teaching me how to foster creativity and imagination in all sorts of ways with my kids, but also recognizing that, as parents, sitting down to do journal pages first thing in the morning is rarely feasible. One of my favorite pieces of advice from the book: go on regular adventures. Go explore the world around you with your kids.
In terms of giving a gift that isn’t a toy, consider gifting experiences, like a membership to a local children’s museum or zoo, tickets to a play, or art classes, just to name a few ideas.
What are your favorite ways — gifts or otherwise — to encourage your kid’s creativity and imagination? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
***
Don’t want to miss a blog post? Be sure to subscribe to Oops & Daisies here.
