Does anyone else think it’s sad that kids these day spend so much time glued to screens? Between cell phones, tablets, televisions, consoles, and computers, there is very little time they aren’t in front of (if not holding) something electronic.
You don’t have to look very far to figure out where this phenomenon comes from. Most of us are probably guilty of a little too much screen time.
So far we’ve managed to keep electronics for our kids to a minimum around here. While our kids enjoy watching a DVD on the computer, playing educational games on Starfall.com, and using a drawing app on our phones every now and then, they spend most of their time having outdoor adventures, creating things indoors, playing something imaginative, or reading.
Here are some great kid gifts that are worth unplugging for. They might just encourage the adults to be unplugged more, too.
Books
Some of our favorite books also have great themes that pique kids’ interest in topics that will lead them to other unplugged activities like exploring the outdoors and being self-sufficient.
Little House on the Prairie Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Be sure to look for the 9-book set. There are lots of sets that just include the first five books and leave out the last four. Your family will want to follow the story beyond just the first five books. If you aren’t particular about your books being new or a matching set, you can probably put together a set by scouring your local thrift stores.
Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
We read several books that took place in the 1700s and talked about the relationship between the Native Americans and the white settlers. We enjoyed them all, but Sign of the Beaver was the favorite. Even though my children are much younger than the 13-year-old protagonist, they loved reading his story of outdoor survival and how he learned to hunt from his Indian friend. It’s no wonder that this is a Newberry Honor book.
Toys
Legos
We prefer the Lego sets that just contain lots of bricks, wheels, and basics as opposed to the sets that are designed to build a specific creation. That way the kids feel free to create whatever their hearts desire, rather than feel boxed into what they are supposed to create. I got two of these sets that have just the building basics two years ago when they were on sale great price (the price isn’t so impressive anymore).
I just ordered this set of 20 generic Lego people (for less than $5!) which I am really excited about. I think we only own two Lego people (that’s the downside of only buying the big sets of basics) and that doesn’t go over well when you’ve got three kids playing Legos together. Lego people stocking stuffers are sure to be a hit here!
I have been reading the reviews and am considering these big sets of generic bricks that are compatible with Lego, but not nearly as expensive. Legos are really the only “toy” that my kids play with these days, so it would be nice to increase our collection so they can do more with them.
Kids Charades
My kids love this sturdy version on charades. The cards are thick cardboard tiles that hold up well and fit nicely in the game tin (which is way better than a box when it comes to kids). Charades is great for even young kids who can’t read because the cards have really great pictures that make the clue very clear. Apparently this is supposed to be a travel version, but we only use it at home. It’s definitely a favorite here.
Crafts
My kids can make crafts out of anything, but sometimes it’s nice to have a structured craft that has supplies besides what comes out of the recycle bin.
Rainbow Loom Bands
A couple years ago my mom got my kids interested in making rainbow loom bracelets. Knowing that the colorful rubber band creations were popular among tweens and older kids, I was surprised that my young kids could do them, and do them well.
Lately my kids have been using the finger loom, which is less complicated than the bigger loom because it doesn’t require a hook. They whip out bracelets and necklaces in no time at all and love sharing them with everyone!
Beads
Outdoors
My kids spend lots of time climbing trees, building forts, and looking for bugs and animals. They like camping and survival too.
Bear Archery Youth Bow Set
For Christmas last year we got each of our kids this bow and arrow set. They had been asking for Daddy to make them bows for months (he had previously made one, but it eventually broke). They LOVE their Bear Archery bow and arrows sets! They are great quality and provide hours of outdoor fun. The grown-ups enjoy them too. They do a great job of following the safety rules that we have.
Daisy Slingshot
When the slingshot that Daddy made from a stick and an old bicycle tube broke, a new slingshot was high on my six-year-old’s list. We got him a Daisy slingshot for his birthday and he couldn’t have been happier. We laid down some serious ground rules about the slingshot since it’s not technically a toy. With rocks and acorns there is plenty of ammo all around.
Confession
If you made it all the way through last month’s budget report, you might remember that I ordered three of the $49 Kindle Fire tablets for Christmas (I haven’t even taken them out of the package yet). One is for me, one is for my husband, and the third… will be for my kids to share.
My deal-seeking side kind of wanted to take advantage of that buy five, get one free deal, but I really didn’t want each kid to have their own tablet. I love how screen-free they are and I want to keep it that way. I plan to fill the kids’ Kindle with educational kid apps and kid books. It won’t be an open-access, free-for-all, but they will be able to earn time.
How about you?
- What are some great gifts you’ve given or received that encourage kids to unplug?
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Lego mania at our house and our son has that group of lego people. You’ll be pleased with it. Works well with the Lego City and Creator sets we have.
That’s good to hear! Thanks Lora!
Last year all the gifts we gave our children for birthdays and Christmas were active ones. By the end of the year we had given a scooter, a rebounder, a beginner snowboard as well as each child received a set of ice skates (we have a free outdoor rink in our community). My mom got the kids ice skating lessons from our local rec centre as their Christmas gift.
In years past gifts like memberships to local attractions and movie passes (a rare treat in our family) have been a big hit.
That’s really cool that there is a free ice skating rink there! Skates and skating lessons are perfect gifts in that case! How neat!
My 2 girls are getting a small wooden kids kitchen to share. They have a cheap plastic version that they have completely worn out so I think this is perfect to entertain them while I prepare meals and they can pretend to do the same. Also, we are going to be on the lookout for some good deals on board games.
My kids love our wooden play kitchen (though they are outgrowing it now) and we love board games too!
On Black Friday Target & Wal-Mart usually have board games for $5 to $8 depending on the game.
Hi there,
What a great post! I love to give books, magazine subscriptions, board games and legos and we love to receive them as well. We tried generic legos one year and they were a huge waste of money. They don’t stick together nevermind work well with legos. Just an fyi!
Thank you for this great blog, I just discovered you and you have become a fast favorite!
~Danielle
Hi Danielle! Thanks for sharing some of your favorites. 🙂 I was skeptical of the generic Legos too, but there were lots of good reviews on those particular ones, so we’ll have to see. Thanks for reading!
For gifts our children seem to enjoy paper and drawing supplies most for non-electronic gifts. The only limits that we place on our children as far as screen time goes is they are limited in the amount of time that they passively use screens. If they want to create something great! If they want to watch videos that require interaction and brain power that’s awesome. We’ve found that even when our children are “watching” shows on Netflix, we haven’t paid for cable/satellite television in almost 7 years, they are creating with their art supplies or playing with some of the family toys. Our family toys are Legos, Magnetics, a marble maze, K’nex and a bunch of math manipulatives. The kids make some amazing things with the toys and often will come into the room to find that all three of our children (15, 6 & 4) playing together.
My kids love art stuff too. 🙂 That warms a mother heart to see everyone playing nicely together!
One year we made a chart with 4 categories:
want, need, wear , read
Each person in the family could fill in ideas for gifts for them. My daughter put “my own jar of peanut butter so I can double dip”. She got it and we still laugh about it.
That is hilarious Diana! It’s the little things. 🙂
That is really funny because one Christmas my husband got me my own jar of peanut butter in my stocking because I have the tendency to like to eat it with a spoon!
Gifts of experience are also great. My parents gave us a year long family membership to our local children’s museum. We’ve had endless fun there! We’ve also gotten a national park pass, a course on Craftsy, and more.
I love that Sarah! A museum membership is wonderful– and it doesn’t take up any space or make a mess at your house! 🙂