Struggling with ideas for what to buy the little ones in your life? I've put together my Christmas shopping list for my own kids – from toddlers to teenagers and everything in between!
First things first, before you do ANY shopping – you must set a budget! Read up on the easiest way to make and STICK TO your holiday shopping budget in my viral blog post here.
As you know, kids preferences change pretty quickly! That's why we are breaking this into categories to make it easier for you to find what you're looking for: Teen/Pre-Teen Girls, Teen/Pre-Teen Boys, Elementary Girls, Elementary Boys, & Toddlers!
Check back on the blog often, because next we will be sharing Holiday Gift Guides for all the Men in your life and all the Women in your life!
Teen/Pre-Teen Girls
First I'll start with what I'm buying Priya, my 12-year-old daughter!
- Make-up Bag to bring to cheer/tumbling for snacks, hair and make-up supplies! I'm actually getting matching ones for all three of my oldest girls.
- Market Set with Adult Coloring Books: Getting this huge set for my artist Priya, along with some more adult coloring books.
- Professional Face Painting Set: Priya has been a face-painter for years and has been asking for some new “cakes.”
- Make-up Palette: the main thing she wants is makeup. Now that she’s 12 she wears a little blush and mascara to school sometimes. But she wants her own makeup for cheer or tumbling competitions, or to just play around and experiment with. I got her this huge palette/case so she can have a large variety, AND it can all stay organized.
- Puffy cropped vest: Priya has been begging for one for a while. Found this cutie with great ratings, and recently on sale! Got her an XS.
- Nike Pro shorts: Priya is a level 10 gymnast, and does cheer or gymnastics 20+ hours per week. These shorts are BY FAR her favorite, so I stocked up for Black Friday and got her a few pair, in a few different colors.
- Spray bottle for hair: These always seem to disappear in our house, so I got her a new spray bottle. These infinity spray bottles are the best.
- Bulk Hair Ties: My spiral hair ties always seem to go missing. I bought this huge set to split between the girls (and myself!) which will hopefully keep us well-stocked for a while.
See more items I've bought Priya in the past plus other beauty favorites on my Amazon List here!
More Teen Girl Gift Ideas:
- Belt Bag
- I bought this disco light for our kitchen and LOVE IT! It would be such a fun idea for a pre-teen!
- Pastel Highlighters
- Fizzy Clementine Shower Jelly
- Spa Headbands
- Jewelry Organizer
Teen/Pre-Teen Boys
My oldest child is Hutch, who is 13! Here's what I'm getting him this Christmas, along with some other items he would love:
- Nike Blazers: Hutch is obsessed with classic Blazers. We got him a pair for Christmas. But for all other family members, or if we aren't exactly sure which pair he would want, we do a Nike gift card. We buy through RAKUTEN so we get cash back!
- Bluetooth Headphones: Hutch is in need of some quality Bluetooth headphones, but he’s not quite old enough for the expensive name brands. This pair has great reviews, and seems like a perfect balance.
- Socks! He’s a middle school boy and has a deep love for cool, funky, and wild socks. His favorite socks in terms of comfort are Stance socks. We'll also grab these ones for fun.
- Also for Hutch, he asked for a Nintendo gift card. They are discounted at Costco so we grabbed a pack there to split with him and Beck!
- Classic BB Gun + Targets: This year Bubba got a pair of classic Red Ryder BB Guns for the two older boys. He got some targets and extra BB's as well. Let's hope they don't shoot their eyes out!
See my other huge list of favorites for men and boys HERE!
More Teen Boy Gift Ideas:
Elementary Girls
I have two daughters in this category – Daivy and Mory!
Daivy (age 9):
- Mini Drone with HD Camera: Daivy wanted a drone that can take pictures and this one is a CRAZY good deal right now!
- Beads: My kids love beads. Daivy wanted a set of her own so I’m getting her this – amazing value, everything she needs included.
- Pirate Telescope: Quite possibly the most random gift but bound to be a favorite. Daivy wanted a pirate telescope (I blame the Soiree, haha!). Found this one that comes with a nice storage bag. I have no doubt it’ll end up on my other kid’s lists next year.
- Diamond Painting Kit: another creative art project she'll love.
- Cute Kindle Cover: Daivy is our reader, and is attached at the hip to her Kindle! Got her this adorable cover to keep it protected, and add some pizazz. See the Kindle I got her as well as our other reading favorites HERE.
- Doctor Play Set: This was a very specific request from Daivy this year. We found this cute set that I'm sure she's going to love!
- Large Set of Dangly Earrings: Daivy has been begging us for dangly earrings. We got her this set for her birthday (Thanksgiving Day) and they are ADORABLE. A total hit!
Mory (age 7):
- FlipaZoo Plush Animals: Mory has had a “Flipazoo” on her list for months and I finally figured out what they are, haha! Found this two-pack on Amazon she'll love.
- Make-up Bag to bring to cheer/tumbling for snacks, hair and make-up supplies! Same one I am also getting for Daivy and Priya.
- Friendship Bracelet Making Kit: these are so popular right now, and this cute kit comes with everything little Mory will need for her creative project!
- Diamond Painting Sticker Craft: a smaller version of the diamond painting craft we got for Daivy.
- Kinetic Sand: My kids are super into this right now, so we got this bulk set for Mory, though I'm sure it will become a family gift eventually, haha!
- Mini SquishMallows: Mory has asked for a SquishMallow every year for the past few years. She now is just missing the last size in her collection – Mini SquishMallows (I guess that's a thing??). We got her this pack, so now her collection is complete.
More Elementary Girl Gift Ideas:
- Guess Who? Card Game
- Fasion Fidgets Sensory Dolls
- Writing Tablet Doodle Board
- Grumpy Cat Sticker Doll
- Mermaid Nail Clippers
See more items I've bought Daivy & Mory, plus kids clothing favorites on my Amazon List here!
Elementary Boys
I also have two sons in this category! Beck and Mac, both at the very opposite ends of this age spectrum.
Beck (age 10):
- Metal Detector: Beck’s main gift is a metal detector. He’s been wanting one for years! We bought him this one during prime day, it was a great deal! Can't wait to see what treasures he digs up.
- One of the Nintendo gift cards that came in the pack we split between him and Hutch.
- Minecraft Guide Collection: Beck has been begging for this book set.
- Wearable Blanket Hoodie: Instead of Christmas PJ’s I’m doing Comfy’s this year! I got these for Beck, Hutch, and Bubba.
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid set: Beck wanted the ENTIRE Wimpy Kid set. Normally we like hard-cover, but we struggled to find the complete hard-cover set. We found this complete soft-cover set for a good deal, so we went with that. See our other reading favorites HERE.
- Nintendo Switch case: Let's be honest…boys can be hard on tech. We got Beck this nice case to keep his Switch and accessories protected and together. See our other tech and gaming favorites HERE.
- Sonic Switch Game: To go with his new case, we got him a new game. He's been asking for Sonic, so we found him this one for a good price.
See all my other favorite tech and gadget buys HERE!
Mac (age 5):
- Dinosaur Painting Kit: All of our three youngest are super into painting right now!
- Race Car Truck/Carrier: Mac is still obsessed with cars. But car tracks can be tricky, because they have so many parts and pieces. We got him this one because I like that he can take it along with him.
- Pull-back Cars: And these cars to go along with it.
- Mini Comfy: Instead of Christmas PJ's we are doing Comfy's this year. I got him and Dev this version, to match the big boys!
- Tool Set: Since we are getting Dev a work bench, we figured we'd get Mac his own set of play tools so they can play along together…without fighting over the same hammer. #IYKYK
- Monster Truck Set from Sam's Club: We got him a set of monster trucks from Sam's. The closest I could find on Amazon is this pack. If you want to buy from Sam's, just be sure to sign up for Rakuten first – by using this link you get a free $40 welcome bonus! Makes the trucks free!
See more items I've bought Beck & Mac, plus more toy favorites, on my Amazon List here!
More Elementary Boy Gifts:
Toddlers
This is such a fun age group to shop for. Their tastes are much less expensive and their excitement over any present is precious! I have twin 3-year-olds, Dev & Joss. Here's what will be under the tree for them this year:
- Painting palettes: They are very into painting right now. We'll get one for Joss and one for Dev.
- Jumbo Coloring Pads: They will each get their own of these.
- Kids Workbench/Tool Set: For Dev’s main gift, we want to get him a realistic tool set and workbench. He is DESTRUCTIVE and loves to steal Bubba’s tools. So, we might as well channel it! We are most likely going to do this one, it has the best reviews by a landslide.
- Pretend Tea Set: And for Joss we got her this tea set. It has over 10k reviews and is metal which I love! Makes me feel like it’ll last a little longer than most.
- Bulk Play Dough: Time for a refresh! Got this huge bulk set of play dough, and plan to rotate containers in throughout the year.
- Play Dough Tools: What fun is Play Dough without all the gadgets? Got this bulk set for the twins to share.
- Adorable Art Kit: Joss LOVES to color and draw. We got her this unicorn art kit and can't wait to see her reaction!
- Toddler Doctor Play Set: Daivy and Joss play doctor all day, every day. Joss has been asking for a set too, so we got her this similar set for younger kids. Hopefully we fix all the booboos in this house!
- Ice Cream Cart: This one is cheating because we aren't buying it for our kids this year…because we've bought it for them TWICE in the past! One for home, and one for the cabin, it's such a favorite! Definitely one of the few toys that gets played with year after year.
See my other favorite crafting and art buys HERE!
More Toddler Gift Ideas:
- Expanding Sensory Tubes
- Liquid Bubbler Sensory Toy
- Inflatable Bouncy Animal
- VTech Drum Set
- Pretend Medical Kit
- Bubble-Making Lawnmower Toy
Hope this Holiday Gift Guide was so helpful for you! Check back here soon because next we are sharing another Holiday Gift Guide blog post for all the gift recommendations for your husband/father/in-laws/brothers and all the other men in your life!
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Loved these ideas! It’s nice to see other perspectives and new ideas.
I got my daughter the same tea set, soo many pieces. I do suggest opening it before hand (we do that for all my daughters toys) and unwrap the plastic that is on it, so much packaging, bags inside bags.