200+ Practical Non Toy Gifts for Kids That Aren’t Junk. Ultimate Guide of Gifts for Kids That Aren’t Toys or Junk.
Between birthdays, goodie bags, the holiday season and other occasions, the amount of toys in a home with children can quickly quadruple overnight.
The dollar bin at stores don’t make it easy to resist buying small goodies but in time your surfaces and drawers are guaranteed to be overrun with gadgets and toys which clutter your home.
Yes, children need some toys to spur their development, boost learning and gain social skills, but not all toys are created equally.
A talking minion dolls is fun, but a child doesn’t reap the same rewards from it as they would a family board game or STEM kit.
Giving experiences to children will do far more good than one more piece of plastic or another stuffed animal.
This is the ultimate collection of non-toy gifts for kids that aren’t junk, won’t clutter your home or break after one use.
But first, here are the gift guides:
Check Out All of Our Gift Guides:
- Best Board Games for Kids and Families to Play Together
- Best Gifts for Kids Who Love Arts and Crafts
- Best Outdoor Toys for Kids to Promote Active Play & Healthy Habits
- 40+ Unique Stocking Stuffers for Baby – Toddler (Ages 0 – 3)
- Non-Toy Gifts for Giving Children Experiences Not Things
- Gifts for Kids to Receive in the Mail All Year Round
Practical Non Toy Gifts for Kids (That Aren’t Junk!)
Water Wow books are the best non-messy coloring book out there and perfect for traveling, waiting rooms, in the car and playing independently at home.
Fun crayons like these confetti crayons or gem crayons liven up your art supply!
Pin Art is a classic activity that will entertain little ones easily and is still small enough to be compact.
Wikki Stix are moldable wax sticks the perfect size for stockings, your carry on or purse. Challenge your child to see what shapes, animals and forms they can create.
The magnetic Doodle Pro is compact to fit in a stocking, but also your purse or backpack when you’re on the go. The Etch-A-Sketch is also a great way to go!
This Moon is the coolest nightlight! It hangs on the wall and you use the clicker to set the moon to differing degrees of brightness. It could be a crescent moon one night and a full moon the next! The light is soft enough to soothe kids without keeping them awake.
Set the arm for morning in style with a BB8 Alarm Clock or if you’re teaching your little one to stay in their room, a wake up alarm clock or stoplight alarm clock like this one can help them learn when it’s Ok to get out of bed.
A Nightlight Projector will transform a children’s bedroom into a starry solar system with star and planet projections.
Your house becomes a classroom with the Planetarium Space Projector! View stars, galaxies, planets and even spaceships in your living room, bedroom or anywhere it’s dark enough to bring outer space into your home’s walls and ceiling.
A whimsy jewelry box will store necklaces, bracelets, rings and dress up pieces and it’s also super adorable.
A fun two-tone mermaid sequin pillow adds super posh style a little girl’s bedroom and is fun at the same time.
Help fall asleep with black out eye masks made just for little heads and eyes. These cat masks are adorable, but we’re also in love with these unicorn ones and this bear eye mask.
Nail Sticker Art will dress up fingers once they’ve been filed with a cute emory board and painted with non-toxic nail polish.
This kid’s camera is a great starter for little ones who want to take pictures and videos. With only 5 buttons to operate the camera, it’s easy for kids to use and pictures are easily transferred to a laptop via USB cable. There’s a power toggle switch on the side to reposer the camera when it was crashed.
For older kids who want to take instant pictures and see the results on photo paper immediately, I love the FujiFilm Instant Mini (available in powder pink, turquoise, blue, green and silver.
This Kid’s Fitness Tracker is for kids 4 – 9 years, is waterproof and easy to put on, the 1-size-fits-most, nonstaining, 1-piece band stretches over your child’s hand and fits comfortably to track daily activity.
Kid’s Smartwatch by VTech has fun games and activities; interactive kids watches feature 3 fun activities, 5 games, 3 action challenges and a motion sensor. Kids watches are perfect for young photographers, this durable smartwatch has more memory so kids can take tons of pictures and videos.
A LED Writing Board is not a tablet or electronic device, but it does stimulate children’s creativity and let them fall in love with writing,drawing and doodling.
The BlueCabi Shock Proof Kids Binoculars are the perfect kid’s compact binocular set, great for science, bird watching, playing outside, travel and as a gift.
Kid’s Headphones keep little ears safe from too high volume levels and dangerous damage to hearing.
Hideaway play houses like a canvas teepee (this one comes with fairy lights and feathers to add even more whimsy feel to it) or a rocket ship playhouse spur imagination and bring out the creativity in kids. They’re also great places to calm down and find a quiet place to read or play quietly. (We also loved this striped ombre tent and princess play castle which is surprisingly spacious in real life.)
We LOVE pieces that serve multiple purposes like this bean bag sack which can be filled with stuffed animals or blankets for storage, and double as a soft place to sit.
Living spaces should be functional and fun! The hopscotch rug is adorable but also useful as an indoor activity during winter months. (Since there are too many adorable versions out there, here are a few more here and then a white version of the hopscotch rug with a non-slip backing and this village map rug is also quite cute, too.)
Pillow pets can be used as pillows or a soft place to snuggle inside a teepee, on the couch or the floor. This Moana Pig Pillow Pet is adorable but we also love Unicorn, Panda and Fox are pretty cute too. They fold up with a velcro strap on the bottom for easy carrying or taking on a road trip or airplane too.
This suction teeter totter is a fun addition to any place space – rock it, roll it, sit in it, or stand – endless ways to play; meanwhile – POP POP POP POP POP! – the suction cups pop as the Teeter Popper rocks!
No play spot is complete without these fun balancing stepping stones. Not only are they great at assisting kids with balance and coordination, but they also help them learn to determine distance and height.
Teaching kids about money is important. These will all help you get them started and being money wise young!
The Moonjar is a special box with three areas for kids to put their money – Spend, Save and Share.
The Digital Money Counter tracks kid’s savings as they add to the jar. Accepts pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, half dollars and even dollar coins. Kids love to watch their money grow and can see the value in the jar each time they add to it.
Help your child be money-wise with the 3-in-1 Trio Bank. One bank with three parts for spending, saving and sharing to teach your child about budgeting, setting savings goals and helping others. Easy-to-access boxes that allow your child to be active in keeping track of their balances.
These dog piggy banks are perfect starter piggy banks for little ones who want something adorable to store their extra change in. There’s also a bull terrier and shiba inu dog options.
Bath crayons and water coloring drops are another way to let creativity flourish. Let the doodling begin! This set of bath crayons and colored bath drops are nice and we loved these twisted bath crayons for more artistic designs.
These hooded rope in various animals are incredibly soft, not to mention cute. The pink cat is my daughter’s favorite, my son likes his green dinosaur and my toddler never wants to take her elephant rope off. But if you’re in the holiday spirit, the red and white polka-dot reindeer rope is perfect.
Bath slime wasn’t as messy as I thought I’d be from a parent’s perspective and my kids LOVED playing in a tub full of slime. I do recommend they wear swimsuits in it, and not going in their natural bathing suits.
Kids love to play in the bath, but this mixes play and learning! This 29-piece US Map bath puzzle suctions to the wall and includes all 50 states so kids can piece together the United States while they’re getting clean. Want to expand beyond the US, there’s also the World in the Tub puzzle with 29 pieces of the entire world.
A good toothbrush is part of good dental health. This Philips Sonicate and Oral-B Kids are the two most dentist approved electric brushes out there for little mouths. These make a great gift or stocking stuffer during the holidays.
Non-slip bath stickers make bath time even more fun, as well as safe. 10 jumbo stickers do a good job with coverage of the tub too.
Unicorns are having a HOT moment right now. Here are all the unicorn gifts your girl will love!
A simple, yet pretty unicorn jewelry box will store a set of unicorn earrings and other dress up accessories.
Light up the night with a unicorn projector or unicorn nightlight, perfect for a side table or on top of the dresser.
A sweet unicorn pillow is a perfect accessory but if you really want to go all out, a personalized sequin unicorn pillow is the way to dazzle your girl.
A cozy unicorn blanket with hood is the ultimate snuggle accessory on a cold afternoon or cuddle on the couch with Mom or Dad. Though you might have a hard time decision between the hooded unicorn blanket and the fleece blanket with a whimsical unicorn.
A set of sweet unicorn pajamas will send your girl off to sleep with sweet dreams.
Check Out All of Our Gift Guides:
- Best Board Games for Kids and Families to Play Together
- Best Gifts for Kids Who Love Arts and Crafts
- Best Outdoor Toys for Kids to Promote Active Play & Healthy Habits
- 40+ Unique Stocking Stuffers for Baby – Toddler (Ages 0 – 3)
- Non-Toy Gifts for Giving Children Experiences Not Things
- Gifts for Kids to Receive in the Mail All Year Round
More Holiday Resources:
- 30 Easy Elf Ideas: Easy Elf on the Shelf Ideas For Busy Parents
- Elf on the Shelf Printable “I Caught You Being Good” Notecards
- Letter to Santa & Certificate for Making Santa’s Nice List
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