10 of the Best Meaningful Gifts for Children

1. The first gift idea I have is a story written just for them. This story doesn’t have to be long but a child would love to receive a story written just for them that might have their favorite animal or toy or even them as the main character. For presenting it to them you could write it out by hand and maybe add a few pictures, you could also type a story and add some pictures and print it maybe putting it together as a book perhaps leaving the pictures uncolored and asking your child to color them so that it is a story book you made together that you can look back on.

2. The second gift idea I have is a special outing like a fun dinner or a memory making activity like painting ceramics. I know when I was a child I loved the gift of getting a special meal out for a birthday with just me and one of my parents. That special one on one time was so enjoyable and I remember those few meals fondly now even though it is many years later. This could be presented in a card, written as a memory they can choose.

3. The third gift idea I have is a fun and cute adventure like a photo scavenger hunt to do together. What child doesn’t like a scavenger hunt? A photo scavenger hunt could add more flexibility to the hunt making it so that you can add things that are stationary like a stop sign.  It could be so fun to have a scavenger hunt with the entire family, perhaps on teams, and they all end up at a special location for cocoa or to look at a beautiful Christmas lights display. This would be cute started in a Christmas card with the next clue to be given at the next location.

4. The fourth gift idea I have is similar in nature but is of the child’s choosing. It is a special outdoor activity like a hike of their choice, maybe with a special feature like a cave or waterfall. If you are more of an outdoor adventurer than I am you could even make it into an overnight camp out.

5. The fifth gift idea that I have is a special book with an inscription in it from you to them with the year and the occasion. This is truly a gift you can’t go wrong with. It could be a book that was asked for or one of your choosing that you think they’ll like. It would be wonderful if it was a book given to be read aloud together or one you could read to them as a bedtime story if they are young.

6. The sixth gift idea I have is playing with them with their favorite toys and showing genuine interest in the creative games they come up with. This might be given as a special time to play with them, perhaps weekly like a weekday afternoon to play with Legos. You could even give this play date a fun nickname or it could be an ongoing storyline that is added to each time you play like episodes of a show or chapters of a book. This will be so looked forward to by the both of you and it will be a way for you to get to know each other in a different way so it will further build your relationship.

7. The seventh gift idea I have is to build a fort together and do a special activity inside of it like playing pretend or reading. You could make car ramps inside and pretend it is the inside of a mountain or cave. This could be something left up permanently or it could be a new tradition for the holidays that is left up but only for the season, or it could be a repeating playtime activity like the playtime I mentioned in the last gift idea. The materials needed to make a great fort could be new store-bought materials or things you already have around the house.

8. The eighth gift idea I have is writing their story. Perhaps they have a recurring game they like to play with characters they’ve made up with a storyline that gets longer and more detailed each time they play. You could offer to type up the story they have made so far so they can look back on it and read their adventures when they’re older, or they can enjoy it now. You can continue adding to it as well for as long as they continue the game.

9. The ninth gift idea I have is a special time to spend with them that is a regular repeating occurrence. This idea differs from my sixth gift idea of a recurring playtime because in this case the child will be in control of what activity you do together and if they are young it might be play but if they are older it may be a walk or hike or a bike ride or even time teaching them to cook. The idea here is that they get to plan for it and decide what you will do with your special time.

10. The tenth and final gift idea I have is to set aside time to read to them daily. Reading to your children is so important and it is such a wonderful way to connect and make memories with them. You can instill a love of reading in your children by reading to them and you also have the ability to influence the types of books they read, guiding them toward literature that is good and beautiful that has themes such as embracing family and a love of nature and art and so much more. You could gift this by gifting your child a chapter book or a book set and a time you’ll read to them.

Those are all the gift ideas I have to share for children this Christmas season. I hope you enjoy them and they bring you and your children as much joy as they have brought me and my children. I have one more post that will be ideas for meaningful gifts for spouses this series. Until then I hope you are soaking up every moment with your family and friends.

Your Friend,

Amanda