Christmas time is just around the corner. Whether it is for your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews or friends, sometimes it can be a challenge finding a gift. Here are some of our favorite gift ideas for this upcoming holiday season.
From puzzles to play food, Melissa & Doug has so many great toys. We love that they are constructed with quality materials, making them able to withstand our tough toddlers and curious babies. Even celebrity mom, Jessica Alba is a fan. One of the kids’ favorite things to do is bake with their grandma, so we knew they would love the Christmas cookie set. They love “baking” the cookies, decorating them and letting mommy pick out a cookie. Helping kids keep the focus on reason for the Christmas season can be a challenge, but we love that Melissa and Doug has a wooden Nativity scene and Advent calendar. The Nativity scene is the type of piece that you could pass on through the generations. We have enjoyed reading through the Christmas story by the fire each night. The kids reenact the story with the Nativity scene and we take an ornament off the advent calendar.
Our boys love building and creating. We love seeing the creations they build. The Magnetivity sets from Melissa & Doug are perfect for those on your list that love to build and create. This could also be a great classroom or teacher gift. The STEM-based sets encourage kids to experiment and explore by inspiring them to design and build their own unique worlds! From castles and underwater adventures to food trucks and fire stations, the kits come with magnetic pieces that the kids can use to construct different creations. The people are also magnetic and have magnetic outfits and accessories. Because it is all magnetic-based, it enables your child to have limitless creations with one set or connect with other set to have even more fun.
The Christmas season brings with it a variety of events. From casual gatherings to photo sessions and Christmas plays. We love dressing in festive apparel as we celebrate. Petit Confection has some adorable and unique dresses and shoes for the holiday season. The corduroy Christmas tree dress is too cute. Even though they aren’t in the Christmas play quite yet, the girls still wanted to dress up and the red velour snowflake dress was perfect. You could add tight and a sweater for colder nights too. The girls love twirling in their dresses. We also can’t get enough of their moccasins. They are perfect for dressing up or playtime with friends.
Growing up we loved playing house. We love watching our kiddos do the same. From playhouses and teepees to play food, Asweets has all of the accessories your kids need to create a magical space. We paired the RV camper with campfire set and play food for a camping adventure. This can also be a great idea to use as a quiet space or reading space. If you are limited to space, the doorway play set is a great solution. It has two sides, each with fun scene. Celeb mom Kourtney Kardashian is a fan of Asweets too!
When it comes to dressing for festive occasions, Feltman Brothers is one of our favorites. We love parties and parades, church services and recitals which is why Feltman Brothers is a staple in our wardrobe. We love smocking and sweaters, Peter Pan collars and pintucks… plus now they just added beautiful lifelike baby dolls to their collection! Now you can dress your little one and their new friend in coordinating outfits. There are four different dolls and plenty of option to fill their wardrobe, complete with a holiday collection too.
If you’ve seen any photos of our girls, you know they are almost always wearing bows and barrettes. So we were thrilled when we found Milledeux, a family owned business based in Denamrk. Named after their daughter Emilie and their two dogs, Milledeux uses nickel free metal, certified OEKO-TEX® ribbon and only hairstylist-grade alligator clips with no teeth, but strong enough to stay put in the thinnest of hair and even very short hair. Plus can we talk about the styles from ballerinas and nutcrackers, to glitter presents and bows, even pencils and lollipops!
When it comes to gifts, we can never get enough books. We not only read books before bed, but we keep them in all areas of our house from the reading racks to toy bin, and of course the car! Zonderkidz has a fantastic collection of Christmas titles and they keep kids focused on what matters most during the holiday season. We go on adventures with The Berenstain Bears while learning core values, we learn about the birth of a savior, the nativity and best of all, we are reading together as a family. We can’t go into a bookstore without leaving with a new story to take home.
And a few of Zonderkidz key celebrity authors would make for great gifts too. Singer Michael W. Smith has a board book, Merry Christmas, Nighty Night, a special Christmas song to get siblings sleeping and dreaming at night. Surfer Bethany Hamilton has Unstoppable Me. A story about a surfing lion with the courage to get out in the waves and never stop believing. And actress/talk show host Candace Cameron Bure has a picture book about a ballet dancer who doesn’t quite fit in. Plus you can pre-order Candace’s new book Grow, Candace Grow which will be available January 2020.
We received items from Asweets, Feltman Brothers, Melissa & Doug, Milledeux, Petit Confection and Zonderkidz for review. All of our thoughts and opinions are our own.
