Mel’s Holiday Gift Guide: Kids/Teens
Today I’m sharing some of my current favorite gift ideas for kids and teens!
The ages and interests of my kids are not representative of every kid around, so this list isn’t meant to be comprehensive, but there are some great gems on here that have been hits with my kids. (Feel free to share any ideas you have for your kids in the comments!)
If you’re new to the gift guide, here are a few notes:
- my kids’ ages are 16, 15, 13, 11, and 8 (first four are boys, the youngest is a girl)
- nothing on this (or any other) gift guide I publish is sponsored; these are all things we’ve bought or been gifted by friends/family and ones we genuinely love (there are Amazon affiliate links below for the games I’ve bought from there)
Here’s a quick link to all the gift guides I’ve posted over the years.
And here are past KID gift guides:
Kids Gift Guide 2014
Kids Gift Guide 2015
Kids Gift Guide 2016
Kids Gift Guide 2017
Kids Gift Guide 2018
Kids Gift Guide 2019
*my kids are no longer toddlers, but the gift guides from a few years ago (2014-2018) include a lot of great recommendations for younger kids
FYI: the comment threads of all of these gift guides are amazing and filled with so many other game recommendations!
3. Burrito Blanket: {aff. link} yes, this blanket looks more like a tortilla than the ones in my fridge, and yes, when your 16-year old wraps himself up in it, he looks like a human burrito. My brother sent this to Jackson for his birthday this year, and it immediately became the most coveted blanket we own.
4. Personalized Puzzles: we are a puzzle loving family, no doubt, and when one of you awesome readers told me about these personalized puzzles, I was so excited! They make such a fun, unique gift, and the quality of the puzzle pieces is way better than I expected. You can make a puzzle out of any personal photo!
5. Small Kid Table:{aff. link} Cam got this table for her birthday (a “table for my room” was top of her list), it is the perfect size. For crafting, for home learning school days, for reading, for make-believe fun. It’s also extremely sturdy (as in, I’ve used the chairs as step stools; don’t tell), simple and cute.
6. Killer Card Tricks:{aff. link} a couple of my boys live and die by card tricks and cardistry right now. This simple kit of killer card tricks (complete with a special trick deck) has been super fun for them, and I’m continually impressed with how good they are at these tricks! It’s great for beginners and amateurs.
7. Melissa + Doug Magic Set:{aff. link} these Melissa + Doug magic sets have been a huge hit around here for my youngest (age 8). So much so, that we’ve gifted them several times to cousins and friends for birthdays. We have the Abracadabra collection and the Hocus Pocus collection {aff. links} – both are fantastic!
8. Magnetic Mini Tile Art Kit:{aff. link} these cute, clever magnetic tiles are easy to make, and this is a perfect set for the kid who loves crafting. It’s also kind of the gift that keeps on giving. 🙂 As in, Cam whipped up all these magnets and then promptly wanted to wrap them up individually and give them out to grandparents, friends, teachers, etc. Super cute.
9. Share Some Kindness Book:{aff. link} I could do a whole separate post just on books – we love, love, love books, especially cute, creative, thoughtful picture books. We still buy and collect great picture books even though my kids are getting older. This beautiful book about sharing kindness is a new favorite! My younger kids love the pictures and cute story; I love the message.
10. 5000 Awesome Facts About Everything: {aff. link} such a fun, educational-but-entertaining book for kids of all ages! My kids pore over trivia and fact books, and this is one of their favorites. It is perfect for road trips or lazy Sunday afternoons. I am seriously constantly amazed at the facts they randomly spout out at the dinner table.
11. Moosh Moosh Animal Pillows: {aff. link} Does the world (ahem, my house) really need more stuffed animals? Why yes, it does. Especially when they’re this cute and can double as a pillow. Don’t worry, I’m giving you a stuffed animal solution next.
12. Stuffed Animal Bean Bag Chair:{aff. link} this stuffed animal bean bag chair has been a miraculous blessing for my son who has a mighty, somewhat ragged collection of stuffed animals (and it is saving my sanity, too). So far, no stuffies have been damaged or squished beyond recognition; he schleps this bag everywhere and is now conveniently able to use his stuffed animal collection as a bum-resting spot.
13. Albatross Knife:{aff. link} my dad gifted my two oldest boys these unique knives when they earned their Eagle Scout awards earlier this year. To say my boys were thrilled would be an understatement. They take them fishing and camping and use them outdoors on our property.
14. Pranklopedia: {aff. link} is this the dream book of every 11-year old boy or what? Ha. My boys love this book and have successfully executed many of the pranks (pray for me). The best part of this book is that the pranks aren’t mean-spirited or bullying. They are very much in good fun, and they make all of us giggle.
15. Colorful Socks: {aff. link} my kids are into crazy, colorful socks, and these inexpensive socks have been going strong since last Christmas. We have these boys’ socks {aff. link} and my older boys have these men’s socks {aff. link}. Cam is on her own with these adorable animal face socks {aff. link}.
16. Doll Suitcase Set:{aff. link} this travel/suitcase set for American Girl-sized dolls is adorable. Cam couldn’t get over the miniature neck pillow and sunglasses; I’ve never seen her so excited.
17. Friend Necklace:{aff. link} I love this beautiful, understated set of “friend” necklaces. Cam gave one as a birthday gift to her good friend this year (who is more like a sister to her) – the necklaces are a sweet representation of their friendship without screaming “We’re leaving you out!” to their other friends.
18. Young Chef’s Cookbook:{aff. link} my 13-year old budding chef, Cade, got this cookbook for his birthday this year, and it’s one of the best kid cookbooks we have! The recipes are focused solely on baking, and they are solidly good without being overly fussy OR overly simplistic.
19. The Daily Ukulele Play Book: {aff. link} any ukulele players in your family? This daily ukulele book is a great play along book with simple songs for beginner and amateur ukulele players. I’m pretty terrible at the ukulele, but even I will sometimes pick up one of my kids’ instruments and strum along to a few of these songs. It’s been a wonderful book for the kids!
20: Crazy Crocs: my boys are obsessed with bold, crazy crocs right now. Is that a thing where you live with teenagers…or just where we’re at? A couple of them have saved up their money to get a pair, and the other child has a tie-dye pair at the tippity top of his Christmas list this year. They’re pretty fun, and it makes me smile when I see my kids walking to the car with their bold, bright, plastic shoes.
21: Magnetic Beads:{aff. link} my kids fiddle with these magnetic beads constantly, whipping them into little shapes and pyramids, and I have to admit, they’re kind of addicting for adults, too. They’d make a great stocking stuffer!
Disclaimer: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Funny story about the magnetic beads… my 9-year old daughter got a few of the magnets from a friend at school. She was pretending to have a pierced lip by placing one inside her lower lip and one outside. The magnetization would keep them in place…until it didn’t. They came loose and she swallowed one. Not one to give up easily, she tried again, with the same result. In frustration, she told my husband what had happened. I was out of town, but I told my husband to call the doctor. The pediatrician told my husband to take our 9-year old to the hospital immediately. After surgery and five days in the hospital, my daughter was magnet free and life resumed as normal. It’s a story that we will laugh about for many, many years!
You won’t believe this Mel – I sent the marble run to my grandson in Canada – it turns out someone else up there gave him the exact something thing! What are the odds?
Oh my goodness, no way!!
Looking at the whittling book from 2019 with the glove and the beginning whittle set you suggested. Looking at reviews, it says it’s assumed you have some sort of power saw or whatever – is that your experience?
My kids have used the book a lot to carve basic shapes from bass wood but yes, a band saw definitely helps with some of the projects. This is another great beginner whittling book that doesn’t require power tools
Thanks Mel! BTW just made the smokey honey cilantro chicken in the crockpot – one of our favorites (and your chicken tortilla soup is amazing as well).
Thank you for this guide Mel! I have 3 boys and then a girl 15, 13, 8 (who thinks he’s a teen) and a 7 yo girl. Your guides are especially helpful for my not into toys teen. I always come scroll your lists! Lifesaver this year with the 15 yo because we also avoid tech stuff and that is mostly all people recommend. Thanks!
Foldology is really great, my kids loved it. I got pretty into it too. I’ll be choosing something else from this list to get them for Christmas since they’ve already played it. This is a really good list Mel, as always 🙂
Thanks so much for taking the time to do these. We always enjoy them and get stellar ideas
Mel the marble run is on sale on amazon today !! 32% off
Thanks for the great ideas!
The marble run is on a huge sale right now! There’s a 20% off coupon AND a coupon code to save $12. It’s listed at $42.99 and I got it for $23.76 after tax. Thanks for the idea!
That’s amazing! Thanks for sharing!
I’m literally doing all of my Christmas shopping right now from your lists! I love these every year especially the game list. I would LOVE a book list from you too, you know, in your spare time.
We have a couple of the stuffed animal beanbags, and they are great when I can get my kids to them in there. They really cut down on the clutter.
Once again you totally kill it with the gift giving recommendations! All our family members and friends will suffer if you ever stop doing these. And Yes, I’ve noticed the crazy croc trend where I live too.
We have felt so out of the loop this year due to COVID isolation, so I love hearing gift ideas from other families. Thank you for sharing Mel! Lots of possible ideas added to our Amazon lists.
I always love your lists! I would love a book gift guide should you want to add one to your gift guide line up. Thanks for putting this out early this year!
Just ordered the marble run for our youngest son, who is obsessed with building anything, I know he will love it! PS I just wanted to tell you thank you for doing these gift guides every year, you have given our family many wonderful suggestions over the years (the Richard scary I found it board game was played nightly until the board fell apart when my children were small). And I love how everything you add to your gift guides is reasonably priced and doable for a modest budget, I read them feeing excited for Christmas morning (and to build a marble maze!) instead of having a feeling of shame that comes with reading some other gift idea articles full of items only some could afford.
So thank you again! I wait every year now on our Christmas shopping to see your gift ideas because there are always a couple things I get that I never would of thought of before.
Thank you so much for the comment, Caitlin! That’s exactly why I love putting these gift guides together (and why I’m so grateful when others share their ideas with me!). I can’t wait for your son to build that marble run. It has been such a hit with my 13-year old.
I give books to my god children every year for Christmas and I would love to see a book list from you!
Thank you so much for the gift ideas,I am a grandmother of teens and was really struggling for ideas this year, your ideas were spot on for all of them.Thank you.
I just got 4 solid gift ideas, plus a couple maybes. Thank you so much!!
The magnetic beads look different Mel – I just took and it says ages 14 and up. I was hoping to gift to younger kids – 9 or so. Do you recommend for the young clever ones?
I meant took a look – oops
Julie, it’s marked 14+ years because of liability. A few years ago there was a widespread magnetized toy recall. Apparently enough kids swallowed the magnets and they attached to each other inside various points of the intestines requiring surgery. (Doesn’t speak well for kid’s intelligence or parental guidance and supervision, but there you are) Now magnetized puzzles are age targeted to older age groups. If your 9 year old is mature enough and has no young siblings who would ingest found pieces, you have a winning gift!
Oh thank you for the information! Makes perfect sense. I will definitely order this – will be perfect the kid who has built it all lol.
Hey Julie – that’s a good question. I think Daniela is right – it’s most likely a liability thing. All of my kids play with these (ages 8 and up) but I don’t want to recommend that if there could be an issue with younger kids.
If you want bigger magnetic fun toys, look at the other types of SPEKS. You can look at their website or amazon. There are blocks and unblocks and brackets and large magnetic balls and a new one called geode. There may be less of a choking hazard with some of them. But I must say Speks are a huge hit at my house for people aged 10-40. 🙂
Thanks, Tanya!
My kids love Magformers also and they are large enough not to be a choking hazard for younger kids.
My kids play with these at church they love them, but mostly my 14 year old boy
Love, love your ideas! Thanks for sharing.
I would love a book guide!
This website is my favorite for book recommendations! https://everyday-reading.com/ Janssen is fabulous! She has recommendations for kids and adults and all in between
I love these – I get ideas every year! Your book recommendation made me think of one of my kids’ favorites. “What If” by Randall Munroe. It’s one of the most quoted books in our house. I think your boys would love it!
Thanks, Laura!
Thank you for the great games/gift lists!! Always so helpful and the kids love your suggestions!!
Thank you so much for sharing your gift ideas! I have children similar ages to yours, and I always have a hard time finding great gifts for them, so your recommendations are lifesavers!
I’m so glad to know someone who’s tried that stuffed animal “bean bag” chair! We have a kid who really needs something to contain his beloved “stuffies” AND he wants a soft seat in his room. I think we’ll move this to the yes column. Thanks for teen ideas – our kids top out at 10 years old right now, but we drew our 16 and 14 year old nephews for cousin gifts!
My 8-year old reads all the time and remembers everything he reads. He’s always sharing random facts, so he might need that fact book. And I was just thinking my girls needed a bean bag chair in the corner of their room. If it holds stuffies? Even better. Also, my 11-year old has been wearing her crocs to school and I always cringe, but maybe she’s just on top of the trend? Who knew?
What great ideas! Please, do a book list guide for us!
Thank you for this gift guide! Not going to lie, your mention of a book gift guide is an awesome idea!! I love buying good books! ❤️
Yay! I love your gift guides! And I’m not going to lie, your mention of a book gift guide is an amazing idea! I love buying good books. ❤️
Thanks for all the time you spend putting into these gift guides! I love seeing what makes the list!
So many great ideas, but you might have saved my sanity with that stuffed animal bean bag chair (my son asked for a bean bag chair and has a huge stuffed animal problem)…I already ordered it (plus a few of the others too!). Thank you!!