🛍️ Soul Snacks

5 min read

Dear Snackers,

Figuring out what to give my kids for Christmas each year is fun, but stressful. I don’t want to spoil them, and I don’t want to add to the endless shit around the house, but I also want them to have that incredibly special feeling when they wake up on Christmas that I remember from my childhood…which leads me to my next point. I had amazing Christmases as a child, but I remember very little about the gifts I received. One year I got this giant Teddy Bear, and as a teen, I loved getting clothes or gift certificates, but what was special about Christmas was that it was different from other mornings. It was different because my father would wear a Santa hat, and my mother would have a small plate of candies and pastries for us to munch on while we opened our presents to the sound of Christmas music, with the tree lit, and new slippers on our feet. It smelled different and it felt different. Yes, gifts were a big part of the excitement, but they had almost nothing to do with the magic of my memories, and I think that is the number one thing to remember this holiday season. That said, last week I polled the audience for suggestions on the best gifts for kids. After all, kids have the easiest, best lives ever, so it is sometimes hard to think of what to get them…without further ado, here are your top items for kids, by age:

1. The (BY FAR) number one most suggested gift was MAGNA-TILES. I’m including this because, yes, Magna-Tiles are great and adding to your collection can often reinvigorate interest, but it is something that you may already own and might not be as exciting of a suggestion. The website suggests they are for children ages 3+ but I have had a lot of success throwing a few Magna-Tiles at a one year old and keeping them entertained for several minutes – anyone who’s had a one year old knows that five minutes of distraction is a big deal. All of my kids, including my oldest every now and again, will still use Magna-Tiles, so they definitely stand the test of time. 

2. The next most suggested gift was LEGO’s. Of my three kids, only the little one has ever taken any major interest in LEGO’s, but when kids are into them, they are pretty psycho over it, which is a huge win, and dare I say worth the absolute fucking nightmare they are to clean up and/or step on. If you have a LEGO’s kid, I wish I’d bought a LEGO table for mine sooner. Here is a good one on Amazon that has storage, plus space for them to sit at a little chair to keep them tinkering longer than if they were standing.

3. Arts and Crafts! I found a reel that hilariously details some amazing, inexpensive gifts for your kids, which essentially is a shit ton of office supplies and crafts, and I thought she totally nailed it. This woman happens to also be a former teacher, mother, and survivor of a super aggressive form of breast cancer. Since she has already created an Amazon store front with all the ideas you guys had for this category, and because she fucking deserves it, let’s shop her links!

4. Tonies and Yoto boxes – these two sort of tied for third place, and since I actually had no idea what the fuck these things were, I did some homework for you (I stopped paying attention to new toys for toddlers when my oldest was probably six). Both of these boxes are primarily for playing songs or stories for kids. With the Yoto, you have different cards that contain content that you stick into the box. With the Tonie, you put this little figurine on top of the box and it plays the content – please do not ask me how this shit works from a technological standpoint, I have no fucking idea, what matters is that kids are bananas for them. Here’s the long and short of it – Tonies are better for toddlers and Yoto’s seem like the better gift up until about age 7 or 8. I might get the Yoto for Lukey. 

5. Books. I could leave it at that, but I won’t, ugh. Many of you mentioned the Literati Book Club, which is also new to me. It is for all ages, and you can take a little quiz to tell them stuff about your kid and choose from how many books you want monthly starting as low as $10 a month. You have to like subscriptions for this, which I sometimes find annoying because, again, I don’t like things piling up around the house, but if your kids are big readers, it seems worth it. Also highly recommended was the Questioneers book series for ages 6-9. My oldest loves a good nonfiction book – National Geographic type stuff or Sports Illustrated so I will probably pick up a few books for Christmas gifts this year, too. 

6. This next toy was insanely highly recommended. The name of it sounds like something you’d want nowhere near your house or your kids or your ears, but it’s actually awesome. Stomp Rockets are great starting at a super young age, too, and can be played inside or outside, which is pretty awesome.

7. Next on your list of suggestions…a new bike! Doesn’t this one just hit you with all the wholesome, old-school feels? What’s better than a new bike? Whenever I think of kids on bikes I think of the Goonies. Any who, the Woom bike, which also offers a strider version of a bike for first time riders, is a great company. I personally cannot recommend more highly the strider bikes over training wheels. Also a big hit on the list were Scooters by Micro. 

8. Vtech Kids Digital Camera. This baby can take selfies and videos and even has a few games – love this for the 8/9 year old’s who think they should get a phone….heads up, it’s not rechargeable, it needs 4AA batteries, and please let this serve as your reminder to stock up on friggin batteries. Not being able to use a toy you just got because you don’t have the right batteries is like your parents coming home early when you’re throwing a party, major buzzkill.

9. Amazon Kindle, ipad or, for older kids who need note taking capabilities the Kobo Color Libra came highly recommended. I don’t have anything funny to say about this, it’s boring, but a good gift. 

10. For this next reco, I combined a few different suggestions to make a movement/lounge/play category of things that many of you loved including a sensory swing, the ”nugget” play couch or this Costco knock off, an indoor trampoline or these bounce houses, which I can personally attest were a lifesaver for fun and movement when my son was sick and we couldn’t even go to a playground due to germ risk. Anything that keeps kids entertained and moving feels like winning the lottery. Wear ‘em down and keep ‘em outta your hair, IYKYK. 

11. OK, here’s where I am just going to rattle off some other random, but awesome, shit people mentioned because I can’t deal with creating a number for each of these items…DRUMROLL PLEASE: 

• Silent basketball 

• Uno 

• Animal slippers 

• Binoculars 

• Toy Box 3D Printer 

• Air Toobz 

• A glowing football

• Wearable blankets 

• This awesome remote control car which goes on its side and back and flips and all the things 

Well, folks, that does it for the 2024 gift idea list suggested by this wonderful audience. Oh! Don’t forget the “experience” gift like a trip to the zoo accompanied by a stuffed animal giraffe or some shit like that, you get it, use your brains and, as always, you know your kid better than anyone else, so do what’s right for you and your family! Also, in closing, I’d like to remind everyone where I stand on Elf on the Shelf which is that he can go fuck himself.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. 

Caitlin