I know you’ve seen the crazy woman. You know, the one with the big black trash bag on her hip and a look on her face that says, “Every toy in this room will be out of the house in the next 5 minutes.”
Maybe you’ve been her. Or maybe you’ve just been trying to figure out how not to be her.
Trust me when I say that I can relate. My kids share a pretty small bedroom. Not that long ago, 3 of my kids were sharing that pretty small bedroom. Most days I couldn’t even do something simple like walk in their room, much less find something we needed. I promise it is not an exaggeration to say there were days I found it hard to control my desire to grab that big black trash bag and make it all disappear.
The funny thing is, most of what we have we don’t even want. You know it’s true. They spend weeks and months wanting the latest toy and we find it crushed under the bed by Valentine’s Day. It’s possibly one of the most frustrating parts of parenting. Well, it was… until one day I started giving the grandparents clutter-free Christmas gift ideas for kids.
My thought was this: If I could just keep another toy from coming into our house, perhaps we might survive. Haha. I kid, but you know it’s true.
Of course, the grandparents weren’t too excited about not buying toys, so I had to get creative with my list. Savings bonds are great, but the kids can’t enjoy them now. I looked beyond the traditional ideas and started thinking big. What if we asked for experiences, lessons, subscriptions, or digital products? The list grew, and as it did, the grandparents finally came around to the idea. I think yours will too.
60+ Clutter-Free Christmas Gift Ideas for Kids
Gift Cards
We all know everyone loves gift cards! Of course, be careful with this one as the very thing you hoped would help with the clutter may end up causing MORE clutter. I love to encourage family toward consumable options like food and fun places to go for this very reason.
Amazon (they also sell other gift cards!)
iTunes
Kindle
Google Play voucher
Favorite fast food restaurants
One Time Tickets/Passes
This is an awesome gift because when your kids get passes or tickets for experiences, you have the added bonus of sweet family time together. (Picture the Mastercard commercial… this time together is PRICELESS!) I love to think of once-in-a-blue-moon type opportunities, but everyday activities like bowling and roller skating can be just as fun!
Movies (Regal Cinema or Fandango)
Bowling
Roller skating
Ice skating
Paintball
Skiing
Tubing
Mini golf
Sports event
Zip lining
Go see a play
Concert
Spa day
Carriage ride
Hot air balloon ride
Train ride
Season Passes/Membership
I love all of the ideas on this list, but the season pass or membership idea has a special place in my heart. Like the experiences listed above, getting a season pass equals family time and that’s a super awesome bonus. In this case, it’s a reoccurring one! When my kids were little, we were always looking for fun things to do during the week. I absolutely loved our children’s museum and aquarium passes. (Ok, who am I kidding, we still love going to these places even though my youngest is nearly in middle school!)
Zoo
Museum
YMCA
Aquarium
Children’s museum
Waterpark
Science center
Shooting range
Pool
Lessons
One of the best gifts my kids have ever been given was music lessons. What a blessing that was for us! So often our kids want to be involved in activities, but we can’t afford to do them all. Asking for lessons as a Christmas gift is the perfect solution. We’ve also asked for summer camps this way, too!
Another favorite was art lessons. This was something I just couldn’t fit in our budget because the cost was so high, but it was a perfect fit for Grandma and Grandpa. As an added bonus, my daughter made them a beautiful wall print to thank them!
Musical instrument
Gymnastics
Karate
Swimming
Horseback riding
Voice
Dance
Skiing
Ice skating
Subscriptions
Subscriptions are another family favorite. We love having the opportunity to watch or play something we wouldn’t ordinarily have the chance to do. One year we got a whole year’s worth of Pureflix (which is our only TV source). It was such a blessing to have!
Minecraft
Online games
More
I would encourage you to really think outside of the box for gifts. Perhaps make a donation to Samaritan’s Purse in honor of a child. We love looking through their gift catalog for needs of other children/families. There are lots of other things you could donate in their honor as well, such an adopting an animal or buying a brick in an organization looking to expand.
Savings account or stocks
Start a college fund
Trip to see a family member or friend
Vacation
Adopt an animal at the zoo
Sponsor a child
At-home movie night
Restaurant voucher to a family favorite
Homemade vouchers for your time
Plants
Share your Clutter-free Christmas Gift Ideas for kids
Phew! That was a really long list, but I pray you found something new you’d like to try this year. Leave a comment below and tell us your ideas or your favorites from our list. I can’t wait to hear them!
The sky is the limit when it comes to gifts. We can have meaningful and wonderful gifts that don’t create clutter in our lives, but instead create a lifetime of memories!
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Tracy says
Thank you for this wonderful list! My 3 yr old is an only child but I feel like we live in a toy store. I will definitely use several ideas from here this Christmas.
Kim Sorgius says
So glad you found it helpful! I know your Christmas will be blessed!
Laura says
Oh thank you for this great idea!! I AM the big black bag lady and my in laws are WAY OVER THE TOP with Christmas gifts galore, all to be forgotten or trashed before the new year has time to ring in!
Connie C. says
All great ideas! We have 10 children, and the tidal wave of toys became unsustainable several years ago. My kids love getting gift cards (it usually means a special shopping trip with Dad or me,) and magazines are always a hit. My personal fave is an annual state park pass! We love hiking, and the pass blesses us with the outdoors and family time all year long!
Mandy says
Thank you for this wonderful list. I struggle each birthday and Christmas when family and friends ask “what do your boys want?” and I can’t think of anything besides “clothes.” My boys actually don’t play with “toys” and it seems like a lot of people don’t want to give gift cards or cash. They want the gift recipient to open a toy. I love this list and I think that the gift givers will be very happy with many of these and our boys will be super happy receiving them!
vex 3 says
great, thanks for sharing information