When my first child came along, getting gifts gave me huge excitement. There’s nothing like the excitement of the first Christmas, the first birthday, and the first chance to gift toys to your child. As time went on, he got more and more toys and yes, they became just too much. When my second son came along, more toys joined the collection – building, singing, beeping, remote control toys, and lots more. Before I knew it, a sea of toys had taken over our home.

However, apart from that day’s novelty, a lot of the toys end up in a forgotten pile in the toy box or somewhere under their bed. Most children have a few toys they really love and most of these toys either get forgotten, stops working or break after a month. Some end up needing new batteries that cost more than the toy itself while some just go missing, or buried at the bottom of the toy box.

So now, I rarely buy toys for Christmas or birthdays because overtime, I have realised they never really count as much as experience gifts do. If you are like me, this Christmas you would be doing more of non-toy gifts. Here are a few non toy gifts to consider.

Experience gifts

Experience gifts are my favourite non-toy gift idea. Gifts such as a family vacation, visit to Disneyland or a totally awesome theme/water park are just the best never forgotten gifts to give your child. The memory lasts a lifetime. So, for your adrenalin junkies consider – bungee jumping, parachuting etc.

Piggy bank with money

It’s important to teach children the value of money at an early age. A piggy bank with some money is one of the best gifts to teach them about financial literacy. Opening their own saving account and encouraging to grow their money is invaluable.  

Subscriptions

There are subscription for just about everything, from educational app, swimming camp, STEM camp, gymnastic, ROBOTICS and pretty much every kind of interest. So, if your child has a passion or interest, paying for the next couple of lessons or subscriptions is something that won’t end up forgotten too soon.

Stock/ Shares

Buying shares and stocks for your children is another awesome gift. One they might not appreciate immediately. But when they start getting dividend payments – it would become a totally awesome a gift that keeps on giving. With retrospect, this is one gift I wish I got when growing up. It’s also a great way to teach them about investment and growing their income.

Tickets as gift

Taking their friends to the cinema to watch a movie, attend concerts or play is another great non-toy gift. The memories created from these are never forgotten.

Clothes and accessories

My children get lot of outfits, shoes and watches from their Aunties and Uncles. This is one gift I appreciate as a parent especially if it’s something they totally love to buy I cringe at the cost. Lol. If you get the child’s preferred styles – clothes, watches, shoes, pyjamas, in their favourite colour or favourite character, these are awesome gifts.

Books

If your child loves books, then this is just one of the best gifts to give and if you want to encourage the love of reading, knowledge and exploration, the answer is usually in a book. From Diary of the Wimpy Kid to Geronimo Stilton to Roald Dahl you can’t go wrong. And if you are not sure of the child’s preference a bookshop gift card is the perfect solution.