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Looking for non-toy gifts? Check out these AWESOME ideas.
There’s nothing I love more than a good toy. I love filling my home with amazing, open-ended, educational toys to spark my kids’ imaginations… but sometimes, I want to give them other things – non-toy gifts that I know they’ll love just as much.
RELATED: Looking for gift ideas? Check out my full list of favorite toys from Lakeshore Learning.
Why give a non-toy gift?
When I’m looking at gifts for birthdays and holidays, I know it’s not just about giving them more stuff, but rather, gifting things they need as well.
I like to give them items that I know will make an impact in their day-to-day lives.
What will they use often?
What solves a problem or fulfills a need?
What will they keep using for years to come?
3 non-toy gifts you need to see!
Lakeshore Learning released their Gifts for Growing Minds catalogue, and I knew right about what would be perfect for my oldest kids (ages 3.5 and 5):
With three kids, we don’t have space in our house for dedicated desks or kid tables, or special kid-sized chairs for them to use, but these flexible seating items give us so many options that we didn’t have before.
First up: What is flexible seating?
Flexible seating is a buzz word in the school system right now, but we can adapt it into the home setting with the same success.
Flexible seating gives kids the chance to move and change their seating/workspace, to be flexible with it, and to make it work for them. They have the ability to move it around the classroom, or for us – around the home.
These non-toy gifts are anything but ordinary.
These Flex-Space Comfy Floor Seats, Flex-Space Student Lap Desks, and Color Me Creative! Supply Caddy – whoa, what unbelievable non-toy gifts that kids will treasure. This is NOT the same as giving a pair of socks as a non-toy gift.
These gifts are something to be excited about.
These floor seats are everything.
The Flex-Space Comfy Floor Seats have been a game changer. For the first time, my kids have little seats they can move around the house and use in different situations… I even caught my five-year-old napping in his.
When they’re done using them, they can put them away. You can’t do that with those big puffy toddler chairs.
We can fit our seats under the couch, behind the couch, and under beds – depending on which room they want to store their Flex-Space Comfy Floor Seats in.
I love the independence my 3.5-year-old has with her chair and I see her carrying it all over our house. Raising kids to be independent and capable is huge – and this is something she can choose to use, choose how to use it, and do it all without needing help.
The back of the Flex-Space Comfy Floor Seats can be positioned in different angles, and both my big kids can change the angle on their own.
Wait until you see these lap desks!
One of the ways my kids use their Flex-Space Comfy Floor Seats is with their Flex-Space Student Lap Desks.
I don’t have space for a little kid table or traditional desks for each of my kids – but I wish I did! The Flex-Space Student Lap Desks have solved that dilemma.
Just like with the floor seats, the lap desks are light weight and something my kids can carry with them around our house – they can have a desk wherever they need a desk, a table wherever they need a table.
Sometimes my kids use them alone, sometimes side by side, and sometimes they push them together to make a makeshift table. So flexible – just like they were designed to be.
Check out this awesome way to store supplies!
On top of the Flex-Space Student Lap Desks, I put the Color Me Creative! Supply Caddy, another awesome non-toy gift option.
This gives my kids an easy place to store some of their art supplies – a perfect amount to have accessible for them when they decide to do some art.
My kids love having this on their lap desk or sharing it in the middle when they push their desks together.
The design is perfect for storing supplies, it’s adorable, and it’s easy for the kids to keep everything in one spot.
The Color Me Creative! Supply Caddy is such a good non-toy gift. It’s simple, it’s something they’ll use, and it’s something they’ll be excited to receive.
You don’t always have to give toys!
It’s easy to get stuck in the toy rut, trying to buy what you think kids might want, and you can end up just buying extra “stuff”.
Sometimes, the better option is to give them something they can use, that’ll help inspire creativity in their lives, and that they’ll enjoy for years to come.
That’s one of my favorite parts of Lakeshore Learning, and why I get so many of our toys from there. I’m giving gifts that I know my kids will enjoy for years to come.
The Gifts for Growing Minds catalogue is filled with amazing gift ideas for kids – both toy and non-toy ideas.
Looking to grab some gifts for your kids? Use this 25% Off coupon code from Lakeshore Learning! To learn more about Lakeshore, find them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube.
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