10 Original & Inexpensive Children’s Gift Ideas

November 11, 2007 | Filed under Family & Friends, Money

“Consumerism encourages us to know the price of everything and the value of nothing.” So states Emma Rush, in an article in this month’s Melbourne’s Child parenting magazine. Truer words have never been spoken, which is why it’s ironic to see that this month’s issue is entirely dedicated to reviews of children’s toys that parents can buy as Christmas presents.

A $200 rocking horse. A $100 wagon. A $65 rag doll. A $100 toy railway set. A $80 board game. A $200 dollhouse. A $155 digital camera. A $200 billy cart.

Because you know, kids never get tired of toys and they’re going to use the toys listed above beyond the initial two month honeymoon period.

Let’s face facts, simple inexpensive things aren’t worse than complicated expensive presents. The important thing is how it benefits your child and family – buying a cheap deck of novelty playing cards (what, $2?) might be more beneficial to the family’s sense of unity as parents can spend one night each week teaching children how to play, spending time together rather than apart.

There are options open to parents who don’t have the funds to spend on expensive presents that will be thrown aside after a couple of months. The appropriateness of the possible presents listed below obviously depends on the age and interests of the child, but really, the following is just the tip of the iceberg. Think creatively, and you could make truly individual and special presents for your child.

  1. Craft supplies. Someone like Belinda who crochets could make up a little basket for a potential child with crochet needles, a supply of yarn, and a small pattern book. Spend an afternoon teaching the child the basic stitches, and how to read patterns, and they’ve got a great new hobby.
  2. An index file of recipe cards (decorated of course, and can be downloaded off the Internet). Each week of the next year, the parent and child could spend an hour or two together creating the dish.
  3. A small basket of child-sized cooking utensils. These could be paired with the recipe cards as a combined present.
  4. A plain canvas tote bag, a paintbrush, and fabric paints. Let the child spend a weekend creating their own specialised tote bag, and ta dah! They’ve got a new bag to use (I use my own as a library bag…)
  5. A book of vouchers for special treats (e.g. five trips to the movies, a trip to the zoo, two trips to the bowling alley, etc.) that the child then has to use every time they want a treat. It teached them good management skills (e.g. they learn to not use up all movie vouchers in the first two months as they would have none left for the rest of the year).
  6. A scrapbooking kit. Actual scrapbooking kits are quite pricey, but you can easily assemble your own. A plain scrapbook, coloured paper, stickers, scissors, glitter and glue would only set you back about $15, and is bound to give the child hours of creative play.
  7. A domain and blog, for those of a technological bent and imaginative children. Let them loose to express their thoughts, to type up little stories they make up, to basically write whatever they wish. (NOTE: For security reasons, I only recommend this for ages ten and above, with proper parental supervision!)
  8. A basket of gardening supplies. A small bag of fertiliser pellets, a hand-held spade, a watering-can and a few packets of seeds. Set aside a small patch of garden for your child, and wait for the flowers/vegetables/fruits to grow!
  9. A chest of old discarded clothes and accessories. That’s afternoons of fun in itself, as the children play dress-ups. Though the chest itself is quite pricey (scope out garage/yard sales and eBay throughout the year, rather than just before Christmas!), it has years of use in it so is well worth the price. After the children have grown out of playing dress ups, why not use the chest as storage for manchester and the like?
  10. Or really, just something they can use regularly and often, not a toy which will be abandoned. It could be a set of bedsheets with their favourite cartoon character, a new school bag, some coloured pencils. All the above have practical uses, so although they might be pricier than is preferrable, at least you’ll know they’ll be used consistently throughout the coming year.

I understand that the above present options would take more time to assemble and create whem compared to the usual course of walking into a store and buying something directly off the shelf. However when you make the decision to become a parent, you also make the decision to sacrifice your own time to raise a child to become the best person they can be. (And by best, I mean non-consumerist, because I’m fanatic about proper money management.)

Do you have any other ideas for a reasonably-priced, useful present for children? This can become a repository of present options for parents who are a bit short of funds!

10 Responses to 10 Original & Inexpensive Children’s Gift Ideas

  1. I laughed at the “domain and blog” idea, but only because throughout reading, I was imagining these gifts presented towards a five year old child. :P

    For children, though, I usually make a little hamper basket full of small toys and sweets. :3

    Quantity over quality.

    Jenny on November 11, 2007 #

  2. I totally agree with you when it comes to buying expensive children’s toys… they grow up so quickly and it’s bound to go to waste! The options you’ve listed are not only cheap but they’re constructive too and gets the child to think and be creative (as opposed to, say, a rocking horse).

    If the child is small, you can even set up completely free “contractual” arrangements for them, for example a set of IOUS. You can make your child a set of IOU coupons for going to the library for example, and they could “turn in” a coupon every time they want to go to the library (if they’re too small to go alone) and you’d take them there. Not only would it be educational but it might encourage them to see going to the library as a valuable resource and a way to spend time with the family. I don’t know how well that works, but its worth a try!

    Oh and it helps to not let the child sit in front of the TV all day, there’s so many ads on TV about crappy children’s toys that are expensive and stupid (like cooking and cleaning plastic toys) but they are really convincing to small children that it is something they should have and that it’s normal to have them.

    Belinda on November 11, 2007 #

  3. OMG! But we are *parents*, we don’t have time to COOK with out kids!

    Good list. Well, I don’t have children, but there are some pretty interesting things on there.

    Julie on November 11, 2007 #

  4. Legos. Yes, I know, you’re probably thinking they are just like the other pricey gift options and useless, but I have to disagree. You can buy tons of the small, cheap packs over the years and build a huge collection of legos. What are they good for? Legos were my brother’s favorite toy, and Legos taught my brother all of the fundamentals of architecture and engineering. Now, he’s a civil engineer.

    Kimmie on November 12, 2007 #

  5. I love all of the presents, they’re great ideas! In fact, I’d be more than happy to get most of the presents even now, even tho I’m not that little anymore! :)

    Anna-Erica on November 12, 2007 #

  6. Alright then genius, what do I get my 19 year old brother? ;)

    Reply: If he’s 19, he can earn the money for his own present. ;) Buy him a briefcase and hint about jobs. :D

    Jem on November 12, 2007 #

  7. My niece would totally go for the recipe cards.

    Jenny on November 12, 2007 #

  8. For younger kids, recycle single socks to make sock puppets. My eleven month old daughter loves watching us talk to her with her puppets. They aren’t terribly crafty either, but she loves the funny voices we use.

    Erin on November 13, 2007 #

  9. My mom would take us to the thrift store and buy us old prom and wedding dresses to play dress up with. Nice and cheap and if they get ruined, it’s not a big loss.

    I had a garden plot when I was younger. It was really nice. =D

    Mallory on November 14, 2007 #

  10. Great ideas! My son could benefit from alot of these. Thank you. :)

    Angela on April 12, 2008 #

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