30 Creative, Cool Gifts for Kids They’re Sure to Love
Most kids will probably have a wish list put together before any major gifting occasion, but sometimes you want to shop off-list. Sometimes, you want to give the little one in your life—your child, a niece or nephew, a friend’s child, whoever—a cool, creative, unique gift. Like gifts for teens or tweens, finding distinctive, good presents for kids for birthdays, Christmas, or another occasion can be tricky, but there’s a lot out there, and you can rest assured that your stand-out present will have a special place in the recipient’s memory for years to come.
Gift card ideas rarely fail, especially if the parents have big plans that those gift cards could contribute to. But if you take pride in your connection with your kid, you’ll want to give at least one cool Christmas gift or standout birthday present, something unique that they’ll truly treasure. These great gifts for kids might not even end up on their wish lists. They might be toys, clothes, accessories, and more that kids don’t even think to ask for, but once they unwrap them, they realize these gifts are items they’ve always wanted. (Aren’t those the best type of gift, anyway?)
These cool Christmas, birthday, and holiday gifts for kids (even if cool isn’t the coolest descriptor anymore) include challenging mind-benders, creative crafting supplies, engaging books, and more. If the kid is too young to truly appreciate them, the parents will love it—and some of these gifts have serious staying power, so the child can grow to appreciate them someday.
These gifts cover ages across the board, from infants to toddlers to school-aged children. They’re also great for boys and girls alike, so children of any gender can enjoy whatever type of toy they like. Whatever the kid’s interests, there’s something here to appeal to them, and prices include under $20 gifts and $100-plus gifts alike, so you can be sure to find something in your price range. Once your shopping and wrapping is finished, you’ll know that you’ve given something memorable. (Save those broad white elephant gift ideas for other occasions.)
Take a look at this list of great, cool gifts for kids and save yourself a trip to the toy store—you’ll thank yourself (and us) later.
Learn-to-Play Electric Guitar
Your future rock god or goddess will be riffing in no time with this scaled-down take on the classic electric guitar, with the amp built right in. Flashcards and a fun augmented-reality game will help them learn songs in no time flat, and it comes in three different sizes, depending on your rock star's age and size.
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Guggenheim Art Kits
Give a gift and an activity at the same time with this complete art experience. These kits come with specially curated sets of art materials, plus access to live online creating sessions with educators from the world-famous Guggenheim. Each order includes all the required materials and registration to six live classes.
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Super Smalls Black Tie Mega Jewelry Set
For little ones with a passion for jewelry and shiny accessories (their parents’, usually) give this flashy set, which will give them the glamour they crave without risking valuables. For ages three and up.
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Kind Culture Co. Shine Doll
This soft, 18-inch doll has a good message for kids: Be kind. Each Kind Culture Co. doll comes with a kindness kit, packed with tokens for kids to pass around reminding themselves and others to be kind, show gratitude, share love, and more. The doll itself is cute and cuddly, sure, but it’s also a sweet reminder to be fair to others.
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A Kids Book About Empathy by Daron K. Roberts
Written for adults and kids to read together and published by a Black-owned company, this book is designed to teach kids how to understand and react with empathy to others’ feelings. It’s a meaningful book that can help them develop compassion and respect—and its bright cover means it’ll look great on a bookshelf or nightstand when it’s not being read.
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Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit
Bring their favorite on-screen game to life with this new, real-world course building kit from Nintendo. They can arrange a real course in the living room or play room and guide Mario’s cart through it on their Nintendo Switch. They’ll love the classic Mario Kart gameplay combined with the real-world activity of setting up their course, and the whole family will love watching the course come to life on the big screen when it’s racing time.
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Keep Calm and Live Slow Kids T-Shirt by AndyWestface
Refresh their threads with these artist-designed t-shirts. You have thousands of trendy, clever, and cute options to pick from (though we’re partial to this adorable sloth) and can pick the just-right color to give them a shirt they’ll love. Sizes from toddler to child’s large are available.
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Britannica All New Kids’ Encyclopedia by Britannica Group
This 424-page tome is the perfect gift for any curious kids. New this year and teeming with specially commissioned illustrations and gorgeous photography, the encyclopedia will allow them to explore science, history, and more all from the comfort of home.
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Bearaby Nappling Weighted Blanket
Maybe they have a hard time falling asleep at night; maybe they experience anxiety about school or friends throughout the day. Help alleviate some of their stress with this child-sized weighted blanket, which is pretty enough for them to leave in the living room or their bedroom and filler-free, so there’s no uncomfortable bunching. The eight-pound weight is perfect for kids aged 4-14 to stimulate the gentle pressure of being hugged when you can’t be there to do it yourself.
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Birdie Afternoon Tea Stand Set
With this adorable playset, kids will be enjoying high tea with the best of them. Encourage them to plan and host tea parties, serve their guests, and sample new treats (perhaps with a little culinary support from their parents), all with a beautiful toy that’s more decor than eyesore.
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Echo Dot Kids Edition
Decorated for kids, this small speaker brings the power of Alexa to the playroom or their bedroom. It’s packed with kid-friendly content (your purchase comes with a year subscription of Amazon Kids+) including games, audiobooks, and educational skills. Easy-to-use parental controls means adults can make sure the activities are appropriate while still giving kids a little room to explore.
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Monkeybiz Bokkie Hand-beaded Figurine
Hand-beaded by African artisans, these figurines are the perfect adornment for their bookshelf or dresser. Now, they’ll love a new piece of decoration to admire. In a few years, they’ll appreciate that this gift for kids helps support women and their families in another corner of the world through fair wages, training, and other aid. Each figurine is one of a kind, so give them a gift card and they’ll be able to shop around (with adult support) for the right, available critter.
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Candy Land, Nostalgia Edition
Introduce little ones to this board game classic, with the original board and tin you remember. Whether you keep the tin on display to indulge your nostalgia or you pull the game out every night, the whole family will enjoy this great gift for kids.
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Discovery Kids Planetarium Projector
See the stars from the comfort of your own home with this smart projector. It comes with a rotating night sky mode, plus stationary slides for looking at planets, constellations, and more. Even if the world feels small (and a trip to the planetarium isn’t doable), this clever tool is the next-best thing.
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Vtech Drill & Learn Toolbox
Let little ones join in on the home maintenance fun—or let them mimic their parents’ handiness—with this clever toolbox, which contains a working toy drill, a hammer, nails and screws, and more. The box itself has buttons they can press to learn about the tools they’re using (plus fun songs).
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Parkland Edison Critters backpack
Preschooler-sized, this sharp backpack has a playful design for them—and a water bottle pocket and writable name tag for parents. The exterior is made of 100 percent recycled polyester, too, so it’s as good for the environment as it is for little ones with a lot to carry.
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Gardenuity My First Garden
Filled with everything little ones need to develop little green thumbs, this kit lets kids nurture vegetables and herbs, even if they don’t have a yard to work in. The growbag lets them work on a patio or balcony (or a larger space), and the fully rooted starter plants sets them up for success.
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Love Bubby Speaker of the House shirt
This short-sleeved tee is the perfect reminder that your little one is going somewhere. Whether they have political leanings or just a quick mouth, they’ll love sporting this shirt at school and everywhere else they go.
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Primo Ride-On Push Scooter
Toddlers will ride in style atop this vintage-inspired push trike.
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Jon Klassen’s Hat Box
Get all the beloved picture books in Jon Klassen's hat trilogy (I Want My Hat Back, This Is Not My Hat, and We Found a Hat), along with a frame-worthy print.
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The Play Kit
Each box of educational books and playthings is tailored to a baby’s or toddler’s cognitive growth stage.
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Slumberkins Snuggler Bundles
Promote emotional learning by pairing snuggly toys with a book on a big topic, like authenticity or self-esteem.
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Fairy Tale Play: A pop-up storytelling book by Julia Spiers
This illustrated storybook shares classic fairy tales with gorgeous images to pull in kids too young to read. Smaller readers will enjoy reading the stories anew (or having them read to them); bigger ones will like seeing their favorite tales presented in a fresh, colorful way.
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Areaware Blockitecture Big Apple Building Blocks
Made from pine wood, this bright building block kit has 74 painted pieces that can be nested and stacked to build towers, homes, parks, and more inspired by the New York City skyline. This gift is recommended for ages six and older, but even older kids can get into the city-building.
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Kindle Kids Edition
This updated version of Amazon’s best-selling Kindle line gives kids the gift of reading. Your purchase comes with a 10th generation Kindle, 1 year of Amazon Kids+ programming, a kid-friendly cover (four styles are available), and a 2-year guarantee. With the free subscription, kids can enjoy top book titles and series, and included tools help kids learn new words as they read.
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Rainbow Unicorn Horn Sidewalk Chalk
A whimsical writing instrument for your artistic kid and their creative pals to take to the streets. This trio includes two rainbow horns and one wrapped in gold (but writes white).
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Briarpatch I SPY Eagle Eye Find-It Game
How many times do your kids beg to play I Spy on long road trips? Now you can take this version of the timeless game, based on the best-selling book series, indoors for family game night. Pick a card and hunt down an item from the card on the game board. There are eight different game boards so your family can play over and over without repetition (a great bonus for your own level of enjoyment). Children don’t need to be able to read to play this game, so it’s a good choice for young children or siblings of different ages.
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Grocery-Cart Toy
He wants to be just like you—at least for now. Relish it while it lasts and gift a metal toy cart that looks just like the one he sees you pushing around at the grocery store. He will love loading it up with all the toy fruit and pantry items in his pretend kitchen; you’ll admire its sleek lines. The front of the cart features a chalkboard sign for writing his name, shopping list, or just making a pretty picture. Suitable for ages three and up, the cart measures approximately 18 inches long, 10 inches wide, and 18.5 inches high.