2025 Ultimate Gift Guide: Part 1

It’s that time of year again! My fourth annual gift guide is here—a tradition I love. I enjoy finding thoughtful gifts for the people in my life, and if it makes your holiday shopping a little easier, all the better.

This year I’m breaking the gift guide into two parts—today’s will be more kid-focused and next week’s will be more adult-focused. I’m also bringing back a few favorites from gift guides past. I hope you enjoy!

1. Uncle Goose blocks: This company makes super high-quality wooden blocks in many different themes including ASL (above), the periodic table, insects, and women who dared 💪

2. Custom board book of names and faces: This is one of my favorite gifts for babies and toddlers—it’s a custom book with faces of family members and friends. I had one for each of my kids when they were little.

3. Wooden animal puzzle: My kids loved puzzles like these when they were little.

4. Dress-up rings: We’ve had these for years and they still get worn.

5. Color your own gingerbread house: This will keep the kids entertained for a while so you can enjoy a glass of wine by the fire. A win-win!

6. Big Book of Why: We had several in these series—they were some of my kids’ favorite books!

7. Pottery Barn sleeping bag: My kids got these years ago. And though I’m not sure they’ve ever actually slept in them, they love to play pretend “camping” or slide down the stairs in them for their infamous “Bump-a-Dum” races 🤷‍♀️😆

8. Kidamento Digital Camera: We bought this when my daughter was five and she still uses it today—she even takes it with us on trips. My favorite parts are the silicon casing and the fact that the USB-charger is built in to the lanyard.

9. Me: A Compendium: I bought this super-cute journal/about-me-book when my daughter was 6 and she loved it.

10. Edible potion kit: There’s no such thing as a kid who doesn’t love making magic potions… particularly if they’re sugary and drinkable!

11. Puro headphones: Both of my kids have a pair—they’re comfortable and noise canceling (and they still comfortably fit my 10 year old)

1. Roller skates: My 7-year-old is *obsessed* with these easy to use roller skates. She and her neighborhood friends are constantly bopping around on them. Don’t forget knee/elbow pads and a helmet. Also, this stabilizing contraption was really helpful when she was first starting out.

2. The Week Jr. subscription: My 10-year-old son reads this magazine cover-to-cover each week. They do a beautiful job of making the news kid-friendly and engaging. Highly recommend.

3. Custom Chuck Taylors: My SIL found this great gift—Converse sneaks that your kiddo can custom design. My daughter absolutely loved these and her creation was totally her.

4. Kids FitBit Ace 3: If you have a big trip coming up that involves a lot of walking (Disney, Europe, National Parks, etc.) you must buy your kids a FitBit—it’s my ultimate vacation hack. My kids will walk for miles if it means clocking in more steps than their sibling!

5. Digital microscope: Granted, my husband is a scientist, but my kids use this microscope all the time. We keep it plugged in at the end of our kitchen counter and they’re constantly putting things (leafs, coins, boogers 🫠) under the scope to get a closer look.

6. SlooMoo Slime Bundle: The SlooMoo Institute in NYC makes the *best* slime (check it out if you’re in town), and this bundle has several of their unique textures in it.

7. State Rockaway Duffle: Both of my kids have these and they’re fantastic for travel. The sleeve slips over a roller bag handle, which means they don’t have to hold it on their shoulder.

8. Muddy Puppy Little Scientist Jigsaw Puzzle: This brand is our go-to for jigsaw puzzles. The individual people are essentially puzzles within a puzzle, so you can always sort them into smaller groups to make it easier for younger kids. The Scientist one was our first, but we also have Little Feminists, National Parks, and Musical Cats.

9. Lava Lamp: Sadly, my son has mostly outgrown our local toy store, but he was super interested in the lava lamps during our last visit. He’ll get one for Xmas this year.

10. NBA team graffiti basketball: My basketball-obsessed son give this four stars.

11. Mighty 3: I think this is my #1 recommendation. My mom got these for my kids a few years ago and they’re amazing. They’re basically old-fashioned iPod shuffles (no screen!). You load your kids’ playlist onto them (you will need a subscription to either Spotify or Amazon Music to use) and they can listen to their heart’s content. These are amazing on road trips, or when you need some family quiet time.

1. Sneaky Snacky Squirrel game: I am a HUGE board game player, so I was thrilled when my kids were finally old enough to play with me. This was one of the first games we ever got (the squirrel tongs also help teach fine motor skills!)

2. Friends and Neighbors: This is the sweetest cooperative game for kids ages 3-5 with such a good message.

3. Outfoxed: My son and I played this game approximately 5 million times during COVID (🤪), but I didn’t mind because it’s a genuinely awesome game. You work together, using deductive reasoning, to try to find which fox is the thief.

4. Gnomes at Night: Another cooperative game where you work with a partner to navigate a maze using magnetic pieces.

5. Genius Square: This one is truly fun for the whole family. You have to place nine different shapes on the square around seven different “blocker” pieces that change every time. It’s a game that won’t bore adults to death if you play it a million times.

6. Cat and Mouth: This is my go-to birthday party gift, because both of my kids love it so much. Imagine a flinging version of pinball—it’s always a blast to play. (Note that it contains several small balls, so if you have a younger kiddo who’s still in the “put-everything-in-their-mouth” phase, you may want to hold off).

7. Otrio: Imagine a hyped-up version of tic-tac-toe. I keep this out on our coffee table for people to play whenever they get bored.

8. Dixit: This is one of my absolute favorite board games. The manufacturer describes it as a storytelling game, but I think of it as a fun Rorschach test for kids 😆. Good for ages 7 and up. You can also get expansion packs.

9. Colorku: This is a lot of fun for the whole family. It’s basically Sudoku but with colorful balls. My son got this when he was 7ish and could do the easy level puzzles by himself (he had some previous experience with Sudoku puzzles) and we enjoyed doing the more advanced ones together. We still pull it out now.

10. Mexican Train: When my family gets together, we all play a big inter-generational game of Mexican Train. It can get pretty cutthroat!

11. Klask: This game is genius—and beautifully designed. It’s kind of like a magnetic air hockey (without the air).

1. Joke decoder cards: I’m always looking for fun activities to entertain my kids on the go, and my 6-year-old loved doing these decoder cards on plane trips last year. Each card has tic-tac-toe boards on the back for extra fun!

2. Golden snitch fidget: My 9-year-old has been obsessed with Harry Potter for a few years now, so it’s no surprise that this is his favorite fidget spinner of all times.

3. Donut teether: Who doesn’t love a cute teether? My daughter had this one when she was a baby and now she uses it when she plays pretend kitchen.

4. Would You Rather (Winter Edition): My kids love interactive books like these, and they’re perfect for large family gatherings. Check out the Hanukkah, Christmas, and Teen versions.

5. Sleeping Queens: This is another favorite game in our family—and it’s small enough to travel with!

6. On the Go Game Pad: Another fun activity pad to throw in your purse to entertain kids during restaurant waits, travel, etc. It includes hangman, dots, categories, and more.

7. Babyators: The cutest, baby-friendly sunglasses

8. LePen set: Yes, I am an adult woman who still gets excited by pretty colored pens 😍 The Le Pen brand is my absolute favorite.

9. Disposable camera: Have an analog Christmas—give everyone their own camera and photo scavenger hunt card (take a photo with grandma, take a photo of your favorite gift, take a photo that encapsulates the holiday, etc.) The real gift will be seeing what they snapped once you get it developed!

10. Nee-Doh Dig It Pigs: A super satisfying fidget toy.

11. “Bruh” money holder: Genius gift idea for a tween/teen boy. It includes adhesive so you can stick the dome on once you’ve rolled up the money.

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