2020 Holiday Gift Guide for Kids
The time has come to start shopping for loved ones, and we’re here to help you with some ideas for the little ones in your life. As always, I like to have a good mixture of books, board games, and toys on our lists. Of course we’re big promoters of reading and playing with your kids, and Christmastime is certainly no different - so I definitely put a lot of consideration into the best Christmas books of the year and games that would make for a fun holiday family game night.
Another thing that always appeals to us are creative STEM toys - often some sort of genius new combination of hands-on play and technology. Oftentimes those are the types of toys that our son can play with for hours upon hours - and also the types of toys that mom and dad are happy to play with too.
Our 8-year-old son is quite the little builder and tinkerer, so you’ll no doubt notice a theme of toys that appeal to his creative and imaginative side. And I think quite a lot of the toys on this year’s list could fall into the category of “stealth learning” - something that’s really always the case with STEM toys after all.
Christmas is just an incredibly special time of year, and I look forward to the Christmas season a lot. It’s fun to come up with a list of gift ideas, because I like to imagine that it can serve its small role of getting an exciting present into the hands of kids all over. I sincerely hope that one of the ideas in our list this year jumps out at you, and that it helps bring a smile to your little one’s face this Christmas.
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Gravitrax
When our son gets a new gift that involves building - like a robot kit or a LEGO set - he’s been known to spend every waking minute for days and even weeks absorbed in that singular activity. I love to see when he discovers something that captures his imagination like that, and simultaneously stimulates the creative and engineering sides of his brain.
This year one of his gifts is going to be Gravitrax from Ravensburger, and I foresee many hours of fun together. Gravitrax is a high quality marble run published by one of our favorite brands out there. We love Ravensburger for their family board games, and you can safely put a lot of trust in their quality. This is a STEM gift that’s going to have a lot of staying power, especially with the included designs and challenges, and the many expansions available for fun experimentation.
LEGO Super Mario Starter Course
I dubbed LEGO Super Mario the toy of the year back in August when we wrote about it in a featured article - and I stand by that claim. It is hands down the coolest LEGO creation ever made. The starter kit comes with an interactive Mario figure that reacts to his environment, and the world just keeps growing. There are many amazing expansions out there already - like King Boo’s Haunted Yard and Bowser’s Castle - and even more add-ons came out just this month.
Our son has been known to simply carry the Mario figure around with him all day long like a beloved friend - and I’ve heard from other parents who have said the exact same thing. At night he will spend many, many hours building and playing in his closet. In his 8 years of life, he’s never loved a toy like he’s loved these play sets.
Square Off AI Chess Set
The popularity of chess has absolutely exploded this year - through a combination of people discovering online chess during quarantine, the increase in chess streaming, and the immensely popular Netflix limited series The Queen’s Gambit. And if you have a chess-loving kid in your house (or a chess-loving adult for that matter!) the absolute coolest gift is a Square Off board.
Square Off is a beautiful chess set that actually allows you to play against other people over the internet using your actual physical board. It’s a brilliant design and so much fun. It also connects with chess.com to allow for an expansive pool of online opponents, and ensures you can always get a game whenever you want. Through the use of magnets and hidden machinery, your opponents pieces move automatically like magic, and it’s still just mind-blowing. It absolutely never gets old to experience.
And for more chess-related ideas, make sure to check out our list of gifts for chess players!
Fujifilm Instax Mini Instant Camera
We bought one of these instant cameras for both of our kids a long time ago now, but the beautiful thing about this gift is that it has turned into the gift that keeps on giving. The film is kind of expensive, so we don’t always have it in the house. Instead what we do is buy new film as presents for birthdays and Christmas, and it becomes an exciting activity all over again.
It’s funny how you can take thousands of photos on your phone, but it’s actually the incredibly random instant photos the kids take that turn out to be the most memorable and special. It’s just one of the many examples that prove that sometimes a little magic is lost in the digital age. And in this case it’s because it forces you to be a bit more deliberate in your photo choices. And now we have a big collage of the photos they’ve taken on the wall and it’s turned into quite a special time capsule for us.
Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit
Mario Kart Live is another gift for our son this year and definitely one of the hottest items of this Christmas season. It’s not particularly easy to get your hands on, especially if your child is a Luigi fan like our son and insists on the Luigi version! You might have to watch store shelves closely, but hopefully Nintendo does their best to keep it in stock over the next month. And make sure to keep in mind that you need to own a Nintendo Switch for this game.
If you aren’t familiar with the concept, this is a video game for the Nintendo Switch that uses augmented reality to bring the game to life. Think of it like an RC racer with the added bonus of seeing the real-life course you build come to life on your Nintendo Switch screen complete with items and coins. Up to 4 people can race each other on these real-life courses (assuming they all have their own system and game) - which honestly turns the prospect of picking up some Nintendo Switch Lites into a tempting proposition. Truly another masterful combination of hands-on creativity with fancy new technology. Just brilliant from Nintendo.
Elf the Picture Book
We called Elf the Christmas picture book of the year for 2020, and it’s easy to see why. We are gigantic fans of the Pop Classics series from Kim Smith and Quirk Books - and Elf is probably the very best of the bunch. They did a remarkable job capturing the essence of the film, and this is a spectacular way to share this hilarious and heartwarming Christmas story with the kids.
I love that they managed to include some of the very best lines in the film - like “Bye, Buddy. Hope you find your dad” and “Buddy the Elf, what’s your favorite color?”. Every year I like to put some new Christmas books under the tree, and Elf is the one to pick this year. And for more picture book ideas, make sure to check out our list of the best 2020 Christmas picture books.
Osmo
I’ve recommended Osmo on gift guides before, and I’m not going to stop, because it’s still one of the most remarkable gifts out there. Make sure to start with the correct starter kit (they have different choices based on if you are using iPad/iPhone or a Fire Tablet) so you get the right base for your tablet. And after that you will no doubt have birthdays and Christmas gifts wrapped up for a long time - because the library of games to add to it is truly fantastic.
The games that come in the Genius Starter Kit are enough to keep the little ones entertained for a long time - and definitely enough to show off the capabilities of this amazing little toy. It’s an amazing combination of physical hands-on play with new impressive technology. Our son is especially in love with the newer Math Wizard game and our daughter loves Detective Agency and Pizza Co. And I’ve always been very impressed by the simple tangram game that comes in the starter kit. Stealth learning probably doesn’t get any better than this.
The Nutcracker and the Mouse King
If you want a special Christmas gift for the little graphic novel fan in your life, make sure to consider this new release by Natalie Andrewson. I was very excited to share this one with my son, whose turned into a gigantic graphic novel connoisseur. It’s a wonderful adaptation of the classic Christmastime tale, and we really love the cartoon style - which reminds me a lot of the style of the new Costume Quest show.
If you like to give books for Christmas like I do, this would make a great choice for the older, independent readers you’re shopping for - or as a gift to read together. And I think one of my very favorite parts of the book is Andrewson’s explanation of her inspiration. She points out that she can relate with how Marie is asked to suppress her imagination, and how she wanted to be a part of inspiring kids to follow their dreams. I simply couldn’t ask for a better message than that.
You’ll also find The Nutcracker and the Mouse King on our list of the best Christmas books of 2020.
Zombie Teenz Evolution
Scorpion Masqué and IELLO USA are about to release the highly-anticipated sequel to the hit board game Zombie Kidz Evolution. In fact, even though it’s technically only available for pre-order leading up to the December 17th release date - reports have gone out that you might already find it on store shelves near you. So make sure to ask your local game store!
If you never played Zombie Kidz Evolution, it’s a fun cooperative game where kids try to fight off zombies together. And the real selling point is that the game evolves the more you play - because you gradually open envelopes that add things to the game like new characters and powers. And Zombie Teenz Evolution comes packed with even more envelopes full of surprises and new ways to play. You can certainly play it alone, and we all like it even better than the original - but you can also even combine it with the original for a new way to play. Our son was unbelievably obsessed with the sticker-based progression system in the original, and now it’s starting all over again!
Animal Upon Animal: Christmas Edition
HABA has given us all the gift of a pretty perfect present opportunity this Christmas. Animal Upon Animal is one of the all-time classic, world-famous hits from HABA - the German toy company that specializes in beautiful wooden components. It features a collection of wooden animals that you simply need to stack on top of each other without knocking the whole thing over. It’s simple and fun and a great test of dexterity for the little ones.
And this Christmas they’ve come out with a Christmas-themed edition of the game - featuring woodland critters, sleighs, trees, and stars. The box it comes in is certainly pretty beautiful too. I like to give games for Christmas too, and this is the perfect one this year to involve our 4-year-old and our 8-year-old together. It’ll make for a great Christmas family game night - or actually more than likely an immediate Christmas family game morning by the tree. It’s also labeled as a limited edition, so who’s to say how long it’ll be around.
Holiday Gift Guide ideas never truly go bad - for more great ideas make sure to check out:
2019 Holiday Gift Guide
2018 Holiday Gift Guide
I hope some of these ideas are helpful when shopping for your loved ones this year. Happy holidays to you and yours!
