2020 At-Home Holiday Gift Guide

This year will be in our history books! So many changes in the way we worked (at home), the kids learned (online) and how we were trying to social distance, wear masks and find a new way to do everything from exercising to engage with friends and family. Christmas will definitely take the cake as a ‘2020 Christmas’ too. I hope everyone stays well and is safe. This list will be smaller this year. On top of everything else, I am in school to finish my teaching credential (20 years later) and have my MA. So, this is late getting it posted and I have definitely been busy. But I am excited for Christmas and all the presents I will be giving to friends and family (a lot of porch drop-offs). This year my family will be opening presents in Zoom meetings and we won’t have a large family gathering. But I’m thankful for technology and the ability to be able to call, facetime, email and text them.

Categories.. More or Less…

Some ideas for family, children, the kitchen etc. I try to include educational toys, books, hands-on learning and things that are entertaining and aren’t multi-media. Sometimes it is good to get off the tv and cell phones and put together a puzzle with the family while playing Christmas music and baking cookies.

Read With Your Family!

If they don’t love to read, set examples and have them see you reading, read to them, listen to audio books, find books that are fun. Everything isn’t about AR points in school. You want kids to read for enjoyment too. I’m loving these books from National Geographic Kids. They have so many different topics. Brain Candy, Nerd-Let Animals, books about cats, dogs, space, etc. National Geographic Kids has topics for everyone. If you have reluctant readers do something like leave books out, on the table or couch. Kids will see them and pick them up. This is a great trick.

Some fun games for kids 8+ from ThinkFun games. A good mix of games for kids to play together or with the family. Chicken War, a game with 2-4 players. Lots of strategy as you try to guess who the leader is. Minecraft Magnetic Travel Puzzle. This is a fun one-player car game. A great way to pass time while in the car, on a plane or in a hotel. I know we are traveling a lot less this year but I still have to recommend it. It is something I thought my nephew would love too. RushHour (and RushHour Jr for younger kids) is a fun one-player game. Players pick a card and try to move the cars around (that are bumper to bumper) in order to get the lead car out of the traffic jam. MoonSpinner is a brain teaser puzzle. The goal is to shift the shapes around to get them in a different shape. All of these are fun games for elementary age and older kids.

Ravensburger has been a favorite of mine since my kids were little. They have wooden puzzles and games for little kids but these ones are for an older group. First up is Villainous. A fun Marvel game with 2-4 players. For ages 12+. You determine the villain and see if you can dominate the world. Strike is a fun dice game with 205 players. Roll the dice in the arena, face challenges and try to set matches to win. Back to the Future… for those that love the movies. You are on an adventure with Doc and Marty to repair space and time. Exciting dice game for 2-4 players, age 10+. Covid seems to have brought out puzzle lovers old and new. Puzzles are a great past time and Ravensburger has hundreds to choose from for all ages. I’m loving this one with all the dogs. I think the dogs might not be too hard, besides the similar colors but the grass is going to be hard. This one is 500 pieces. 1,000 piece puzzles are available too.

Get teens in the kitchen with these cookbook sets! I got these for my son since he loves both the Worlds of Warcraft and The Elder Scrolls. Each kit is the cookbook and an apron. I can’t wait to see the recipes my son creates. Great for teens and adults. There are other sets available too.

Grandma & Me in the Kitchen is an adorable kit to do with your kids or grandkids. You can even do it over Zoom with some additional adult help if your kid’s grandparents don’t live with them. The kit comes with a book, apron, potholder and activity journal. Plus fabric paints. Great way to have hands-on fun and create some memories.

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Magformers has magnetic toys for all ages. These ones are for small fries! The first one, Stick-O is for ages 18 months+. It is a set of three Forest Friends and has 16 pieces that can be mixed and matched into different animal shapes. Instructions for 8 shapes, but you can make up your own too. Tileblox is for ages 3+ and is square pieces in rainbow colors that can be build to a windmill, boat, house, and more. 20 pieces in the set.

Some more great preschool toys are from Green Toys. I love that their toys are made out of 100% recycled plastic! This cute cargo plan comes with a mini car too. Lightweight, easy for kids to roll around on the ground or pretend to fly it around. They are made in the U.S. too. Green Toys has lots of ‘green’ toys for kids. Great way to reduce your carbon footprint while shopping.

A fun family gift. especially for Disney fans. Check out this Unofficial Disney Parks Cookbook. It has 100 recipes from park foods, including Dole Whip! The chapters are separated by recipes at each theme park and has a map location for each food item at the parks.

If you are in the kitchen often you’ll want to include some farm-to-table ingredients. I like going to my local farmer’s market for fresh fruit and vegetables and I love finding organic honey too. Honey is great for baking, waffles, pancakes and even coffee. Bee Konscioius has raw honey that is single-origin. I’m loving the variety too. Wild Mint, Christmas Berry, Montana, Sage, Clover and more.

If you have a vegan in your family, you’ll have to check out these items.

First up is Happy Little Plants. They are protein puffs that are plant-based. They come in Nacho Cheese, Ranch and Cinnamon & Sugar flavors. Each one has 16 grams of protein too. They are low in carbs and are perfect to throw in a lunch or in the car.

Also check out these baking mixes from Lehi Mills. They are farm-to-table certified vegan foods. Pancake & waffle mix, brownie mix, hot cocoa, muffin mix, cookie mix and more. Everything is GMO-free and are easy recipes to follow.

Get some beauty and facial supplies for some winter skincare. Merle Norman Cosmetics has high quality products for going out and every day wear. I love their makeup kits too. These here are great stocking stuffers. Natural Bristle body brush, two Creamy Matte Lip Crayons (in Swanky and Powdered Up colors) and a Hydrate & Glow for Lip kit that comes with a lip revive base and a lip conditioner with SPF15.