Gift Guide #1: Your Fun-Loving Kids Who Can Do a Pitch-Perfect ‘Derry Girls’ Accent.

This Uno tournament set, with a gauntlet thrown, $20. Our family also loves the music-playing Hitster, which is fun for multiple generations, and friends have been raving about this goofy board game. (Have you played it?)

A book you loved as a child, $14. Or, if your kids like suspense, the Escape from Alcatraz comic books, $6/each — they’re a wild ride and very cool for preteens!

My honorary niece Georgie, age four, has this handmade cotton bunny and is OBSESSED. (Plus, each doll provides meals to children in need — so far, 40 million meals and counting). From $47.

A Tin Can phone, which uses WiFi to make a landline, because everyone should know the feeling of gabbing while twirling a cord around their fingers. $100.

Walkie-talkies — with a range of almost two miles — for navigating secret missions around the neighborhood, $33 for three-pack. Also, everyday tools, like flashlights, stopwatches, and clicker counters, have always been huge hits with my boys.

Schleich animals, which are beautifully made and can be passed down for generations. Prices vary, new or secondhand.

A bagel notepad, $13, to make them smile.

A sweet children’s lamp, $130, to make the bedroom glow. Or a potato nightlight for fellow potato enthusiasts.

A fort-building set, $50, that lets you build an amaaaaazing base for sheets, blankets, and pillows. Alison’s kids have played with it for years.

A wooden photo block with 10 favorite snapshots. (I make these all the time for my kids and niece.) $26.

Fried chicken Ice cream bars to blow their minds. $109 for a big bucket.

The prettiest pajamas for kids (and women), from $36. These book sets are also really sweet.

What gifts do you swear by for kids? Anton and Toby have always loved these cars and still race them, even as teenagers. Also, says Alison: “Last year we got Georgie a pretend server book, waist apron, and stack of guest checks, and she was in heaven! She also loves these nail stickers.”

P.S. The 2025 kids gift guide, the 2024 kids gift guide, and the 2023 kids gift guide.

(Toy animals photo by Katherine Wolkoff.)

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