Bonus: Useful Things For Kids Gift Guide

Well-designed goods for kids that stand the test of time

This is a sort-of gift guide slash mega recommendation list of stuff of the things that have truly gotten a lot of wear and tear and use in our house. I focused on recommendations that are beautiful, functional, and hopefully won’t sit on the shelf or get used once then end up in the trash.

Toys that have gotten use day-in, day-out since my kids were 2

• Magnatiles + this thematic Arctic Animals edition

• National Geographic Marble run

• Math cubes

• Jellycat Amuseables

• LEGO Classic Box (for kids 4+) or Duplos (for younger kids)

• HABA Wooden Play Kitchen

• Wooden balance board

A few stocking stuffers that won’t get put in the garbage right away

• Glitter wonder wand

• Wooden Pattern Blocks Shapes puzzle

• Rainbow sock pack

Art supplies Ada uses constantly

• Kid Made Modern art supply box

• Blank flip books

• 24-pack of Tempera Paint Sticks

• Eco highlighter pencils

• Prismacolor colored pencils

• A giant pack of colored dot stickers

Home goods that are cute and stand the test of time

• REI Kindercone 25 sleeping bag

• Mushroom lamp for their room 

• Target kids’ cotton bed sheets 

• Xenia Taler melamine plates  

• Opinel Le Petit Chef knife set for kids

Fun, Splurgy Clothes (that are also durable and get lots of compliments)

• Reima’s one-piece snowsuits 

• Collegien Slipper Socks

• Dodo Banana x Les Gamins Feelings Pajamas

• These quilted jackets for kids

• Winter Water Factor hoodies

• Lewis sweatsuits

Picture books my kids ask to read over and over again

• The LOST series of Seek + Find books by B.B. Cronin

• Little Witch Hazel: A Year in the Forest by Phoebe Wall

• Girl on a Motorcycle by Amy Novesky / Julie Morstad

• It Fell from the Sky by Eric + Terry Fan

• Chirri & Chirra, The Rainy Day by Kaya Doi

• Crictor by Tomi Ungerer

• Ocean Anatomy by Julia Rothman

• Sato the Rabbit by Yuki Ainoya

• Tales of the Mushroom Folk by Signe Aspelin

• Literally anything written by Elise Gravel

Graphic Novels that made the kids laugh, cry, and beg for more

• El Deafo by Cece Bell

• Mr. Wolf’s Class (series) by Aron Nels Steinke

• Guts, Smile, Sisters — the box set, by Raina Telgemeier

• Hilda: The Wilderness Stories by Luke Pearson

• The Witches: The Graphic Novel (an adaptation of the Roald Dahl story)

• Witches of Brooklyn by Sophie Escabasse

I’ll be back next week with some recs for grown-ups, my wishlist, and places to donate cause we’re all overwhelmed by buying stuff.