Puzzles and games are essential for every kid as holiday gifts. Where to find a game that doesn’t encourage competition and bad feelings, though?

Growing up in my family, every person had to receive at least one puzzle for the holidays. As I grew older and more smart alecky, I gave my mother puzzles with thousands of pieces, or glowing pieces, or same on both sides, or some other nearly impossible puzzle. She still worked her way through every one. Now that my mother is gone, I still need to give my mother-in-law and my children puzzles. They drive me crazy, but everyone else loves them. I realize more over time that putting together a puzzle is a meditative activity, and it has always been one of those essential holiday activities in my family.

If you find that your children need that quiet time during a busy holiday season, consider encouraging down time with a puzzle. Also, if they see you doing a more difficult puzzle, they will get more and more curious until they take over. That’s my experience, anyway!

Another of those essentials for my family both growing up and now with my children is board games or card games. My children love playing my old games, and we still add several new games a year to our game closet. Over the holidays, we give small gifts over several days, and one day is always a game for the whole family. Since there are no other gifts to distract us, we have a family game day.

There are a lot of classic games available, but I find that my children become more competitive when they see the opportunity to win. That isn’t really the feel I’m going for with family game day, so we favor the cooperative games. At bynature.ca, we carry a lot of cooperative games and puzzles to fit your family’s interests.

Puzzles for Children

Port Side Pirates Puzzle

Looking for an interlocking puzzle? Set sail with these two puzzles based on the Port Side Pirates sing-along book. The 12-piece puzzle shows the pirate crew discovering a treasure chest ashore the tropical island. The 24-piece puzzle shows the pirate crew sailing the high seas aboard their ship. The two puzzles allow for a range of difficulty included all in one box.
Age: 3+

Wooden Mosaic Puzzle

If you are looking for a puzzle that will last longer than an interlocking puzzle that is used a few times, try our high quality wooden mosaics. Our large puzzle has 192 colorful triangle an trapezoid-shaped pieces. Arrange them in the bamboo tray or go rogue and put the rainbow of colors together any way that suits you. Includes a travel and storage bag.
Age: 3+

Cooperative Family Games

Elves and Ogres

The Royal Elf Family is coming to visit their Mountain Kingdom. They want the Elves (players) to fill their treasure chests with the different gems they mine. Ogres, however, have heard about the visit and plan to grab all the valuables for themselves. Work together to get Royals & Ogres alike to share the goodies. The game requires lots of tricky teamwork, increasing in difficulty with rules for 3 games based on age (ages 5-7, ages 7-12 & ages 12+).
Ages: 5+

Snowstorm

When a winter storm hits the city, the players help out residents by completing their tasks. The weather is constantly changing so players must keep on top of errands by paying attention to weather reports and moving through snow and ice with cars and service trucks. The game is different every time you play.
Ages: 5+

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Are you looking for small gifts that you know your child will use? Try eco-art supplies made from botanical ingredients.

Every year I struggle to convince my in-laws not to give my children tiny, throwaway plastic toys in stockings or advent calendars. It’s a losing game. I can request that they not give the children toys that will be thrown away after the children are bored with them, which is immediately, but that hasn’t worked yet. Instead, I am very careful to keep my own small gifts useful, exciting, and fun. These art supplies are stocking stuffers or advent gifts you can feel good about.

We are constantly on the lookout for more natural toys that encourage open-ended, creative play. We’re really happy with our new art supplies from Glob and eco-kids.

Glob

Glob botanically crafted paint powders are made from fruits, vegetables, flowers and spices with all natural ingredients and organic extracts. Just add water—more water for a thin paint like watercolours and less water for thicker paint like tempera or finger paints. These paints smell delicious. Set of 4 colors in jars or a sample packet of red (that’s pomegranate!). Made in California, USA.

eco-kids

eco-kids is a family business making art supplies with natural ingredients like earth clay, cornstarch, flour, spinach, red cabbage, purple sweet potato, carrots, blue gardenia, red grapeseed, and annatto seed. You know these supplies are safe for your child, and they are also such a pleasure to work with. The gentle aromas awaken the senses. Try bags of paint powder, jars of dough, or rock-shaped crayons, all in beautifully vibrant colors. Made in USA.

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We look for quality products ethically made. From the best of the best, we have chosen our favourites to recommend to you 15 North American made gift ideas for the whole family.

Since we have been focusing for the past several weeks on issues that can come up with imported products, as we turn our minds toward holiday gift ideas, we want to share with you our favourite made in Canada and made in USA products.

Nature Mom, who works with these products every day in our Orillia store, says, “I just love all of these products, and they are all amazing manufacturers to work with.”

For Baby

Babies have little awareness of holidays other than the fun and the sparkly lights, but giving holiday gifts is an opportunity to get something special and long-lasting for baby.

Ringley Teething Ring

Made in Canada from untreated Canadian Maple and certified organic cotton loopy terrycloth. The two different materials provide very different textures for a baby to feel with their gums. This straight teething ring is best for smaller babies because our Ringley teething ring with knots may be too big for small mouths. Note that the animal teething rings are not made in Canada. The simpler organic cotton teething rings are handmade in Toronto.

Wooden Rattle

Made in Canada. Because of the differences in the colour and grain of the wood, each wooden baby rattle is unique. No lacquer or paint to worry about, just 100% natural hemp or flax seed oil. Handcrafted with love by a family in their home workshop in Muskoka, southern Ontario.

Kleynimals Key Ring

Made in USA. Does your child want to play with your keys? The problem is lead contamination, sharp edges, and the nasty dirt that accumulates on keys. Give them Kleynimals instead, made from 18/8 food grade stainless steel. This is a new product that we loving. You’ll want to take a turn to jangle the keys yourself.

Wooden Building Blocks

Made in Canada. Every child needs a set of basic building blocks. These beautifully plain blocks can be anything. These blocks are made by a family business in Nova Scotia.

Wee Urban Sleep Sac

Made in Canada. Made from super soft organic cotton and bamboo viscose. When your baby is done with swaddling at about 10lbs, these sleep sacks are designed as a wearable blanket to replace loose bedding, which your baby will roll around and kick off anyway. Keep your baby warm in a sleep bag.

For Family

Giving a board game covers the whole family. You aren’t just giving them a thing; you are giving them the opportunity to spend time together and have fun. As my children grow, we continue to buy new games that we play together as a family.

Caves & Claws Cooperative Games

Made in Canada. This game is a teamwork adventure in which a museum hires a team of Archaeologists to travel deep into a Jungle to find Ancient Artifacts. The players are that team, ready for action and adventure! There are dangers and obstacles to avoid, such as The Creeping Claw, The Nasty Hairy Thing and Big Boulders rolling over entrances. We carry 15 different cooperative games with a variety of themes and pieces. You may want to collect several.

Endangered Species Memory Game

Made in Canada. By the time your child can communicate clearly, you can start to play visual games. This board game can be adapted by age, using just 9 of the card pairs for younger children and all 36 pairs for older children and adults. Includes a full-colour book highlighting the animals in the game that their threatened habitats. Artwork is by Toronto artist Anouk Bickers. Constructed from 100% Forest Stewardship Council Paper (FSC) and printed using vegetable-based inks.

For Mother

I think it is important to give a new mother a gift that isn’t for her baby or her family but for her. She probably needs that care even if she doesn’t say so.

Anointment Skin Care Clay Cleanser

Made in Canada. Anointment Skin Care products come in a wide range of prices and products from lip balm at $4.98 to skin ointment at $19.98. I chose the Herbal Clay Cleanser from two reasons: I love clay skin products, and our customers have left nice reviews for this cleanser as well. A collection of these products would make a nice gift on its own, and a couple of bars of handmade soap would fit nicely in the toe of a Christmas stocking.

Diva Cup

Made in Canada. OK, a reusable menstrual cup is kind of odd as a holiday gift. Maybe between girlfriends it would work. I just can’t help but mention Diva Cup because this is such a good product that will be helpful to every mother. Flexible silicone is great for women who are sensitive to other materials.

For Father

We don’t carry a lot of products for fathers, but he deserves a nice, North American-made gift, too.

Handcrafted Shaving Scuttle Set

Made in Canada, and Made in USA. Switching from conventional shaving foams and gels will reduce irritation and razor burn and provide the perfect lather for a smooth, close shave. Shaving scuttle is made in Price Edward Island by a small family business to be used with Anointment Skin Care Shave Soap. The scuttle and shave soap are made in Canada, and the shaving brush is made in the USA.

Practical Choices

Hitting the right tone with gifts depends on each family. Some families will welcome more practical gifts. If you need to buy for that family, these are great products from great companies.

AMP hemp diaper inserts

Made in Canada. Annie Marie Padorie (AMP) diapers can be used as flat diapers or as inserts for pocket or duo diapers. We chose the hemp flat inserts because our customers really like this, and they are such a cost effective cloth diapering solution.

Bummis Super Brite

Made in Canada. We chose Super Brite covers among all of the Bummis products because they are a customer favorite, and because the colorful prints are a toddler favorite as well. Once your child is old enough to start to show a preference, you might find that they prefer the bright, fun prints. All Bummis cloth diaper covers are made in Canada.

Blueberry daytime trainers

Made in USA. Getting a pair of big kid underwear can be exciting for a toddler. These trainers look at feel like underwear while hiding an absorbent layer of microterry and waterproof polyester to avoid accidents. We love how colorful they are.

Cuddly Wrap Organic Cotton Baby Carrier

Made in Canada. Sometimes the holidays are a time to give a family what they don’t or can’t give themselves. This is by far the most comfortable baby carrier wrap we have found for a newborn. It correctly supports the developing curves of a young spine. Manufactured under fair trade labour practices.

Image © Lev Dolgatshjov | Dreamstime.com

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Would you like to avoid that embarrassing holiday garbage can? You know the one, full to the brim and beyond with boxes and paper from a few holiday gifts. Reusable gift wrap will save you the embarrassment, if that’s what motivates you. If you need more positive motivation, think of the good example and family tradition you create by reusing the same cloth gift wrap for your holiday gifts each year.

We my family started showing up at holidays and birthdays with gifts in cloth bags, it didn’t take long to convince our extended family that this was a great idea.

Cloth Gift Bags
Useful for: any size or weight of present since you can make them from any kind of fabric
Need for homemade: fabric, ribbon, sewing machine
How: sew up three sides & tie with a bow

I made heavy, velvet gift bags about ten years ago. We have sizes big enough for the biggest Playmobil boxes and small enough for earrings. I just sewed heavy cotton velvet in rich colors for the outside with brushed flannel prints on the inside. I sewed the top over ½” and added a satin cord for a drawstring. These were easy to make, and they do not wear out. You can make a gift bag even simpler than mine by using a ribbon around the opening rather than a sewn-in drawstring. Any kind of fabric works, so you can also use up scraps this way. Try wrapping new pajamas and a bedtime storybook in a bag of the same fabric.

Paper Gift Bags
Useful for: lighterweight gifts
Need for homemade: old shopping bags without logos and markers or stickers for decoration
How: save nice shopping bags and personalize with your children

Heavy paper shopping bags don’t always have logos, and logos can sometimes be covered up with stickers and drawings. Save what you get, and use what you have. You can let your children draw on the bags, cover with stickers, or create felt or fabric holly or snowflakes to glue on. To hide the gift inside, use a lightweight piece of chiffon fabric or a silk play cloth.

Decorated Boxes with Removable Lids
Useful for: jewelry, clothing, or other soft gifts
Need for homemade: markers, stickers, or drawings
How: save all lidded boxes and decorate with your children

Any lidded box can be beautifully decorated and redecorated. For jewelry, you can create a soft velvet pillow that stays in the box.

Cloth Gift Wrap
Useful for: most gifts, especially boxes, books, and odd shapes
Need for homemade: fabric
How: hem or not, closure or not, you have a lot of flexibility with cloth gift wrap

Cloth gift wrap can be as simple as a pile of play silks or as clever as a slightly stiff cloth envelope that can hold a card and close with a dot of hook & loop. If you have sandwich wraps, you can use these for presents (but wash them first). I like plain squares with hemmed edges so they last a longer time than unfinished edges that might unravel. A very lightweight wrap like silk play cloths allows you to tie fancy bows with the fabric. We always have a few Christmas crackers under our tree—cylinders with bows at each end. Heavier fabric can be tied into a simple bow. You can also have a collection of reusable ribbons, if you like that look, but I found ribbons had a way of disappearing into the dress-up box.

We have a limited number of reusable cloths and bags in my family. If we run out, each person runs to the hiding place where they keep gifts to wrap another. During the holidays, we generally open one small gift a day for 12 days, so we just take the day’s cloths each night and wrap new gifts for the morning.

Because it is easy to peek inside reusable wrapping, you might want to hold off until the last minute putting gifts under your tree to keep from tempting curious children.

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Homemade holiday gifts not only save money, but they help our children think of the personal act of giving rather than an abstract payment of money for stuff. If you are still looking for gifts your children can make, these are a few ideas my children have tried over the years.

Holiday soap. Grate a bar of unscented soap (like Ivory), add enough water that you can mix it to the consistency of cookie dough (about 1/4 cup), and add essential oils or herbs. What you add depends what you like. Citrus zest will give the soap a nice, zingy smell, but some of the more traditional winter holiday scents like bayberry will fit the season. Press the mixture into a cookie cutter or mold and leave it to dry overnight.

Personalized photo frame. Grandparents love more photos of the grandchildren. Make those extra special by adding your child’s artwork to the gift. You can just glue bits and pieces to the frame, but consider how to construct the masterpiece so it won’t either fall apart or gather so much dust that it will have to be put away. What to glue? Maple leaves, pine cones, beach glass, beautiful pebbles, or anything else you

Fridge magnets. Divert a few bottle caps from the recycling and glue a small magnet to the back (outside) and a photo to the front (inside). Easy!

Placemat. You will need to help a bit more with this one. Have your child create a colorful drawing then scan it on your computer and print it out on printable fabric. Some office supply stores carry this, but you may need to order it from a specialty store. Either sew your own base placemat, if you are quite handy, or buy a simple cotton placemat. Sew the drawing to the base placemat around the edges, and you have a great personalized gift.

Knitted Scarf. Even young children can learn to knit a simple scarf. I mentioned that my daughter has been busily knitting scarves since July. My son is younger, and he is also knitting scarves. I started knitting when I was three years old, and I think this is not uncommon with younger children. I have several little-kid-made scarves that I wear proudly to show them off. They aren’t always even or fashionable, but they can be a great gift of love. Just raid the yarn closet (and, if you are a knitter, I know you have one), help your child cast on, and let them knit about four feet of woolly goodness.

Are you wondering what gifts to get FOR your child? Don’t forget the 5 best toys of all time.

Image © Vasiliy Koval | Dreamstime.com

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On the most commercial weekend of the year, you are bombarded with messages to buy stuff so you can give stuff. If you are trying to keep stuff to a minimal in your house, you can extend that attitude to your giving. My daughter is my model of good giving this year.

If you are like me, you have a closet full of yarn (or craft supplies, beads, wood to carve, paints, or some other kind of craft supplies). Yes, the crafters I know tend to be hoarders of a sort. This year, perhaps you could pull all of those supplies out of the closet and see what you can do for the people you care enough about to make something personal. That is what my daughter has done.

Much like a hobbit, my daughter started around her birthday in July thinking of what she could do for her family for the holidays. We are going to spend a rare holiday with her grandparents and cousins, so she wanted to knit each person a scarf that suits them in particular—favorite colors, textures, and patterns. First, she emptied out my mother’s yarn closet, then she matched up yarn to people. She had to buy a couple of skeins to fill in, but that was only a couple out of about fifty balls of yarn. She did really well turning our closet into a beautiful pile of scarves. We leave for our holiday in a couple of weeks, and she is knitting the last scarf now.

Her advice is to start by thinking of the people: who they are, what they wear, and what kind of style they like. She used the same knitting stitches for every scarf because that is what she is comfortable with right now, but she made the scarves look quite different. She says your homemade gifts should not be about you but should match up the personality of the person you are giving to with your skills and time.

10 Ideas for Low-stuff or No-stuff Giving

1. Tuck a note inside an old book as a gift. Tell them why you enjoyed the book and why you think they might as well.

2. Sew old jeans into a bag. We made small jeans bags out of stray jeans legs. My son’s pant legs seem to come off as he wears holes in the knees that eventually join around the back. He gets long shorts for the next year, and he has a variety of legs in his closet waiting for a purpose. This year, he is giving his friends small bags that fit the cards they trade back and forth.

3. Create a craft kit for your child from some of your craft supplies. You could just to the closet with your child and choose, but the possibilities can be overwhelming. I always found kits exciting as a child. Write a note or draw a picture for younger children about the possibilities they will find in the kit.

4. Give a digital download of your favorite movie to a friend. I like gifts that keep on giving. Be sure to say what you like about the movie.

5. Create a family calendar. We did this for several years. We used big photos of our children then included birthdays and holidays for all of our extended family members. I still remember the year my aunt did this for every one of her nine siblings’ families. If you want to make this a regular gift, write on a certain day of each month a reminder to family members to send you more photos for the next year’s family calendar.

6. Give your child a big book of several hundred world folk tales then read one every night for the next year. I did this with each of my children, and they still talk about the stories. We not only shared all of those bedtimes, but we all have a common vocabulary of narratives

7. Make a holiday ornament from your craft scraps.

8. Make a photo album in a small book with photos from a typical day in the life of your child for a grandparent, aunt, or someone else they don’t get to see often enough. Sharing the little details can help them feel much closer.

9. Give the family a board game and a full afternoon of time to play. Yes, that’s a little bit of stuff, but this shouldn’t be about zealousness but about getting to the heart of giving. What your kids want is your time.

10. Bake cookies for a neighbor, and add a personal note of gratitude. Include a note thanking them specifically for chats, vacation mail pick up, shared dog walks, and anything else you appreciate.

Don’t just give for the sake of giving. Think about the person and what they mean to you, but let the feeling show more than the material stuff. Would a card or a phone call be enough? Don’t overdo it. You want to enjoy your holidays yourself as well, so give in ways that are personal to you and to the receiver without making yourself feel overwhelmed and frantic to get it all done.

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Has your child ever come home from a birthday party with a bag of candy and throwaway plastic toys? Is there really anyone who can say “No!” to that? I’ve even seen myself give out party gifts that make me groan and feel more determined than ever to improve the loot bag with each passing year. Every time I throw a children’s party, I manage to get a little closer to the ideal of a low-impact loot bag.

First Rule of the Eco-friendly Loot Bag

It you are actually going to include a bag, make it a reusable bag—and not just any reusable bag. Make it a bag a child will want to reuse. Try a purse or a snack bag.

Small but Lasting

Rather than a throwaway party favor that lasts no longer than the ride home, make your child’s party loot a lasting toy or treasure.

My children recently purged their rooms of fast-food toys, Christmas stocking stuffers, Scholastic sale items, and other little pieces of pointless plastic. (I know. Horror.) Their rejected pile of tiny toys was surprisingly huge. None of these items entered the long-term play stream. I’m glad to see them go, but what a waste. Don’t contribute to this!

Loot bags can get expensive. It’s much better to give one great gift than to pile up many little things that will never be touched or considered again except when they are finally thrown out. Most of the loot bag gifts at bynature.ca Celebrations department are under $10.

Buy Sets

If you want to include a variety in each bag while keeping the cost low, buy sets of crayons or pencils or clay then break up the set with one item per bag.

Follow the Party Theme

The gift will be more memorable if it is tied to the theme of the party. If your daughter has a fairy party, a fairy wand will remind guests of playing with their friends. If your son has an art party, taking home the art supplies will give guests many more hours of fun remembering their party projects.

Activity As Gift

Sometimes, the activities can create the gifts. With a Wooden Truck Kit or Wooden Bug Kit, the toy a guest makes is the gift to take home. You could do the same with an All Natural Lip Balm Making Kit.

What do you do for birthday party loot bags?

I’m so excited for a month of eco-parties. We will cover this theme from many angles this month. If you have questions about eco-parties or stories of what you have done to lower the impact of your child’s parties, please share.

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Recently, I attended a local meeting of a cloth diaper support group with about 40 adults present. Everyone got a ticket for a giveaway of a huge cloth diaper package. I was listening closely to comments and watching people’s faces. I could tell that several people really needed these diapers.

Especially when the economy hits families so hard, sometimes the best gift you can give is what a person really needs. New parents need diapers. Give a gift that will save new parents money.

Tips for Giving a Cloth Diaper Holiday Gift

• Make sure it’s a gift not a judgment.
• Include a note about your experience and how you want to share that experience.
• Include a coupon good for your guidance in how to use and how to clean cloth diapers.
• Include written washing instructions.
• Include a sample of a detergent that is formulated for cloth diapers, like Rockin’ Green.

Cloth Diaper Packages Make Giving Easy

Save yourself time by giving a cloth diaper package.

For the Cloth Diaper Pragmatist

If you are giving cloth diapers to someone who just wants tried and true solutions that work, consider the Bummis Complete Cloth Diaper Kit with organic cotton prefolds. The kit comes in two sizes, 8-15lbs and 15-30lbs, and each kit contains everything the cloth diapering parent will need, including a Fabulous Wet Bag and care, washing, and folding instructions. This is the complete package.

Origin: Made in Canada
Materials: Organic cotton diapers and polyester diaper covers

For the Cloth Diaper Explorer

If you are giving a gift to someone who has been curious about a variety of cloth diapers, consider the Cloth Diaper Trial Kit with pocket diapers, fitted diaper & cover, and prefolds in different brands. This is a nice way to give a chance to try out different diapers before making a commitment to any one style or brand. We will ship this package free to Canadian addresses just to provide the chance to compare cloth diapers.

Origin: mixed
Materials: organic cotton, hemp/cotton, microfiber, polyester

The holidays may be a time when we think of ugly sweaters and fruitcakes, but you can also look at the real needs of the people around you and make your contribution to meeting those needs.

Happy Holidays!

Image © Ihar Ulashchyk | Dreamstime.com

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BPA, or bisphenol A, has been in the news again since October, when the Canadian Ministers of Environment and Health added the chemical to the schedule of toxic substances. The concerns about this endocrine-disrupting substance are broad, but great efforts should be made to limit exposure in babies to avoid developmental and reproductive disorders linked to BPA. Parents need to be particularly aware of BPA in baby bottles, water bottles, and in food storage containers.

If you are considering baby bottles, water bottles or other feeding gifts for a child this holiday season, you can avoid the issues by giving BPA-free gifts.

Glass Baby Bottles

Size: 2 bottles (250 mL/8.5 oz)
Material: Glass with variable-flow silicone nipple (non-leaching & non-toxic)
Origin: Made in France under strict EU (European Union) safety guidelines

Klean Kanteen sippy cups

Size: 7 1/4″ tall, holds 12 oz of liquid (355 mL)
Material: stainless steel with an adaptor and 2 Avent NO-SPILL sippy spouts (both made of non-leaching polypropylene)

SIGG water bottles with Kidz Grip Handles

Size: 10.2 oz (300 mL)
Material: aluminum, internal coating is a baked-on enamel finish
Origin: developed and manufactured in Switzerland

See more plastic-free feeding and sleeping products as well as plastic-free toys. Research on harmful industrial chemicals can be alarming, but parents have a lot of alternatives and real changes they can make to help their children avoid exposure.

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Children’s holiday parties and little gift-giving opportunities surround me. If you are trying to keep your kids’ holidays low-impact, our Kids store features new ideas for economically and environmentally-friendly celebrations.

Children’s Holiday Gifts

Did your children leave shoes out this morning for Sinterklaas? Are you waiting to put your shoes or stockings out for Odin, Santa Claus, or the Three Kings? Will your children get a small Hanukkah gift tonight?

Many cultures give children small gifts during the winter holidays. Rather than lots of cheap throwaway gifts, I encourage grandparents and friends to give fewer gifts that my children will enjoy over time. I noticed yesterday that my son was playing with a wooden puzzle that he got last year. He carried it all day and kept his hands busy. It’s just a string of colorful wooden blocks, but it is exactly the kind of small toy I am looking for when I leave holiday gifts for my children.

Creative Play

I love open-ended gifts that encourage creative play. One of the best and longest-lasting holiday gifts I ever gave my children was play cloths. Ten years later, we still use these cloths for dress up, decoration, gift wrapping, and more.

• Mini Play Cloths

Dress Up

Especially when adults are going to sit around and talk, children will need a way to occupy themselves. Silk crowns and hair garlands take children into their own imaginative space.

• Silk Crowns
• Silk Hair Garlands

Fun Children’s Kits

Sure, you could just gift your child lip balm or soap as a gift, but a kit to make lip balm or soap can be a fun way to encourage a new kind of creative thinking. When a child is engaged in making decisions (“Do I like flower smells or spicy smells?”), they become more engage in the outcome.

• Lip Balm Making Kit
• Perfume Making Kit
• Soap Making Kit
• Bath Fizzie Making Kit

Puzzles

In my family, everyone does puzzles over the holidays. My diningroom table is already covered with a huge puzzle. When the big kids and adults are figuring out how to fit thousands of pieces together, the smaller children might enjoy a simpler puzzle. Our wooden puzzles are great because they aren’t about fitting pieces together one way but about playing with color and fitting together simple shapes.

• Wooden Mosaic Puzzles

Children’s Party Favors

When it comes to children’s party favors, I try to stick with a similar approach. I figure it is better to give one nice party favor than to encourage every children to haul home a big bag of loot.

Dress-up and art supplies are great for parties because they can be incorporated into the party activities. Our Soy Crayon Rocks, for example, come in party box size or loot bag size, with a little muslin bag for carrying home. Body paints can be used at the party then taken home to dress up again. A wooden slide whistle and rhythm sticks can be used to make beautiful music at the party then become the child’s party gift.

A party craft can also become a part gift. We carry an unfinished wood magic wand. Children can decorate their wands as a party activity, play with the wands during party games, then take the wands home to continue the magic. A gift that each child has personalized that way can be a much more lasting thank you.

Green Celebrations

We are continuing to add to our Green Celebrations products. Please tell us what you are looking for as you plan green parties for children.

Visit the Kids division of bynature.ca for eco-friendly party supplies, party games, and loot bag gifts for children.

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