Holiday Gift Guide- Gifts That Keep On Giving

Subscriptions to monthly clubs are a wonderful gift idea! And as I have learned in the past month, there are monthly clubs for kids of all ages, and you might be surprised what some of them are.

MAGAZINES:

A magazine subscription can be a terrific gift! One year, my Dad gave Ryan a subscription to Lego Brickmaster, which sends out a magazine every other month and on the alternate months, sends a small Lego set. It also comes with an admission ticket to Legoland California (which I passed on to blog friends) and two $5.00 Lego store coupons. This was a HUGE hit with Ryan and then with Nathan the next year. The total price is $39.99 for six magazines, six lego sets, $10 in Lego store coupons plus the Legoland admission! It’s a really great deal.

There’s a magazine for almost every age child through Cricket Magazine Group. Mandy, the Marketing Programs Manager for Cricket sent me a sample of each of the titles, and I had NO idea there were so many! I’ve seen Cricket and Ladybug at Barnes & Noble, but there are so many more and they are fantastic! Check out all the magazines available from Cricket:

BABYBUG for ages 6 months- 3 years is the listening and looking magazine for infants and toddlers, and is just right for small hands.  It’s about the size of a board book, with a sturdier cover and thicker pages. A 1 year subscription (9 issues) is $33.95.

LADYBUG for ages 3-6 years is designed to get kids excited about learning to read. Featuring writing  by best-selling authors and illustrations by award-winning artists, Ladybug also has activities, games and songs, and a pull-out section with crafts to cut out. A 1 year subscription (9 issues) is $33.95.

If I listed every magazine Cricket carries, this post would be a mile long! Please visit the Cricket Magazines site to learn more about SPIDER magazine for ages 6-9, the original CRICKET magazine for ages 9-14, as well as DIG (Archeology), COBBLESTONE (American History), MUSE (Science, History, and Arts), FACES (world cultures), and CALLIOPE (World History). These are the PERFECT GIFT for boys ages 10 and up, who are SO HARD to shop for! And at just $33.95 for 9 issues, this is a very affordable gift option!

BOOKS:

The Lollipop Book Club is an ADORABLE way to give the “sweet” gift of reading to a special child. You can send a single book or 3, 6, and 12-month “book a month” packages. Each book is mailed to the child in a big red envelope with a handcrafted lollipop, a Welcome Note explaining how many books are coming, and a special note from you on a sticker that goes on the inside cover of the book. You can select books by age range or choose books in specific categories such as Caldecott Medal Winners and Newberry Medal Winners. For the holidays, The Lollipop Book Club sells Christmas and Hanukkah books with matching holiday lollipops which are very affordably priced ($15 – $25 for the total package, including shipping).

Excite Books is like the Netflix of books! You select the age level and the number of books you want to receive, and each month you get a teacher-approved, age-appropriate book shipped right to your door. There are books for infants, toddlers, grade schoolers, and teens, plus cookbooks and puzzle books too. Sign up for the Free Trial, and you’ll get 3 books, an educational activity, and EIGHT free gifts, for only $4.95 S&H. The best part about Excite Books is that you can cancel at any time (subject to the rules of the package you sign up for), and use the prepaid envelope that comes with your shipment to send your books back, and they will be donated to a library!

TOYS:

That’s right, I said TOYS! I had no idea, until I was contacted by Smart Toy Rental, I had never heard of the idea of “renting and returning” toys. How many toys do your kids have that they played with for a few weeks and then forgot about completely? Mine have TONS.  With Smart Toy Rental,  the recipient child gets new toys each month designed specifically to stimulate and enhance their physical, intellectual, and social development.  The site offers a variety of Rental Plans to fit any budget. Think your child might notice if their toys just “disappeared” at the end of the month? You can choose 5 toys every other month for only $26.99. And get this- there are NO LATE FEES! You can keep the toys more than 30 days if you’d like, you’ll be charged each month. When you are ready for new toys, return the ones you got in the box (return shipping is included) and you’ll get new toys from your queue. I think it’s GENIUS!!!

COOKING:

Ginger Kids’  Passport to the World Club takes children ages 6 and up on a tour of the world’s cuisine over a 12 month period! The 12-month subscription is $295.00, and includes a Ginger Kids World Passport, a free Ginger Kids Apron, a “Kitchen Basics; Rules, Tools & Etiquette” cookbook binder, and more. Each month, the recipient receives a passport stamp for their Ginger Kids passport, the Culture Gram — a fun fact sheet about the country, recipes, non-perishable food item and a special kitchen tool that complements the international cooking experience. The Passport Club program encourages families to spend quality time together learning about other cultures, gives kids hands-on cooking experience, and teaches appreciation for other places, people, and foods. A great gift for a child who loves to help in the kitchen!

I hope this Gift Guide post has given you some great ideas for gifts for the holidays!