The Holiday Gift Guide For All Their Dreams

"Dear Mr. Vernon,

We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong, but we think you're crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. See us as you wanna see us. In the simplest terms with the most convenient definitions, but what we found out is that each one of us is a brain, and an athlete, and a basket case, a princess, and a criminal. Does that answer your question?

Sincerely yours,

The Breakfast Club"

Maybe you're in the trenches of parenting adolescent angst or maybe, like me, it's still something to look forward to. Regardless of how old these kids are, it seems like they're always thinking about the future, especially during this time of year.

So here's a holiday gift guide for their hopes and dreams. We've even got some suggestions for you, the teacher, parent, concierge, magician, healer, or whatever you like to be called.

If your kids are anything like mine, they've run through this list a few times over.

Jump to:

• Holiday Gift Guide
• Books About the Universe
• Mooncakes
• Homemade Frosted Animal Crackers
• Homemade Eggnog
• Kolach, Ukrainian Christmas Bread
• Potica
• Apple Molasses Pie
• Matzo Ball Soup
• Get on the Court
• FREE NBA Three-Part Cards

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Amazon links are not affiliate links. You can read my full affiliate disclosure.

Holiday Gift Guide

The Astronomer

The Waseca Biomes Solar System Mat contains a large mat of the solar system from the sun to Kuiper Belt. The mat comes with wooden parts of the solar system, 3-level fact file cards, and several charts to encourage exploration.

This is the ultimate out-of-the-box solution for exploring the solar system. Pair with the nesting boxes for lessons that promote an understanding of the interconnectedness of everything.

Save $15 on your first Waseca Biomes purchase here.

Young stargazers love constellation tiles and books about the universe!

Free Constellation Cards and Sorting Activity

Grab your free constellations sorting activity above. Kids can sort the cards into rows or columns using the heading cards: Year-Round Constellations, Winter Constellations, Spring Constellations, Summer Constellations, and Autumn Constellations. The colors of the cards provide a control of error so that kids can self-correct when completing this work independently.

These sorting cards also make excellent three-part cards for introducing the constellations themselves. To use these as 3-part cards, simply print two copies of the printable and then cut the labels off the cards on one of the copies. Children can match the picture and then match the label as they show readiness.

The Paleontologist

The Fossilicious Paleontology for Kids Book and Fossil Set is sure to ignite a love of learning. Get hands-on experience with real fossils and follow-up with the easy-to-read books.

Learn more about your favorite prehistoric animals and the major mass extinction event they're associated with? You want Extinct: The Story of Life on Earth, a series by Ben Garrod with illustrations by Gabriel Ugueto.

With incredible illustrations to entice readers of all ages, the Extinct books make it impossible not to fall in love with the past. Collect all 8 in the series.

Explore more of your favorite prehistoric animals.

For anyone interested, Fossilicious also offers a rocks and minerals collection, complete with curriculum for budding geologists. We have enjoyed working with it, and it was one of my favorite science labs as a kid.

The Chef

If you or your kids like spending time in the kitchen, you'll want a variety of cookbooks to explore with them.

Don't forget about ingredients and cooking equipment.

Top off your holiday with the best spices you can get your hands on!

Chefs are superheroes too! If you want to learn more about World Central Kitchen and the honorable work that they do, pick up Feeding Dangerously: On the Ground with José Andrés and World Central Kitchen.

The Athlete

If your kids like sports, then everyone's on the move! Want to test the waters? Grab some comfortable sneakers and a basketball to get started. No expensive equipment required.

Pick out some sports books to match their interests. Or let them pick their own!

Free NBA Basketball Players Three-Part Cards

Grab your FREE three-part cards to go with your favorite players. Learning to read has never been more fun than with materials your kids are interested in.

These 3-part cards are designed to be used with a collection of NBA action figures or with your favorite books.

Nothing says love like looking out for their health and well-being. We love the YMCA and they offer a variety of activities for kids and adults, including free holiday offerings.

The Artist

Beautiful art can transform your environment and a variety of art books is a must-have in our opinion. Pair them with your favorite watercolor paints.

The Montessori metal insets support art and geometry lessons. They're fun to just play around with and explore. Dive into shapes, shading, and patterns. The options are endless.

We like to use Lyra colored pencils and Stabilo watercolor crayons to get the biggest bang for our buck. They last forever and the watercolor crayons are quite versatile.

Let the art double as a sensorial experience with Houseplant incense burners and vases.

The Veterinarian

Every one of my kids have said they want to be a vet at some point, with my oldest focused on it right now. Whether it's a dream job or just a passing fancy, you can't go wrong with some animal figures and a wooden barn.

Don't be surprised if they graduate to the animal hospital.

The more opportunities to work with animals the better!

A Content Creator

If your child, like some of mine, dabble with the idea of being content creators, here is a resource for you:

• YouTube Success Academy

You can also read more about our journey, including the equipment we love.

The Teacher

Whether you're in it for the long haul or just dabbling in the early years, there are a couple of resources we've found we can't live without.

The Waseca Reading Program (also available in a printable version) will effortlessly guide kids through learning to read. It uses the Orton-Gillingham approach and is the best hands-on reading program you can buy.

Save $15 on your first Waseca Biomes purchase here.

Montessori education encourages kids to learn math using concrete materials and concepts gradually become more abstract as they go. It's so much fun, but it can become addictive and pricey.

Once kids move past the golden beads, we've found the Montessori stamp game is a must-have material that's also budget-friendly. The kids love it and it's portable so you can take it wherever you go. We've got dozens of games and ways to use the stamp game for learning operations.

Encourage practice until mastery in order (+, x, -,/) and they'll be on to multi-step operations in no time.

Grab some of these continent boxes to store all the treasures from your real and imagined travels. P.S. you're going to want somewhere to store all the animal figures the kids inevitably collect.

If you're raising world travelers or your kids love learning about exciting new animals, people, and cultures, check out the Cabinet of Continents. We like to keep Planet Earth and the Biomes of the World Mat nearby for further exploration.

Save $15 on your first Waseca Biomes purchase here.

Explore Festivals of Light around the world such as Diwali, Christmas, Imbolc, Kwanzaa, and Hanukkah with this Mirus Toys Double-Sided Festival of Lights Stacker.

Happy Holidays

There you have it! We hope this helps you on your holiday shopping journey. The holidays aren't about gifts but if you can make them work in your favor, I say go for it!

Happy Holidays from all of us and happy shopping!