7 non-plastic gift ideas for small children

It's almost Halloween. Which means it will be November in like a second. Which means that everyone will be holiday shopping. And I will be thinking of all of things I want to get people. Endlessly brainstorming for gifts that are the perfect blend of thoughtful, unique and fun - yet affordable. But then I won't pull the trigger and before I know it,  it will be a week before Christmas and I will be Amazon Priming (yes, that is a verb) crap that sucks, just because it's available. Don't be like me. Here's a list of fun gifts for little kids that aren't made primarily of plastic so you can start buying now and get it over with before you have to start Priming it. Because plastic (and all of its toxins) are way scarier to me than Ebola.


1. For the builder. I loved my wooden blocks as a child. I found these Haba wooden blocks for Nate last Christmas. They have all kinds of cool shapes, which are perfect for building castles.

2. For the creative. These Seedling kits are very cool. They combine crafting with pretend play, so it's like 2 gifts in one. I got the Superhero cape kit for my girlfriend's son. I haven't heard back on the quality yet, but it looked adorable up close, in the packaging.

3. For the silly. I found these magnet animals by Djeco for Nate a couple of years ago and we STILL play with them. You can mix up the animals or do it the boring way and complete the 3 piece puzzles.

4. For the dramatic. This  Tabletop Puppet Theater is on my list for Nate this holiday season. He always gets very excited when he has the opportunity to play with a puppet theater, but I don't want it to take up too much space, so this is perfect.

5. For the aspiring chef. When we moved this summer I gave our kitchen toys a prominent placement in the new play room and Nate started playing kitchen and restaurant every day. It kept him entertained and didn't require a lot of energy from me, which was perfect, since I had a newborn. We gave him this little pasta set from Hape for his birthday and it was his favorite gift!

6. For the baby. I found a single soft block (that crinkles) from an old set of Nate's and Caroline LOVES it. So these Taggies Big Soft Blocks are on my list for her this Christmas. Of course this organic set is pretty cute too. 

7. For the young toddler. Toddlers love stacking things up, knocking them down and stacking them up again. This set of wooden stacking bowls is beautiful and looks like something that will really last. I have my eye on them for one of my nieces or nephews.