I know buying gifts can get a little stressful when you have children and you want to buy them gifts they’ll enjoy but you don’t want to wreck your whole budget. So I’m going to show you 7 gifts, each under $25 that can help spark creativity in your kids, can help them enjoy saving money and are also a lot of fun.
So when I buy things for my kids, I try to employ the same rules I use when making purchases for myself. I first set a limit on the amount I’m able to spend per gift and I try to stay as close to that amount as possible. And then, once I get started shopping, I ask myself these three questions:
Question #1 - “Is this item below the price limit I set?”
Question #2 - “Can I do more than one thing with this? or if its clothing, can I wear this in more than one way?”
Question #3 - “Is it something I think I’ll still like or want to use in a few years?” I try to get a yes to every question but I have to have at least two yesses out of three.
This first gift I want to tell you guys about is this no sewing, no cutting Made By Me Easy to Knot Quilt Making Kit by Horizon Group for ages 6-12 – definitely gets a yes to question #1 – the regular price is only $16.99, right now its only $13.38 on Amazon. Question #2 – can it do more than one thing? YES! The primary focus is for your child to spend time creating something with their own hands so it boosts creativity. And every time we create something new, it triggers something in our minds that looks for more things we can create. For this one – its creative but its easy. You’re simply knotting the fringes of the blanket together in whatever color pattern you wish. You can even add the additional embellishments that come with it if you want to really customize it. Some boxes come with embellishments that have self-adhesive backing and some come with fabric glue. Also, there are a variety of knots you’re child can use to connect the precut fringed squares and there are short tutorials on youtube if you want some inspiration or a little help. Then, when the quilt is finished, you have a 5 x 3 foot throw blanket you can use as bedroom décor or for those fun movie nights on the couch.
This next gift is this Setibre Electronic Piggy Bank. Its made to work like an ATM where you have to punch in a 4 digit passcode. You can either use the default password or you can change it to something private that you or your child will remember. Its for ages 6 and up. I bought this for my son’s birthday when he turned 7 so he’s had it for a year and a half now and its still working perfectly. It comes in a variety of other color combinations but the price varies based on the color. It takes 3 AA batteries which are not included. It says that it can store up to 600 coins and 100 bills – I don’t think we’ve gotten it to capacity just yet but we can keep working on it. When I bought it last year, it was only $22.99 now its $26.99. But there is one by the brand Smart Novelty that looks exactly like this one and its only $16.99. So I included the link to both in this article but the Setibre one is the only one I can actually vouch for because its the one I have. But you can check out the reviews and make the comparison for yourself. And actually with the different colors available this could be a great gift for an adult as well.
This next item is also a great saving tool and its so cute! Its this Cat Stealing Money Bank. It’s for ages 3 and up and it requires 2 AA batteries. I got this for my daughter when she was 5 or 6 years old so we’ve had it now for almost 5 years and its still working and for only $14.39 on sale – I think its normally about $17, its definitely a great buy.
This one is an oldie but a goodie! I actually had one of these when I was a kid. It’s the Made By Me Ultimate Weaving Loom and kids can make these small woven squares that can be used as coasters or potholders or can be turned into a pencil case or you can connect several of them to make a placemat. You can also look up the Made By Me Weaving Loom on Youtube and find tutorials for how to make headbands, a jump rope and other things as well. And this weaving loom is only 12.99 on Amazon.
Now I think most people love a good Lego set but if you’re like me, you’re probably always wondering what to do with the Legos after they make whatever the creation is. Especially when so much time and effort has been put into it, you don’t want to just break it apart and start over. But then I saw these Lego Dots sets and I thought it was cool because you get to create something like you aways can with Legos, but what you create is also a functional storage item. This one is a small desk organizer, where you can put pens and pencils, a little note pad, display a picture and store other small supplies. I got this for my daughter 2 years ago for $19.99, and unfortunately its currently out of stock but there are others that are really cute like this LEGO DOTS Cute Panda Tray for 19.97 or this LEGO DOTS Space Ship Pencil Holder for 24.98.
This Crayola Create 'N Carry Art Set is $18.00 and is great for kids who like to draw and color and make their own special little creations. Its for ages 5 and up and it comes with construction paper, crayons and markers that are made to show up brighter on darker paper. It also comes with these short color pencils but after a few years they’ve been sharpened to nothing so I replaced them with these full size coloring pencils. You can add a pair of kid friendly scissors and some glue and your child can have everything they need. Then wherever they are they can sit with their case and have a convenient drawing surface and marker holder right on their lap.
This next one is the PopSolo Bluetooth Karaoke Microphone. It has a speaker right on the mic so you don’t have to connect to a separate machine and it has a clip for you to attach your smart phone and use whatever karaoke app you like or you can find a scrolling lyric video on Youtube and sing along. When you connect to a Bluetooth enabled device you can play the music through the speaker and hear your voice at the same time. It recharges using a micro usb cable and holds a charge for up to about 5 hours. Right now its 16.69 on Amazon and this microphone is actually mine but my kids use it more than I do so I figured I’d add it to this list!
Watch the video on Youtube!
I hope this list gave you some great ideas and inspiration for your holiday shopping this year!
If you want to see these products in action, check out my 7 Christmas Gifts for Creative Kids Under $25 video on my Youtube channel!
