We are at a really special time in our son's life for the holidays. He's five years old and has tons of personality and developed interests. It's making it a lot of fun and at the same time tough deciding what to get him for Christmas. Getting to know him, I've found that giving him gifts that broaden his interests, complement his current learning skills, enhance creativity and encourage imaginative play are what's going to best compliment the next year of his life. Since deciding what to buy can be tough, I wanted to share what I bought as Christmas gifts for our 5 year old so hopefully it'll help guide you in your gift giving for the holidays and more.

Great Gifts For A 5 Year Old

1. Zoob BuilderZ Zoob Bot - A highlight of my childhood is playing with Zoob sets and I'm so glad to see that they still exist. I actually came across this set when looking for robot building kits appropriate for a 5 year old. Looking around, there wasn't much. But my child has expressed interest in building a robot lately by picking up scrap metal whenever he finds it and says he's saving it to build a robot. I didn't want to buy anything he would get too frustrated with or that would break easily because he's not gentle with his toys. This set isn't exactly a robot building kit but a building kit. It comes with a base that you can pull back and it propels the creation forward. Or you can just use the Zoob pieces to build. We spend a lot of time building with Duplo Legos and blocks but he's outgrowing them but isn't quite ready for big kid Legos.


2. Chutes And Ladders - I'd like to try getting my son interested in playing board games. Since he doesn't have much experience with them yet, I wanted to grab some classic that would be really easy to play. This one I played for all of my childhood and even as a teenager. It involves numbers so it complements his kindergarten curriculum but is also just a really low key, purely luck kind of game.


3.  Sum Swamp - This game is not one that I've ever played or seen before but I love the educational aspect and think I could work this into our homeschooling. It's also a luck based game since strategy doesn't hurt or help you, but in order to find what your move is, you roll dice that show a math equation (addition or subtraction) and the answer is how many spaces you move. I hope it will encourage number recognition and reinforce addition and subtraction concepts while having some good away-from-the-screen time.


4. Monopoly Junior - This game involves strategy and I think that could help strengthen critical thinking skills. I think this one will be fun to pull out when the whole family is home so he can start to learn some of the strategies involved with succeeding in this game. And maybe it'll be a game we can continue to play for years and graduate to the full board, too.


5. Happy Hats - Reading is such a big deal in Virginia kindergarten standards but it can be such a tough skill to master when the child just isn't interested in learning it. This is another game I'm planning on working into our homeschooling activities to make learning that subject more game based.


6. Connect 4 - I always liked that this game stood up instead of being a flat board. I think that already makes that game mor enticing for young eyes. It encourages strategic thinking because the spaces need to be preplanned to make the 4 spots connect while also preventing your opponent from connecting their 4 chips.


7. Dickie Remote Control Fire Truck - Remote controlled things are fun. And this fire truck also has a working water pump. As a kid in love with big vehicles like garbage trucks, construction vehicles, tow trucks and rescue vehicles, this is sure to be an exciting toy that he will be able to have a lot of imaginitive play with. Creating rescue scenarios will grow his critical thinking skills and learning to use the controller will help further develop eye/hand coordination.


8. Tablet With Case - I do want my child to have a tablet and he has had ones in the past but we still haven't found one that works best for us. This one comes with a case, which we discovered was needed all too quickly through the first two tablets we had. The third one didn't have the android system and didn't have google play and I found that to be frustrating on my end as that made it very different from my phone. While I can't say for sure this one will or won't be the best one yet- it looked great for us on paper and was available for a fantastic deal on cyber Monday.


9. Candy Land - Probably my all time favorite board game as a kid and I still have rosy memories of playing it. It could be the candy aspect of it as I am a sweet toothed gal, but I think it's a nice and simple game that can encourage patience and focus. It will be easier for his younger friends to jump in and play as it makes a great stepping stone board game to harder ones.


10. 10 Gallon Fish Tank - The request has been rampant for a turtle but we don't really have the space requirements for an adequate home for one. So we considered a tortoise but the start up cost is more than we can commit to right now. He's also been begging for a fish and we even went out and bought water conditioner and a filter for the tank we have one hand. So, we are going to start with a smaller fish tank. I think he will enjoy watching the fish and the growing responsibility that comes with feeding, maintaining the filtration system, and doing water changes. While he will need help and guidance with all of that, I think it's a good start and will be a beautiful addition to his room.

I want this Chirstmas to be more about experiences and growth throughout the whole year. He already has a lot of toys and will be receiving tons more from his grandparents. One gift I was planning on getting him but was beat to it is a Virginia Living Museum membership since he loves nature so much. I wanted to mention it even though we did;t buy it because it was on the list and I think it makes a great gift since it can be used over and over during the membership.

Let's hear from you!

How do you spend time together as a family without a television screen?

What are you gifting your children this year?

I'm dying to know what your answers are to those questions as they've been on my mind while coming up with this list. Answer the questions in the comments below!

Be well and happy gifting!