Holiday Gift Guide for Your Kids to Develop and Make an Impact

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! And as the big day gets closer, I thought I’d drop a blog post and share my holiday guide. Short and sweet, yet mindful for children. Take a read through my guide, provide feedback if you’d like and most importantly, if you know of other businesses, products or services, please share in the comments below.

PINNA PODCAST

I don’t know what rock I’ve been living under, but I always thought podcasts were an adult thang! Podcasts are ah-mazing for children. I worked with Pinna on a collaboration a few months ago and the boys loved their podcasts so much that I had to include them in my holiday guide. Its audience is targeted from ages 4-12 and the podcast is categorized for easy selection (e.g. podcasts Under 10 Minutes, Bath Time or All About Sports). And a “woot woot” for their seasonal podcasts. This is my favourite time of the year and it’s really got the whole family in the Christmas spirit.

I recommend listening to podcasts during car rides and as part of a bedtime routine. It’s worked best with my boys.

Our favourites in no particular order: original podcast “Quentin and Alfie’s ABC Adventures”, audio book “Good Night for Rebel Girls” (I’m a boy mom, but it doesn’t mean they can’t learn from these books) and “Good Sport” where pro-athletes tell stories from before they were famous.

Pinna Podcast: Click here for link or try it out for 30 days free.

A KIDS BOOK ABOUT

My sister in law tagged me when she came across these books on Instagram. I’m always on the hunt for books that cover topics that aren’t always easy to talk about and the ones I’ve come across are either too complex or not of age for them. I love books that start conversations and don’t just speak to you. The mission at A Kids Book About is to help kids and their grownups have honest conversations about things that matter. Books written by a great team of authors who tell their stories and publish them for the world to read. The topics/titles may appear to be too heavy, but the content is simple and relatable. So many topics covered in their collection.  The boys have just read the  Book about Belonging on our trip. And the Book About Money we will wait until after the holidays to read (LOL). Recommended age is for 5+ and their grownups.

A Kids Book About: Click the link which will take you straight to their selection and with the purchase of three or more books, you get 40% off your entire order. I’m already looking forward to seeing which books my boys will scoop up next.

LOVE POWERED CO

Where do I begin? I just love these mom bosses who created these beautiful and positive I AM affirmation cards. And literally it just takes minutes to put you in a positive space. You can buy the entire collection of three (Littles, Femme and Teens) or buy them individually. I currently have the Littles set in the boys’ room and the Femme set in my office at work.

I’m not a Monday person but I have to tell you, having the Femme box at work has given me that extra boost in the morning along with the caffeine kick of course. As for the Littles box, the boys pick a card that they can relate to and a popular card for them is “Uniqueness is My Power”. They are twins and sometimes they get lumped into a category of just being twins and people not taking the time to get to know them. And this card serves as a reminder that while they have this special relationship, they should celebrate and share their unique qualities with others.

Love Powered Co: click here for their amazing collection

KICK START READING

The perfect gift for those ages 3 to 6 to help littles build confidence with reading.   Simple to use, interactive two minutes videos and their motto is “screen time you can feel good about”. Lauren, who is the voice and teacher behind this learning tool developed Kick Start Reading with her brother with the idea of making reading fun for kids and keeping it simple for busy parents. After a long day at work and having to come home and read with the boys, I wasn’t always engaged and sometimes just went through the motion. For those long hard work days, Kick Start Reading helped break up the routine of just learning with books and sounding out words. I would sit with the boys and we would go through the videos together. And remember that kids need a change of pace when it comes to learning as well. When the boys aren’t keen on reading books, but I want to get the learning in, I’ll switch up the bedtime routine and we’ll go through a few videos. Link can be found below and with the purchase of a membership, you have access to all videos. There is also a customized section for your little reader.

Get started by clicking the link to sign up for Kick Start Reading.

VOLUNTEERING YOUR TIME and/or DONATING TO CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS 

It’s easy to get caught up in the whole holiday spirit and there isn’t anything wrong with that. But as a reminder, during this season not everyone is able to because it is a tough time for some financially, emotionally or mentally. A great time for you to get involved is through programs at work, in your community or through your child’s school. At the age of 18 months, I took the boys to Safety Net – Children and Youth Charities, a local non-profit organization in Oakville and had them help me unpack donated goods and set them up on tables. It was a lot of work and they didn’t understand but being there and seeing the contributions you can make even for a few hours, it makes a world of difference for others. Over the years, I’ve mixed things up and have donated through other charities such as Kerr Street Mission, Bank on Bellies and Ronald McDonald Charities Canada. And finding time isn’t always easy. And a trick I’ve learned is find your local grocery store and see if they have a food donation bin (some have them year-round). Have the kids shop for the items in store and at checkout have them drop the items in the bin.  Below are links to charitable organizations that we’ve partnered or donated our time with this year.

Kerr Street Mission

Bank on Bellies

Ronald McDonald House Charities Canada

Happy Holidays and all the best as we close 2019!

XOXO Sunshine