In a year of social distancing and virtual gatherings, we could all likely use a big dose of connection - not only for our mental health but for our emotional health, too.
Rather than gifting toys this holiday that will likely find their way to the bottom of the toy bin, give the children on your list meaningful memories instead. Here are seven connection-based gift ideas for ages one and up that we love for the holidays and all year long.
Barefoot Books Mind And Body Set (Ages 4+)
This gift set includes two empowering practices that can be shared with children and adults alike. Yoga Pretzels includes 50 yoga activities and Mindful Kids includes 50 mindfulness practices that encourage kindness, focus, and calming skills. These fun, powerful tools help build strength from the inside out to support all-around wellness.
Why we love it:
Yoga pretzels is a great way to get moving (and laughing) with your favorite kiddo. The partner poses and movements are a fun way to build connection as well as inner strength and confidence.
We love Mindful Kids for its whimsical illustrations and easy-to-follow practices for cultivating focus, love, and stillness - helpful for silencing the mind before bedtime. Some of our inside favorites are Sharp Eyes, Mountain Rising and Open Ears.
Silly Street Board Game (Ages 4+)
Silly Street makes character builder games and toys that support cognitive learning and life skills. Silly Street Board Game helps to build qualities of confidence, creativity, empathy, adaptability, and grit.
Why we love it:
This fun family game is pure silliness, just as the name implies. We love creating the board (yes, it’s a fun puzzle). Each card instructs you and your co-players to do fun, goofy tasks. This game gets the family thinking and moving. Be prepared for a good belly laugh!
Big Life Journal (Ages 7+)
Big Life Journal for Kids helps children develop strong growth mindset skills through inspiring stories, colorful illustrations, and engaging guided activities. Children discover how to believe in themselves and face challenges with confidence. They learn that mistakes are opportunities to grow and that they can achieve anything when they're persistent!
Why we love it:
If you are a parent, grandparent, sibling, relative, or friend, you can participate by being a child's Journal Buddy. Spend quality time sharing, growing, and connecting. Some of our inside faves include a gratitude scavenger hunt and the “Follow Your Heart” poem. And they have a special teen edition too!
Kids Cook Real Food (Age 2 to 13+)
This family-friendly cooking opportunity is a multimedia online course designed to help any adult teach children how to cook. The courses are set up for a span of ages, from tots to teens, by offering beginner, intermediate, and advanced level meals.
Why we love it:
This is such an amazing opportunity to spend time with your child and co-create meals from the heart. The recipes use real food from scratch, without the processed stuff. The Recipe Book is packed with recipes the whole family can enjoy. Food allergy? No problem. The course provides many substitutions for special diets. The focus of the course is less about the recipes and more about spending time together to learn, create, and connect.
GoZen! (Ages 5 to 15)
Feeling good is a skill! GoZen! uses animated videos to teach skills of resilience and well-being. Imaginative games, workbooks, cartoons, and quizzes help enrich this unique experience.
Why we love it:
This innovative and interactive tool helps break down life’s big skills into bite-sized pieces for kids. It talks about sometimes complex things like feelings, stress, and more - in ways children understand! The animated characters help children learn to better understand what is going on inside of them using all of their senses and can be used with or without an adult.
Generation Mindful’s SnuggleBuddies and Heart’s Treasure Hunt Combo (Ages 1+)
Ok, since connection is our jam, we would be a bit remiss if we didn't mention a few favorites from our own community, too.
The SnuggleBuddies plush toy collection helps children name and share their feelings in daily playful ways, helping children feel safe and decreasing meltdowns. There are 7 different animals to choose from. Each plush comes with four mood emojis in a back pocket and a laminated feelings poster, calendar/journal.
Heart’s Treasure Hunt is a get-up and move book that takes children on an adventure looking for love. “What is love, and where does love live?!” Our friend Heart wants to know, and the answer we discover at the end of the book just might surprise you!
Why we love it:
We love the SnuggleBuddies because they are cuddly, relatable, and engaging. The attached soft emoji symbols make it easy for even young or nonverbal children to share what they are feeling inside. The SnuggleBuddies are also great for military families and/or any family who has members living in different households/countries etc. PRO TIP: Grab a SnuggleBuddies and FaceTime your loved ones! This plush will get your child thinking and talking about their day.
Heart’s Treasure Hunt is a playful and engaging book that holds a mirror up to your children (quite literally) to let them know one important truth … they are love. This book nurtures emotional intelligence, resilience, mindfulness, empathy, and calming tools with the help of the seven peacemaking pals. Cuddle up, roar like Yellow Lion or fly like Green Hummingbird, and let your imagination run wild as you practice big life skills through play.
Generation Mindful’s Ready To Hang Time-In ToolKit (Ages 3+)
The Time-In-ToolKit is a step-by-step guide for nurturing social and emotional skills in children through mindfulness, child-led play, and positive discipline. This ToolKit includes PeaceMakers mindfulness cards and other engaging activities that make learning about emotions fun, moving families and classrooms away from time-outs to time-ins! And bonus, this bundle has the ToolKit’s colorful posters already framed and ready to go, and is perfect for small spaces!
Why we love it:
The Toolkit’s superpower is in its Calming Corner, a space you create with your child (you too grandparents)! Together, you have the opportunity to design the space, choose calming tools and toys, and further connection through naming and taming big emotions. And bonus, this isn’t just for children, it’s for all of us grown “kids”, too.
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For a free set of printable calming strategies and video on how to use time-ins, join our mailing list. Generation Mindful creates educational tools, toys, and programs that nurture emotional intelligence through play and positive discipline.
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