Small Gifts for Kids: Ideas by Age for Christmas, Stockings and Party Bags

The Christmas stocking needs filling, the birthday party still needs twelve party bags, and the godmother wants to know what the child would like for Christmas. Small gifts for kids are quick to buy and just as quick to forget: the plastic figure from the chocolate egg disappears under the sofa within two days. Here are ideas children actually use, sorted by age and occasion, plus a few honest rules so it doesn't turn into too much stuff.

Three rules for small gifts

• Used, not displayed: things that get played with, read, used up or experienced go down better than decorations for the bedroom shelf.
• One good thing instead of ten: a single item the child is excited about often beats a bag of bits that are boring before they're unwrapped.
• Think about age: nothing with small parts for children under 3, so no marbles, beads, magnets or bottle caps.

Small gifts for kids aged 3 to 6

• Play dough or chunky crayons in colours they don't have yet.
• A look-and-find book where you still spot something new the tenth time round.
• Bath toys, such as pouring cups or bath crayons that are allowed on the tiles.
• An animal-shaped children's soap: My Happy Cow, My Happy Pig and My Happy Tiger are handmade animal-shaped soaps, 100 g, for normal skin from age 3. Suddenly "Wash your hands!" becomes "Can I use the cow?".

Handwashing that's fun: soap at child height

The child can barely reach the basin, and the soap sits at the back in a soggy dish? A small help is Soapi. It's a magnetic soap holder that you stick to the tiles at child height, no drilling needed. You press a bottle cap halfway into a bar of solid soap, the soap hangs from the magnet on the wall and dries all the way round instead of going soft. The child can reach it alone, and the basin stays clean. An adult presses in the bottle cap, as it doesn't belong in the hands of children under 3. Soapi costs €12.95 and comes in ten colours from Yellow to Mint, so the child can choose. It holds on smooth surfaces such as tiles, glass or mirrors, but not on painted or papered walls.

Small gifts for kids aged 6 to 10

• A comic or the next book in their favourite series.
• A torch or head torch for reading under the duvet and adventures in the dark garden.
• A small science or craft kit, for growing crystals or making friendship bracelets.
• A voucher for time together: swimming, ice cream, the cinema with just Dad. At this age, a voucher like that will definitely be redeemed.

Gifts for 12-year-olds: small, but not childish

At twelve, nobody wants a cow-shaped soap any more. Now it's about independence and things that feel a bit grown-up.

• Headphones, a phone case or a long charging cable in their favourite colour.
• A sketchbook with properly good pens.
• An outing with friends: a climbing wall, a trampoline park or a cinema afternoon without parents.
• Something for their own bathroom shelf: a shampoo bar, for example from Skargard, for hair and body, which can't leak in the rucksack on a school trip.
• A home for their first front door key: the magnetic key holder for €11.95 sticks to a smooth surface by the door without drilling, and the steel key ring simply hangs from the magnet. It's the tidy alternative to a key rack, and "Where's your key?" gets asked a lot less.

Party bag fillers for a children's birthday

Party bag fillers should be small, the same for everyone and not broken after three minutes. Reliable favourites are bubbles, stickers, a funny-shaped rubber, a packet of cress seeds or a few home-baked biscuits. If you're looking for craft ideas for primary school children, have a look at our bottle cap ideas.

Christmas gifts for kids: several at once with Mix & Match

With Christmas gifts for kids, there's usually one big present from the parents. From grandparents, godparents and aunts, small things that complement the big one rather than compete with it are ideal. And when there are several children on your list, a godchild, a niece, the neighbours' kids and your own two, Mix & Match is handy: choose 5 products, pay €50, free shipping within Germany, which works out at €10 per gift. For example:

• My Happy Cow and My Happy Pig for the two little ones,
• a Soapi in Yellow for soap at child height,
• a Soapi in Petrol for the twelve-year-old setting up her own bathroom shelf,
• the key holder for that first front door key.

For more stocking ideas, see our small St Nicholas gifts. And if you're shopping for mum and dad as well, have a look at our gifts for parents.

FAQ

From what age are the children's soaps suitable?

My Happy Cow, Pig and Tiger are intended for normal skin from age 3. We don't recommend soap for babies and toddlers under 3. For them, a gift for the parents is the better choice.

What should I bear in mind with Soapi in a child's bathroom?

The magnet is fully enclosed in the plastic, but the bottle cap is a small part. Press it into the soap yourself, and for children under 3, hang Soapi out of reach. From nursery age on, soap at child height is a nice way to help them do it themselves.

In short

Good small gifts for kids get played with, read, used or experienced. A soap that looks like a cow, a Soapi at child height or a proper place for that first key fit the bill nicely. For several children at once, put together your Mix & Match bundle now, 5 items for €50.