Simpler Living Blog

CHRISTMAS, HOLIDAYS

A Homesteader's Gift Guide for Children

Lehman's
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One question we get regularly from parents is what to do with Christmas and other holidays for the kids. The average kid is quite literally almost buried in stuff in the USA! And a fair bit of it isn’t all that good for them. But we still want to bless our kids and get them fun things for birthdays and holidays. So how do we redeem these opportunities and turn them back into blessings for our kids and families?

Puzzles

Almost twenty years after my mom passed, I still have found memories of working alongside her on puzzles small and large. She would often takes months working through thousand or more piece puzzles on a special table set up in the corner of the house. Many of us kids would come and work beside her for a few minutes to a few hours, or sometimes on the floor doing smaller puzzles of our own. Kids love puzzles, and not only will they often do them again and again and again, they develop great skills while doing so. Worried about having to have too many to keep the kids interested? Then set up a puzzle exchange with a few families to swap puzzles every month or so to keep the kids interest!

Arts and Crafts

Did you know that research is showing modern kids have significantly reduced hand-eye coordination over previous generations? One reason? They don’t do arts and crafts. I remember watching my grandma hold multiple conversations while crocheting for hours on end perfect row after perfect row (she made giant bed blankets for all 11 of us grand kids among many other projects!) Sewing, knitting, and other arts and crafts don’t just give your child specific skills. They help develop abilities that may transfer to things such as being a medic or a mechanic!

Build

Even our older kids, including this over forty, loves building! Some of our log building block sets are now on child number six and easily over a thousand hours of use.

Tools

As kids get older (around 8-10) we start to transition them to “toys that last a lifetime.” A good pocket knife. A hammer and screwdriver set. These are toys that turn into household tools as your kids age instead of stuff that goes to the local donation center or garbage dump.

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