100+ Non-Toy Christmas Gift Ideas for Edmonton Kids - 2021
Over the past few years, we’ve begun to live a more minimalist lifestyle. With three kids, that can be tricky - especially when it comes to giving gifts. To help with that, we’re always making note of our favourite non-toy Christmas gifts, or experience gifts for Edmonton kids to share during the holidays.
Here are 100+ non-toy gift Ideas for Edmonton kids:
Local Admission Passes and Experiences
West Edmonton Mall Multi Play Pass: Available in two-day, one week, or even three months or a full year, the Multi Play Pass at West Edmonton Mall is an incredible way to get unlimited access to mall attractions.
Movie Tickets. You can buy movie-ticket packs, or single combination packs for a child admission with a popcorn and snack meal, at Costco, shop online for bonus offers, and buy passes directly from your favourite movie theatre.
The Rec Room. Buy a gift card, or a fun gamer tag and bracelet from The Rec Room for a fun experience gift that will provide a fun, arcade experience.
Edmonton Valley Zoo Membership. For $129, you can give the gift of zoo membership, for the full year. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to then zoo, for up to seven members of the same household. Or, you can choose pre-booked times to visit the zoo, that can be purchased online.
ClipnClimb. Clip ‘n Climb Edmonton gift cards can be purchased online, from $5 to $250. Keep in mind that it’s $20 to climb, for an hour long session, when you’re considering the value of the card.
Piercing Gift Certificate. Ears, nose - something else? A gift certificate for a piercing is a great experience gift idea for older kids that have been asking to get a piercing.
Gift Certificate: Escape Room. Lately, our older kids have been very much into escape rooms around the city. This year, try and escape room experience with your kids - you’re going to love working cooperatively to solve the puzzles, and escape the room.
Click here to read our three family-friendly Edmonton escape rooms to visit this month.
Snow Tubing at Sunridge. Kids must be at least seven years old to go on the tubing hill at Sunridge, but this is a pretty cost effective gift, coming in at just over twenty bucks!
Hockey Game Tickets. Hockey tickets for an Edmonton Oilers Game, or an Oil Kings game is a great way to explore Rogers Place, spend an afternoon or evening downtown and are a great option for an experience gift for small (and big) hockey fans.
Sea Lion Encounter. This one-of-a-kind 45 min program is designed to let you meet our sea lions up close and personal. Get to know their unique personalities and characteristics by participating in an exciting sea lion training session. A souvenir 10x14 Sea Lion painting per person and admission to Sea Life Caverns is included in your program.
Amazone Playzone. Experience Amazone Playzone, where you can buy gift certificate for admission, in advance. Amazone Playzone is a great choice for older kids, as it’s one of the biggest playgrounds in the city, with the Skyride.
Ninja Course! You can choose from Open Gym or one-day camps, open through the winter holiday. This is a quick, one-day camp that can be redeemed during winter break, and give kids the chance to discover the fun Ninja courses at a local gym!
Telus World of Science Membership. We don’t use our science membership as much as we used to, but for little kids, it’s a fun way to have somewhere to explore (on the cheap) during the winter, with kids. It’s a cost-effective way to visit all year, and a family membership is a great option for grandparents too!
Royal Alberta Museum Family Membership. The RAM Mammoth pass is also a great deal at just $70 for a family pass. This will get you into the exhibits, annually, and give you access to the incredible kids play area. This is the best bang-for-your-buck indoor play experience for toddlers and preschoolers.
Fantasyland Hotel Staycation. During the holidays, there are incredible prices for the theme rooms at Fantasyland Hotel. You can snag one of these offers and save up to 50% on a theme room experience at the mall.
Monthly Subscription Options
Pipsticks: It’s a sticker subscription that delivers a fantastic package monthly, in your mailbox. It’s under $20 for $50 worth of stickers, postcards and other fun stationary items that kids can stick and play with. Best for ages 4-14.
Toy Library Membership. The Village Toy Share is a local toy sharing program, with a monthly rental subscription fee, allowing you to get new toys delivered (or pick them up) every month.
Kiwi Crate. Kiwi Co is one of the original subscription boxes we have purchased for our kids - we’ve been customers for 8+ years. From the Kiwi Crate, to the many that they’ve introduced over the years, to the Doodle Crate, and Koala Crate for younger kids - we’ve tried them all (and loved them all). You’ll love that the projects every month can be re-used and re-imagined for play, over and over. Get $10 off of your first box when you try, it here.
Magazine Subscription. Owl and Highlights are the clear frontrunners in our house, in terms of the content, and readability. Plus, the games and activities are a great way to keep kids entertained on road trips! With magazine options for kids from 3-13 (Chirp is so good!) there’s something for every kid. Subscriptions start at $29/year, and there are often promotions available.
Wild Life Nature Subscription box. Theses adventure kits are jam packed with adventure inspiration, gear for getting out there and adventuring, 10+ hours of games and activities in every box, crafts, and a merit pin.
Universal YUMS Snack Box (From $15/month). Every month, you can get a box delivered with snacks from a different country. This is such a fun way to explore (especially when you’re more limited) and can be a fun way to challenge your tastebuds! Shipping is $4 to Canada. Use this link to save $5 on your order!
Little Feminist Book Club. WIth options for toddlers to seven to nine year olds, this is one book club we’re stoked to get in our mailbox. Their goal is to curate inclusive stories by LBGTQI+, Black, Indigenous, people of colorand more, amplifying stories of equality, empathy, breaking gender norms and beyond.
Bitsbox. Learn how to build an app - and elements of coding, every month! Works with iPad, and both a digital and hard copy option available delivered in the mail, this is an incredible option for STEM boxes for kids 6-12.
Doodle Crate. An option for older kids, who still want to create, but are too old for the options in the Kiwi Crate, Doodle crate is na incredible option for tweens and teens, who want to do activities like Tie-Dye or make accessories for their room, every month, delivered straight to your door. The projects are very cool, high quality and they’ll use them for months after they’ve made them! Doodle crate is designed for kids 14+ (but we’ve had a 10yo make, and love the crafts) every month.
Non-Toy Physical Gifts
Magformers. One of the most regularly played with items in our home, this open ended tool is one that we’ve collected, and played with for three kids, over ten years. The quality is second to none, and kids of every age will find new ways to play, especially with the many add-on collections you can build with.
Beaker Set. For kids and tweens that love to make slime, this glass beaker set can be used for potions and mixing coloured water for toddler and pre-school aged kids, slime and science experiments for older kids - and it’s a durable choice that’s going to outlast many, many experiments.
Slippers. We love these soft unicorn slippers from Indigo, baby Yoda slippers from GAP, the fluffiest reindeer slippers, or these adorable (and practical) dinosaur slippers from H&M.
Cotton Play Mat Rug. Finding minimalist kids items that have multi-use is getting easier, as more stores trend towards providing these items. With the simple design, created for out
Acrylic window bird feeder. This bird feeder attaches right to the window and allows kids to watch birds indoors, through every season of the year.
Mini Doughnut Maker. What kid doesn’t love to cook with their parents? This mini doughnut maker is perfect for your favourite doughnut recipe, or something as simple as pancake mix, to serve up pancakes a brand new way! It’s so much fun, and make pancakes in a snap. Try this: mini bunny pancake and waffle maker.
The Adventure Challenge - Family Edition. This is a scratch-off book filled with adventure ideas, easy projects and fun experiences that you can do together, as a family. The family edition is a wonderful way to think outside of the box, get rid of boredom and find experience that bring you closer together, as a family.
7Eleven Slurpee Booklet. This one is always a hit around here with the older kids, and can be easily purchased in-store, or even through a delivery app. It’s a booklet of five coupons that can be redeemed in-store, for a slurpee, eliminating the need for kids to have access to cash for a cool treat!
LEGO Creator Flower Bouquet (Older Kids) This fun bouquet is crafted from LEGO, and a great choice for tweens, tweens and older kids, where you still want to give a physical gift but they’ve aged out of toys - this intricate LEGO set is a HIT.
Instax Mini Polaroid Camera. They can document their memories using the camera, and as a bonus, the Instax photos last longer than other similar products, like smart phone printers that can be used with a mobile app. You can even get fun rainbow film, like this set.
Slackline Ninja Set. Though you might consider this one more of a summer idea, you might be surprised with how much the slackline kit can get kids outside during the winter months - the snow makes it that much more versatile of a gift idea. We love this idea for a shared gift between kids.
Headlamp. Whether you’re exploring outdoors by headlamp, or bringing it along on those night time adventures so you can see, it’s a durable gift perfect for every explorer – plus, it’s easier than a flashlight for summer camping season! Plus, it makes flashlight tag in the winter months, even more fun.
Personalized Books. There is one personalized book maker that makes the best books on the market: Wonderbly. From the launch book, Lost my name, to the many new options they have in the collection, these heirloom quality books are worth the splurge for a personalized Christmas gift.
Sketchbook - The Artist’s Loft Sketchbooks at Michael’s Stores are a fantastic way to encourage kids to get creative, draw and paint, without having thousands of pieces of paper around the house. We love them to look back on the notes and drawings, once the pages have been filled with doodles and poems. Often on sale for $7, the sketch book with a package of ‘fancy’ markers or paint sticks are one of our favourite gifts to give as a non-toy Christmas gift.
Temporary Tattoos. I don’t know about your kids, but temporary tattoos are one of their love languages. We love these ones, and these unicorn temporary tattoos, and these dinosaur temporary tattoos.
Kids Sewing machine. Do you have a kid that loves to sew? The kids sewing machine is a go-to for our kids to craft everything from small purses, to doll clothes and is easy to use, easy to set-up and created to last!
Foreign Currency. This is a fun gift for an upcoming vacation, that puts a little more fun into the gift than straight up Canadian cash!
Underwater Digital Camera. Using a digital camera, kids can document their adventures and their lives, and if yours are anything like ours, I’m often surprised to see just what they’ve captured.
Custom Cape. Shutterfly has incredible custom capes and masks that can be created with kids names, and multiple designs. These are an incredibly fun way to add some imagination to playtime, and come in at under twenty bucks on sale!
Sensory and Creation Kits. Creation Space is bringing the magic created in the studio, right to your home, with kits that can be purchased and stashed away for a rainy day, or holiday, from the online store.
Posters. If you can’t find the specific poster you’re searching for, have it printed in poster form, or make it on canvas. You can do this for as little as $15.
Art Book. Snap photos of all of their art, drawings and creations and add it to a photo book to create a portfolio of drawings and art for them to keep and share (this also makes an incredible gift for grandparents around the holidays).
Wreck this Journal. We shop for ‘Wreck this Journal’ books where kids can get prompts to play, get creative and write, at Bookoutlet.ca. There’s a great selection of book - and you can shop with this link to save five dollars on your first order! (that’s like a free book).
Rock Tumbler. Find new life in the rocks discovered on mountain trips and local adventures, and see if there’s something magical inside. Word is that it takes about a week to tumble those rocks, so this one will be an exercise in patience.
Tattoo Pens! What kid doesn't home from school with doodles on their hands and arms? Give them the gift of being creative with tattoo pens. They’re a fun way to bring some art (temporarily) to their skin.
Candle Making Kit. We snagged this kit on sale at Chapters with posh, sophisticated scents, but there’s an adorable option (that’s less expensive), from Amazon, available right here.
Great Non-toy Gifts: Board Games (Little Kids)
Sneaky Snacks Squirrel Game. Educational Insights has a fantastic library of games for preschoolers, and even toddlers. Sneaky Snacky Squirrel Game combines counting, motor skills with grabbing and using tweezers, colors, and taking turns and is one of the games that we’ve bought over and over for our kids (rambunctious kids in our house have a way of losing those tiny acorns that come with the game).
Oh Snap! In ‘OH SNAP’ it’s a game of wits, as you choose which pieces to remove from the board to avoid the board snapping shut on your fingers.
Spot it. Spot it is a game that you can play with the whole family, with two people, as parents vs parents, kids vs kids, or kids vs parents. It’s one of those games that you can play over and over. We love the waterproof version, for the durability. You can play it at the beach, or play it at home! Plus, with so many different versions available, you can always keep this non-toy gift idea fresh.
Avalanche Fruit Stand. This one is a great choice for younger kids, but will entertain the whole family. Using the tweezers, kids will try and remove the fruit from the stand without making the whole thing topple over!
A Game of Cat and Mouth. We’ve got a favourite game right now, and it’s one that probably gets the most action from our games shelf (and we got it last year!). This is a physical, fun game that you can play with kids of any age - it’s fast, combines technique and fun! You have to use a cat paw to try to knock your opponents balls down, and the box becomes the game! It’s high quality, very fun - and something that we even reach for as adults on games night!
Great Non-toy Gifts: Board Games (Older Kids)
Settlers of Catan. Skip the Junior version of this game and head right into the classic version. Children as young as eight will be able to learn the game, keep up and develop strategy as they play more and more games.
Carcassone. A popular tile game, this is a go-to for games night in our family.
Spot it. Spot it is a game that you can play with the whole family, with two people, as parents vs parents, kids vs kids, or kids vs parents. It’s one of those games that you can play over and over. We love the waterproof version, for the durability. You can play it at the beach, or play it at home! Plus, with so many different versions available, you can always keep this non-toy gift idea fresh.
Codenames. In Codenames, you play with four players, against a team (or there is a duo version, with two players) and have a grid of twenty cards with random items, names or places on the table. Using a corresponding grid card that contains cards of yours and the other team, you try and use one word prompts to get your partner to guess the right cards (yours)! Finding a word to correctly identify more than one at a time is the trick, and it’s a great exercise in communication - and it’s so much fun. Plus, there are multiple themes available, like Disney and Harry Potter.
Throw Throw Burrito. This one is a fun, physical game that includes elements of dodgeball (burritos) and action cards. You’re going to love it, the kids are going to love it - and you might just want to try the extreme version with a four foot inflatable burrito (that’s better for outdoors).