For reference, I have two kids - an eight-year-old son and a five-year-old daughter. These are some of the things that we have loved over the last few years. For the most part, I think kids of all ages would enjoy something on this list.

This is the first of a very beautifully illustrated series. Claris is a sweet little mouse who dreams of going to Paris and designing haute couture. The books are written and illustrated by Megan Hess, who is fashion illustrator and has worked with brands like Dior, Prada, and Cartier. My daughter loves all things fancy and these books with their metallic gold covers and gorgeous dresses does the trick. I highly recommend them for any pink-loving, fancy girl on your list!

My daughter has asked for a new princess dress every Christmas and birthday since she was two. Needless to say, we’ve tried a lot of them! In our house there are three determining factors of a good dress-up dress. 1) No glitter - we do not want the entire house covered in glitter every time she decides to play. 2) Comfortable - the dress needs to be lined with a soft fabric so that she actually enjoys wearing it. 3) Twirling factor - the dress needs to be poofy enough that she feels just like Cinderella at the ball.

We have four of these dresses (Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, and Tiana) and have loved each one of them. I think any little princess would be happy with this gift!

High-heels are also a staple at our house. I love these because they come in several colors, the glitter doesn’t fall off all over the place, and the “buckle” is actually a hook that my daughter can do by herself. We’ve outgrown our gold heels and I plan to gift her another pair of these again this year!

I bought these noise-cancelling headphones for my kids last year before we took a trip on an airplane. They come in other colors (I bought my son the black ones) and with the active noise-cancelling function they allow the kids to actually hear the audiobook they are listening to even in loud places (like an airplane). I love the hard-shell case that comes with them and the fact that they can be use with Bluetooth or a wire.

These drawing pads are so fun! We are a screen-free family, so I was excited to find these low-tech toys to entertain the kids during a 15-hour road trip. They come with a stylus that lets the kids draw whatever they want on the black screen and it appears as rainbow. Then when they’re done, they just hit the button and the whole screen resets itself. This is a two-pack, so an easy way to check two people off your list!

The Wingfeather Saga is such a wonderful series for the little reader on your list. It’s an adventure story about an entire family. My husband, son, and I have all read and enjoyed this series. The reading level is probably for 8 years and older.

We are a LEGO family! In fact, if you were wondering why there weren’t more toys on this list for boys, it’s because my son has only asked for LEGOs for the last 5 years. I chose this set to feature here because it’s a simpler one and is a family home that most kids would enjoy. That being said, if the kid on your list has specific interests (e.g., space, Harry Potter, dinosaurs, princesses, etc.) there is probably a LEGO set for it! Having watched my son build LEGOs for the last 5 years, I’m convinced these are some of the best toys to foster creativity, fine motor skills, persistence, and problem-solving.

PS - Be sure to pay attention to the difficulty level of the set as they can vary from 4+ to 18+.

Finally, why not gift a game the whole family would love? Carcassonne is a game simple enough that kids (6+) can play it but strategic enough that adults can enjoy it too. Essentially you take tiles with pictures of cities, roads, and fields and build a map together, claiming your property as you go. There’s several expansion packs. In fact, I even have a map of France that we can play the game on.

Not your thing?

Some of our other favorite games include Uno, Monopoly Deal, and Catan.