Are your children as blessed with toys as mine are? Sometimes it seems like my children own every toy ever invented. Three of my children have fall birthdays and Christmas is just right around the corner. The thought of adding more toys to our ever growing collection is just overwhelming! This year, my husband and I will be gifting some non-toy items for our children and (hopefully!) our children’s grandparents will catch on to the idea too.

In my last column, I listed 10 non-toy gift ideas for kids. Here is Part 2 of my list with 10 more non-toy gift ideas that I hope will be helpful to you as well.

1. Clothes and shoes. Everyone enjoys something new to wear.
2. A watch. A new watch can be a great tool to teach kids how to tell time and is fun to wear.
3. A calendar. Mark special days such as birthdays, field trips, vacations, holidays, etc. Kids are full of questions and a calendar can answer some of these, such as when a vacation will start, what day a friend’s birthday is or how many days until Christmas.
4. A camera. Purchase an inexpensive digital camera or gift an old camera that you no longer use. Even little ones will enjoy snapping pictures of their favorite things and older children can learn to use more of the camera’s features to take nice pictures.
5. A sleeping bag. This can be especially fun if it comes with a promise of a camping trip or a sleepover at grandma’s house.
6. An umbrella, raincoat and rain boots. These items are both functional (keeping dry on a rainy day) and fun (playing in the rain/jumping in puddles).
7. A butterfly kit. Watching caterpillars transform into butterflies is truly amazing. A kit can be ordered from a company such as Insect Lore with a voucher that can be redeemed for live caterpillars.
8. Room décor. Give your child’s bedroom a complete makeover—new wall art, curtains, a lamp, a new bedspread. A voucher for fresh paint and some paint color cards to choose from could be exciting too. If your child’s bedroom doesn’t need new décor, how about the bathroom? Deck out the bathroom in your child’s favorite color, character or theme.
9. Classes. Pay for a few classes your child or grandchild might be interested in and may have never tried before. Some ideas are horseback riding lessons, dance classes, gymnastics, karate or a soccer clinic.
10. A family vacation. Gift the whole family with a fun vacation. It could be as simple as a weekend camping trip or as elaborate as a Disney vacation. If you want something that can be wrapped and opened, travel-related items such as a tent, sleeping bag, suitcase, travel toiletry bag or a portable DVD player are good choices. An activity bag filled with coloring/activity books, crayons, a new movie, snacks, etc. can be a good travel-related gift too and will help make travel time in the car more fun for kids.