Holiday Gift Guide for older kids (4-10 yrs). This list has a mix of everything. Lots of options for building and creating. A crafting option, and some imaginary play.
I’m a big fan of family group gifts. Something that’s a little bit bigger and out of the price range for a single kid, but a great gift that the whole family can enjoy.
Here’s my round up of family group gifts for 2023. Some of these we’ve done in years past, and others are on our current Christmas list.
Tenley recently started solids, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned after having 6 kids, it’s that you don’t need all the bells and whistles; but some things just make life easier. This is a list of things that I’ve found useful this time around.
When it comes to Easter Baskets, I like to look ahead to summer and see what things my kids will need, like swimsuits, sandals, and outdoor toys. Functional baskets that we can use year round, like organizational baskets or the Bogg Bag, are also high on my list because I can make them work for our family, rather than having to find space to store them away.
Last year we also started doing our Easter egg hunt in the dark thanks to these glow-in-the-dark eggs. One of the busiest days for my husband work wise is Easter, so Easter morning egg hunts don’t work for us. Instead of feeling guilty that my kids would have to wait to go hunting, we flopped the day around and hunted for eggs at night. It was a huge hit, and they begged us to do it again this year.
Do you have any Easter traditions that are out of the norm?
Please don’t think that because I create these, that this is the standard you have to live up to, that you should go into debt to buy presents, or that your kids NEED this stuff. This is solely meant to be used as a resource and to give you ideas if you need them. Around here, we try and stick to the 4 present rule. A Want, Need, Wear, and Read (which is still a lot with 5 kids). Plus stockings, cause mama always goes a little overboard with stockings.
Most of these presents are things that my kids already own, so we know they’re a hit; or they have seen and asked for them for Christmas. I’ve also tried to include known discount codes where possible.
Hopefully these spark your imagination and help make shopping a little bit easier. As always, when possible, please support small shop owners. This has been a challenging year for all. I’ll include a list of my favorite below.
Refrigerator organization, you either love it or hate it. For me, having my fridge organized allows me to see what we have available for cooking and shopping, which helps us eliminate food waste; and because my kids can see everything that’s in there, they also tend to make healthier choices. It does take a little bit of extra effort on grocery day; but because I’m already washing produce ahead of time, the extra step of organizing doesn’t take up too much time.
Containers Used
Many of you have asked which containers we have, so I’m going to give you a rundown, but remember to check the measurements of your specific fridge and model before shopping.
2 Produce Bins (lettuce, strawberries, or anything that can’t sit in moisture)
2 Divided Freezer Bins Clear (small bags of frozen produce, small boxed dinners or snacks, leftovers you frozen flat)
Some Things To Mention
It’s easier to put drawer bins on the bottom and stack divided fridge bins on top if you have the height, because you don’t have to remove both bins to get what’s in the bottom one. Drawer bins are too wide to stack on top of drawer bins however.
Dips and sauces (think hummus) that are packaged in shallow containers can sit on top of drawer bins to maximize space.
Take advantage of narrow spaces between shelves (like where I have our salsa) with narrow bins, but be mindful of how low the shelf brackets are at the back. For us, narrow bins didn’t work in this particular fridge because the brackets were too low at the back, but they work great in our new fridge.
Remember to leave space for leftovers. Those containers take up space, so plan a section to keep them or you’ll constantly be removing bins to account for these.
Don’t forget your labels. I wanted to test out this system and see which produce we liked in which bins, so I didn’t label anything right away; but now that we’ve been using them for 3 months, I’m ready to add a label to each one, so I know what goes where when they’re empty.
Hopefully this has given you ideas about how to better organize your fridge and helps you create a system that works well for you in the kitchen. Next, project I plan to tackle is our pantry, so stay tuned!
*This post contains affiliate links and product was given to me as part of The Container Store Brand Ambassador Program, but all opinions are my own.*
I feel like Christmas crept up on us this year, and with everyone facing supply issues, shopping has felt like a challenge. Maybe that’s why I seem to be gravitating towards bigger group gifts for the family. Either way, I rounded up some of our favorite toys to hopefully make shopping simple and easy!
