Get Ready for Black Friday with ScreenStrong’s 2024 Gift Guide
These non-tech ideas are proven to delight any child, from toddlers through teens.
This Christmas, don’t just give your kids what they want; give them what they need for their social, emotional, and physical development: real toys.
While smartphones, video games, or digital gaming currencies may top your child’s wish list this year, resist the urge to give in. By giving in to these desires, you will unknowingly be cutting their childhood short, giving them an addictive device proven to expose them to harmful content and bring about anxiety and depression. Opt out of the screen-based Christmas in favor of real, meaningful gifts that will inspire, engage, and educate your child for the year to come.
As Maria Montessori said, “Play is the work of the child,” and our children are children for 18 full years, which means no matter how old your child is, they are never too old for toys. This philosophy is what drove the creation of our 2024 Gift Guide, which goes far beyond the season’s “hot toys” and instead segments toys by their developmental benefit.
Our gift guide offers non-tech gift ideas in 12 distinct categories. You don’t necessarily need to gift your child a gift from every single one of these categories, but we encourage you to buy gifts from categories that allow your child to stretch themselves beyond their preferred activities. You (and they!) may be surprised by what passions develop.
Here are just 6 of our 12 categories and the developmental science behind them.
1. The Gift of Art
Art is a perfect gift for children of any age or gender. It provides a necessary medium where kids can color outside the lines, experiment with new ideas, not be confined to right and wrong, see that problems have more than one solution, and allow their imagination to flourish while leaving their unique and colorful mark on the world.
Don’t think your child isn't an artist? Think again! Everyone is an artist when they have the right tools. The human brain is designed to create, and it is creativity that allows all the parts of the brain to work well together. Exploring art will allow your child to experience increased success in other areas of his world.
2. The Gift of Music
The gift of music is perfect for children of any age—whether it’s instruments, vocal lessons, a child’s first guitar, or even drums! Music makes everything more fun, including cleaning your room! It is soothing for the soul and essential for brain development, as music triggers areas of the brain few other activities can reach.
Along with giving your child a music-based gift on Christmas morning, commit to playing more music in your house this holiday season and making it a part of your daily routine in the New Year.
3. The Gift of Sports, Coordination & Recreation
Your child was born to move! From the moment they take their first steps, movement is a vital part of their development. While they don’t need to excel at every sport or win every game, physical activity is crucial for their growth, both mentally and physically. Research shows that regular movement helps the brain develop properly, boosting cognitive functions like focus, memory, and emotional regulation. It also promotes healthy physical development, builds strength, and fosters resilience.
Unfortunately, in today’s world, technology overuse has become a major obstacle to movement. Kids are spending more time in front of screens, which often leads to sedentary behavior and reduces opportunities for physical play. You can change that this season by gifting your child a new basketball hoop, soccer net, ping pong table, kayak, or a winter pass to your local trampoline park.
4. The Gift of Creativity & Imaginative Hobbies
Despite what we just said about the importance of sports, it’s important for parents to recognize that organized sports are not the same as hobbies. A true hobby is set at your own relaxed pace with your own rules and exploration.
Think of things that your child can create, collect, or do using his own imagination and ideas. He needs a hobby besides his video games, and she needs a hobby besides social media. Working toward a goal of collecting trains, baseball cards, and stamps or learning to cook, sew, and make jewelry can provide a lifetime of enjoyment, friends, and recreation for your child.
5. The Gift of Strategy & Family Competition
Every child needs to be challenged. When you give the gift of strategy, you are giving a gift that will pay off huge dividends later in the workplace and everyday life. Strategy games can be done alone (think Rubik’s Cube) or with another player (Chess, Risk). They are not about the roll-of-the-dice; rather, they teach the art of planning an action to reach a certain outcome.
Keep strategy games handy, out on the coffee table year-round. We keep a puzzle out year-round in our den; it is one of the best technology replacement tools we’ve ever employed!
The ThinkFun games are another must-have for kids who need a good challenge. Plus, they are portable, easy to throw in your bag or car, and easy to do anywhere (instead of depending on a screen to entertain your child at the doctor’s office or in a restaurant).
6. The Gift of Reading
Reading is one of the best gifts you can give your child. Teaching your child to love reading is priceless. He will never be lonely with a good book, and he will learn to use his imagination as he travels to faraway places without even leaving his own room. Deeper empathy will be developed by living vicariously through characters.
It is said that there are two influences that have the greatest impact on who we become as a person: who we hang around with and what we read. Reading rich, well-crafted stories is essential to your child’s mental and emotional development. It has also been said that all great leaders are readers. Just remember when giving the gift of reading that paper books always trump e-readers.
But that’s not all!
Our 2024 Gift Guide dives deeper into 6 more gifting categories, including:
The Gift of Fashion & Accessories
The Gift of Companionship
The Gift of Outdoor Play
The Gift of Family Fun & Attachment
The Gifts of Acts of Service
The Gift of Your Time
Plus, we provide a full page of gift ideas for each of these categories to make your Black Friday shopping that much easier.
Our 2024 Gift Guide is available for a limited time when you join our free Connect Group. There, you will also find the instructions for our 7-Day Detox and be able to connect with families like you who are looking to ditch the screens (and the screen fights!) and make this holiday extra bright.
ScreenStrong Resources
Podcast - “Twisted Truth: When Innocent Holiday Screen Time Becomes A Trap with Dr. Ariana Stacy”
Podcast - “Why Give Real Toys During the Holiday Season with Liz Breen”
Melanie Hempe, BSN, is the founder of ScreenStrong, a nonprofit organization, and the author of the Kids’ Brains and Screens Series for students and parents. She is dedicated to preventing and reversing childhood screen addictions by providing scientific evidence and community for families around the globe. Her educational material is filled with everything she wished she had known before her oldest child suffered from a screen addiction. ScreenStrong has created what every family needs—education and the community—to skip toxic screens through adolescence so teens can reach their full potential.
Visit here for family resource materials and here for our Phone-Free Schools Guide, and visit ScreenStrong.org to learn more and join the community that is saving childhood.