The Journey of Parenthood…

What I’m Gifting My Family: 2024

Last year I enjoyed writing a blog post covering all the gifts I was buying for my kids for Christmas and I had many people reach out and say they enjoyed reading the post and it helped them with ideas for gifts to get their kids too! (You can read last year’s gift post here).

This year I think we’re ALL feeling the penny pinching. With groceries so high, who can afford going crazy for Christmas right?

It makes me very thankful that we budget for Christmas all year and that I do a little shopping along and along when I see things my children may love. It helps to spread out the cost and I appreciate having the dedicated bank account at the holidays so I know we won’t go in the red with holiday shopping!

I’m really trying to stick closer to my budgets this year even though it is SO HARD for me to do. What can I say? I just love gift giving and love a ton of gifts under the Christmas tree. Plus seeing their faces light up? There is just about nothing better!

You can read more about how we do gifting in our family here.

This post contains the items my kids have on their wishlists – items we’ll purchase, family and friends may purchase, Santa may bring, or they may not even receive this year.

As a reminder we ALL do things differently and there is no right or wrong way to “do Christmas.” I grew up with what I call “Carnival Christmas” especially as a child of divorce and two parents outdoing each other. We tend to carry on traditions from our own childhoods to our children and I loved the long, drawn out Christmas mornings slowly taking turns opening all the gifts under the tree and have continued that with my own children.

I share these lists to HELP, never to make anyone feel pressured to over spend or over purchase. I am a big fan of deals and do my best to find things at the lowest prices I can so be sure to follow me on Instagram where I share sales as I find ’em!

Items on My 15 Year Old Son’s Wishlist – Kye’s Gift Ideas

Playstation Plus Essential: This is his big Santa gift for this year. Kye has always enjoyed video games and is wanting the PlayStation Plus Essential subscription that will give him access to monthly games and access to be able to play multiplayer with his bff cousin.

PS5 Controller I bought my husband a PS5 for his 40th birthday and Kye has benefitted from the purchase. He’s asking Santa for TWO PS5 controllers to allow for more game play with the family and for when friends come over.

Newest Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book Kye has collected these books for YEARS and he enjoys receiving the newest book in the series each year to read and then save for his future children.

Gel Blaster Ammo Storage Tub I bought Kye some gel blaster guns last year and they have been a HUGE hit but I’m ready to get my large food storage container back 😉 This storage container is made to hold all the ammo needed for his blasters! I plan to buy some extra ammo as part of the gift too.

Adidas Duffel Kye has had a smaller duffel for several years now but as he’s getting older and his clothes and shoes are getting bigger he could use a larger size bag! Love a practical gift!

NBA 2K25 Can’t be Christmas morning without at least one new video game.

New Basketball Kye practices basketball every day in our driveway and asked for a new ball. If you’re like me and a bit clueless about sports – you want to get the “official size” 😉

Phone Case Kye’s phone is an IPhone 8 and the camera no longer works so his big gift is a new phone. I have to wait until the last minute to purchase it as I want to take advantage of whatever phone deal AT&T has as well as be able to trade in his current phone towards it. But I’m for sure ordering an Otterbox case to go with it!

Case Skin I didn’t know this was a thing but you can buy stickers to go with the Otterbox phone cases – I love this FSU skin for him too!

Star Wars Rebellion Kye has started watching Stranger Things and I think he’d really enjoy a strategy game. We happened to see this game while shopping and I think he’d love it so I’m planning for it to be a surprise gift 🙂

New Alarm Clock Kye has been needing a new alarm clock – he’s very into using lots of LED lights around his bedroom so this one that can beam the time on the ceiling will be something he enjoys! We don’t do phones in bedrooms so I’m team alarm clock for life 😉

Nike Socks A perfect (and practical!) gift for any teen boy!

Michael Vey Books Kye owns the first 7 books but is asking for the 8th, 9th, and 10th ones this year. If you need book ideas for a teen boy be sure to read his book reviews here!

Laser Tag Guns We have owned a laser tag set for YEARS but it’s time for a new one and after lots of research these are supposed to be the best on the market currently!

Pickup Basketball Game Our family loves board games (see our favs here) and Kye mentioned this would be a fun addition to our collection.

Gold Chain I recently bought my husband a real gold chain and with the current price of gold I’m pretty sure Kye will be sticking to the under $15 version for awhile…his from last year broke so it’s a great gift as a replacement!

Guitar With being homeschooled Kye has more time for learning new hobbies and has expressed interest in the guitar. The reviews are fantastic for this as a beginner option!

Silent Basketball This is a gift for our entire family haha! Kye loves playing basketball in his room but it’s SO loud. This is supposedly a “silent” ball, the reviews seem legit so I’m excited to give it a try.

Travel Electronic Book Bag We travel a lot and Kye is always transporting his gaming devices. This will be a great way to keep them protected!

Goodr Sunglasses Another replacement gift – perk of teens who lose stuff is it makes Christmas shopping a little easier 😉

Star Wars Outlaws This is on his list from G-Mama, he says it’s supposed to be an awesome game.

PS5 Controller Charging Station Keep the wireless controllers charged!

Madden 25 A must have for any teen boy’s video game collection.

Crocs Bigger shoe size this years means replacement Crocs too.

Wood Whittling Kit Another hobby he has mentioned trying out and this beginner’s set has great reviews.

Gift Ideas for 13 Year Old Girl – Britt’s Wishlist

Raycon Earbuds This is a Santa gift for Britt and a replacement gift. I personally don’t like AirPods as they don’t fit well in my ear, Britt is the same way. Raycon Earbuds are so comfortable! She will love the purple color too! I’m also grabbing her this case for them!

Patronus Plush Britt LOVES all things Harry Potter and the blue color and adorable sparkles will go perfectly with her Harry Potter themed bedroom. You can find more Harry Potter Gift Ideas here!

Wallet Britt has asked about getting a new wallet and when I saw this adorable Donald Duck design I knew it’d be perfect for her.

Loungefly Thennnn I saw the adorable Donald Loungefly backpack and knew she HAD to have it! She will love toting this around the theme parks!

Travel Pillow I bought this for Kye a couple of years ago and it’s THE best travel pillow and now all the kids want one!

Pajamas Britt LOVES these pj pants that I passed down to her so I want to get her a couple cute new sets.

Alan Gratz Books These are Britt’s favorite type of books, historical fiction. She’s not a big reader so when she asks for books I’m all about it!

Football is my Favorite Season Sweatshirt Britt is our HUGE football fan and I know she’ll be excited to have this sweatshirt for Game Days!

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Britt adores all things Harry Potter and has not yet read or watched the Fantastic Beasts.

Phone Case For Britt’s 13th birthday (in December) we’re giving her a phone and she has mentioned wanting a Donald Duck case! I’m also getting her a Donald Duck Pop Socket

Minnie Mouse ILY Doll I love that my 13 year old is continuing to ask for dolls from Santa at Christmas!

Harry Potter Artifact Collection Another thing I hope she never outgrows, her love for all things Harry Potter!

WWJD Bracelets I love that these are “back” and that they come in so many fun color options too.

Harry Potter Patronus Lego This is her third Santa gift, I’m thankful at least one of my kids still asked for a LEGO this year!

Christy Miller Books I wish I could go back and read Christian books in my youth and as Britt enters into teenage years I want her entertainment choices to remain as wholesome as possible. I’ve seen great things about this book series.

Hufflepuff Badger Britt is a member of the Hufflepuff house and asked for this cute badger

Sol De Janerio Britt is not into Sephora stuff, yet, but does like to smell nice and asked for this perfume.

Aerie Set Girl loves some Aerie and asked for a matching set with this hoodie and these pants. She also asked for the dusty pink color of the Aerie getaway sweatshirt.

E Newton Bracelets I didn’t really “get” the hype about these bracelets until Britt accidently wore her’s to a water park and it had NO damage at all! Super impressed with the quality and these are actually on my wishlist too this year!

Girls are just much easier for me to buy for than boys so a lot of Britt’s gifts will end up being random items I happen to see and know she’ll love! I try to leave myself plenty of space for those finds!

Christmas Wishlist for 10 Year Old Girl – Tess’s Gift Ideas

Doll Bunk Bed Tess and Britt love their dolls and want to have a sleeping spot for each of them so this bed is on her Santa list!

Kanoodle Ultimate Champion Tess loves solo sort of brain teaser games and I thought this would be a fun surprise gift for her.

Slushee Cup I bought this exact cup for Kye a few years ago and it’s still going strong and works awesome! Tess asked for one this year for herself.

Snacks Are My Love Language When I saw this shirt I knew my snack-loving girl just had to have it. I also bought her this cool snack organizer.

Simon and Bop It Mini Games Tess has this set of classic games on her wishlist.

Slushee Cup I bought this exact cup for Kye a few years ago and it’s still going strong and works awesome! Tess asked for one this year for herself.

Disney Doorables These are adorable to collect and great to take on the go too!

Shashibo Shape Shifting Box Tess actually asked for one of these last year and loved it so much she wanted a second one because apparently you can use two together.

The Secret Series Book Set Tess is asking for TONS of books for Christmas this year but I wanted to get her a set she hadn’t asked for and this looks like such a fun read!

Elsa ILY Doll Another gift from Santa she’s hoping to receive – my girls adore the ILY series of dolls.

Disney Bitzee She received a Bitzee last year as well and really enjoyed it so she’s asking for the Disney version this year!

Bike Her final Santa wishlist item – a new bike! This one is gorgeous and she’ll look so cute riding it down the driveway.

Bathroom Bag We travel a lot and now that Tess is getting a bit older she could use a nice bathroom travel bag – I love this design so much I’m grabbing it for Britt too!

Because Tess asked for SO many books on her wishlist I thought I’d list them all here in case anyone else is looking for good book options for the 10 year old ish reader!

Gift Ideas for 7 Year Old Boy – Spear’s Wishlist

Godzilla Toy This is his big birthday gift that he’s SO thrilled about receiving. He loves the King Kong ride at Universal so anytime he sees a related toy he’s so pumped about it.

Bike His first real bike! This is on his Santa list. I know he’ll love putting things in the little basket 🙂

Smashers Dino Island These are so fun for an activity!

Bluey Figurines Yes, he’s 7. But Spear loves Bluey! And I love little figurines like these to take with us to keep him occupied when on the go.

Transformer Toy His cousin is super into Transformers and Spear wanted one that actually transforms.

Investigators Book Set Spear is learning to read and these are great for his age and reading abilities!

Little Tikes Big Adventures Safari I bought Spear the metal detector vehicle and it’s been a hit for him so he’s asking for the safari set for Christmas

Little Tikes Big Adventures Moon Microscope Set I also am getting him the space version!

Micro Urban Worker Fleet Spear has previously owned this set but broke them all so he asked for a replacement set this year.

Pokemon Train and Deluxe Pikachu He randomly put this on his birthday list and now says he wants a Pokemon themed party haha

Dirt Bike Toy He also saw this in the aisle of a toy store and chose it to add to his list!

Magna-Tiles Space We LOVE magna-tiles and I’m so glad they’ve branched out and made more themed sets.

Magna-Tiles Construction Another big Santa gift on his list is the construction version of his favorite Magna-Tiles. These sets are an investment but are SO worth it!

Crane Truck Spear used to have a large crane truck but the crane broke so he’s asking for this one frmo Santa this year.

Boy Doll Spear often likes playing “American Girl Dolls” with the girls and this boy doll even looks like him! It’ll allow him to have his OWN to play with so he doesn’t risk messing theirs up

Astronaut Costume I love the stage of dress up play. Spear asked for several space related items so I think he’ll enjoy this!

Yoto Player I debated this gift last year and decided to pass on it but now Spear is wanting to use his IPad to be able to listen to music in his room. I don’t like for him to have his IPad other than when we travel so I think he will LOVE having the Yoto! I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things from people who own one!

Science Kit I am fully aware that I will regret this purchase but I’m hoping the older siblings will bond together with Spear while letting him live out his scientist dreams 😉

Gift Guides

I LOVE buying gifts and have put together several gift guides over the years to help give others gift ideas and hopefully make this time of the year a little less stressful 🙂

Here are ALL my gift guides – sure to cover everyone on your list this holiday season!

Emily Parker
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