If you follow my stories on Instagram you’ve heard me talk about how “tacky” and inappropriate so many kids toys are that line the shelves of stores. I joke about a lot of it, but in all honesty, I really love and appreciate any toys and activities for kids that enforce positive messages and are also fun. So, I started a list of products that people sent me or that I found, that I’m labeling as “wholesome holiday fun.” Cute, classy and creative. That’s what all of these items have in common, and I hope y’all enjoy these as much as we do this holiday season! 
- The Creative Crayons Workshop takes used crayons and remakes them into custom and creative new crayons that are SO CUTE. There are so many themes and options to choose from, and they make a great gift for kids for any holiday!
- Melissa and Doug is one of my favorite brands for toys, and I love this Play Vintage Christmas Cookie Set. Get your kids in the holiday spirit by “making” Christmas cookies without any of the mess involved in real baking- though that of course is fun too.
- While I love Elf on the Shelf for many reasons, I REALLY love The Giving Manger, which is a month-long activity that focuses on acts of kindness and service toward others. You and your kids can add a piece of hay to the manger for every act of kindness or selflessness shown the month of December. Then on Christmas day, you put baby Jesus in the manger on the hay. How wonderfully thoughtful is this product?!
- This Super Money Kid Bank from the KnowledgeBank is amazing, and I’m ordering one for both my kids. Forget about a “basic piggy bank,” this 2-part bank is designed to “initiate money talks with young kids around foundational money concepts: saving, spending and sharing.” I think the holiday season is a great time to practice these concepts as kids can spend their money on others’ gifts, save some for themselves and share them with the church or other service-based organizations.
- There are so many matching pajama options out there, but this year, the kids and I all got our matching Christmas pajamas from Breckenridge Baby Boutique. They are Beaufort Bonnet pajamas, and they are SO soft. I like that they have a vintage vibe to them as well. They make them for girls, boys and women, and we couldn’t even wait until December to start wearing them together!
- I just learned about this, but apparently in addition to putting out cookies and milk for Santa, you can put out “reindeer food” outside for Santa’s reindeer. If you ask me, this is a bit much, HOWEVER, if you’re going to do it, don’t even think about making it yourself. Just check out Katie Corley’s online shop to purchase darling pre-made “Reindeer Food,” complete with the cutest tag. I guess it’s good because you’re feeding the birds, and I have a feeling my kids will love putting it out at night and seeing that it’s gone the next morning just like the cookies and milk!
- Y’all I LOVE these Bespoke Holiday Puzzles from True South Puzzle Company. My friends at TennHen’s designed this one, and it’s so pretty, I want to frame it and hang it up around the holidays. They aren’t too hard for kids to do either, and I just picked mine up for us all to work on after Thanksgiving!
- How cute is this Gingerbread Kids Apron?! It’s the perfect size and they can use it when baking real or fake cookies (#2) all holiday season, while keeping their southern smocked clothes clean- ha!
- I’m obsessed with these Fill-in-the-Blank Thank You Cards for kids. These are also from Katie Corley, and they are genius, as they make writing thank you notes for younger kids easy and doable. I have some for both my kids, and they already know we want them to write thank you notes for all their Christmas gifts this year.
- I’m a big fan of Cleerely Stated, an online source for wonderful devotionals, encouragement cards and SO much more. These Prayer Cards for Kids are amazing, and my daughter loves reading them aloud each night, and then we will talk about them briefly for bed. It encourages good habits as well as helps them build/understand their own faith. You can buy them for girls or boys (or adults), and they come with an acrylic stand as well. Something that makes it easier for kids to learn how to pray? That’s a no-brainer buy in my book!