100 gifts for kids that inspire creativity and learning ( and $100 GIVEAWAY!)

Every year at birthdays and Christmas I get tired of bringing more stuff into our home that will be played with for a little while, then be totally forgotten and eventually in the back of my car on the way to the thrift store.

Over the past couple of years I have been investing in gifts that I know my children will not only love but will inspire creativity and learning.

Whether you have boys or girls, older children or younger this list will be sure to have something for everyone.

Disclosure: Links in posts are to amazon. I recieve a small commission every time you click on a link and purchase a product. Thanks for supporting our home and homeschool!

With my children ranging from 11-3 I try to find gifts that they can all use together or at least share.

Not only do I want to encourage my children to be always investigating and discovering on their own but I want to give them the tools and resources to do so.

Here is a comprehensive list of a 100 gifts that will be sure to light up any child's imagination and creativity!

Nature Lovers


I am so thankful that my kids love to be outdoors! They especially love studying nature and catching creatures. Here are some gifts that my children never tire of using to explore and discover.

 1. Butterfly Nets

2. Butterfly Habitat

3.  Spider and Insect catcher

4. Critter Habitat

5. Bug catcher and viewer

6. Grown your own butterfly kit

7. Binoculars

8. Terrarium/Habitat

9. Backyard Safari Field Kit

10. Rocks and Minerals Collection

Hunting, Fishing and Outdoor Enthusiasts

My husband is an avid hunter and fisherman. You can be sure that my kids are following right in his footsteps. They love being outdoors and love catching wildlife, whether it's to eat or just observe for a while. Usually every year they ask for one of these items for gifts and use them till they can't be used anymore. I feel like they learn so much through being outside, catching critters and studying the outside world! I am pretty sure one of my kids will be a biologist some day.

1. Fishing Pole

2. Bait Bucket with bubble box

3. Fishing Net

4. Cast Net

5.Compound Youth Archery set

6. Wooden Bow and Arrow

7. Junior Swiss Army Knife

8. Head lamp

9. Compass

10.Kids Tent

 Nature Books


My kids can not get enough of nature books. Whether it's a nature encyclopedia or colorful nature picture book; I love finding them pouring over these books for hours. All of our nature books are dog eared and ripped from so much use!

1. Nature Anatomy

2. Animalium

3.Caterpillars, Bugs and Butterflies

4. Fun with Nature

5.Trees, Leaves and Bark

6. The Animal Book

7.Birds, Nests and Eggs

8. First Nature Encyclopedia

9. Botanicum

10. Natural World

Little Scientists


My kids got a microscope last year and continue to find things that they want to take a closer look at through it. I often find them running in the house with a bottle of dirty water, butterfly wings and even bugs to put under it. I am so glad that they love to discover what's unseen to the naked eye and dig under the surface to find out information for themselves. I am sure your kids will love these gifts as well if they are as inquisitive about our world as my kids are.

1. Beginner Microscope

2. 4M Kitchen Scientist Kit

3. Thames and Kosmos Crystal growing kit

4. 4M Magnet Science Kit

5. The Magic School Bus- Chemistry Lab

6. The Everything Kid's Science Experiment Book

7. 4M 3-Dimensional Glow-in-the-dark Solar System Mobile making Kit

8. The Curious Kids Science Book- 100 + Creative Hands on Activities

9. 101 Coolest Simple Science Experiments

10. The Way Science Works

Brain Teasers

Lately my kids can not get enough of trying to stump me and each other with brain teasers and hard to figure out. This is a great list of brain benders that will make you and your kids push your brains to the limit. 1. Solid Wood Brain Teasers

2. I Q Challenge Set

3. Tetris Cube Brain Teaser Puzzle

4. Ultimate I Q test metal Brain teaser puzzles

5. Riddles and Trick Questions for kids and families

6. Perplexus Epic

7. Magikon Snake Cube wooden brain teaser puzzle

8.  Educational Insights Kanoodle  (brain teasing puzzles)

9. Of Course! The Greatest collection of riddles and brain teasers for expanding your mind

10. Brain Quest: 750 Questions and Answers to Challenge the mind

Puzzle and Building Enthusiasts


My kids love doing puzzles. The big ones have been obsessed with the rubix cube and the little ones love regular puzzles.

1. Rubix Cube

2.Underwater Ocean Floor Puzzle

3. 60 piece Dinosaur jigsaw puzzle

4. Lincoln Logs

5. Solar System Floor Puzzle

6. Lego Classic  Large Creative Brick Box

7. Dinosaur wooden puzzle toy

8. Learning Resources Gears! Gears! Gears!

9. Animal memory matching game

10. Melissa and Doug Suspend game

Crafty Kids
On a daily basis my kids ask me to do crafts with them. I have to admit that although I love getting crafty, time doesn't always allow for me to put a lot of time into coming up with great crafts every day. This list has some books and crafts that they can do on their own as well as with an adult. I try to provide them with the resources they need and then let them go to town(within reason) crafting! Lately my kids have been obsessed with origami. They have already made every origami project in the books below and have even invented their own. Give your kids the supplies and watch  them create!


1.Fun with Origami Book

2. Origami Paper

3. Animal Origami

4.Creating Really Awesome free things

5. Craft a day: 365 simple handmade projects

6. Sewing School: 21 sewing projects kids will love to make

7. Alex Toys craft my embroidery kit

8. Creativity for kids Do art- Pottery Studio

9. Simple Needle point kit

10. Woodland Animals Craft Kids Sewing Kit

Little Artists
We have a house full of artists. I have always loved art and am so glad my kids have been given such amazing God given talents. They constantly ask me for new supplies to feed their need to create. We have invested in a lot of paper and art supplies over the years but I can't think of a better investment. This list has some great quality supplies that will last your little artists for a long time to come.


1.Sketch Pads

2. Watercolor Pad

3. Art Journal

4.  Winsor and Newton watercolor sketchers pocket

5. Lyra Rembrandt polycolor art pencils 

6. Stockmar primary watercolors

7. Paint Brush set

8. How to Draw Cool stuff

9. Art for Kids Drawing book

10. Acrylic paint set

Techy Kids

Kids love to invent and get technical. It's been so cool for me to learn alongside of them about how things work. Here are some great tools and kits to push you and your techy kids in the right direction if they are curious as to how things work and want to make their own observations and inventions.

1. 3D Doodler Create 3D Pen

2. Makey Makey Invention kit

3. Electronics Base kit

4. littleBits Steam building set

5. Kids First Robot engineer and storybook

6. MudWatt Grow your own fuel cell

7. The Way Things Work Now

8. VTech Kidizoom Action Cam

9. The Kid's Book of Simple Machines

10. Steam Kids: 50+ Science/ Technology/ Engineering/ Art/ Math Hands on Projects for kids

Fun and Educational Games 


Games are so great for bringing our family together. Educational games are even better! I love when my kids learning and don't even realize it because they are having so much fun! 1. Brain Freeze

2. Brain Quest Smart Game

3. Trivial Pursuit: Family Edition

4. Deluxe 7-in-1 Game set

5. Nature Board Bingo

6. Wildcraft! An Herbal Adventure Game

7. Animal Trivia Challenge

8. Nature's Food Chain Game

9. Scrambled States

10. History of the United States Trivia Card Game

We have so many great resources right at our fingertips. Let's make the most of them and use them to encourage our kid's creativity and learning!

I am teaming up with some amazing bloggers to give 2 lucky winners $100 each with their choice of paypal or amazon gift card! AND!!!...also giving away a $15 amazon gift card here on my blog!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Click on over to ENTER THE GIVEAWAY and check out some other great posts on 100 things!