Christmas Non Toys Gift Ideas

Christmas is the season of giving and sharing. Growing up, I am excited whenever this season comes. It is the time where most of our balikbayan relatives visit the Philippines. We normally have exchange gift. We had all sorts of kinds already from white elephant to monito-monita. Growing up, we know that Santa is not real (but we don’t kill that dream for other kids) Like how we were brought up, I always want my kids to know that Christmas means giving more than receiving. So no gift is small or big.

I really don’t encourage too much toys. Don’t get me wrong; there are a lot of toys that I really love like a mini kitchen, car tools, and more. Besides, play is an essential part of a child’s healthy growth and development. What concerns me is how they pile up so fast. Next, spending time with our kids is far greater than anything than we can put in a gift bag. They might not have 5 or more Christmas gifts to open at 12 midnight, but thirty years later, they will still remember and even talking about it to their own kids about “that time when you took me to…”

 So now, I will be listing down Non Toys Gift Ideas that you can use this Christmas.

Happy Gifting!

1.     Arts and Crafts

We have endless opportunities here. We started arts with Arriana when she was almost 10 months old. I guess, we saw her interest with it at an early stage.

Paints, brushes, sketchpads, clays, coloring books are staple items in our house. You may fill a basket with art materials and place a nice note with it. You can also turn your child’s art to a t-shirt with their art or drawings printed on it. Or have it made as a simple pendant.

 2.     Ticket Museum

While most of the Museum here are free, some has minimal entrance fee to ensure the place is well maintained. Check out my post when we visited the Philippine Aeronautical Museum of PHP 20 pesos each.

Museong Pambata

Number 1 field trip list when I was still studying. It is nice to bring my kids there so they get to experience what I did before.

Visit them at at Roxas Blvd. Corner South Drive, Manila

For more information, call 523-1797/98 (loc. 103 and 106) or email at info@museopambata.org or visit their website at http://www.museopambata.org

Museum Hours: 8 AM to 5 PM , Tuesdays to Saturday; 1 PM to 5 PM , Sunday. The museum is closed on Mondays and selected official holidays.  

Admission Fees: Php 250/head (for children above 2 yrs old and adults)

Museum workers and teachers (with valid IDs) – FREE

Manila residents (with valid IDs) – FREE on Tuesdays and 50% discount on other days (not applicable for group tours)

The Money Museum

The Money Museum found inside the Bangko Sentral Complex, is a place where you can see the country’s collection of currencies. The museum is a place where the country’s monetary heritage is collected, studied, and preserved. Its current exhibits include coins, paper notes, medals, monetary items as well as artefacts found all over the country within different historical epochs. Also displayed in its exhibition hall are busts of the past Bangko Sentral governors.

Address: BSP Main Complex, A. Mabini St. corner P. Ocampo St., Malate, Manila 

Operating Hours: Monday–Friday, 9am–4pm

Entrance Fee: Free

Marikina Shoe Museum

This is truly a one-of-a-kind museum in the country as it only houses, yes, shoes! The museum was built to promote the historical and cultural values of the shoe-making industry in Marikina.

Today, it houses the wide shoes collection of our former First Lady Imelda Marcos. Around 800 pairs of shoes owned and worn by the former First Lady is there. You can also see there some of the shoes worn by previous presidents, senators, governors and other known personalities.

Address: J.P. Rizal St., San Roque, Marikina City

Operating Hours: Monday–Sunday, 8am–5pm

Entrance Fee: ₱50

3.     Movie, play or concert tickets

 My kids would love to have this as well as a gift. Imagine they get to watch all year round with cinema Gift certificates. It is ice that they look forward in watching movies, spending quality time with the family than expecting toys on Christmas.

For play, Repertory Philippines has a year calendar already which is also a nice gift.

Our family will be watching Disney On Ice this year and it will be our second time. This is our Christmas gift for the kids. Check my previous post here to see the schedules, rates and what to expect this year.

4.    Play pass

Kidzoona, Kidzania, Gymboree, Active fun, Cheeky Monkeys, Kinder City, name it! you actually have a lot of options nowadays. .

5.     Classes

Encourage what your child loves or is good at. Be it dance, arts, or sports. Give them a chance to enhance their skills by doing something they love or passionate about. Doing a class together can be a good twist and bonding moments. It is a great way to show that you are never too old to learn something new.

a.     Ballet class

b.     Art class

c.      Gymnastics

d.     Swimming class

e.     Basketball

6.     Books

Our kids are all readers. So they really appreciate books as a gift.

a.     Educational books

b.     Fairy tales

c.      Devotionals

7.     Planners and journals

My kids have their own doodle book. I bring it most of the time when we are out. This makes them occupied while outside. Though it is a challenge sometimes depending on their mood, on most days, this is effective. So on top of arts and crafts, some school supplies, a simple notebook or pens are actually a good idea.

8. Timezone card

I appreciate my friends and cousins who spend time with my kid. Imagine with worth P500 pesos, all 3 kids had fun. It is nice also that they get to spend time with their inaanaks. We are set to visit the biggest Timezone here in the Metro soon.

9. Bowling or Skating pass

This is also a nice family, cousins or ninong/ninang-inaanak bonding ideas.

I will update this list from time to time so please turn on your notification on this or comment down below if you have any suggestions that we can add on this list!

Thank you!