For the last couple of years I’ve been putting together a post covering all the items on each of my children’s wishlists as well as some of the surprises they’ll find under the Christmas tree (or during other gifting holidays).
If you’re interested in seeing gifts from years prior here’s what I gifted my family in 2023 as well as the gifts my crew received in 2024.
As a reminder: I’m team Carnival Christmas. I don’t buy my kids things throughout the year and I love having a TON of gifts under the tree.
I also am a deal finder and never buy anything full price and use all sorts of rewards, gift cards, etc whenever possible.
I also buy at Christmas time for the entire year. I save gifts to give for V-Day, Easter, as well as my kids birthdays. With two December birthday babies it just makes sense to scoop up what I can when prices are at the lowest (Kye’s birthday is March so not too far off…the only one I usually don’t buy much for to save is Tess because she’s a July baby and so much can change in 7 months!).
Again the goal of this post is to HELP. Be sure to follow me on Instagram and Facebook as I share deals whenever I find ’em! You can also shop my Amazon Storefront here.
What My 16 Year Old Teenage Son Has on His Wishlist – Kye’s Gifts
Teen boys are TOUGH right?
I always love a challenge and sometimes I knock it out of the park and get rewarded with that super genuine excited smile that teleports him back to his little boy days and sometimes I fail and I get teased about it forever (here’s looking at you wood widling kit…)
As kids get older having them make wishlists becomes more crucial, especially with Kye who is into stuff that I am clueless about!
Gaming Keyboard: Kye is wanting to connect his PS5 to be more of a PC gaming experience and did a lot of research about this topic. He said this is the best “affordable” gaming keyboard!
Gaming Mouse: Another gamer item on his list and this was the best price I found on it!
Gaming Monitor: This is his BIG gift and the only thing he’s asking for from Santa. Truly these three items were the ONLY things he wanted for Christmas. Again, he did a lot of research and this brand is considered the best entry-level brand for a gaming monitor.
Gaming Chair: This is one I’m saving for his birthday but it’s considered a top reviewed gaming chair with all the “must have” features and is at a great price for Black Friday.
PlayStation Gift Card: A great gift for a gamer is a gift card because they can use it on the shop to purchase items for their games – Kye uses his gift card on a subscription to Playstation Plus!
Gaming Mic: If you know me at all then you know I’m not a fan of the gaming. However, Kye actually has his own YouTube Channel. He films his gaming and edits videos and shares them via his channel and that I can get behind. I don’t want him just numbing out in front of a screen (and, yes, he still has limited gaming time) and much prefer that he plays with friends or creates content! This mic will be great for use with his content.
—–> You Can Check out Kye’s Channel for ALWAYS Clean Gaming Videos Here!
College Football 2026: It makes me sad that there aren’t a lot of physical games anymore – most are online and it’s just not as fun to open up a gift card under the tree right? I’m all about buying all the legit games I can and College Football was the one on his list!
Civilization VII: This one is a big of a gamble but he loved this game on the PS4 a few years ago and I’m thinking he’ll like this new version – it’s a great strategy type of game!
Anno 1800: Another strategy surprise gift, this one has great reviews and I’m thinking he’ll also enjoy it when he wants a break from his sports games! Plus it’s a great price so why not try it?
Mic Set: Kye kinda stole mine that I use for filming content and this was on super deal so I figured it’d be good to get him his own set! It’s SUPER easy to use and works great!
Wembanyama Jersey: Each year I get the kids one last gift that’s just from Mommy and is something I randomly pick out for them that they have NO clue about. This year for Kye I’m surrrre this one he’ll like – a Victor Wembanyama jersey (and I scored a fantastic deal on it too!)
Cooper Flagg Shirt: Kye likes to wear NBA player shirts when recording his gaming content and he mentioned liking this one when we were at the NBA store in NYC. So, duh, I grabbed this shirt for him for under the tree.
Basketball LED Wall Art: Teen boys love some LED lights in their rooms and I know this will make a nice addition to Kye’s room and add some basketball touches too. Zach helped me choose this one as we know Mom’s don’t know what’s “cool” 😉
Basketball: A sure bet for any basketball player is a new ball is always appreciated. Kye had this one on his list and I love the design!
Team Laces: Kye is playing varsity basketball this year and a great gift idea is some laces to match his team colors for his team shoes! Zach picked these out too to make sure they look right with his Nike’s!
Defender: Kye practices a LOT at home and is always begging his siblings to be “defenders” for him. This got great reviews and I’m hoping it helps him in his training!
Dumbbell: Kye has done a lot of work with his basketball skills and the coach mentioned in the off season he wants him to bulk up more so these should come in handy! I plan to save them as a birthday gift and I grabbed them more because they are such a crazy good price than anything else haha.
Neck and Back Massager: I have this and LOVE it for myself and thought Kye would appreciate having his own to use after his basketball games and practices. It is also a crazy low price!
Nike Elite Basketball Socks: The kids all love the Nike socks but these are a step-up and provide extra cushion to specifically help with basketball. Sounds cool right? I grabbed black and white pairs!
Darth Vader Helmet: Lego deals have been SO FUN this year! While Kye isn’t as into LEGO as he once was, he enjoys displaying them in his room and I LOVE these helmets. I got one last year for him and ended up scoring Darth Vader at a great price. To level up the gift, I also added this light kit for him!
LEGO Star Destroyer: Another LEGO find that is just too good of a deal to pass up! I like that it comes with a stand to easily display in his room.
LEGO Mini Millennium Falcon: While he’ll prob never get the $800 one I could swing the mini millennium falcon version for him 😉
Screaming Goat: A must-have gift for an older brother who loves to annoy his younger sisters with screaming goat sounds.
FSU Nike Hoodie: Even in the rough seasons we’re still FSU fans! I bought Kye a similar hoodie last year and he lost it so this is a replacement gift for him.
BigOne Blanket: We call these “life changing blankets” because they are THAT amazing. Kye has had his Star Wars blanket for severalllll years and it’s time for a more mature blanket pattern for him. These always go on awesome sale around the holiday season!
Ear Buds: He loses him every year so this is an easy go-to gift for him and it’s why I always look for a low price on a well-reviewed option like these!
Stranger Things Book: We’ve been watching the show together (via VidAngel!) and LOVE it. I heard this book is in canon with the series and I think he’ll enjoy it.
Brandon Sanderson Books: Kye enjoys Brandon Sanderson and he is a clean author meaning I don’t have to worry about “spice.” I got Kye this book set as well as this one!
Ranger’s Apprentice Books: I asked on IG for book suggestions and this series came highly recommended! I went ahead and bought the entire set 🙂
Gift Ideas for 14 Year Old Girl – Britt’s Wishlist
Britt turns 14 in December so technically she’s 13 when I’m purchasing these gifts for her!
Box One Game: Britt LOVES puzzles and escape rooms. I gifted this to Kye when he turned 14 and it wasn’t a big hit with him but I have a feeling Britt will really enjoy it!
Murdle Vol 2: Britt adored the first version of this book (heads up that there is a non binary character but it doesn’t impact the game) and I know she’ll love having the 2nd book too!
Foldology: Britt did her first book folding project and had so much fun with it. I saw this set of folding puzzles and thought she’d enjoy it! I debated getting one for Tess too.
Flair Pens Set: THE best pens and make a great gift every year – my girls use them for church every Sunday so they always appreciate a new set for Christmas.
Diamond Art Set: This one was on Britt’s list as she enjoys diamond art as a relaxing activity. Such a great price that I got her two!
Bible Coloring Book: She also asked for a Bible coloring book and colored pencils to go with it.
Loom Kit: Britt also expressed interest in making pot holders via a loom kit so I bought her a kit and some sets to create her own!
3d Puzzle: Britt is redoing her room and loves the color purple so I thought she’d enjoy this 3D puzzle, especially since it’s such a great deal
LEGO Hibiscus: She asked for this one from Santa to go with her new room decor too. Love the LEGO flower designs and that this one has a little pot included!
Bedroom Poof: Britt is redoing her room for her Birthday (yup, saying goodbye to the Harry Potter theme!) and specifically asked for two of these poofs to put at the end of her bed!
Blanket: She also asked for this blanket to go on her bed and tie in the lavender color scheme.
Hanging Plants: She currently has a owl cage hanging in her room (Hedwig) and wants to replace it with some hanging plants. So I ordered her these pots and these plants!
Clip Lights and LEDS: She plans to put these clip lights behind her bed to display photos and wants this set of LED lights to wrap around her canopy over her bed.
Floral Gold Mirror: From Santa she’s asking for a gold floral mirror to put above her dresser (similar to this one)
Gear Clock: I love that Britt knows what she wants and likes – she loves the sound of clocks and specifically asked for this wall clock because the gears move and click too!
Plasma Lamp: Another random thing that Britt says she’s always wanted so I grabbed this one for her as a surprise!
Photo Printer: As her surprise from Mommy last present I’m planning to buy her this photo printer so she can print directly from her phone and be able to change out her clipped up photos above her bed!
Bogg Bag: Britt mentioned alllll summer that she wished she had a Bogg Bag and now she’ll have this one as her very own (love that they’ve had such great sales on these!!!)
Biscoff Cookies: I love buying random silly yet also enjoyable gifts and Britt is sure to smile big at this huge box of Biscoff Cookies!
Bible Cover: Britt needs a new Bible cover and these are SUCH great quality – I love mine too!
Bow Necklace: The bow trend is so adorable and this necklace is precious and super affordable too.
Trimmer: Teen girl life – gotta have a cute trimmer 🙂
Curly Hair Brush: Britt is leaning into her curls and I love it and saw this brush and thought she’d like it!
Ribbed Top: These tops look SO pretty on Britt so I bought her a couple new colors especially while on sale!
The Inheritance Games: Kye read this series and liked it okay but thinks Britt will really love it so I grabbed her the whole set on sale as well as the 2nd series to save as a future gift 😉
Alan Gratz Books: He is her favorite author and she loves all of his historical fiction books. She already owns several so I bought the remaining ones she needed but they also have an entire set for sale!
Tree Hut Shave Oil: I love the tree hut brand and so do all the tweens and teens right now! I started using this shave oil and absolutely love it and know Britt will too!
Gift Ideas for 11 Year Old Girl – What I’m Buying Tess This Year
Tess has historically been a tougher one for me because she’s never been “into” something the way Kye was into Star Wars and Britt was into Harry Potter (whew the lack of Harry Potter gifts made Britt a tougher one this year!). However, this year I have had SO MUCH FUN shopping for Tess! I’m really excited for her to open her gifts 🙂
Desk: Tess has a loft bed in her room and asked for Santa to bring her a desk to fit under it. We measured and this one should work perfectly!
Chair: She also asked for Santa to bring her this adorable fuzzy pink chair!
Fuzzy Rug: Britt is the one who is re-theming her room but Tess is just adding to it 😉 She asked for this big fuzzy rug to pull in more of the pinks!
Reading Pillow: This is one I’m pumped about because I know she’ll absolutely love having this big soft reading pillow to snuggle up with the kittens!
Lava Lamp: Such a classic and is such a “Tess vibe.” I watched this thing like crazy to finally get it on sale!
Disney Puzzle: Tess is all about some puzzles this year and she plans to display them in her room. She asked for this beautiful Disney one on her list and I love the price!
Vase Puzzle: I’m also surprising her with this puzzle – she asked for a Rose LEGO set from G-Mama and this unique puzzle will be a great way to display some of them in her room.
LEGO Typewriter: LEGO has so many adorable sets and this typewriter is precious and will look great on display in her room!
LEGO Happy Plants: I can’t decide which I love more because this Happy Plant set is also so stinking adorable!
Raycons: Her third Santa gift on her wishlist is for rose gold Raycons! These are THE best ear buds!
Hoverboard: I put it off for a LONG time and it was a good move because now I was able to get this hoverboard for a great price 😉
Varsity Jacket: Tess saw the Stoney Clover Disney letterman jacket at Disney and LOVED it. Butttt it’s like $250 so that ain’t happenin’. However, I snagged this one on super sale and am adding lots of cute patches to my cart for her to iron on and make it her own!
ESV Journal Bible: Tess is excellent at Bible Study and asked for a journaling-style Bible. Of course I’d never pass up a chance to encourage reading God’s Word 🙂
Bible Word Search: Tess loves word searches and asked for a Bible version to help learn more Bible vocabulary. This one is so cute!
Crochet Set: Tess wants to learn how to crochet and I thought this bookmark set was adorable! I also got her this Wicked crochet kit.
Hatchimals: The girls enjoy playing Hatchimals together at the beach and Tess asked for new ones but man they are tough to find! These went on sale so I grabbed em.
Old Navy Clothes: Tessie has the cutest style and this was the first year she showed interest in clothes! I got her this sweatshirt and some other cute items on sale.
Paint by Sticker: We were looking at stuff together and Tess noticed these books and thought they’d be fun to do – plus they are super cheap so I’m all about that!
Fidget Pen: I’m not a big fan of the fidgets but this pen I could get behind because it’s functional!
Needle Felting: We went to a craft store and Britt decided she’d like to learn to loom and Tess was really drawn to the felt creations and wants to learn how to needle felt! I got her this book and this adorable sheep kit.
Gum: Another fun one that I know she’ll be thrilled about, a HUGE box of her favorite gum!
Sketch Set: Tess enjoys drawing and needed a new sketch set so I grabbed her this one as well as a how to draw book to add to her collection.
Nathan Hale Books: These are her FAVORITE books and they have a new one out this year that I grabbed for her!
The Bad Series: Tess has been OBSESSED with “The Secret Series” books I randomly bought her (she loves them so much we’re also gifting them to her cousin this year) and I saw that the author has another book series called “The Bad Series” so I snatched them all up quick too!
Puzzle Storage and Sorter: I’m a bit torn on which gift to give Tess as her last/surprise present. I’m debating between the hoverboard or a puzzle extravaganza kinda gift where I give her several unique puzzles and this puzzle board to do them on!
What I’m Buying for my 8 Year Old Son – Spear’s Wishlist
Spear is typically my cheapest kid…welllll not anymore. He’s enter the age of LEGO and we all know there is no turning back now!
He turns 8 on December 1st so these are also great ideas for a 7 year old 😉
I practically have all the LEGO numbers memorized from the kits he asked for because I searched them every single day for over a month until I was able to get each of them on sale 😉
He asked for SO many LEGO sets that I’m not going to share them all as I know how LEGO sets go. They are only available for a limited time and I know many people will be browsing through this list in the future when they may not be available, so I’ll just share some!
However, please note that I always make sure my kids have even number of gifts even if it looks like Spear has less due to me sharing less of his LEGO sets!
LEGO City Arctic Explorer: His big Santa gift. Which killllls me to purchase it, as we all know it’ll be put together once and then broken and all the pieces used for other creations before Jan 1st haha.
LEGO Kai’s Ninja Climber: The love for Ninjago is real with this kid and this one is another Santa ask!
Battat Crane Truck: An upside of toys frequently getting broken is that he has an easy time coming up with gift ideas – just replacing stuff he already owns 😉 This BIG crane truck is his last Santa wishlist item!
Transformer Toy to Mask: I love a double gift. Spear loves dressing up and will enjoy playing with this transformer as well as wearing it!
Imaginext Gorilla Fortress: Kye LOVED what we call “castle guys” when he was younger and it’s a toy that Spear has equally loved. He is obsessed with King Kong and I was pumped when I found this gorilla fortress (I got all the accessories too because they were all on sale!).
Space Facts Book: Spear asked for this one on his list! I may or may not believe we actually landed on the moon but, sure, he can enjoy a “space facts” book 😉
Brick Like This Game: We play “Legomasters” as a family where we all build things at the same time and I saw this game and thought it’d be a fun twist on the game we already play! I’m hoping since it’s LEGO that it’ll keep Spear interested.
3D Printed Dragon: I let the kids browse the aisles at Target and create an Amazon wishlist and Spear fell in love with this 3d printed dragon. Kid loves red and loves dragons!
LEGO City Off Road: I tried to get a variety of LEGO sets rather than just ALL Ninjago – I basically scooped up whatever I could when on sale!
Yoto Cards: Hands down THE best gift I’ve bought Spear has been the YOTO. We love it so much and I bought multiple cards to add to his collection this year. I grabbed a new card holder too.
Dinosaur Guidebook: We saw this at the American Natural History Museum in NYC and I noticed it was mucccch cheaper online so I added to cart on the spot 😉
The Action Bible: While I obviously won’t be using this as Spear’s actual bible – I do love the concept and idea of bringing the bible stories to life in a way that will help him be more engaged! This is a find I’m excited about!
Seat Cushion: Spear won a big ball at an arcade and was sitting on it to watch a movie at the Disney House and I noticed he sat really well and was bouncing during it and enjoyed feeling the nubs on it. I’m alllll about having helpful tools in his adhd toolbox and grabbed this seat cushion to hopefully help at dinnertime!
Nike Socks: Spear’s feet have started to stink so I’m hoping by buying him the “cool socks” that Kye wears that he’ll be more likely to actually wear socks 😉
Cybertruck: Every little boy loves the Cybertrucks and Spear is no different! He will be super excited for this toy!
Mario Bros Handheld Game: I saw some study that playing Mario Bros (or Tetris or Miss Packman) helps brain development because they are frustrating games and pushing through the frustration is really good for boys especially. I grabbed this set for Spear to play on our long car rides!
Remote Control Construction Vehicles: For his last gift/surprise from Mommy I’m giving him four remote control construction vehicles because I got them all on such an awesome deal 😉
Weighed Stuffed Animal: My girls have these and LOVE them so much and I thought Spear will like one as well – especially this cute dragon.
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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!
- What I Gifted My Family 2024
- What I Gifted My Family 2023
- Best Stocking Stuffer Gifts
- Gift Ideas for Kids Who Have Everything
- Favorite Things Party Gift Ideas
- Gift Ideas for Parents , Grandparents and Inlaws
- 8 Year Old Gift Ideas
- Best Gift Ideas for 7 Year Old Girls and Boys
- Best 6 Year Old Gift Ideas
- Best 5 Year Old Gift Ideas
- Best 4 Year Old Gift Ideas
- Best 3-Year-Old Gift Ideas
- Gift Ideas for 2 Year Olds
- Best Gift Ideas For a 1 Year Old
- Harry Potter Gift Guide
My work has been featured on Love What Matters, Today Parenting and Babywise.Life. I'm also honored to be a member of the Babywise Friendly Blog Network.
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