gift giving philosophy Archives ~ Happy Whimsical Hearts

Christmas gifts for Waldorf children

This post is sponsored by Honeybee Toys

I am often asked what Christmas gifts we will be giving the children.

So this year, I thought I would share ahead of time {and I have to tell you, taking the photos for this post, without anyone seeing, was no mean feat!}

We continue to use our gift giving philosophy of

Something they want, something they need, something to wear & something to read

And find it works well for us. Sometimes we might swap something out, and add ‘something to create’ instead.

This year Ruby will be receiving the beautiful book The Apple Cake.

I’ve often wondered what this book is like, and recently had the chance to look through a copy at a friend’s house. It is super lovely, so I can’t wait to share it with Ruby. She will also receive The Cleo Stories, A Friend and A Pet. We have the other Cleo book and they are delightful and sweet.

For something to wear, I was lucky to find a second hand rainbow swirl skirt and leggings on a Waldorf Buy Sell Swap page ~ I know she will love these!

And for something she wants, Ruby will be receiving some rescue dolls. Dolls that have been ‘made over’ to be more childlike and innocent {this is a compromise, given we prefer to minimise plastic in our home}

My little Teddy will be receiving this gorgeous rabbit hutch, to go with our trio of sweet rabbits.

He is very engaged by small world play at the moment, so think he will really love this gift.

He will also receive a beautiful wooden toolset so he can work with his dad around the house *grin*

For something to read, Teddy will receive I Took the Moon for a Walk and Sun Bread. Teddy is very intrigued by the moon and sun at the moment, so these too books should fit the bill!

And because I couldn’t resist the handmade horse reins at our local Waldorf Spring Fair, he is getting a set of those too.

Max is getting a little trickier to buy for now that he is a bit older. And I would love to give him a carving knife but think we will wait a bit longer for that.

He is super into games through, so he will be given Australian Menagerie. As well as some fun face paint from Giotto.

For something to read, I picked up a few books second hand that he will love, The Magic Knot from Reg Down and The Boy who knew what the Birds said by Padraic Colum.

The lovely angel, and blue and blush red play silks are also for Christmas, they will be part of our Advent journey which I shared about last week.

What are your children receiving for Christmas?

??? You can follow along on Facebook and Instagram to see snippets of our days ???

Blessings, Kelly

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November 28, 2016 by Kelly

Waldorf inspired birthdays

In some ways we have taken a baby steps approach to bringing Waldorf into our home. A gradual shift over time, on a journey that continues. So slowly we have shifted how we celebrate the children’s birthdays.

Trying to keep them simpler, smaller and building on our family traditions as we go. Using special items to mark the occasion, like a beautiful birthday ring, a birthday crown and birthday bunting. Special items that the children can come to expect, and that help mark their special days.

Another change is how we give our children birthday gifts. We try to keep our gift giving simple, include handmade presents and mostly toys from natural materials. We also use a gift giving philosophy of…

This keeps us focused on choosing special gifts and making good decisions. In the past I think I found it a little too easy to get caught up in the excitement of buying presents, and not always choosing the best options for our family. So now we try to be more thoughtful and purposeful in our choices.

Dino Boy adores Lego, and it keeps him occupied for long stretches of time. Building his own creations and playing with them. Or building things with his dad *smile*

So this birthday for something they want we gave him a new set of Lego…

We used to have a plastic clam sandpit, but the elements caused it to crack and break. So we’ve been thinking for some time that we would like to have a new sandpit in the yard. Sandpits are wonderful for ourside play! And then Husband of Mine found this wonderful one ~ with little seats that fold out into a lid ~ online for a bargain price… so this is Dino Boy’s something they need…

For Dino Boy’s something to wear I knitted him this gorgeous Griffin vest ~ wonderful for Spring and Autumn. Knitted with dreamy Noro yarn. And he adores it, particularly the pocket to keep his little hands in *happy sigh*

For something to read this fun and sweet book Mudpies and Other Recipes is a lovely choice. It makes us giggle and has inspired some wonderfully creative play outside!

And for this birthday, we decided to give him something to create… because he now enjoys drawing at his Waldorf preschool with lovely beeswax crayons and we thought it would be good to encourage him to continue the creative process at home.