Play-Therapist Approved 2025 Holiday & Christmas Gift Guide (Ages 3-15) - With Links
Sensory-rich, emotion-regulation–friendly gifts that kids will actually enjoy!
Looking for meaningful, play-based holiday gifts that support emotional development, social skills, and sensory regulation? As play therapists know, the right toys can nurture confidence, help kids process feelings, and give them healthy outlets for stress. This holiday gift guide highlights therapist-recommended choices for ages 3–15, including sensory tools, games, and creative outlets proven to support well-being.
⭐ Ages 3–5: Sensory Play & Early Emotional Literacy
Kinetic sand: Soft, moldable, and calming to touch, kinetic sand offers an ideal sensory experience for young children (although many older kids enjoy playing with kinetic sand as well)! It supports fine-motor skills, imaginative play, and self-regulation while providing a predictable and soothing tactile input.
I also love sensory bin kits if you’re looking for other tactile toys.
Warmies Heated, Weighted, & Scented Stuffie: A lightweight, gentle form of deep-pressure input that helps kids calm down during transitions or bedtime. The addition of scent and warmth also helps with soothing. If you have a child who is sensitive to scent and/or heat, there are weighted stuffies that come without these features.
Reading/Sensory Tent: Early childhood can be a great time to introduce a “cozy corner” and create a designated space for soothing and regulation. These areas can include pillows, blankets, a fidget/sensory tool bucket, weighted stuffies or blankets, coloring books, etc.
⭐ Ages 5–8: Creative Problem Solving & Emotional Expression
A Little Spot of Emotion Book Box Set: These are some of my favorite books to start providing psychoeducation about emotions and building a feelings vocabulary.
Feed the Woozle board game: I love collaborative board games for this age range to support building social-emotional skills. Collaborative games can provide a great foundation before moving on to more complicated and competitive games.
NeeDoh cube: This might be my favorite fidget/sensory tool of all time. This can be a great age to start introducing more fidgets and sensory tools, and if your child’s school allows it, this is a great one to bring to school since it doesn’t make noise and provides input with minimal distraction.
⭐ Ages 8–12: Mindfulness, Confidence, & Social Skills
Uno No Mercy: I find this age range is often all about the competitive games, and games like this provide a lot of fun while also practicing frustration tolerance and problem-solving. Classic Uno is also a great option, as it seems to consistently be the most popular game in my office and is an easy go-to for family game nights.
DIY Craft Kits: Craft kits provide an opportunity for creativity, grounding, and confidence-building. Based on your child’s interests, things like a Pottery Wheel for Kids, a Paint Supply Kit, an Origami Kit, or a Make-Your-Own-Soccer-Ball Kit can be a good fit.
Aaron’s Thinking Putty: I’m a big fan of Aaron’s Thinking Putty as a sensory tool because it provides tactile input and can also be tailored to your child’s interests and specific sensory needs (for example, there are both scented and unscented options).
⭐ Ages 12–15: Self-Regulation, Healthy Coping, & Personal Expression
Journals: Journals are a perfect gift for a kid who is navigating increasingly complicated emotions and new demands, and they provide an outlet for personal expression and externalizing emotions. Items like this Bullet Journal Kit can be helpful for both organization, such as keeping a calendar or to-do lists for homework, and can also be helpful for things like gratitude lists and mood tracking. This can also be a fun activity to do together with your child (you can look to YouTube or Tik Tok for bullet journal page inspo and create pages together)!
I also love guided journals like this one that promotes self-love and confidence, and you can tailor them to what your child might need in this season of life.
Coloring Book: Coloring can be such a great tool for de-stressing and grounding. This particular coloring book is super popular amongst the pre-teen and teen clients I see.
Games for social connection: Many parents of pre-teens and teens are looking for new ways to connect with their children. Card games like Taco, Cat, Goat, Cheese, Pizza, or Exploding Kittens are engaging, humorous, and provide opportunities for connection (these games also work well for slightly younger ages if you’re looking for a game that siblings can join in with).
Additional Therapist-Recommended Gift Ideas for All Ages
Galaxy projector: When we think about sensory supports, it can be easy to forget about visual supports. Changing lighting can be a great way to relax and wind down.
Weighted blanket: Weighted blankets can provide deep-pressure input that many kids need to regulate. These can be particularly helpful for neurodivergent kids and/or kids who struggle to fall asleep.
Loop earplugs: I’m a huge fan of Loop earplugs to block out or reduce noise, as they can be super helpful for kids who are sensitive to noise and potentially experience overstimulation. These are also a great gift for yourself (parenting can mean a lot of noise and potential overstimulation)!
Sensory swing: A sensory swing can be an amazing gift, especially for neurodivergent kids, as kids can use it to regulate after school, before bed, or times when they’re needing extra input and/or movement.
Crash pad: If you have the space and the budget, providing a crash pad can be an amazing tool for kids who use movement and sensory input to regulate.