holiday gift guide

A few of the most common questions I am asked this time of the year, by friends and by clients, are “do you have a holiday gift guide” orĀ “what should we buy as a holiday present?” The parents I interact with are looking for toys, games, and activities to support their child’s development. This is a particularly exciting question as I LOVE talking about toys and play. But before we dive into some specifics, let me remind you that sometimes what our children love the most to play with are the little things we already have lying around the house. For this, I suggest you take a look at Learn With Less by my colleague Ayelet!

My Tips

for

Choosing Toys

  1. Ditch the Batteries
  2. Go Back to the Basics
  3. Get Outside and Move
  4. Less is More
  5. YOU are the BEST Toy

This year I set out to update the holiday gift guide I published a few years ago and then stopped myself. There is no sense in re-inventing the wheel. So this year, I bring you a round-up of some of my favorite holiday gift guides published by fellow SLPs.

*Please note that many of these lists, mine included, contain Amazon affiliate links. This helps support the time and effort bloggers put forth to bring you high-quality information.

Holiday Gift Guides for a Child’s

Speech and Language Development:

My Holiday Gift Guide: my tip is to think about how you can build Playing With Purpose into your gift selection

Books & Toys: A Speech & Language Gift Guide: Ashley Rossi knocked it out of the park with this incredibly comprehensive guide. Plus there is a great downloadable list from her Teacher’s Pay Teacher’s store!

The Best Holiday Gifts to Support Speech and Language Development: you’ll find lists with gifts, games and stocking stuffers for kids of all ages from Katie

10 (Non-Tech) Holiday Gift Ideas: our licensing organization ASHA put out a great list with some ideas that I would never have thought of like camping supplies; sounds like a fun holiday season.

Best Speech and Language Gifts: This list from Carrie is sure to provide lots of concrete tips for how to use her recommendations when playing with and interacting with your child.

One last consideration when shopping this holiday season, consider supporting local. We are fortunate, in Austin, to have a few independent toy stores still around. I love going into them and chat with the sales people to get their ideas. They are a wealth of knowledge and are sure to have something that will delight!

Do you need more help with your holiday gift list?

Start Playing With Purpose

Learn how to purposefully and intentionally interact with your child during play and help them increase opportunities for speech and language development with our Playing with Purpose book!

Hello, I'm Emily!

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