Shop our Family Gift Guide for the Holidays!

The Creative STEAM Corner

Manipulating physical objects is great for fine motor skill development and hand-eye coordination, but they’ve also got some great educational potential. It’s great creative play for the entire family, adults included.

Dog-E

Dog-E is quite the cute electronic pet. It’s educational too with block coding aspects connected to a free app. This life-like robot dog can be trained and virtually fed, and can also have its attributes customized (including farting, which the kids love!). The whole family can store separate profiles and customize Dog-E according to their preferences!

Magnetic building blocks

Recommended for children 3 and older, these toys come in colorful plastic shapes that can be assembled and reassembled for hours! Build all kinds of fun shapes and objects - whatever you can imagine.

Melissa & Doug Band-in-a-box Musical Instruments

A love of music is a lifelong gift, and with this band in a box, you can get the whole family involved in setting the rhythm of the holidays. Band-in-box includes tambourine, cymbals, maracas, clacker, tone blocks and a triangle.

Make A Statement with Wearables

Give the gift of both function and flair with these wonderful clothes and accessories that make practical, memorable gifts.

Preloved winter accessories and bundles

For eco-fashion fans, you will want to check out Preloved, a brand that diverts vintage clothing from landfills and gives it new life as a beautiful product. All the designing and manufacturing is done right here in Canada.

Wearable Shark Blanket Onesie

If you have someone who loves the Discovery Channel's Shark Week or sharks in general, they’re going to get a kick out of this warm and snuggly gift! And it’ll be a surefire conversation starter at the relatives’ house (but only because they’re totally jealous).

Mabel’s Labels Gift Pack

If you’ve never tried Mabel’s Labels, you're not only missing out, but likely missing stuff! These label gift packs are fabulous for organizing winter outerwear and other accessories that might get misplaced, so you’ll never have to worry about mixing up or losing them. Especially helpful at this time of year with all the extra gear.

Active Fun

Encouraging movement in a season where we typically get sedentary is both a healthy habit and great for physical development. Why not make a present of one of these fun activities?

iFly

All the fun of skydiving without the fear of jumping out of a plane! Kids as young as three can participate in indoor skydiving, and it’s certainly going to be a memorable experience. Canadian locations in the provinces of Alberta, Ontario and Quebec are in the following cities: Calgary, Oakville, Whitby, and Montreal.

Indoor Inflatable and Trampoline Parks

Why settle for a regular playground when you could go bouncing at an indoor park? In Ontario, popular options include The Bubble in Toronto, and Flying Squirrel in Chatham, Hamilton, London, Niagara, Ottawa, Waterloo and Whitby. Flying Squirrel also has locations in North/South Calgary, Alberta, in Winnipeg, Manitoba and in Victoria, British Columbia. An especially helpful option on bad weather days over winter break and weekends!

Busy Minds

Busy Minds is a dynamic mobile enrichment program. Through the engaging curriculum, kids are empowered with essential life skills by offering fun-filled movement and mindfulness programs. Busy Minds has locations in York Region, Halton Region, Peel Region, GTA, London, Guelph, Kitchener/Waterloo, and Ottawa.

Plan a Trip to Fire & Ice

Bracebridge in Muskoka is home to an annual festival every January along Manitoba Street that makes a lot of fun out of the coldest month of the year. Enjoy Kids Parkour, winter skates, downtown tube runs, snowshoeing, and enjoying sitting by the fire!

Cooking Lovers Unite

These thoughtful gifts are sure to inspire and delight both the aspiring chefs and seasoned cooks in your life.

Easy Peasy Pancakes

For younger kids or true beginners, learning to cook might seem a tall order. But a Toronto Mompreneur made Easy Peasy Pancakes to be exactly that - easy peasy! And hot, yummy pancakes are a great way to introduce kids to the delicious benefits of home cooking. It also makes for a great stocking stuffer.

Baking Wonderland

This colourful and clever mix & match cookbook is the creation of Jean Parker and Rachel Smith, best known as The Baking Sisters from Food Network Canada. Their baking book is meant to inspire kids to develop new skills in the kitchen and to actually play with their food and build a dream dessert. Designed for children with clear and easy-to-follow step-by-step recipes, you’ll be surprised to find how much education and entertainment can happen in this baking adventure. There's no shortage of fun-filled recipes, including chocolate moose, banana-nana cupakes and poop cookies - just to name a few!

Toysdone Cat Shaped Ceramic Measuring Spoons

This 4-piece measuring spoons kit is clearly unlike any ordinary measuring spoons set. These bundles of small measuring spoons are perfect for cat lovers and anyone who adores cute cooking utensils.

Cozy Family Reading Time

It is probably no surprise to find that Teachers on Call recommends books as the perfect gift. Shared reading experiences create positive associations with books, instilling a love for learning and improving language development in kids!

Depending on the ages of your children, we highly recommend sharing one of these classics that you probably already know and love:

• Where the Wild Things Are -  Maurice Sendak
• Charlotte's Web - E.B. White
• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis

If you’re looking for something newer and seasonal, Tundra Books and Penguin Random House Canada has recently released these fun festive reads!

• PAWS: Priya Puts Herself First
• Scaredy Squirrel Gets Festive
• Happy Narwhalidays
• The Three Little Mittens

For more reading inspiration, check out Teachers on Call’s Hooked on Books series.

Capturing the Memories

The phrase “the days are long, but the years are short” is well known by parents and families. We recommend you keep a record of your precious moments!

Flytographer

If you’re thinking of vacationing for the winter break or visiting family out of town, Flytographer is a great way to record the experience with a vast network of professional photographers to choose from. Take pictures of special occasions and holidays away from home from hundreds of cities worldwide.

Photo by Flytographer