Gift Ideas for Siblings

Guest Author - Marie Stroughter

Holiday gifts from parents and relatives are most likely cinched by now. But what are your children giving each other? Here are some ideas for sibling-to-sibling gifts:

Re-Gifting: Adults do it - why not kids? My oldest is planning on giving some of the toys he has outgrown to his younger brother and sister. All three children have similar interests, so his sibs routinely eye his stash. It's a great way to reduce "territorial beefs" as well as recycle and show the environment some love! Along that line, consider "homemade" gift wrap that the children create or using newspaper, rather than buying expensive wrapping paper that will get torn and be rendered unusable again.

Coupons: Siblings can make coupons for each other for a variety of things: IOUs for cleaning a sib's room; doing their chores; my personal favorite: a day-long "Tattle-Free Zone." The possibilities are endless. However, the giver has to be prepared to make good on the gift!

Handmade gifts: All three of my children knit, so they have the ability to make each other handcrafted items. If your children have special talents, they can create things: a song/story/poem, a video, a drawing, a clay dough sculpture, or a bookmark. Whatever your child is talented at and thinks the receiver would enjoy is fair game.

Modest purchases: If your child gets an allowance, the parents might give the children a small spending limit for gifts to each other ("no more than__") to make it even.

Group efforts: If you have more than two children, you can have siblings work on group efforts each sibling (i.e., if you have three children, two can work on a gift for the other one). You can also have the children pick the name of one child, and focus their gift-giving efforts on that sibling.

Often parents and relatives handle all the details of the holiday. But siblings have such a bond with each other, and such a relationship, and spend so much of their time with each other, that it's important for them to have a way of acknowledging how grateful they are to have their sibling in their lives.

The holidays are certainly about more than gifts and "getting loot." But giving is never out of vogue, and for many the word "Giving" sums up the whole season. Teaching your children to give and enjoy the feeling that giving provides, is a valuable lesson that this season of sharing teaches.