Some of us are lucky enough to have experienced the excitement of opening presents on Christmas eve (or Christmas morning, depending on your family traditions) while surrounded by family members gathered at the foot of the Christmas tree. Exchanging gifts has undoubtedly become a part of our holiday traditions and if there’s one member of the family who is ever more excited to unwrap their presents, it’s the little one. As they say, Christmas is for kids.

But while it’s easy to buy toys for kids this holiday season, there are other things that you can give them that are just as exciting and memorable. Here are gift ideas that you can give to kids other than toys!

Passes to Attractions and Activities

It may sound mushy, but nothing can beat the gift of experience. Your little one will truly appreciate a whole day wandering around kid-friendly attractions. If you’re feeling generous yet practical, consider buying annual memberships to theme parks, museums, and other favourite places for your kids. Here are some of them:

• ArtScience Museum (Marina Bay Sands) – Tickets to an exhibit start at S$12 but family bundles for two adults and two kids are also available. Check out the rest of the prices here.
• Amazonia Singapore – A toddler bundle entry costs S$59, which includes a set meal for an adult and a toddler. See their ticket prices here.
• Science Centre Singapore – A family membership is priced at S$65 for Singapore permanent residents, and S$108 for employment pass holders.

• Wildlife Reserves Singapore – Their “Friends for Wildlife” bundle has an annual membership fee of S$155, which will give your little one access to four wildlife parks.

Extracurricular Classes

Let your kids welcome the new year with a brand new skill (or enhance an existing one) by enrolling them in an extracurricular class. This can be anything from language learning classes, piano lessons, taekwondo, and many others. The choices are endless and depend on what your kids like! To get you clued in, here are some ideas:

• ezSAM's Korean lessons – All classes are designed for kids aged 5 to 12 and incorporate elements from Korea’s arts and culture. Their course fee starts at S$340, including six lessons.
• French lessons at Alliance Française de Singapour – They conduct lessons for babies as young as 1 year old!

• Awesome Piano Lessons – Lessons are categorized based on the teacher’s level. For beginners to grade 4, a session lasts 45 minutes; for grade 5 and above, it goes for an hour. Send your inquiries via their website.
• Taekwondo classes with JH Kim Taekwondo – JH Kim is one of the biggest martial arts academies in Singapore. They have kid-friendly classes led by professionals and taekwondo champions. To see their rates and classes, click here.

A Bank Account

Another non-toy present that you can gift to your kids for Christmas is their own savings account. This will introduce them to the importance of having a rainy-day fund, and hopefully help them to make better purchasing decisions as they grow older. Singapore’s leading banks such as DBS, UOB, OCBC, Citibank, CIMB, and Maybank, have various kid-friendly savings account options so your little one becomes more responsible in handling their own money!