Jeanette Nyberg of Craftwhack and I have teamed up again to bring you a holiday shopping series. Today we bring you Gender Bending gift ideas for kids because we are both a little subversive if you haven’t noticed.
November 3, 2015: Gifts That Give Back (Hers, Mine) (Last year’s: Hers, Mine)
November 10, 2015: DIY Gift Ideas (Hers, Mine) (Last year’s: Hers, Mine)
November 17, 2015: Gender Bending Gifts for Kids (Hers, Mine) (Last year’s: Hers, Mine)
November 24, 2015: Gifts to Steal from Loved Ones (Hers, Mine) (Last year’s: Hers, Mine)
December 1, 2015: Left Brain/Right Brain Gifts for Kids (Hers, Mine) (Last year’s: Hers, Mine)
Gender bending is sometimes a form of social activism undertaken in response to assumptions, over-generalizations about genders, or transphobia. Some gender benders identify with the gender assigned them at birth, but “challenge” the norms of that genderthrough androgynous behavior and atypical gender roles. from Wikipedia
Gender Gending Gifts … let’s all be a little subversive this year and gift in ways that challenge stereotypes, like coloring books for adults! Check out Jeanette’s list here.
Dolls for Boys that Teach Emotional Intelligence
These dolls for boys include a child-sized matching piece of adventure gear for the child too, giving them an instant sidekick for adventures! The idea is that this connectedness deepens the imaginative play experience.
Crewmates combine the adventure of an action figure with the emotional connection of the favorite stuffed animal.
Wonder Crew Dolls, $50
Yoga Joes – Green Army Men Toys, $28
Play with toy army soldiers in an entirely new way! This is a non-violent toy that comes packaged in a “mini yoga studio” clear box with a bamboo floor.
STEM and STEAM (STEM with Art) Building Toys
Let’s challenge girls to become engineers and architects and boys to become fashion designers by making these building and design toys gender-neutral!
Pinblocks, $50
With one building block, you can make buildings, planes, vehicles, and more. The choice of either making a miniature plane or a whole city that would fill your room with buildings and roads is purely yours. These colors appeal to girls but boys will have fun building with them too! (They come in all kinds of colors too).
Fashion Design for Girls OR Boys
Fashion Rebel Outfit Maker: Mix and MisMatch Styles by Louise Scott-Smith, $15
This is a sketchbook that already has a fashion form drawn in so that you can use the 200+ fashion templates to trace and then color in outfits. Budding fashion designers will be able to create their fashion visions.
LEGOS for Girls to Build Anything They Want
This is from Lego.Gizmodo.com:
The cool spacefighter above was created with bricks from LEGO Friends Butterfly Beauty Shop, Olivia’s Invention Workshop, Stephanie’s Cool Convertible, and Emma’s Fashion Design Studio.
LEGO Friends Private Jet Building Kit, $30
Lego Friends Vet Kit, $18
Drawing Supplies
Drawing supplies are gender-neutral toys for every age!
I DO 3D Pens, $31
These are pens that exude a kind of gel-like substance that dries into a 3D form. You can attach each design to each other to build 3D structures. It comes in different colors and there are templates and art projects on the I DO 3D TV website.
12 Brush Tip Sharpie Permanent Markers, $13
I actually crave the Tombow Dual Brush Pen Art Markers,96 Color Set with Desk Stand but they are pricey at $134, so this is a nice, lower-priced option.
Building Tools for Girls and Boys
I really love that girls in this generation are learning how to build with power tools in middle school. It’s a great life skill.
Tool Belt, $15
My daughter, PickyKidPix, would love this! She’s great with power tools! This is not a toy; it’s a tool!
CP Toys Wooden Child-sized Real Tools Set, $40
Project Workbench, $170
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Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Massachusetts Book Award Long List
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- Starred review from School Library Journal
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Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Scholastic / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Love these toy soldiers…I just bought legos for my six year old granddaughter for Christmas. These new building sets are really creative.
Hi Barbara Ann,
The Yoga Joe’s are such a funny and subversive message of non violence. I love them! And I do yoga so I love to see the poses as well!
I just squealed when I saw the Yoga Joes!!! Oh, and i totally recommend the Tombows. Buy yourself a present….
Aren’t they funny in a really subversive and amazing way Jeanette? The Yoga Joes are my favorite toy soldier!
Pin blocks look interesting! I think that the best toys will always appeal to both boys and girls!
Hi MaryAnne,
Good point and a good investment, especially if you have both boys and girls!