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Our son loves animals more than he loves most things and is on a self-chosen path to be a Zoo Director when he grows up. He volunteers multiple times each week as an assistant animal-keeper at a local museum where he feeds a variety of creatures including 150 pound tortoises, teeny bats and bizarre mudskippers. So, gift-buying for him is often centered around animals and has been for as long as I can recall.
This gift guide includes a variety of ideas for a range of ages and spending points. I hope you can find something that works for your animal-loving kid!
ONE: Animal Inspired Legos
If your animal loving kid also happens to be a Lego lover like ours, gift giving can be pretty simple! Not only does Lego offer complete sets to create sharks, dogs and dinosaurs, they also have books that show specific steps to create hundreds of different small animals while also teaching about habitats around the world. If your Lego-creating animal lover does not have a surplus of Legos lying around {my son never takes apart a build so we are always in need of more bricks,} you’ll want to grab a big box of classic bricks and some spare eyeballs. And, if you have a younger animal lover in your life, Lego has you covered with lots of animal-themed Duplo sets with small, medium, large and even larger price tags. I was lucky enough to score a huge tub containing twenty pounds of random Legos from a local buy/sell site. I added an animal building book and a baggie of 50 eyeballs to create the perfect big gift for Christmas morning!
, , , ,TWO: Books About Animals
This is a category that I am downright embarrassed to mention. Being a former public school teacher who currently homeschools her only child and is married to an academic, I KNOW the truth behind the old adage, “you can never have too many books.” But, I’m not sure our son, who will have no fewer than 20 books beneath the Christmas tree would agree {and that’s in addition to the set of 12 How to Train Your Dragon books he’s getting for his birthday the week before.} All joking aside, he will be thrilled with his bounty of books, not only because he enjoys reading but because they are all about animals. Between the historical fiction series about Soldier Dogs and the silly starter set of Dog-Man comic-style books, he will be entertained on multiple levels. He will also enjoy this beautiful Animal Encyclopedia as well as the first book in a new series about a dog in middle school, Dog Diaries by James Patterson. If your animal-loving kid is more at the picture book stage, there are nearly a gazillion options! AND {as of 12/08/19} Amazon is offering an amazing deal where you get three books for the price of two. Below are just a few examples of awesome animal books for younger readers that qualify for that special deal.
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THREE: Stuffed Animals
I’m not ashamed to say that our animal-loving kid, who will soon be a teenager, still collects stuffed animals. It kinda drives my husband nuts but I personally find it endearing that our son has a specific memory attached to every single stuffed animal he owns. Whether it’s of a special family member, favorite friend or significant event, the memory and animal is not something he wants to give up. He has animals carefully selected from at least a dozen zoos across the country and animals acquired in various national parks. Just last night when I asked him what he wanted for Christmas, he launched into needing a cardinal because we had so many in our yard this summer and he didn’t want to forget their beauty. He also said he needed a lion because we had just finished reading the Chronicles of Narnia together and he loved every minute of it. {Luckily, he seemed to forget that we never found a sea lion to bring home from San Francisco last summer…so this little guy will definitely be a surprise!} The variety of animals on Amazon seems endless and can range in size from teeny stocking stuffers to giants worthy of being delivered directly by Santa on Christmas morning. Amazon haseverything from super soft baby-worthy animals to animals that proudly reflect the true physical characteristics of the species behind the inspiration. {By the way, I hate clutter and don’t allow his stuffed menagerie to leave his room. And I have every intention of making the kid take his animals when he moves out. I figure they’ll be perfect decor for his Zoo Director office!}
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FOUR: Hands-on Animal Activities
One of the gifts I am most excited about giving this year, is a book and bells combo designed to help teach your dog new tricks. Our son has a mini-Aussie that he loves to work with and I know they will both thoroughly enjoy having these tools to take their training to a new level. Something that he has sadly outgrown but that I still HIGHLY RECOMMEND for kids of nearly every age, is anything from the Backyard Safari line of toys. They have loads of options but the best items to start with include this critter shack and bug vacuum. This combo will surely get your kids excited about exploring outside! But, for days when the weather keeps your kids inside, this cool drawing book can keep them occupied. Or if you’re truly adventurous and want to bring some critters indoors, an actual ant-farm can be loads of fun! We had one years ago {for a science fair project} and the entire family enjoyed watching them dig intricate tunnels.
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FIVE: Real Animal Encounters
If I’m excited about the used Legos, surplus of books, sea lion plush and dog bells, imagine how excited I am to gift our son with some real animal encounters. And, we’re not talking cats, dogs, bugs and lizards. We’re talking penguins, sloths and camels. Obviously, these types of encounters will vary by zoo location but from a quick glance at a handful of zoos, it seems that most zoos offer some sort of behind-the-scenes animal encounters. It just takes a little research, some advanced planning and printing up a certificate in order to gift the opportunity to swim with penguins, pet sloths and feed camels! I think I need to add these to MY LIST!
Happy Shopping and Merry Christmas!
