20+ Great Gifts for Kids you Can’t Get at Wal-Mart

There are lots of reasons we sometimes hesitate—even bah humbug—over buying gifts for kids this time of year. Last year it was the lead paint scare. This year it’s finances. I’ve been wondering since I heard the horrible story about the Wal-Mart worker and shopper who were trampled on Black Friday, what the shoppers that day could have possibly wanted so desperately to cause a such a mad dash.

Cheap electronics are on sale everywhere, sweaters are in abundant supply and “on sale” every day, and toys have become expensive disappointments that break a few days after the kids start playing with them. Besides, do you know any kids who actually need more toys? A week after that dreadful Wal-Mart event, it still gives me the creeps and takes some of the fun out of shopping. You too? Here are some ideas that might put the fun back into it for you.

Rather than adding to the pre-holiday frenzy, what if we got gifts our kids could actually use? What if we spend a few dollars creating time and memories for our kids instead of adding to the clutter of plastic pieces in their closets? I’ve been thinking about this a lot so I did some research and came up with some gifts you can feel good about giving to your kids, nieces, nephews, grandkids or anyone else on your list. They won’t litter the closet, the play room, or the environment, and they create lasting memories, some adventure, or just plain fun.

Yearly Memberships
Conner Prairie Living History Museum--Sure it’s cold outside, but what’s wrong with a brisk walk through Conner village followed by the experience of stepping into a log cabin warmed by an enormous hearth fire. Family memberships are only 60 bucks a year—that’s slightly more than the cost for a family with three kids to go once--and they have special events and classes year-round for everyone from Prairie Tykes to adults. You can also buy gift cards for the museum shop or any of their special events on line.

Fort Wayne Chi... Ft Wayne Children’s Zoo is only 85 bucks and members get 50% off admission at other zoos throughout the US.

The Indianapolis Zoo--For about $100 you can buy an entire family a membership to the Indianapolis Zoo for a year. That’s probably less than you would spend on three ill fitted sweaters or last year’s video games for each of your brother’s kids. Membership includes Christmas at the zoo, special visits by koalas and komodos, and the chance to pet live sharks in the Oceans building. Purchase on-line here.

Indianapolis Children’s Museum—Another100 bucks well spent. Membership gets you unlimited visits to the world’s largest children’s museum for parents and an unlimited number of dependents under age 21. Don’t most of us have at least one sibling with 3 or 4 (or 5) kids? They could hardly go once for that price. Right now the Museum is giving 10 dollars off gift memberships with an on-line promotional code.

Jump the Jiggles Out
How about taking the kids in your life out of the house and away from the video games for a few hours—and do mom and dad a favor too?

Jump-N-Play in Avon has jumping and more, including rock wall climbing and cosmic (glow-in-the-dark) basketball and special inflatables for toddlers that are all part of open jump times. You can even rent inflatables for indoor fun at home if you have the space. That might make a great Winter Break party for your kids and their friends. They don’t have gift cards or certificates, but if you live nearby, it might be a fun way to break up the winter blahs, So grab the kids and go.

The Jump Zone has a location in Crowne Point and one coming soon to Indianapolis. They have private party times and open jump times, too. You can buy open play passes for $40 (6 for the price of 5). The Bounce Zone in Noblesville also has gift cards for open bounce, but their web site was down so I can't give you more details.

Carribean Cove offers gift cards in 25-dollar increments for an overnight stay at the Holiday Inn North at the Pyramids. Rooms accommodate up to 5 guests with unlimited splashing in the 50,000 square feet of indoor water

Respect Our World
If you have any do-gooder kids on your list, perhaps something more altruistic would be just right.

Did you know Indiana has a huge equine rescue operation? Indiana Horse Rescue has six locations throughout the state that rescue and house unwanted horses. Healthy horses are available for adoption or fostering to appropriate (and approved) homes only. But you can sponsor a horse for as little as $60--and you get to pick the horse you want to sponsor. Wihttp:th it you get a photo of sponsored horse, the story of sponsor horse and a letter of thanks. Higher-level sponsorships gives a kid a special gift, a T-shirt with the horses picture, mention on the web site, etc. You can even visit the horses (by appointment only).

You can also sponsor all or part of the the building of a medical horse stall to keep horses that are sick or injured confined and in a highly sanitized environment. Or, right now, they have a special on hay. If you buy two bales at only 5 bucks a piece for a horse in need, a...

Be an Animal Amigo by donating $50, $100, or $150 (or more) to house and feed an animal or group of animals at the Indianapolis Zoo. This could be a great gift for someone who already has a zoo membership. Imagine how much fun you will have taking a child to see the animal that he or she is helping support for an entire year. They can give to the animals in general or designate which particular animal to help support. The child’s gets a plush animal, a letter of thanks, a decal for the car, and his or her name will go on the Animal Amigo recognition board across from the polar bear exhibit in the Oceans building. The board is updated each year between Feb and March so if you befriend an animal now, their name will appear in the board in time for spring break.


Wild Animal Babies, Your Big Back Yard and Ranger Rick, magazine subscriptions all support the national wildlife federation and give your kids the gift of a love for nature. Subscriptions are only about 20 bucks a year and with it you get an Animal Babies dinnerware set, or a pair of binoculars. So it’s really 3 gifts in 1. My personal experience with these pubs over the last 20 years has been fantastic. And while you’re on line you can sign up for the parent newsletter. You might learn something too.

Enrichment
Enrichment sometimes get a bad rap from kids (sounds too much like school), but not these experiences. I posed some of these to my 6-year-old for an alternative to winter break television watching and he said, "Yes!"

Art classes
The Indianapolis Art Center has classes for kids from toddlers on up (to adults). They even have holiday art workshops for kids from aged 7-14 where they can learn basic jewelry making, fabric dying and . . . swizzle stick making? That’s basic glass-blowing techniques. Cool.You can drop the kids off while you shop and staff helps them wrap the gifts so they are ready for giving(remember to register in advance). And you can buy gift certificates. However, gift certificates purchased through this site can only be redeemed for classes, workshops or memberships online. Paper gift certificates that can be used for anything in the Indianapolis Art Center facility, but must be purchased at the Art Center.


At Pottery-by-You there's still time to take a child to create a unique gift before Christmas. Last day to create and get them back by Christmas is Dec 14, though. They also have a Mid-night madness event on Dec 12. Wear your jammies and get 20% off. It that’s too hard to fit into your schedule or you’d just like to have some fun at home, they offer a Studio-to-go package to take home to paint, and bring back later for professional firing and finishing.

The Creative Escape Pottery and Mosaic in Carmel has classes for kids each Thursday at 4pm that teach pottery wheel skills. Other classes include pottery painting and creating tile mosaics. Summer 1/2 –day camps for kids from K-2nd and 3rd grade-older, include activities like painting ceiling tiles (a la Michael Angelo) and learning impressionism, and Pointillism by seeing and doing. You can order gift certificates by phone and pick them up at the store.

Check out your local and city parks programs for low cost classes in everything from drawing, to dance, to dodge ball. Indyparks has a downloadable catalogue of classes, as does the Laporte city parks , as does Lafayett, and Bloomington, and Carmel, and . . . just check the city parks web site where your kids live.

Cooking classes
There wasn’t much to choose from in this category. I would think some of the high-end gourmet shops around would offer these. Maybe they do, but they weren’t easy to find. The YMCA of greater Indianapolis, however, does offer creative and healthy cooking classes for families with kids as young as two at many of their Indy and Hamilton county locations. Search for dates and times on line.

Theater
There are lots of theater events for kids these days, but if you want to inspire them through the performances of other kids, the Children’s Theater Institute might be the place. The shows are appropriate for kids of all ages, but especially 3-8 year-olds, and tickets are cheap, $6-$9. Go on Friday nights for the Bedtime Story performances. Kids are encouraged to come in their PJ’s and get juice and a snack. Mom and dad just might get a quiet ride home. Shhhhh. . .

Fun and Adventure
The Dolphin In-Water Adventure--This one’s kinda pricey. The 90-minute program gives older kids and adults a chance to encounter dolphins up close and become familiar with some of the training techniques used by the Indianapolis Zoo’s Marine Mammal staff. Kids 14 and up must be accompanied by a participating or observing (aka., paying) adult and kids who want to observe must be at least age 6. To participate in the dolphin adventure, it’ll cost you anywhere from $180 (m) to $205 (nm), or $25 to $35 to observe. Here’s the rub, observers must be accompanying a friend or family member who is participating. So someone has to get wet. You can buy gift certificates, but not online.

Horseback riding lessons are everywhere, of course, but you can search for stables near your little ones at Newhorse.com.You can take riding lessons in the winter in an indoor arena at many locations. Just make sure you are truthful about your rider’s abilities when you call to schedule lessons so they get matched up with the right horse. And you’ll need to know if they are more the Western or English type. I browsed through some of the sites listed on this directory and didn’t see any gift certificates, but you can call and find out. Most are just mom and pop stables, so that could be risky anyway.

The IMAX Theater at the Indiana State Museum has the The Polar Express in 3D back as a Special Engagement (costs more than standard engagement) for the holiday season. I can personally recommend this for kids even as young as 3—if they aren't scared by dark theaters or mom wearing funny blue and red glasses. Other 3D standard engagement films include Roving Mars 3D and Grand Canyon Adventure. Other 3D films appear throughout the year. There are also IMAX locations in Noblesville and Portage, but be mindful that not all movies shown in these theaters are 3D. Purchase gift cards by accessing individual sites.

There are really too many ideas to list here. Indianapolis and surrounding areas have lessons, gymnastics centers, indoor play centers, nature centers, museums, book clubs, bowling, skating, green houses, story times, language lessons, concerts, theater . . . the list goes on. And many of them (especially those offered by your local parks department and libraries) are low cost or free so you don’t have to spend a lot of money of gifts this year (of all years). You can just give a child some of your time and chance to create something lasting—a memory.

I’d like to hear other suggestions from SI members. I know I’ve only scratched the surface.