Holiday Musical Gift Guide for Young Children
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There was a time when Christmas gifts sounded like tin whistles, little drums, and the joyful racket of children making real music in the living room. Wether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or the Yuletide, collectively we know that the holiday season has a way of encouraging over consumption and the gifting of low quality toys that often break before New Year’s. Companies deliberately make everything sub-par now, and even more-so for kids. This idea that children aren’t careful enough and are not deserving enough of quality and beauty is a malicious one that fills the landfill, creates waste and makes it so that nothing will ever be passed down again. I do not stand behind this ethos and I hope that if you are of a similar mind, you will enjoy this gift guide. Because young children do deserve quality and beauty.
I wanted to create a musical holiday gift guide that isn’t a pile of plastic clutter destined for the landfill, but instead a collection of well-made, great-sounding, long-lasting instruments suited for young children (baby- ages 7+). So many musical toys marketed toward children are, put bluntly, pure garbage. They often don’t produce accurate pitches, don’t sound pleasant, and do little to nurture a child’s developing ear. In my humble opinion, it’s far better to invest in one quality instrument than a heap of cheap ones.
This guide leans into the charm of vintage Christmas gift-giving; the kind of presents children once unwrapped with wonder: tin whistles, little drums, simple instruments that invite real play, creativity, and family music-making.
Most of the items I recommend are ones I personally own, love, and have used for years… and many can be enjoyed from babyhood all the way through adulthood! :)
Gifts that Support Small Business
There is nothing more impactful than spending our dollars with small businesses, so I hope you will consider purchasing as much as possible from small businesses this holiday season. The items curated below in this section are from The Nestling Co, a small mom owned shop in Maine. Make sure to use my promo codes at checkout for the discount! :)
Music Bells (RE-STOCKED!)
For an heirloom show stopper gift, these music bells fit the bill! I have owned these music bells since my eldest was a baby and we use them nearly every day! The quality and sound is superb and I love how accessible this instrument is for children big and small.
Use Promo Code: magicalmusicmethod (receive $5.00 off + free shipping in USA)
I honestly cannot think of a better stocking stuffer than these solid cherry rhythm sticks. They feel wonderful in the hand and provide endless opportunities for rhythm play and exploration. You use them with very young children to learn to “feel the beat” when listening to music by tapping along, all the way up to complex rhythm call and response games. And if you follow me on social media, you know how much I talk about the skill of keeping a steady beat, is a key pre-literacy skill!
Use Promo Code: MAGICAL10 (receive 10% off)
Guiro rhythm instruments provide a wonderful opportunity to experience the scraping sound so often heard in Latin American music. Children really love experiencing the scraping sound and this instrument provides a lot of open ended musical play possibilities! This is crafted from beautiful maple wood with a cherry wood mallet.
Use Promo Code: MAGICAL10 (receive 10% off)
Amazon Gift Curation
Buying from small businesses will always be the best choice, but I know that Amazon has many options that are hard to find elsewhere and also that many small businesses do sell on Amazon, so I have selected a few items that I truly love and think would make for wonderful holiday gifts!
This glockenspiel is made in Sweden of brass and wood and the sound is really stellar! The pentatonic scale is very pleasing for children to play with because they create so many melodies that naturally sound good. This is a high quality instrument and would be a perfect gift for your creative budding young musician!
The same brand of glockenspiel as the one above, but with the whole major scale! This creates a world of musical possibilities and to be able to play many songs!
I think drums are truly one of the funnest instruments for little kids and I think the quality of these drums are really fantastic! They have such a good sound and we have a few of these at our co-op that have been used vigorously and they are still standing! And what is more vintage nostalgic Christmas vibes, than a drum under the tree on Christmas morning?
So I do not have these drums (yet), but they are on my Christmas purchase list! I love Remo drums - they are high quality, almost professional grade drums, with a wonderful sound! And Bongo drums are just plain old super fun! I probably watched too much “I Love Lucy” as a teen and want my children to play some ‘Babalú’ on the bongos! :D
This drum has a good sound for it’s great price! It’s not as quite as resonant and rich sounding as the Remo drums, but for the price point it’s a very solid drum and will be a hit under the Christmas tree! Ba-dum-ch (music pun LOL)!
Keeping with the vintage Christmas vibes, a tin whistle tucked into a stocking is just as wholesome as it gets. I am biased because of my Irish background, so I love the tin whistle. I have really vivid memories of picking up my first tin whistle during a summer in Ireland as a young girl and playing the feadóg (as we call it in Irish) on all the long car rides through the countryside. Some younger kids may not have the finger dexterity to cover the holes properly so it is best suited for 5+ or younger if the finger control is there. 10/10 for fun!
There was this viral reel on IG where the caption read, instead of handing your kid an iPad, give them a harmonica. Because the truth is, if our kids are not constantly distracted and their attention hijacked, they will truly start to noodle and get curious. Harmonicas are a noodlers dream! The sound is fun, the sensory input on the mouth is fun and kids find it satisfying to play. This harmonica is such a great little starter one for kids and it’s just another perfect stocking stuffer! More vintage Christmas vibes!
Okay there really is no way to understand how fun and satisfying this little instrument is from the picture, but trust me when I tell you that this is always one of the most coveted musical toys during instrument play at our co-op’s music class. I love the sound of this and hugely recommend as a great baby music toy that will still be used into toddlerhood and beyond. I even love playing it! I really like the other music instruments this company makes too - they’re durable, sustainable and high quality!
You might not have thought of play silks as musical, but I actually love using them for musical activities. Play silks give children a wonderful way to express music they are hearing through movement and dance. It’s often the simplest things that are sometimes the most brilliant.
I featured this lovely little book recently on my IG post about Jazz music. It would make a lovely gift for your budding Jazz listener!
For more musical books recommendations check out my musical book series below:
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Entering this holiday season, I am extending my deep gratitude to everyone who joined Magical Music Method, who shared my work and offered me words of encouragement. I have been blown away by the kindness of strangers who take the time to write me thoughtful messages and who happily support and share my work. Thank you!