When you have multiple kids, gift-giving comes with some extra challenges. The inevitable comparisons and competition, the balancing act of keeping the presents equitable while meeting the unique needs of each child—it’s a lot. One way to make presents more fun and less stressful for the whole family is by giving gifts for siblings to share.

Shared gifts let your kids strengthen their bond while practicing those all-important social skills like collaboration and teamwork.

Plus, gifts your kids can enjoy together tend to hold their interest longer than those flavor-of-the-moment toys that end up gathering dust a few weeks later. Best of all, it’s just plain fun to see your kids giggling over a shared activity. Create special memories with Yeti to Shine that’s perfect for the holiday season to create new family traditions.

We’ll review what to look for in a shared sibling gift, along with a gift guide to our recommended choices to help them learn essential life skills.

Benefits of Giving Shareable Gifts to Siblings

Is sharing toys effective for child development? Playing in groups is important to nurture emotional and social skills for kids, and siblings are one of the most vital play partners children can have.

Shared toys, games, and activities help your kids:

• Learn cooperative play – In child development terms, cooperative play is the final, most complex stage of play that kids reach usually around the age of 5¹ Cooperative play is a big step in preparing kids for successful, lifelong relationships. Kids who learn to play cooperatively with their siblings build skills to resolve conflicts on their own.

• Bond and connect – Much as we hope our kids will love and support each other unconditionally, sibling relationships come with plenty of conflict. Sharing toys can provide special opportunities for building connections amongst your kids.

• Practice compromise and conflict resolution – Shared gifts won’t be entirely without conflicts. However, those disagreements over whose turn it is or who gets to put the last piece in the puzzle? Think of them as training wheels for learning to manage conflict in a safe, low-stakes situation.

Challenges of Finding Gifts for Siblings

While the rewards of shared gifts are substantial, choosing them isn’t always straightforward. To make sure the gift you choose is a hit with each child, you can consider:

• Fit for different developmental levels – Building toys like blocks can be a good fit for siblings of different ages.
• Let everyone join in – Try toys with lots of elements like our Kinspiration Kits with different parts to work on, etc. This lets older siblings and younger siblings work together towards a common goal.
• Provide room to grow – Look for board games with storytelling elements and activities that make learning about feelings and cooperation fun.

Our Kinspiration Kits are great for matching various interests among kids as they welcome different activities. Also, our board game helps welcome various types of play as kids start their adventure.

Types of Gifts for Siblings

Finding a gift that offers all the benefits while sidestepping all the challenges we’ve outlined above might seem like a tall order. But with a little imagination, you’ll discover some wonderful options to choose from.

Here are some of our favorite items that can keep siblings of different ages and interests engaged and happy together:

#1 Books

When it comes to timeless, affordable, and meaningful gifts that fit a wide range of ages and developmental levels, social emotional learning books are an option. Books offer a great family reading opportunity – they are easy to share and can be reused many times. Our board books are especially great for sharing across ages because of the durability and engaging stories filled with relatable characters.

Some of our favorite stories for siblings are:

• Hammerhead’s Recess Challenge – Kids of all ages can relate to Hammerhead as he goes through a tough day at school and learns to manage some big frustrations.
• Narwhal Uses Teamwork – Narwhal’s adventure is all about solving problems by working together and asking for help—skills every sibling set can use.
• Unicorn Let Your Light Shine - This Unicorn children’s book promotes the beauty of authenticity and self-acceptance, guiding young readers to embrace and appreciate both their unique qualities and the differences in others. Ideal for siblings navigating the ups and downs of their relationship, it's a heartwarming exploration of individuality and connection.

#2 Board Games

Board games are a natural fit for shared gifts since most are designed for more than one player. Turn-taking games aren’t just good for social skills; they may also offer a range of cognitive and mental health benefits, including²:

• Improving memory
• Improving problem-solving abilities
• Developing logical thinking and reasoning skills
• Relieving anxiety and depression

We recommend cooperative board games like Feelings Adventure as a shared gift for siblings—that way, the focus is on teamwork instead of individual accomplishment.

#3 Building Blocks

Creative activities are an ideal shared gift, and building blocks are one of our favorites for many reasons:

• Plenty of pieces for sharing – Multiple participants can join in without competing over who gets what, and the little one can also get their turn.
• Endlessly reusable – Kids can build and experiment without worrying about making mistakes.
• Versatile – Blocks are a gift idea that can grow with your children as they move through each stage of play, from individual to parallel to cooperative. Kids of different ages and skill levels can easily enjoy them together.
• Good for both physical skills and brain development – Construction toys let kids engage their imaginations, explore their creativity, build fine motor skills, and learn spatial reasoning all at once. Now, that’s a power-packed activity.

#4 Kinspiration Kits

Kinspiration Kits from Slumberkins are designed to engage the whole family, from younger kids to their big sibling, with a new imagination-sparking kit arriving every three months. Each kit includes a book to share, along with materials for all kinds of play.

Kinspiration Kits are a great idea for siblings with different abilities and interests since they include a variety of games, activities, building and crafting supplies, and toys to inspire open-ended imaginative play. Each kit helps kids explore emotional learning concepts like:

• Mindfulness
• Self-expression
• Feeling shy
• Overcoming setbacks

Give the Gift of Togetherness Through Slumberkins

Shareable gifts for siblings are a wonderful way to encourage connection and quality time between your kids. While it’s not always easy to find gifts that span the years and developmental stages between multiple kids, it’s all worthwhile when you see your kids engrossed in a joyful activity together.

Whether your kids are readers, do-ers, builders, or creators, Slumberkins has books, games, activities, and more to fit any mood or moment. At Slumberkins, our purpose is helping families connect to grow together—that’s why we created the whole Slumberkins world with emotional learning at heart.

Sources:

1. Michigan State University Extension. The power of play – Part 1: Stages of play. https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/the_power_of_play_part_1_stages_of_play
2. BioPsychoSocial Medicine.The effectiveness of intervention with board games: A systematic review. https://bpsmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13030-019-0164-1