Phoenix With Kids is happy to offer our second annual local gift guide! It’s that time of year when gift guides are popping up on blogs and social media. What makes our list unique? Well as always, we are focused on two things: kids, and local businesses. We’re proud to support Arizona based companies!
This gift guide is full of ideas from physical stores to browse, online shops, book favorites, and a few other ideas. We’re excited to grow this over the years as we discover new favorites!
Local Businesses
KidStop Toys and Books – this shop is overflowing with so many amazing gift ideas for children of all ages! Ask employees for ideas too, they have some great ideas. We love that they include books as well.
Zoolikins – this local favorite specializes in cloth diapers, baby wearing, toys, and more for the little ones in your life. The employees are super helpful and there’s even a small play area for children while you shop.
Changing Hands Bookstore – for a wide selection of used books, this is the place to browse. Locations in Tempe and Phoenix.
Alamo Drafthouse – Alamo offers family events for special movie showing, including snacks and crafts! A gift card to this local favorite would be a great gift for a family outing. Locations in Tempe, Chandler, and Gilbert as well.
HissyFits Consignment – this kid focused resale shop has clothing, toys and much more!
Local Businesses Online
High Jinks Apparel – we fell in love with this Scottsdale based company after seeing their shirts at the Children’s Museum of Phoenix! Their Arizona themed shirts and hats are so unique.
Celebrate Your Tribe – another fabulous local company offering Arizona themed clothing, and some adorable other children’s items. (You can also find their merchandise and more at the newly opened The Mercantile in Old Town Scottsdale).
Little Bum Cooler – keep those car seats cool in the toasty summer months! This is perfect gift idea for any local mama, lots of patterns to choose from as well.
Big Bubble Bliss – what child doesn’t love bubbles? Take it up a notch with oversized bubble kits, sure to be a hit with any age!
Bumkins – this Phoenix based company makes cloth diapers, bibs and smocks, reusable bags (which we love the most), and more. (You can find a lot of their products at Zoolikins!)
Casita Curated Play – we LOVE this local mama and her offerings of sensory bins, playdough kits, and more.
Made With Love Market – online and pop up in person shopping, with dozens of vendors with everything you need!
Check out this list of favorite subscription boxes (most of which are Arizona based), on Instagram. There’s STEM kits, sensory kits, crafts, geography based, and MORE!
Local Authors
Color of Mother – Chelsea Young offers this tribute, in colors and words, to mothers (and mother figures) who inspire, encourage, love and care for us.
Milo Does Not Like Mornings – Sasha Graham has a hilarious picture book for every parent who has ever struggled to get a kid out of bed in the morning, and for every kid who has ever struggled to stay there!
Licorice Lane: Tales From Harley – Lindsay Dempsey writes an imaginative tale of a girl and her dog in a land of candy.
The 12 Days of Christmas in Arizona – Jennifer Stewart takes the familiar Christmas song Arizona style, through the eyes of a child on their way to visit a cousin.
Sawyer’s Two Cents – Staci Hauk pens a unique story of friendship
The Mystery Searchers series – set in modern day Prescott and written by local author Barry Forbes, this is an exciting and clean mystery series for pre-teens!
Other Local Favorites
Give Garden – for the budding cook or baker, try a membership to this Phoenix-based company! The kit comes with everything needed to make the included recipe.
Memberships – give a gift that will continue beyond Christmas, and opt for a membership to a local museum or play place! There’s some other great local ideas included as well in the blog post.
Pogo Pass Phoenix/Tucson – covering two Arizona cities, this pass offers admission to over 20 venues, including the Phoenix Zoo, IDEA Museum, Uptown Jungle, and more. All for under $40! Good for a year. See the blog post for more details.
We have previously published two local gift guides for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.
And as a bonus, here’s a list on Amazon of our personal tried and true favorite products. Seriously, we use and love what’s on this list! We’ll be adding more as the month goes on, so follow and check back for updates. (Note: this is an Amazon affiliate link.)
