It’s not long until Christmas, but you still likely have so much shopping to do. To help you out, we’ve got toy recommendations, gift ideas from local Australian businesses, and some great gadgets from my personal wishlist. But what tech, gadgets, and miscellaneous Christmas gifts do you get for parents of young kids?
Worry not, we’ve got you sorted. If you want to get gifts for your parent friends that will make their lives easier, or something for their kid that isn’t a toy, here is a guide of stuff I’ve found helpful in 2025.
Gifts for the kids
If the kids already have enough toys, and you don’t know what size clothes to get them, here are some solid suggestions to cover a wide variety of ages.
Nanoleaf Lines
- Price: From $220.15 via Amazon
- Age group: 0-99
Why: The Nanoleaf Lines are a really fun and smart accessory. You can pick different mood lighting, sync it to music, have a cool night light, or set it to change colour at a certain time to mark when toddlers are allowed to come wake up their parents.
I enjoy using them to light up toddler dance parties, and putting on soothing low lights for reading at bedtime. But older kids would love them for a gaming or party setup. The neat thing is how customisable they are, and they look good in any room.
Eufy Baby Monitor E21
- Price: $449 via JB Hi-Fi
- Age group: 0-4
Why: Technically, this is more for the parents, but it’s for the parents to use on the kid, and at the age the kid needs it, they’re going to be happy getting to play with the box. I’ve tested a bunch of baby monitors, and this is by far my favourite.
You can choose whether to connect the camera to Wi-Fi or use the included monitor to keep it off the internet. It also comes with a few camera mounting options.
The more exciting feature for me is that the camera is battery-powered, so you can have it docked and charging in the kid’s room to watch over them while they sleep, and then you can take it to their playroom so you can keep an eye on them while you make dinner.
The 4K camera is excellent quality; both the app and the monitor also have all the features you’d want.
Leapfrog LeapReader
- Price: $99 via Big W
- Age group suited for: 4-8
Why: Learning to read is really hard, and getting there can be a group effort between parents, teachers, and other important community members. But kids want to feel independent, and like they’re able to do something all on their own.
That’s why I’m excited about the LeapFrog LeapReader system — it’s a set of ten books with a special pen that helps kids sound out words and check things on their own, using phonics. The books themselves aren’t great — they focus on including words with the target sounds, rather than having a coherent narrative or being entertaining — so they’re not useful to read to kids before they’re ready to read themselves. But they serve their main purpose well enough.
While it’s absolutely not a solution on its own, it’s a great tool that can give kids more control over learning how to read, and that’s priceless.
Thermos Icon Food Jar
- Price: $64.95 via Thermos
- Age group: 6 months – 99 years
Why: Toddler parents spend half their life trying to coax their child into eating snacks, switching around placement of freezer packs to keep everything cold, and getting nervous about salmonella.
This vacuum-insulated food jar will keep food cold for 24 hours or hot for 10 hours. It’s perfect for endless toddler snacks, and then taking soup to school (or work, for the parents). It even has a little metal spoon that lives in the lid.
It’s also dishwasher safe. This is the dream.
VTech Disney Stitch Secret Safe Diary
- Price: $49.95 via Toyworld
- Age group: 5+
Why: Every kid needs somewhere to write their secrets, and I really like the gimmick of making this diary protected by a PIN. If it turns out diaries aren’t their thing, there are maths games and fun songs built in, too.
It’s fun, practical and (if you squint) educational.
Kinder chocolates
- Price: from $2.40 via Big W
- Age group: From whenever they’re old enough to eat chocolate
Why: If you need a stocking stuffer, you can’t go wrong with Kinder chocolates. It’s not just about the Kinder Surprises anymore, but the whole range of chocolates, from Kinder Christmas ornaments to the Kinder Bueno chocolate boxes.
My personal pick is the Kinder Milky Caramel Santa, which I have eaten an embarrassing quantity of this Christmas. They’re so good. They’re so cheap. Get them before I eat them all.
Gifts for the parents
Generally, I’d say make gifts for parents gifts that are about them, and not about their child. However, these are things that will make their life easier, and so I think they count.
SanDisk Creator Phone SSD
Why: Notionally, this device is for content creators who make their money filming videos for YouTube or whatever. But after content creators, the category of people with the most photos and videos on our phones is parents.
This is an external SSD that connects to your phone with USB-C and can neatly grip onto the back of your phone using MagSafe (or magnetic Android cases). If you don’t need a new phone, but do need a storage upgrade and don’t want to rely on the cloud, this is a great option.
Insta360 Ace Pro 2 Flash Print Bundle
Why: This bundle has everything you need to use the excellent Insta360 Ace Pro 2 action camera as a regular digital camera, and print your own photos instantly. It has all the versatility of a nigh indestructible action camera (which you need with a toddler tornado), with the added grip and comfort of a traditional digital camera.
The photos look spectacular, you have a lot of control over the shots through the settings, and the physical controls are what you’d expect from a regular camera. Having the Pocket Printer included in the bundle means that you can give yourself the Polaroid experience for a fraction of the ongoing costs, with a refill selling for $18 for 20 prints.
It’s ideal for parents who want a rugged camera that’s easy to take everywhere, without just constantly grabbing for their phone.
SteelSeries Nimbus Cloud
Why: During the first few weeks of being a parent, you have an unprecedented amount of time to play games. You’re just permanently nap trapped. Then you almost never get to actually turn on the TV ever again.
The Nimbus Cloud has been one of my saviours this past year, allowing me to do cloud gaming from my phone while commuting, travelling, or unable to sleep in bed. It’s kept me connected to my games even when there have been weeks when I haven’t had the opportunity to turn on my console.
Plus, when I can be on my PC, it operates as a normal Bluetooth controller. It’s the controller that does it all.
Sunbeam Multi Zone Airfryer
Why: Generally, I am not an air fryer convert; that’s what ovens are for. However, I cannot deny the convenience of being able to just throw some food in the air fryer and then not have to worry about my toddler burning herself on the oven.
What makes this air fryer so good is that it has two drawers and multiple zones, and thus can cook two separate meal components at different temperatures, for different amounts of time, simultaneously. It cuts down on prep and is easy to clean up, and is a thoughtful gift for toddler parents.
Nintendo Switch 2
Why: Much like the reasoning for the Nimbus Cloud, parents of young children just don’t have time to play games on the big screen as much as they could before. The bonus of the Switch 2 is that it has the flexibility of being a TV console, a portable console, a console for the parents to play after the kids go to bed, or something to play with the kids when they get older.
I recommend getting the one that includes Mario Kart World, because Mario Kart World is awesome.
Thermos Icon Series Travel Mug
Why: Look, I know this isn’t tech, but this mug has kept me alive this year every time I’ve had to go to a major event or head to the zoo as it opened. It’s easy to drink from, the handle is easy to hold, and it keeps drinks at the correct temperature.
At PAX Aus, I would make myself a lemon and ginger tea before I left home at 7 AM, and it would still be too hot to drink after lunch, hitting the perfect temperature in time for my evening panels. In summer, I’ve been filling it with ice water and putting it at the bottom of the stroller before I leave the house to enjoy an ice-cold drink with lunch.
I even just use it at home because of how often I forget I’ve made coffee. This way, I come back to coffee that’s still hot, rather than the cold, sad coffee I’m used to finding.
Thermos’ website claims the mug keeps drinks cold for 22 hours, and hot for seven hours, but I’d say those numbers are pretty conservative based on my experience.
At $75, it’s stupid expensive, particularly given the prices it sells for overseas. But I’ve seen it on decent sales, and it’s just a really good travel mug.
Eufy E15 robot lawn mower
Why: Who has time for mowing or vacuuming or literally anything as a working parent? Anything that lets you take back a little time is a godsend.
This Eufy E15 robot lawn mower is the easiest-to-use robot lawn mower that I’ve tried, and it means that your lawn stays mowed with no input from you. It’s literally the dream.
The post 13 helpful gadget gifts to get for parents and kids this Christmas appeared first on GadgetGuy.
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