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Are you looking for the perfect gift to give the young writers in your life? Here are 25 writing gifts for kids that can help inspire their love for writing.
I love giving gifts, and planning the perfect present for each person is something I genuinely enjoy.
But I’m not fond of clutter. With 11 kids to buy for, stuff piles up quickly!
So I try to think of gifts for kids and adults alike that don’t just take up space. I like things that have a purpose. And the 25 items below do just that.
They’re all items that I’ve either used or seen in use that are perfect gifts for young writers. You’ll find some items that work better for younger kids (pre-writers) and others that are great for older kids (or teens). Most work for a wide age range.
And no matter which one you go with, they’re all a great addition to your Family Writing Time routine. Then you can get some of your work done while your child explores the art of writing.
If you’re looking for a fun (but educational!) gift, give one of these a try. They are all items I highly recommend.
1. A cute notebook and a pack of fun pens
Do you know what your child needs to write? Paper and pens (or pencils.) That’s it. And sometimes, the simplest gifts are the best. If you want your child to write, make sure they always have access to a journal or notebook of their own and have pens or pencils to write with.
Here are a few of the writing supplies my kids love:
- And So the Adventure Begins notebook
- Unicorn notebooks (my 6-year-old daughter really likes hers!)
- Minecraft notebook (a favorite of my 8-year-old son who enjoys writing about Minecraft in his…)
- Color-changing Scented Pens (a stocking stuffer for my kids this year…)
- Smencils (we buy a large pack of these scented pencils to split up at the beginning of each school year)
You might notice a theme…I like to give my kids notebooks that are themed by their current interests. It helps to make it more fun for them, and since a notebook doesn’t last too long I don’t worry about them outgrowing their interest in it before they fill all the pages…
What does your child enjoy? See if there are any notebooks or pens/pencils with that theme.
2. A Boogie Board
I was introduced to these awesome boards back when I was a teacher at a local parent partnership program. Several of my students were raving about them.
They seriously remind me of something I enjoyed as a kid–sort of like a MagnaDoodle, but in a pad with a pen attached. Then, you could lift the page and magically erase what you wrote. (Do you remember those?)
But the Boogie Board is that toy from my past with a fantastic facelift. It’s seriously cool and feels high-tech.
Can you see your young kids practicing writing their letters and names on this thing?
How about your middles playing Tic-Tac-Toe and creating lists?
It’s useful and fun for writing of all sorts. We have several and often bring them to church for our younger kids to doodle on to help them sit quietly. I highly recommend them!
3. The Game In a Pickle
So creative writing needs creative thinking. And this game delivers on that front! It’s one of the many in my massive board game collections.
Each of the many cards in the game features one word. Your goal is to show how your card is bigger or smaller than the other cards on the table. You want to complete a set to get points.
But it’s not as easy as it sounds. When you have words like “nothing” and “tornado,” and you’re trying to fit them into the words already on the table, you’ll have to flex your creative muscles.
This game is for older kids (it’s recommended 10+ though I have had 8-year-olds successfully play), and is one that won’t drive adults crazy!
4. LeapFrog ABC Backpack
If you’re looking for a toy to help your pre-writers spend more time learning about letters and how to write them, check this awesome gift out!
It’s from LeapFrog and it’ll help make writing fun for your little ones. There are activities your child can do, such as learning how to make letters into animals, or they can just play on their own.
I like that it closes securely and then your child can wear it as a backpack. It’s a fun one to bring along on road trips – if your little one won’t toss the letters everywhere.
5. A Diary
A couple of my daughters have really enjoyed diaries over the years. They make a fun place to write stories, personal reflections, or anything else that comes to mind.
And while you can use any old notebook to write these things in, special diaries make the process more enjoyable. Diaries come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and colors, so see what you can find that your kids enjoy.
We’ve had fuzzy unicorn diaries like this one:
Character-themed diaries like this:
And simple, locking diaries like this:
Pick one up and encourage your child to write without worrying too much about grammar, spelling, and all those other rules. After all, it’s a personal, “kid-friendly” form of writing!
6. Create a Story Cards
This is my go-to gift for preschoolers and early elementary kiddos. It’s so much fun! And boy, does it engage the reading and writing portion of the brain.
Here’s a post I wrote a while back on my homeschooling blog showing 15 different ways to inspire literacy with Tell Me a Story. (Please note that the game has changed names since then. It used to be Tell Me a Story…) Whatever you call it, it’s fun!
This game makes an excellent addition to a family game collection. Best of all, there are multiple versions you can choose from, so pick out your favorite or get them all.
7. Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
Writers are often inspired by others. And this book by Mo Willems offers the perfect springboard for creating your own version.
I used this book to teach writing workshops to students in grades K-6. Almost all of the kids loved it!
Pair this present with some drawing paper and a pack of markers. Then, your child will everything needed to create a sequel to this book.
What will the pigeon do in their version? Read Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
8. Lettering Books
I’ve enjoyed doodling with letters ever since fourth grade when our first day of school assignment was to come up with a unique way to write our name. My teacher gave us a quick overview of bubble letters, script letters, and a variety of others.
A couple of my kids enjoy making “fancy writing” too. While they aren’t quite old enough for a calligraphy book, this kid friendly Book of Hand Lettering is the perfect way for them to learn more and practice.
Writing practice is writing practice, and if the kids are inspired to create beautiful letters, let them!
9. Stationary
Who doesn’t enjoy receiving a good old-fashioned letter in the mail? I know I do! And so do my kids. It’s just different than emails.
While you can get out a sheet of plain paper to write on, my kids prefer something like this:
There’s something special about beautiful paper! And writing by hand is a different skill than typing. You really have to think about what you’re going to say before you jump in.
You can find this fancy writing paper in many different styles. Characters, animals, floral patterns, and more are available. So find something that you know your child would love and go with that.
Then get them Grandma’s address (or a friend who moved away, or someone else …) and encourage them to write. You might even take a trip to the post office together to mail it.
10. Blog Hosting
Do you have teens? Hook them up with blog hosting and a blog all their own.
I switched to FastComet at the beginning of 2018, and have been super impressed! My site speed is faster, their customer service is superb, and my traffic is growing. When I first started out, I used BlueHost, and it worked well at first. However, as my traffic grew, it started having some problems.
Since you’ll want your teen to have a say in the domain, a gift certificate or card will probably be the best way to present this gift. Then you can sit down together and fill in all the details before purchasing.
Encouraging your child to blog now will help her understand that what is published online will be seen by others. It’s a good way to teach internet safety while still allowing some freedom to create.
Just be sure to subscribe to your teen’s blog. That way you know what’s being published!
And if you need more ideas for Christmas gifts for teens, be sure to check out Miranda’s great list of ideas!
11. Mad Libs Books
I like Mad Libs! Back in high school, when my husband was just my boyfriend, he created a Mad Libs-style game on my graphing calculator. He also programmed it with some helpful math programs that made calculus a breeze, but let’s not talk about that okay?
That Mad Libs game helped me get through the long bus ride I had every day.
And now our kids enjoy the book form of these. They’re a fun way to practice parts of speech and create super silly stories.
Mad Libs make a great gift before a road trip!
12. A Stop Motion Movie Kit
My oldest loves animation and creating videos. She’ll spend hours working on getting her storyboard figured out and deciding how to tell her story.
If your child is into movie-making, there’s a ton of writing involved! You can’t tell a good story without actually telling a story, after all. So, a Stop-Motion movie kit is a good gift.
Here’s a fun kit for a beginner. Using familiar characters helps get the inspiration going:
Here’s a more in-depth review I wrote on my other blog:
My Review of the Stop Motion Animation Kit from Stopmotion Explosion
And here’s a pic of one of my daughters using it when she was younger:
13. A Stamp Set
Do you remember the stories that use pictures instead of some words? They’re called rebus stories.
Let your child create his own with fun stamp sets.
We enjoy these wooden stamp sets from Melissa & Doug. The stamps are very durable!
Also, adding colored pencils allows your kids to design backgrounds for the story so they can create a one-of-a-kind masterpiece.
14. Spy Codes
Are any of your kids into spies and codes? Let them create their own coded messages for their friends to decipher. A spy science
Secret messages have been used throughout history and are so much fun to create!
15. A Book Making Kit
My fifth-grade teacher implemented a Writing Workshop. Back then, it was a very new trend.
Several times a week, we wrote. Once we had the text written and edited, we had to “publish” it. This meant we got to pick out wallpaper to create a cover with. Then, we typed the story and printed it out.
We actually used scissors and glue to cut out paragraphs and arrange them on pages. Then, we illustrated.
At the end of the school year, I had a dozen or so finished books. I still have one of them. In it, my older sister went off to space to join the Star Trek crew after getting sucked into the TV. It’s definitely goofy, but my kids liked looking at it.
There’s something special about seeing your own words in a book. Bring this feeling to life for your child with one of these cool make-your-own book kit
This one allows you to either mail in your child’s words and illustrations or complete them online. Once you submit them, you’ll get back a printed version of your child’s book. What a great gift!
16. Story Starters
With a good supply of story starters, your child will be inspired to create many new stories. But don’t feel like your child has actually to write stories for each one.
They can create:
- Poems
- A comic book
- A play
- A picture
- A scrapbook of pictures and captions
For the younger crowd (beginning writers and up), I recommend this book:
It’s geared for kids in the 1st-3rd grade. For older kids, there’s another version:
17. Man Bites Dog
In case you haven’t noticed by now, I really love board games (and card games!) They really are a fun way to practice all sorts of skills.
This is one I gave to my little sister one year. We bought our own copy since it’s so much fun.
This game is best for older kids (it’s rated 8+, but I think slightly older is probably better, just because they’ll have more exposure to the concept of headlines.)
Your goal is to create the best, most outrageous headline from the word cards you have. Each card has a specific point value assigned, so you want to earn the most points you can from each headline.
It’s a fun way to talk about what makes a good headline, and what words are best for grabbing attention. Man Bites Dog
You can also modify it for single player fun. Just let your child pull out the cards and start building headlines.
18. The Game of Life Goals Card Game
Might as well keep going with the games–there are so many to inspire a love of writing! (Here’s a different post with the top 10 Writing Board Games for Kids!)
This game isn’t like the traditional Game of Life we all know. There’s no little tiny blue and pink people to shove into a station wagon and drive around the board. No buildings or bridges to awkwardly shove into slots. An easy game. Let’s all breathe a sigh of relief!
It’s just cards. And fun.
While you CAN play the game like the rules recommend, I don’t usually. I use it mainly as a solo activity.
I let my kids pick through each type of card to create an amazing life story. They can use as many cards as they want, but they have to connect to each other in a fluid story.
This makes them apply some critical thinking skills, make decisions, and create a story.
When they’re done, they get to tell me the story they created.
If you’ve never tried The Game of Life Goals Card Game
19. Telestrations
Why yes, this is another game! And another one I wrote a blog post all about. If you’re looking for ways to adapt Telestrations 
Basically, this is the telephone game on paper. You take turns drawing and writing captions. Then when the pages are full, you look back over the entire chain to see what went wrong.
Like when your 8 year old thinks that the dinosaur you drew was a flying dog. It was clearly not a flying dog, for the record! So much fun, and it requires writing.
20. Comic Book Creator Kit
I loved reading Uncle Scrooge comic books as a kid! And Mickey Mouse. Oh yeah, I can’t forget Donald Duck. I liked all of the Disney comics really.
And I totally believe that reading comics counts as reading. Which means writing comics counts as writing! If your kids like comic books too, let them Create Your Own Comic Strips from Start to Finish
You can throw in a notebook of blank comic book paper
21. The Pictello App
I first heard about this from a fellow Angelman Syndrome mom. So I promptly installed the Pictello app on both my phone and my son’s iPad.
He isn’t yet able to create stories, but he enjoys listening to the ones that are preinstalled. I’ve had the other kids use it to create stories too.
You can import your pictures from your camera roll, record audio, and add text. It’s a fairly easy to use story making app.
22. Lego Duplo Alphabet Train
Have a young pre-writer in your life? Here’s the perfect gift. This Mega Bloks set features a train that carries a block with each letter of the alphabet. With it, your little one can practice:
- Putting letters in alphabetical order
- Spelling simple words
- Letter identification
- Matching letter blocks to letters they see in a book
You can even hide a couple of the blocks around the room and see if they can find each letter that’s missing. There are so many possibilities with this alphabet train!
23. Paint Your Own Story Stones
Does your child enjoy painting? They can put their love of art to work with these story stones. The set comes with some rocks for your child to paint. Then, they can use those to inspire a story for them to tell.
Your child can create their own characters and settings to paint, or use some familiar classics. Then they can mix and match the stones to tell one unique story after another.
And if you want a cute story to go with it, try Scribble Stones!
24. Puppet Theater
Your child can create their own puppet shows with this adorable set. It’s made from wood and holds up fairly well to frequent use. However, make sure you check the dimensions, especially if you’re planning on having more than one kid use it.
It’s smaller than I originally thought and is definitely meant to sit up on a tabletop or something. Someday I’ll have my husband make us a bigger one maybe.
Despite its size, the curtains and clock on the front are fun for the kids to play with. Then when it’s showtime, they can duck down and hold their hand up with the puppets to make them easily visible.
Of course, you’ll want to get some puppets to go along with this gift. Here are a few fun options from Melissa and Doug:
25. Writing for Minecrafters Book
I never imagined I’d be buying Minecraft themed grammar and writing book, but here we are. My kids absolutely love Minecraft. And, this writing book is actually pretty well done. You can get a sample of what it’s like with the Look Inside, so definitely check it out.
It has some basic instruction in it to help kids learn more about grammar and sentence structure. Then they can use what they learn to improve their writing. There are plenty of Minecraft themed pictures throughout.
One of my sons really liked the reading one when he was younger
There are plenty of other options too, so pick a couple and make a Minecraft Learning bundle for your kids. Add a couple of Minecraft themed pencils and you’ve got a wonderful gift that your child can take along on a trip or use to fill some free time.
What are your favorite gifts for young writers?
Have you used any products with your kids this year that made you stop and go, “Wow!”? I’d love for you to share them with me in the comments.
Lisa Tanner is a former teacher turned homeschooling mom with 11 kids. She's also a successful freelance writer. Lisa enjoys helping other busy moms find time to start and grow a side hustle of their own.
Great list, Lisa! My 15 yr old actually just bought a domain name and blog hosting for himself. But for Christmas we might buy him a theme through Genesis. His blog is all about rock n roll since that is what he’s in to right now. He’ll do lists like “Top 50 Beatles Songs of All Time”. These lists take him quite a bit of time to compose. When I went to his site and read his posts I was really impressed with the quality and creativity of his writing. Blogging really is a wonderful way to improve your writing skills. What also amazed me was how fast he was able to navigate the WordPress dashboard (without ever having seen it before). It took him about 5 minutes to learn something that would take me hours to figure out…lol!
Thanks Carrie. Sounds like your son is off to a great blogging start! A theme is a great way to encourage him.
Those long list posts are definitely time consuming, so he’ll be getting some great writing practice. And it won’t even feel like work to him because it’s something he loves. That’s awesome!
I think all of the things are great ideas. I wish I had these when my daughter was growing up. I also started a website http://www.childrenstoystores.com/ it took me almost a year to create. I had help from a friend to build it. These ideas are going to help a lot of kids learn different ways to write.
Hi Lynn, thanks so much for stopping by. There are some fabulous items in your inventory that can help inspire a love of learning as well.
I’m so glad you took the time to look at my website. Do you have any suggestions for toys that might be more inspiring to different children? I would love to hear what you think.