The 2025 CHH Ad-Free Gift Guide

Just a list of stuff I genuinely like, for 2025

Last year, I published my ad-free gift guide, and I’ve actually had some people IRL ask me to publish again this year. They came to me begging like dogs, tears in their eyes, Mrs. CHH, Mrs. CHH, we need the beautiful gift guide (okay, it was one friend).

Like last year, this gift guide will be 100% affiliate link-free, meaning you can rest assured everything here is just something I genuinely really, really like. I won’t focus specifically on Black Friday deals, but rather the items that would be worth it even if they weren’t on sale (many of these are on sale, but that’s not why I chose them). It will cover men, women, children, and gender-neutral items (although it’s 2025, it’s all gender netural at this point, right? Nobody is stopping your heterosexual male self from enjoying a pink heart-shaped Le Creuset.) Anyway, don’t let the CHH gift guide define your gender, of all things. Enjoy it all!

The Best Gift of All

Before I begin, the best gift of all, for anyone you know who is over 18 and literate, is an annual CHH subscription, which is now 30% off! Just maybe avoid gifting it to your boss, since he or she might discover my article about all my tricks to pretend like you’re working. (Psst…if you’re not a paid subscriber, the 30% off also applies to regular annual subscriptions!)

Children

If you want all the quality and craftsmanship of an American Girl Doll Bitty Baby at half the price with infinitely more options for ethnicity, eye color, hair color and style, then you might be interested in Minikane dolls. These dolls are European and aren’t found on many US sites (you definitely won’t find them at Target, for example) but they cost only $45 and are insanely high quality. I’ve already bought three for my daughter, and plan to get her another this Christmas. You can find them here, but for different “colorways” of these dolls, you can just Google “Minikane” because they’re available on other niche toy sites too.

The Play and Explore Rocket from Lakeshore Learning is another winner—both my kids are obsessed with it. It comes with all sorts of fun secret compartments, such as a machinery room that transforms into an astronaut bedroom. It’s also insanely durable, as proven by how many times it’s been hurled across our living room by a toddler. You can buy it for $50. For added fun, you can buy the Play and Explore Rover, although the rocket ship comes with its own mini-rover too.

A similar toy from Lakeshore Learning is the Enchanted Castle, which comes in an ultra-girly pink version and a more classic stone gray version. The castle playset includes figurines (princesses/princes and unicorn for the pink one, knights/royalty and dragon for the gray one). What I really love about these is that they fold out and include (much like the rocket ship) lots of fun secret compartments, which kids love. They’re $80, but totally worth it.

If you have an older kid (think 8+) who loves building and engineering, a CrunchLabs subscription is a great gift. It’s pretty expensive, although you have options to pay monthly, annually or just to buy a single kit. Last year, my father got this for our son who is a bit young for it (he was four at the time) but really loves “making inventions.” At the time, we did a lot of the building for him but he still really loved it, and now he’s doing more and more of it himself. For kids under 8, a more approachable option is the brand new creative kit, where they build mechanical toys instead of machines.

Kiwi Labs also has different arts/science/building subscription kits for different age ranges, with options for kids who prefer STEM versus kids who prefer the arts.

Another toy my kids both love: Little Live Pets baby monkey Mango. This adorable monkey is a hybrid between a baby doll and stuffed animal, and interacts with cute sounds and the ability to suck its thumb or a bottle. My kids don’t even use the sounds/action feature so much but they just love the monkey because it’s cute. In the summers, we even have Monkey Mango Dance Parties in the back yard, where Mango is a required plus-one. Mango is pretty affordable at $26 at Target, but is often cheaper if you dig into clearance sales (I found ours for $16 each during an Amazon sale.)

If your kid really wants an American Girl Doll but seems too young for them, or you’re just concerned about the hefty $135 price point (not to mention the constant expensive add-ons) there’s a slightly more affordable (but just as high-quality) alternative. The American Girl Doll Company also has a line of slightly smaller dolls called Wellie Wishers, which are ideal for slightly younger kids or parents who simply don’t want to spend $135 for their kid to be part of the AGD club. Each doll is $70, and they all have a whimsical fairy-inspired aesthetic that I love.

If you are looking for an aesthetic doll house and you aren’t really on a budget, Tiny Land has some amazing wooden doll houses with an easily accessible open concept that look great in a minimalist home. Although I haven’t bought one of these, one was donated to our local library and my kids play with it all the time.

If your child likes the doll house/play set concept but is more of an animal kid (and you don’t want to spend $175 on a doll house) the Timber Tots tree house might be a better idea, on sale for $67 at Target. I’m sure you can tell by now that I’m a sucker for toys with secret/hidden compartments, and all the Timber Tots toys have them! They also have carrying handles so a child can easily transport them from room to room.

My son has been begging for his own Marble Run this year after discovering the toy at school and falling in love with it. You may have even had one of these in your childhood (I know I did) and there are a million options in all different colors. For a classic, try the MindWare Marble Run on sale for $21 at Target.

For your budding horse girl (or horse guy) you can find a really cute horse ranch at Lakeshore Learning (I promise I don’t have an affiliate deal with them! I just really like their toys!) This one is $50.

A toy my son recently got that he cannot get enough of: a mini arcade claw game. This one comes with toys, but you can get an empty one and fill it with your own mini-stuffies for added creativity. You can find it at Target for $50, but there are cheaper alternatives on Amazon.

If your toddler wants to embrace his or her inner love for millennial green, look no further than this aesthetic play kitchen at Target, on sale for $65:

And for an option for even smaller kids, this push-kitchen is a two-in-one toy for $58.

Another option for parents who shamelessly want their kids’ toys not to look garish in their home: this wooden play table for babies and toddlers, for $99 at Target:

For a child just getting into trains, a really good (albeit slightly expensive) starter set is this Hearth & Hand wooden train set for $130:

For a stocking stuffer, take advantage of the viral animal of the moment (or was it 2024?) the axolotl, with this surprise axoltl Easter egg, only $5.

Women