My daughter’s fifth birthday is coming up in November, with Christmas looming shortly after. Everyone always asks – what should we get the kids?

Online registries are a convenient way to let others know what you want. If an item is online you can curate it, prioritize it, wish for it, and announce it. Today, though, I created two wish lists on a very different kind of gift registry.

More Fun & Less Stuff

SoKind is a registry service that encourages the giving of homemade gifts, charitable donations, secondhand goods, experiences, time, day-of-event help, and more.

One of my goals as a parent is to send my two children into the world seeing themselves as citizens first – not consumers – and this type of alternative gift giving clearly supports that goal.

I had a lot of fun compiling a wish list of alternative gift ideas that my kids will love just as much as the latest toy trend. Cute photos of the kids give our list More Fun, Less Stuff a personal touch.

Hand-me-down dress-up items, craft supplies, books, and puzzles are here. There are things that do cost money, like swim lessons and movie tickets, but don’t bring more stuff into the house.

Recreation & Family Support

Another wish I have for my children is that they find comfort and fun in each other and want to spend time together. To foster this, we regularly get outside and take advantage of all the gardens, parks, and museums in our local area. Each one has its own membership fee – and makes for a thoughtful, no-new-stuff gift idea that we enjoy all year.

For me, the gift of time, experience, or anything that helps contribute a little more breathing room to our lives is more valuable than anything found in a store.

Seriously! Here are two great examples on my wish list Recreation & Family Support:

Share with Family & Friends

It was easy to create and share wish lists using SoKind, and I really appreciate the focus on community, reusing, and truly out of the [big] box thinking.