Coach Jamie’s

Active Kiddo Gift Guide

Celebrating an active kiddo? You’ve come to the right place. Just a few things about Coach Jamie’s gift guide philosophy before we get into it:

  • Toys don’t have gender. Some kids love to build towers and other kids love to build pretend worlds. All kids love things with wheels, and active play is for every child. What’s most important isn’t the section of the store the toy comes from, or the color of the box, it’s what your child is interested in!

  • The best toys have different ways to play. When you think about it, our gym has a few very basic elements: bars, balance beams, a trampoline, and some mats. But, these few things can be used in all kinds of ways, and that’s what makes them great! The best toys are also used in all kinds of different ways.

  • Your living space and lifestyle determine how many and what size toys you have. Our house doesn’t have a bar, balance beam, or trampoline, because our Denver Square was not built to accommodate a bar, balance beam, or trampoline. We go to the gym for that. If you have the space and want to include those big items in your home, that’s great! What we do have in our house are stackable step stones, foldable tunnels, and yes we have a rainbow bath mat for cartwheels.

  • Kids don’t care how much a gift cost. Big presents for big occasions (like birthdays and holidays) don’t have to cost a lot. The best toys are the ones that are played with, and those aren’t necessarily the most expensive ones.

  • Whether to celebrate with gifts is up to the adults! One of the most common birthday party questions we get is whether to do gifts. My answer is always, “It’s entirely up to you!” But, I do have some thoughts after watching many children’s birthday parties through my many years of coaching. First, I LOVE watching gift giving. The kid who is giving a gift is always SO EXCITED for their friend to see what they got them. I think gift giving builds a lot of skills for life — learning to buy with someone else in mind, the social norms around gift exchanges, and how to say thank you and possibly deal with disappointment as the gift receiver. All that said, sometimes we just don’t want the stuff, and that is a-ok!

Obstacle Course Components

We love a good obstacle course for all ages! These components can be moved around in all different ways to keep your kiddo moving inside or outside, in sunshine, rain, and snow.

Hoops

Come in during any open gym and these hoops are definitely getting play. Something about them is catnip to children. Use them to build a path, hang them as a target (in this photo, we’ve attached them to a bar during Olympic week for targets using pool noodles as javelins), hold for a basketball hoop, and chase after a rolling hoop.

Step stones

You can definitely get fancy with these with different sizes and shapes. My family loves this nesting set because they can be stacked to make higher step stones, turned over and used as bowls, and they’re easy to store. You can also keep it simple by buying a set of plastic frisbees. Psst, check out Facebook Marketplace for used stepstones.

Tunnel

Tunnels are great for crawlers, and also wonderful for sparking imaginative play for big kids. Parachute material popup tunnels are easy to find, even at Ikea. If you want to splurge, the Lovevery Play Tunnel (pictured) is on the expensive side, but we love the fabric and storage bag. If you’re looking for a tunnel for older kids, Pacific Play Tents is what we have at the gym!

Cones

Cones are for way more than soccer drills. Use cones to make a path for kids to crawl, bear crawl, tip toe, or run through. Babies and toddlers can stack and unstack, and older kids can do the same while holding a handstand against the wall. Cones take up very little room to store and offer unlimited possibilities for play.

Props for Movement

As you can tell from our weekly lesson plans, I love a good prop! These are all excellent choices for encouraging movement.

Hand Kites

These simple ribbons attached to little rings are beloved at the gym. I’ve seen hand kites transformed into everything from dragon wings to earrings. We use them to entice babies and toddlers, and on the beam to encourage “airplane arms.”

Fly Swatters

Ok, stick with me here. Give your child a fly swatter. We use these during bug week, and it’s one of my favorite stations ever. This station was actually inspired by my time in elementary literacy where we put letters or words on sticky notes and had our students hit the correct letter or word with a fly swatter. To make this a successful activity, make sure to give them a target (or targets) to swat.

Bean Bags

Toss, catch, juggle, use them to make a path, count them, balance them on your head, make a color matching activity…bean bags are incredibly versatile and make a perfect gift for literally any age.

Scarves

Scarves are another item with max versatility. Babies and toddlers love to play peek-a-boo, and older kids can use them to learn how to juggle. At home, we use them for imaginative play, representing anything from capes to water.

Beach Ball

We started packing a beach ball on trips when our oldest was a toddler. Balls are perfect for active play, developing kicking, throwing, and catching, and a large beach ball can double as a small child’s pilates ball. I love beach balls because you can deflate them when you’re not using them, and they [mostly] don’t hurt when you inevitably take one to the face.

The Bubble Machine

I’m not suggesting you buy a bubble machine. I’m strongly suggesting you buy THIS bubble machine. THE bubble machine. We’ve been through so many different types, brands, and price points of bubble machines, and this is the one. It puts out the most bubbles, results in the least amount of dripped bubble juice, and has lasted the longest of any we’ve tried at the gym (and we’ve tried a comedic amount).

Home Gymnastics

If your kiddo is gymnastics-obsessed and you have the room at home, these are my favorite elements of a home gym. This is where I’d like to shout out to one of my favorite brands, Tumbl Trak. Their equipment is more expensive than a lot of what you’ll find on Amazon, but it’s incredibly well made and just really smart design. What I mean by that is that their folding wedge mats (for example) are the perfect dimensions, made with high quality foam and vinyl, and their velcro system makes your wedge into a stable block also.

Tumbling Mat

A tumbling mat, also called a panel mat or piano mat, is a gymnastics staple. Unfold it for a rolling and cartwheeling surface. Fold it for handstand and cartwheel drills. Stand it up to make a wall. Use it under your bar or balance beam. If you’re looking to buy one piece of gymnastics equipment, make it a tumbling mat.

Wedge Mat

A wedge (cheese) mat is extremely versatile. We use it with our baby classes for log rolls, toddler and preschool classes for forward and backward rolls, beginning elementary classes for backbends and kick overs, and they’re great for learning a back handspring too! Stand it against the wall for handstands and backbends.

Folding Floor Beam

I love a folding floor beam for home. The purple one we keep at the gym was actually originally our home beam (it may someday make it back home when we buy a new one for the gym). Folding floor beams take up little room and level up an obstacle course.

Bars and Beams

If you have the room and want to make the commitment to a larger piece of gymnastics equipment, an 8 foot long beam or a kip bar is great for home. In this photo, I’ve set up a Tumbl Trak Addie beam and Tumbl Trak Jr. Bar Pro at a local preschool. I love both of these products, and the Tumbl Trak Home Kip Bar is great too. Make sure to buy mats!

Let’s Talk Trampolines

My kids both LOVE to jump. However, their fun-killing mom (it’s me) is never going to get them a full-sized trampoline for home. Good thing they get to attend gymnastics class each week to jump here! Since I was a kid, at-home trampolines have received major safety upgrades, however a net can’t address my major concerns as a gymnastics coach: poor landing form, double bounces, knocked heads (this is no joke), and overuse injuries especially for growing spines. If you truly don’t think you can without a trampoline for home, maybe consider a small one for a single bouncer.

Bonus! Twist and Tumble T-Shirts

We’re printing shirts for the holiday season, available at the gym in December! Email coach Jamie directly if you’d like a discrete delivery during your class time to keep it a surprise.

Logo Shirt

This Bella + Canvas jersey t-shirt is extra soft. Featuring our logo and available in blue (sizes 2T-YL), purple (2T-YL), bright pink (YS-YL), light pink (2T-5T), and red (2T-5T).