Child development experts in the College of Education and Human Development recommend arts and crafts—like reimaging cardboard boxes—and other open-ended activities this holiday season.

Holiday Gifts for Imaginative Play

Article by Jessica Henderson Photos by iStock, Evan Krape and Ambre Alexander Payne December 05, 2025

UD child development experts share guidance for selecting toys this holiday season

During the holiday season, parents and caregivers are bombarded with flashy advertisements for the “best” or most “educational” toys for their children. By the time they sit down to wrap presents, some feel drained by the season’s commercialism, doubting whether they made the right choices.

This year, child development faculty in the University of Delaware’s College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) can help alleviate those worries. Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, Unidel H. Rodney Sharp Chair and professor in CEHD’s School of Education, and Myae Han, professor in CEHD’s Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, share guidance for parents and caregivers, emphasizing that the “best” toys for children are often free.

Roberta Michnick Golinkoff is Unidel H. Rodney Sharp Chair and professor in the College of Education and Human Development.

Encouraging play

Golinkoff and Han often remind parents and caregivers that “play is the work of childhood,” a phrase first coined by psychologist Jean Piaget. Much research in early childhood education—including Golinkoff and Han’s—has shown that free and guided play helps children develop foundational academic, physical and socioemotional skills.

“Play is where children first begin to practice independence without adults doing things for them,” said Han, who studies the relationship between play and children’s development. “Through free play, children must generate their own ideas, make plans and sustain play on their own. In this process, they develop self-autonomy and self-motivation.”

While Golinkoff often researches the benefits of digital learning apps and other educational technologies, she also encourages parents to limit screens during playtime.

“When it’s time to play, we want to get kids off screens so we can encourage imaginative play,” said Golinkoff, who also directs CEHD’s Child’s Play, Learning and Development Lab. “Leaving the TV on all day—even in the background—disrupts kids’ play and concentration.”

Choosing holiday toys

So how can parents and caregivers encourage screen-free play this holiday season? And, with so many toys to choose from, how do they select a meaningful gift for their child?

Myae Han is a professor in the College of Education and Human Development.

“I highly recommend open-ended play materials for children of all ages, as these materials support creativity and imagination without the pressure of finding ‘correct’ answers,” Han said. “Examples include blocks, playdough and various art and craft materials.”

“Pick toys that are 10% toy and 90% kid!,” Golinkoff said. “In other words, select toys that do more than one thing. Even better are toys that encourage kids to think of new ways to play with them. But there’s no need to break the bank. Large appliance boxes make the best gifts because they can be anything—a plane, a bus, a sled or a car!”

Han agrees that boxes can be fantastic play materials, noting that the book Not a Box by Antoinette Portis “beautifully illustrates how a simple box can spark children’s imagination.”

“You do not need to purchase new toys to encourage play—recycled materials such as empty containers, rice, beans, fabric scraps, bottle caps, buttons, stones and shells work wonderfully,” Han said. “Children can engage in both constructive play and imaginative play using these kinds of materials. I even used Q-tips as building materials with my child and with my students in class. They loved them!”

Reading together

As the weather turns colder, Golinkoff and Han also remind parents that the winter holidays can be a great time to snuggle up with a good book. In addition to fostering literacy skills, reading can also give children new ideas for imaginative play.

“My favorite holiday books to read with my child were The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats and The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg,” Han said. “The Snowy Day is especially wonderful if we are lucky enough to have snowy holidays. Parents can take photos of their child playing in the snow—making snow angels, having snowball fights and more—and then turn those photos into their child’s own 'Snowy Day' book.”

Books with adventurers, quests or journeys to imaginative places can also be a great way to spark creative play indoors.

“Kids love making maps of their rooms, especially with an embedded challenge,” Golinkoff said. “For example, can they do it so a friend, who doesn’t know their room, could find where they keep a secret surprise, like a hidden stuffy? An activity like this is also a great way to help kids learn to think spatially and creatively.”

Parents and caregivers may also consider perusing Einstein Never Used Flashcards: How Our Children Really Learn–And Why They Need to Play More and Memorize Less, Golinkoff’s newly revised book with co-authors Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and Diane Eyer. Available in January 2026, the book helps family members foster open-ended play without expensive enrichment programs or toys marketed as “educational.”

To learn more about CEHD research in early childhood, the learning sciences, literacy and language or STEM education, visit its research webpage.