There is something truly beautiful, even remarkable that happens when we are offering a gift. Our hearts are open, our arms are extended, and our minds are stirred with emotions: what will this person want, need, love, and treasure? At its root, gift-giving is about love, and if we use our purchasing power right, gift-giving can also be about anti-racism. Let’s restore the wonder and magic of gifts together by being intentional about our gift choices. We couldn’t be more excited to share this gift with you: our carefully curated list of 29 anti-racist gifts for families and children.
The Need for Affordable and Anti-Racist Gifts
What makes a gift anti-racist? It’s simple, really. Anti-racist gifts support businesses owned by People of the Global Majority, and/or combat racism through representation, inclusive language, and activism. Anti-racist gifts help people practice conscious giving and better align their purchases with their beliefs. Remember, your joy is a form of protest—don’t let the capitalist giants kill the joy of giving!
Anti-racist gifts are also about inclusion, and embracing people. This includes the owners’ and the employees‘ racial identity, gender identity and expression, physical abilities and disabilities, sexual orientation, home language, and worldview.
Make a firm rule that lasts all year about where and how you will spend your dollars.
Lastly, anti-racist gifts are deeply tied to ethics. Ethical businesses focus on how well the people and Mother Earth are being treated. As a conscious parent, I honestly believe we are part of that system and teach our children how to be, too.
29 Anti-Racist Gifts for Families
I had the idea of putting together an anti-racist gift guide for families like us. The families wrestling with the tradition of gift-giving. Not to mention, when the gifts they receive perpetuate systems of oppression. Enjoy this list of anti-racist gifts for the whole family, so you can deepen your anti-racism practice, or help a family do so.
What Makes a Gift Anti-Racist
Here are four factors to consider for anti-racist gift-giving:
- Disrupts white supremacy ideology
- Presents diverse perspectives to young learners and explorers
- Supports businesses of the Global Majority
- Pricing is honest and transparent
Anti-Racist Gifts For New Moms and Caregivers
Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase from Bookshop.org.
Show the new parent in your life some love. These gifts help to prepare the home environment and our parenting spaces.
1. Cozy Home Candle, $29. Soyyo. Give the gift of comfort to the new mama in your life. Soyyo is a young Latina-owned business, whose mission is to represent what women can do without changing who they are.
2. Eboni Baby Wrap, $65. Three Honey Bees Co. This super-soft, beautifully simple baby wrap carrier supports development and bonding for its wearer and baby. Three Honey Bees Co. is a Black mom-owned and operated company with a goal to educate, create safe space, and offer products that support natural parenting and wellness.
Anti-Racist Gifts For Kids From 0-3 Years
From newborns to the challenging mental growth spurts of the threes, kids use their senses to understand the world. These antiracist gifts, ranging from dolls to bandaids, help children challenge the patterns they see—and even how they see themselves in a white supremacist world.
3. Browndages Gift Card, $10. Browndages. When kids fall, they deserve to use a bandaid that blends into their skin tone. This Black-family-owned business creates inclusive bandages that come in all shades of brown.
Explore my Book Winter Gift Guide to inspire readers of all ages.
4. Fro Love Bee Baby Doll, $54.99. Orijin Bees. Baby Bee Dolls represent Black, African American, Latino, Biracial, Caribbean, and all other Black and Brown girls with curly hair. Orijin Bees is a Black family-owned business.
5. Rainbow + Rays Teether (Classic), $14.99. Pretty Please Teethers. Babies will enjoy this rainbow of joy teether with raised texture on the front and back for some much-needed teething pain relief. Pretty Please Teethers is a Black-owned business.
6. Knotted Cap, Bodysuit, and Romper Cozy Set, $58. Nothing’s more fun than a head-to-toe matching set for your toddler. Miles and Milan is a Black woman-owned business.
Anti-Racist Gifts For Kids From 3-6 Years
Your kid is a sponge! They are absorbing, modeling, learning, and growing way faster than adults. These anti-racist gifts introduce them to self-discovery, diversity, difference, and the practice of compassion—and satiate their expanding curiosity.
7. Feelin’ My Hair Dough Cutters: Series 1, $17. Montessori In Color. Help instill confidence and a love for our hair’s versatility with these dough cutters celebrating various hairstyles. Psst, they can also be used for cookies!
8. Musical Crossroads Puzzle, $19.99. Little Likes Kids. This puzzle aids in child cognitive brain development and teaches children the importance of being kind to one another. The original artwork depicts happy kids of mixed race and ethnicity, helping all children use toys that represent them.
9. Lily Frilly Cupcake Slime, $8.99. Lily Frilly. The CEO (Cutest Executive Officer) of Lily Frilly is an adorable, 6-year-old Black girl who took her love of making hair bows to the next level. This fluffy, buttery slime will help any kid take a break from YouTube and enjoy hours of building and molding.
10. VÁMONOS: Panama City, $9.99. Lil Libros. Little readers will explore Panama City, the capital and largest city of Panama, in this book written by Patty Rodriguez and Ariana Stein, with original art by Ana Godinez.
11. Eyes That Speak to the Stars! $17. A young Asian boy notices that his eyes look different from his peers’ after seeing his friend’s drawing of them. After talking to his father, the boy realizes that his eyes rise to the skies and speak to the stars, shine like sunlit rays, and glimpse trails of light from those who came before–in fact, his eyes are like his father’s, his Agong’s, and his little brother’s, and they are visionary. Written by Joanna Ho and illustrated by Dung Ho.
12. The Rounds Skin Tone Crayons, $23. All Of Us Crayons. Drawing is an important part of play, and every child deserves to draw their skin tone accurately with skin tone crayons!
Anti-Racist Gifts For Kids From 6-9 Years
Tired of myopic and white-dominating messaging in your kids’ movies, storybooks, and toys? We are, too. There are wonderful and visionary anti-racist options on the market! From learning about solar power to creating your storybook, find the perfect gift for your under-10-year-olds.
13. World Flags Coloring Tablecloth, $30. Doodle on the dining room table with this interactive way to explore the flags of the world.
14. Voices of Inspirational Women Sound Book, $25. Help your girls learn the art of speaking up. These famous and inspiring women were told to stay quiet, and we know their names because they did the opposite.
15. New Kid Sketchbook by Jerry Craft, $15. Turn your life into the stuff of cartoons with this drawing sketchbook inspired by the protagonist of the bestselling, award-winning graphic novel New Kid, Jordan Banks.
16. Anti-Racist Vibes Only Statement Banner, $23. Little Man Expression. Decorate your little one’s space with anti-racist vibes.
17. How To Bee Helpful Set, $18. “How to BEE Helpful” teaches understanding, expressing consideration for other’s needs, and offering helping hands with compassion. In this new story, the Caring Crew teams up and uses their unique skills to help Honey Bee save her home.
18. Rapunzel Paper Puppet Theater, $8. Paper Play and Wonder. If you need a gift, and you need it now, Paper Play and Wonder’s got you covered. All you need is a printer, and voila! Your family can enjoy this classic fairytale set with African-American characters!
19. Build Your Own Solar Powered Car, $24.99. Teni & Tayo Creations. Your tiny humans will be the generation that saves our planet. Start them young with this build-your-own solar-powered car kit!
20. Vegetable Garden Kit, $29.99. Kids Coloring Co. Kids can learn responsibility, and how to love vegetables, with this easy veggie garden at-home kit. Kids Coloring Co. is a Black woman-owned business.
21. Superhero Cape, $17. Darlyng & Co. This superhero mask and cape combo will make your little one a real superhero while celebrating diversity.
22. Klean Kanteen Bottle x Little Sun Set, $79. The Designing Chica. Guatemalan-Nicaraguan-American artist Susana Sanchez-Young founded The Designing Chica to create Latin-inspired art for kids.
23. Mighty Kind Kids Subscription, $18. Mighty Kind Kids Magazine. A magazine subscription for anti-bias learning founded on kindness and compassion. Mighty Kind Kids magazine aims to create opportunities for families to learn about modern cultures, and historically marginalized communities, and help them engage in volunteer opportunities.
24. You Hold Me Up Book by Monique Gray Smith, $19.95. Gift a book about how to build relationships, create empathy, and encourage respect between peers, starting with our littlest citizens.
Anti-Racist Gifts For Kids From 9-12 Years
Your little ones are growing up, and so should their gifts! They understand their world—and internalize the overt and covert messages they receive about race, gender, and sexual orientation. While it may feel like so much is out of your hands as a parent, you are still their place of refuge—and a safe place to explore these topics. Encourage them to broaden and question the perspectives around them with these anti-racist gifts.
25. This Book Is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work by Tiffany Jewell, $14.99. This book helps to answer some of the hardest questions: Who are you? What is racism? Where does it come from? Why does it exist? What can you do to disrupt it? Learn how to use an anti-racist lens and voice to create equity in the world around you.
26. Sundays No.33 Nail Polish, $18. Dear Sundays. Teach your kids about self-care with this delightful, peaceful blue nail polish from Asian American and Pacific Islander-owned business Dear Sundays.
27. Ice Cream Taro, $12. Noona’s. Enjoy Asian-inspired flavored ice cream from Noona’s. This one is taro bubble tea flavored, our personal favorite.
28. We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom, $17.99. Carole Lindstrom, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe Indians, wrote this book through the eyes of a young activist. Inspired by the Sioux Tribe’s protest at Standing Rock, this book is great for aspiring environmentalists.
29. I AM Everything™ Affirmation Card Deck, $15. I Am & Co. Transform negative self-talk into positive daily affirmations. Great for people of all ages (including adults!) these cards will remind you of how incredible you and your family are.
Thank You!
Thank you for using our anti-racist gift guide as a guide to navigating gift-giving year-round. As new gifts inspire us, we’ll add them to the list, so make sure to check back the next time you’re invited to five birthday parties in one month!
Note to the Reader
Antiracism will always be an evolving field—and the meaning, spelling, and practice will evolve with it. Therefore, throughout this post, I’ll use anti-racism and antiracism interchangeably.
