Gift ideas for French-speaking children

Are you looking for gift ideas for children who speak French as a minority language? Or maybe you are a French-speaking family living abroad and need to bring in a bit of France into your household. Whatever the reason, I have listed a few ideas below.

As a French-speaking family living outside of France, I love getting gifts for my children that allow us to boost their language skills or expose them to various aspects of French culture and the French-speaking world. I also think that it is harder to find materials in French that helps us raise little world citizens. With this in mind, I have compiled a little list of gift ideas I thought French-speaking children and their parents would love to receive. Some are about French culture, others are about raising little world citizens through French. These are all things I have personally purchased and liked or tried on several occasions so can recommend them.

- Ecole des Loisirs

The best books for kids in French. For me, these are the best children's books for kids on the market. They publish books from all over the world: some are originals others are translations. The books are incredibly varied and this is what I like about it. Sure, there may be one or two that are not your cup of tea but your kids may like them. I think it is important to expose our children to a variety of books. The subscriptions include 8 books throughout the school year adapted to your child's age. If you get together with other families or a school, it is even cheaper. We have subscribed since our kids were babies and have never regretted it. 

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- Rue du Monde

An awesome publisher. If you are looking for quality books in French about the world, this is it. You can find their current catalogue on their site. We love the French version of this beautiful atlas: Cartes and its workbook, Le Livre qui parlait toutes les langues has been playing non-stop in our car since our youngest was two and we have cooked with Les soupes du monde. amongst many others.

- Henri Dès

Our favourite French-speaking kids singer. Yes, he is not too young anymore. But he is a classic from my childhood (I actually met him twice when I was a kid. He came to eat in my house!) and we love him still. Many of his songs haven't aged (unlike many other kids singers). His songs are great to sing along too. You can find his CDs here (does anyone ever buys CDs anymore?) or simply listen on Spotify. 

- Enfance et Musique

More awesome music for kids. From jazz for kids to story books accompanied by soundtracks, from world lullabies in African languages to original bossa nova sung in French, they have a bit of everything. We love their books of country-specific songs with the CDs. We listen to those often in our car. And event the adults don't mind those. Take a look at their site for the full collection. 

- Cursive tracing boards

Cursive letters are still very much part of French education and culture. Teaching kids to write in that way is not always easy (especially if children are not educated in the French system). We love those little tracing boards for young children. They make for great motor practice and are beautiful too. Take a look around that Etsy store, there are also some lovely reversible tracing boards.

Tracing board by BuyLoMDesign

- Journal des Enfants

A newspaper for kids. I used to read this newspaper when I was a child. It has changed a lot since then. but it is a fun little newspaper for 8-12 year-olds. It includes some fun little stories and major news events in a very simple and approachable way. I also like the fact that it includes world and French news (perfect for kids living outside of France). Some complicated words are explained (perfect for bilinguals). You can subscribe to the paper or online version. The online site has no adverts when you subscribe to it (yay). And if you choose the paper version, you can get it shipped outside of France. 

- Baika magazine

A magazine with a difference. We absolutely love this magazine. It is a very pretty magazine for kids about the world. Each one is themed around a country. It is suitable from about 8 years old. The illustrations are gorgeous and my oldest loves the activities in it. Their site also contains stories to listen to and activities to do at home. It has been a great resource for us during our quarantine days. You can buy back issues if you are interested in a particular country or subscribe (from anywhere around the world). Highly recommended.

- Bayard Jeunesse

The classic French magazines. There is something for everyone in their magazines: from 1 to 20 years old. I have to say I used to read many of those and loved them. Miss 10 had a subscription to one of them (Astrapi) last year and couldn't wait for it to arrive. They ship all over the world and are a great way to keep up with French culture. 

- Journal/diary

Boosting your child's minority language skills by writing for themselves is the best. My oldest is a big fan of journals of all kinds. We have selected our favourite journals for kids in this article. But I would like to mention one in particular we have found really excellent (especially for younger children as it requires a little less writing): The Happy Self Journal. While the title is in English, they have a French version now (as well as other languages like Spanish, Swedish, Portuguese, Dutch, German, French, Italian). (US version is called HappyMe Journal)

- Subscription box

There are so many subscription boxes out there for kids these days. Our children really like them. They make Christmas last longer as they get a box every month or so for a set period of time. Many of these boxes are available in french and many ship abroad. A great way to bring a bit of culture or language without even being aware of it. We personally like the Toucan box and Pandacraft ones as my kids are quite crafty. But there are many others. Take a look at this great list.