Gifts to Buy

Infants and Toddlers (area of HIGH NEED)

  • Musical mobiles (especially need washable mobiles without cloth parts)
  • Musical toys
  • Light up toys
  • Soft vinyl books and board books
  • Crib mirrors and toy links
  • Stacking toys
  • See and Says
  • Lullaby and soft music tapes and/or CDs
  • Busy boxes
  • Rattles and teethers
  • Push toys (lawn mower, stroller, shopping cart, "popcorn popper")

Preschool Age

  • Crayons and coloring books
  • Toy medical kits
  • Toy cash registers
  • Play food and dishes
  • Play tools
  • Washable (not cloth) baby dolls
  • Toy musical instruments
  • Wooden puzzles 
  • Pop-up books
  • Light up and musical toys
  • Play Doh and accessories
  • Construction toys like: Bristle Blocks, Duplo, wooden blocks, etc.
  • Simple games such as: Memory, color and number games
  • Little Tike and Fisher-Price action structures (house, farm, garage)
  • Little Tike and Fisher-Price action accessories like: people, animals, cars, planes, and furniture

School Age

  • All sorts of games like: Clue, Clue Jr., Monopoly Jr., Yahtzee, Yahtzee Jr., Connect  4, Uno, Guess Who, Trouble, Sorry, Apples to Apples, etc.
  • Etch-a-sketches
  • Magna Doodles
  • Travel games
  • Craft kits like: posters to color, beads, bead and hemp jewelry kits, ink stamp kits, stickers, paint kits, wood kits, etc.
  • Matchbox cars and trucks
  • Toy dinosaurs, insects animals
  • Non-violent action figures
  • Building sets - Lego, Bionicle, etc.
  • Barbie and Ken dolls and doll clothes
  • Walkie talkies
  • 60 and 100 piece puzzles

Teens (area of HIGH NEED)

  • Games for young adults like: Monopoly, Scrabble, Battleship, Life, checkers, chess, Scene It, Scattegories, etc.
  • Craft kits such as: latch hook, stitching, bead kits, leather craft, fabric painting, posters to color, etc.
  • Model kits (cars, planes, boats)
  • Journals and scrapbooks (blank) and materials
  • Disposable cameras
  • Lotion and bath gel sets
  • New fingernail polish
  • Walkman type radios, CD players or MP3 players
  • Hand Held electronic games (20 Questions, etc.)
  • Stationery sets
  • Attractive spiral bound notebooks
  • Playing cards
  • Phone cards
  • Gift certificates for movies, music, book stores, clothing, etc.
  • Word search, crossword puzzle, Suduko books

Audio/Visual Items and Game Systems

  • Blank CDs
  • CD Players
  • Recent release DVDs  (rated G, PG, or PG13)
  • CDs appropriate for children and youth
  • Small electronic keyboards
  • Play Station II systems and games*
  • Game Boy units and games*
  • Wii Systems and games*

* Games must be rated for all ages and be non-violent

Arts and Crafts Supplies

  • Glitter glue
  • Glue sticks
  • Safety scissors
  • Acrylic paint
  • Feathers
  • Construction paper
  • Finger paint paper
  • Sculpy or Fimo
  • Pom poms
  • Gel pens
  • Crayola Model Magic
  • Glue dots
  • Coloring posters
  • Glitter glue pens
  • Colored pencils
  • Scratch Magic Scratch Art sheets
  • Tacky glue
  • Stickers
  • Fancy edging scissors
  • Buttons
  • Pipe cleaners
  • Crepe paper
  • Glitter
  • Beads
  • Paint brushes
  • Shaving cream
  • Crayons
  • Paint with number books
  • Craft kits from Oriental Trading
  • Washable markers
  • Elmer's 3D paint pens 

Additional Gift Ideas

Large Toys

  • Little Tikes ride-ons such as: Cozy Coupe (red and yellow)
  • Little Tikes Explorer Wagons (green, tan and red - no other wagon styles are used in the hospital)

Books and Magazines

  • Donations of new and gently used children’s books and family-oriented magazines are welcome.
  • We especially need: I Spy books, board books, new coloring books, crossword and word search books.
  • The following types of materials are NOT acceptable: Encyclopedia, textbooks, news magazines over a year old, books or magazines with adult themes, religious themes, violent themes, or scary characters.

Other Gift Ideas

Gifts can be found on the hospital registry at Wal-Mart. Or, you may want to consider Gift Cards for patients and families from any of the following corporations that support Nationwide Children's Hospital:


  • Big Lots
  • Giant Eagle
  • Kohl's
  • Kroger
  • Macy's 
  • Meijer
  • Schottenstein Stores
  • Speedway/Super America
  • Wal-Mart