A gift that doesn't add to the pile
You do not want to explain your position on plastic to every relative who's about to buy your kid something. It's not really that big a deal. It's not a values crusade. You just look around your living room and there is a lot of it. Most of it is for a five-year-old. Most of it is broken.
You would love to give a gift, for once, that doesn't turn into more of that.
The category is narrow
Meaningful non-toy gifts for kids exist. Experiences (aquarium tickets, a trip somewhere). Books, sometimes. A really good art supply if the kid actually uses art supplies. That's most of the shelf.
Digital gifts have historically been either subscriptions to something you don't want the kid on more, or gift cards, which are money and land like it.
What this is
Madejustfor.me is a digital gift that isn't a subscription and isn't a gift card. You order a personalized little playable game for the kid on the order form, in their name, on their interests, and get back a link. You can print the URL on a piece of paper and put it in a card if the moment calls for something to hand over.
The kid plays it. They can play it a few times if they want. It doesn't ship in a box. It doesn't have batteries. It doesn't produce packaging waste. If it worked, it worked. If it didn't quite land, the kid moves on, and you didn't add anything to your living room.
What it costs
Nine dollars, once. You are not signing up for anything.
For the values-adjacent worry
This is not a screen-time thing in disguise. It's a small standalone game the kid plays once, or a handful of times over a stretch, and there are no push notifications, no streaks, no account. When the kid is done, they close the tab. The link keeps working if they want to come back.