We have reached that time of year when people are starting to think about Christmas shopping. It is around this time when family ask us for suggestions of what to buy our children and as usual i have no idea. So this year i have written a Christmas gift guide, with a variety of gifts included. Toy’s that will spark creativity, make them use their imagination and above all things they will use and not get put to one side after Christmas Day.
Hopefully this guide will also inspire you and give you some great ideas of what to buy the children in your family.
Hape Mighty Hammer Domino Set
I am a huge fan of wooden toys, they seem to last well. This fantastic Hape Mighty Hammer Domino Set is made from sustainable materials, a big plus. The set contains 59 pieces and an instruction sheet on how to set it up. However children can also make up their own designs which will work just as well. The dominos can be played with by children alone, it is suitable from age four up. And the big kids – adults will probably get as just as much joy by watching the dominos cascade and fall.
Bookeze
Gifts that spur creativity make perfect presents. Bookeez from John Adams ticks the creativity box. Bookeez is a book making studio, you can write a story, poems or even a journal. What ever they choose to write they can then decorate it, punch it and bind it. I can see this being very popular. Any book lover or creative child will have a lot of fun making their own books. The set comes with paper, book covers, stickers and enough spines to make three books. Bookeez looks like a lot of fun.
Playmobil Tiny Paws Pet Hotel
Playmobil is a well known brand for many reasons. Not only do their toys spark creativity and role play, they are also really well made. The Playmobil Tiny Pet Paws Hotel is a new addition to their great range of sets. The set is equipped with everything your pet might need, with lots of toys and food included , giving children the perfect opportunity to use their imagination. There are a variety of different animals to take care of, inside you will also find three playmobil characters and lots of little accessories. The set is suitable from age 4 plus and i guarantee your children will have hours of fun.
Personalised Butterfly Suede Bracelet
I am a huge fan of personalised gifts, i always think they make a gift that has been thought about. I absolutely love this butterfly suede bracelet from The Personalised Gift Shop. The bracelet is adjustable in size and you can have the stirling silver heart engraved with your child’s name. My daughter is a girly girl and would love this bracelet. It would make an excellent gift for any little girl. They also do adult size bracelets.
Hape Tasty Proteins Food Set
Wooden toy food always makes a great present. I particularly like this set because not only is it wooden and excellent quality. It also comes with a play knife as you can cut some of the items up. Play food is a must for any child, one that can be cut up can aid learning. The set promotes hand eye coordination and encourages children to use their imagination. The Meat and Fish are wooden, the chicken is soft and the bacon is felt. This would make a perfect gift for any child that is interested in playing with toy food.
ColourMazing 3d Jungle
ColourMazing is a great new way to colour in. This set is not only for colouring in it is also a craft set. Inside the box you get six different coloured ‘magic’ ink pens and sheets of specially made cardboard which are perforated so you can pop out the craft activities. The special card means that the ink wont go out of the lines, all you have to do is squeeze out a little ink and watch it fill up the area. The set is aimed at 6 upwards and is something they can do on their own and is perfect for keeping a child entertained. This set will make a great gift for any creative child.
Aquabeads Magical Unicorn Set
The Aquabeads Magical Unicorn Set comes with over 2,000 beads. Also inside the box are templates, a play mat, a lay out tray, sprayer and a display stand. Once each design is made and complete you simply spray them with water and leave them to set. In 24 hours they are perfectly solid and stuck together. There are unicorns of different sizes to make, the larger unicorns are made in sections and then you can attach them using joint pieces. These are great, as when the unicorn is finished you can move the head and wings and also swish their tails. A fantastic gift for all creative unicorn fans.
Sphero Specdrums
I absolutely love the Sphero Specdrums, with this one ring you can make the world your instrument. It is a very cool little device that combines music and keyboard, it also has an educational element and is an awful lot of fun. The Specdrum is an app-enabled ring that perform the magical act of turning colour into sound. Just connect to the Specdrums app and tap on anything – clothes, drawings, food, furniture – to create and mix sounds, beats, and loops based on the vibrant hues you just interacted with. You can also just use the play mat and make music that way. It is so much better than just making music on an electronic device. This is hands on. This will make a wonderful Christmas gift. You can purchase Specdrums from a selection of retailers.
Sylvanian Families Elegant Town Manor
The Sylvanian Families Elegant Town Manor is part of the town series and is absolutely stunning. With its high ceilings and two floors it makes for a very spacious feeling home. Both on the inside and outside of the Manor you will find beautiful styling. There is detailing to the walls and impressive grand windows. Outside the windows there is a balcony so the residents can watch the other sylvanian families playing. The manor has elegant gold entrance doors and a stair case which is self standing so can therefore go in multiple places, there is also a lovely chandelier. This Town manor really is elegant. A perfect gift to stimulate imaginative play. Any child will have hours of fun with the wonderful Elegant Town Manor.
Hape Inventors Bench
This awesome Discovery Scientific Workbench has over 10 different experiments and 58 pieces such as the Cogwheel Noisemaker and Cable Car. It is a great sized workbench, not too big and bulky. It is great quality and very sturdy. The handy tray at the bottom keeps everything together and more accessible. This is a great gift that will inspire curiosity and develop logical thinking. A great Stem toy that will prove popular with any child who is curious about science and loves inventing things. A top toy for Christmas this year.
Books
I am a huge fan of giving books to people for Christmas, both of my children are book worms. There are some great fiction and none fiction books out there that would make great gifts.
Perfect Pet Dinosaur Personalised Book
Pets Perfect Pet Dinosaur is a wonderful book. It can be personalised to the name of your child which will appear throughout the story. There is also a space for a message at the start of the book. The book is a rhyming story that is enough to make any child laugh, there are also some great facts about dinosaurs within the book. A fun, educational story that will be a hit with any dinosaur loving child.
Tiny T.Rex and the Impossible Hug
Carrying on with the Dinosaur theme, Tiny T.Rex is also a great book. Aimed at younger children this story teaches children that it doesn’t matter what their size or shape, they can achieve anything they want to. The book is about a little dinosaur called tiny who has a problem, his best friend, stegosaurus Pointy, is sad, however Tiny’s wee arms make it difficult to offer solace through a hug. Tiny over comes this problem and eventually figures out how to give his friend to cheer him up. A lovely story that is a delight to read.
Draw Here
This book encourages creativity. Draw Here is a fun book with directions which are easy to follow. These range from totally blank at the outset to busy spreads teeming with dots, circles, or other shapes. Each comes with a prompt: to add dots or loops of specified size or colour in specified places; carefully color inside, or outside, the lines; connect dots of a certain color, turn dots into fruit, cars, fish, faces, and more; or mark everything up in some other way. Along the way motor skills get a workout too. A fabulous educational and fun activity book that is aimed at age 3-6, however i think older children will enjoy this book just as much.
Games
Christmas just isn’t Christmas without new board games coming into the house. We like to play new games as a family Christmas Day and over the festive period. There are a lot of bored games in the shops, here are a selection of the best.
Rainbow Unicorns
Which player will be the first to make it across the rainbow to reach the pot of gold. This is certainly a lovely colourful game. The object of the game is pick up a card from the table and match cards together to make unicorns. Each time a player makes a unicorn they get to move forward one place. The race is on to get the pot of gold, however matching the right pieces can be challenging. When a player finds a rainbow with a cloud they have to mix all the cards up on the table. Will the player find the pieces they want. Rainbow Unicorns is a magical game that all unicorn fans will love.
Knights and Dragons
A fun game where players have to battle and race to make the most knights. Each player is given two knight/horse bottoms to start the game, the rest of the cards are placed face down. Each player has to make as many knights as possible, however this isn’t that straight forward. In the pile of cards are some dragons, some are sleeping and some are awake. Each of these cards has different consequences. Finally the other cards in the pile are card’s that link together to make a castle picture. The person who wins is the one with the most knights. Above all, this game is great for encouraging colour recognition and matching skills. Knights and Dragons would make a great Christmas gift for children age 4 and upwards.
Counting Mountain
This is a fun and educational game, it is made of durable cardboard and very easy to set up. The aim of the game is to make it to the top of the mountain. To do this players have to turn over footprint cards, if there are two numbers the player has to add them up and then move forward the correct number of spaces. With pictorial and numerical representations , children can add up the number that the need to move. However, there are twists to the game with Yeti cards. If two are turned over you have to move two spaces back. The illustrations are bright and fun and the animals and people on the mountain will appeal to children. Above all, this game helps young children to develop early counting and addition strategies. Counting Mountain is great fun to play.
Shark Chase
Shark Chase is a great game that will have your children laughing. The game comes with a motorized shark, an island and all the pieces you need to play. The aim of the game is to get onto the island before being eaten by the shark. You can start the shark in different places so it can be suitable for young and old players. The game is so much fun and will make everyone laugh as you try to escape the shark as it swallows the creatures. The game would make a great Christmas gift for children this year.
Orangutwang
The aim of the game is to get the Orangutan to hang as long as possible before it goes twang. However It’s not as easy as it sounds. Players add yummy tropical fruits and animals to a hanging orangutan until he cannot handle anymore and he goes twang! A game of suspense and fun. OranguTwang’ is exciting, amusing and a little bit wild! You just never know when the Orangutan is going to spring and spill. He jumps, you jump. It seems it’s the suspense that keeps kids entertained. This game would make a wonderful Christmas gift.
Gifts that spark imagination, creativity are educational and fun, will be toys you see everywhere this Christmas. I hope all the wonderful gifts i have mentioned give you some great inspiration on what to buy children you know this Christmas. If you come across other gifts that you think would be great for children this Christmas i would love to know about them.
