Do you always know what to buy children for their birthday? Or do you need help to buy presents? If you have a daughter aged 5 or under and it’s their birthday I will normally get them a pretty fab present (time and money dependent). If you have a son? Suggestions are very welcome. Before I had children I didn’t have a clue what to get any children for presents and this is the thinking behind the website Wicked Uncle. 

We took part in the Wicked Uncle challenge where we received a voucher to give to a friend. That friend was instructed to use the website to select a present with the hope that it would be a big hit. So I sent the voucher to my friend Big Dave. He’s a bit of a geek, a lovely guy and very soon will be a Dad. I had a look on the website and there were a number of things I would love to buy for my big girl, but I managed to resist the urge to provide direction and waited to see what would arrive.

The Wicked Uncle website lets you select the age, gender and theme of a gift and then provides a number of suggestions. The aim is that they will help you buy the perfect present whether you are buying for a baby or teen, whatever their interests and whatever your budget (the cheapest items are under £5 and the most expensive is currently an interactive robot costing £129).

Feedback from Big Dave is that the site was really easy to use. It has a “simple interface, very intuitive and is quick to sort by age, gender, toy type etc”. He rates the experience 8 out of 10. For him the website loses points because of the gender search. You don’t have to select a gender and I know a lot of people who would appreciate gender search options, but in an ideal world all presents are gender neutral.

The presents were ordered on Friday and the parcel arrived the following Monday. You can see M’s reaction in this unboxing video. I’m pretty sure she liked the presents. And yes we did have to go out and do some gardening. One of the things I liked about the selection was they weren’t items I would have chosen for her, but they were all a hit and have been played with on several occasions since they arrived.

A nice added touch is that included in the box was a Thank You card, preprinted with Big Dave’s address and with responses on the back. Simply cross out any irrelevent options, add a stamp and there is no excuse to not send a thank you. 

So what did we get:

Gardening kit

M likes to join in when we are doing the gardening, but most of the kit is too big for her. It was great to have gloves that fit her and her own tools.

Kinetic sand

This is something I’ve wanted to have a play with for a while. I’m not sure you are ever too old to play with sand. Kinetic sand is designed to be played with inside and is far less messy than normal sand. All our Play-doh shapes have suddenly got a new lease of life.

Melt & Make ... Chocolate London

We haven’t played with this yet because the weather has been too good and I don’t think the chocolate would set very well. As the temperature has now dropped I’m sure we will be making (and eating) a chocolate London very soon.

Did Wicked Uncle help pick brilliant presents?

M says “yes”