Geomag Gravity
Geomag Gravity will appeal to children and adults. It allows children to build and make moving projects using magnets. Recommended for children aged 7 plus and great for those who have the patience and attention to detail to follow the instructions. There are a few different projects you can build in each set which will move due to the magnets when assembled. Read our full review of Geomag Gravity Motor.
Wannabee Role Play Set
I absolutely love this binder and it’s perfect for my 7 year old who is always playing teacher. It has all the paper resources a pretend teacher might need including space to write names on a register, timetables, certificates and even stickers. There are enough copies of each for multiple play sessions. The packs also come in sets for Wannabee Doctors and Café Owners and I love how they encourage children to take their role play one step deeper while encouraging their reading and writing too. Available for £14.99 from Wannabee.
Aimed at age 8 and above this Young Explorer Kit (affiliate link) is great to encourage exploration of the world around your child. The set includes: binoculars, field microscope, compass, a small notebook and pencil (which needs sharpening). A good STEM product which can be used inside or out so it can be used all year round.
Colouring and Writing Pens
Whether they have been allowed to start writing in pen at school or not, at home they will love to explore and colour with beautiful pens like these Steadtler Brilliant Colours Triplus Fineliner Pens and the Pentel Hybrid Dual Metallic Glitter Pens (affiliate links). The gel pens are really easy to write with and have a subtle glitter shimmer, while the Fineliner pen set are an ergonomic triangular shape, don't dry out and have fine nibs meaning budding artists can be as detailed as they want.
Pampering Beauty Products
If you don’t want to share your own beauty products then it’s worth giving your child a set that looks grown up, but is still fun. This set from Beauticology by Baylis & Harding has a variety of delicious Christmas scents and includes: body wash, shower gel, hand cream, bath crystals and lip balm.
Tobbie The Robot
There are a number of great robots for children available at the moment and Tobbie, the 6 legged robot (affiliate link), is one of the cutest and much more affordable than others. He comes in pieces and can be built by following the step by step instructions. When assembled he has 2 modes: 'Follow me' where he uses his IR sensor to follow anything that is moving around and 'Explore' where he will wander around exploring on his own. This is a great STEM toy suitable for age 8 upwards.
Grabolo
This is a great game from John Adams recommended for age 4 up, but with appeal for all. It’s so simple to learn: you just roll the dice and the first person to pick up the matching character wins. One dice has the shapes on, the other the colour so in combination they could show a green duck which needs to be grabbed. It’s fast paced and surprisingly fun.
A Day Out
My house is full of toys and while we always need a few new ones at Christmas and Birthdays to reflect new interests and skills there are often more people wanting to buy presents than they need. We decided a few years ago that we would ask people to contribute money to a day out or a weekend away instead. We have used the money so far to go to Chessington World of Adventures and Alton Towers. Both theme parks are great for this age group and with an overnight stay you could get two full days of fun, that’s many more hours than most toys are played with. Alternatively if you prefer not to give cash you could give a voucher from a website like Red Letter Days (Affiliate Link) which have a wide range of experiences for children including Indoor Sky Diving!
Classes
There are so many types of classes children can attend these days and it can get expensive. One way to enable them to take part in more activities is to give a block of classes as a present. My eldest is about to start Karate classes with money from her birthday which I would have struggled to afford any other way. If she decides it is something she wants to stick with I wont mind paying for it, but there is a history of her losing interest after a while which seems less painful if it is a present.
Nintendo Switch
I have been fighting an inner battle with myself for some time about games consoles. While I want to encourage my children to have active play I had a gameboy I loved when I was younger and I don’t feel it’s fair for my children to miss out. I’m not going to make an argument that they are educational, because yes of course they can be, but the educational games aren’t necessarily the ones played with most. The Nintendo Switch really appeals to me as a parent because while children can play on it independently there is also the option to play on the TV too making it more of a group activity.
Books
One of my daughter’s favourite Christmas presents last year was a big pile of books, if you have an insatiable reader too then a selection of books is a great present. Depending on their interests you can get fiction, non-fiction or a combination of both. There is also the option of browsing the charity shops, or looking on sites like The Book People to get books at a reduced price. Alternatively vouchers for a local independent book shop will help a small business and be lots of fun for the child to choose their own books.
Rechargeable Batteries
***Disclosure: I received a number of items in this gift guide as gifts, for review or for inclusion in this gift guide including: Geomag Gravity, Wannabee Role Play Set, Pens from Ryman, Beauticology set, Tobbie The Robot, Grabolo and the Varta Batteries.
This gift guide includes Amazon Adverts which contain affiliate links as well as other affiliate links where stated. If you make a purchase after clicking on these links I may receive a referral payment at no additional cost to you, if you choose to buy this way, thank you very much. ***
Oh my god my ten year old would LOVE this teacher pack! She's been playing schools since she started reception and even now i year 6 I regularly hear her talking her children in her bedroom!
ReplyDeleteThey are great. My daughter was always using home made versions and these are so much better
DeleteSome really good gifts here . We love grabolo and would definitely recommend it ! :)
ReplyDeleteGrabolo is great fun isn't it? Thank you
DeleteWhat a great gift guide. I totally agree that the presents change from 6 upwards! My other half is eyeing up the switch for his long tube journeys!
ReplyDeleteWe are so torn about getting it, I really want it, but it's a lot of money and I'm worried my toddler will break it!
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