My boys are in between these ages, so it’s an age I am experienced in and still find easy and fun to buy for. I’ve not tackled any teen or tween years yet, so I will leave those for another few years, before I have that delightful challenge. You may have to keep me right. For now, these are the gifts that are on my boys Christmas list or they think other children would like on theirs or sneaky ones I am adding to their list. I think these would make great gifts for the children in your life.
If you have read my blog at all over the last six years, you will know how much my boys LOVE football. We have footballs, new shin guards, etc for them, but we wanted to get them something a little different, something they could keep for years to come. Two brothers who set up Art of Football gave me just that. They design and create illustrations of your favourite team, players, etc personalising them and capturing the passion and emotion of the game. You can have your illustration on a t-shirt of picture and comes gift wrapped. It is a fantastic gift for any football fan young or old and the prices are fantastic. The quality of the prints and t-shirts is excellent. I opted for a Messi print for my youngest and a Rangers one for oldest son. I think these are great quality and thoughtful gifts which can be kept forever.
Magazine subscriptions are something I’ve been thinking about for a while, but I have never found the right one, the one that isn’t just on one subject and challenges them. When I came across OKIDO I thought it was a fantastic magazine. There is so much to read, do and try out. Each edition is different and it held their interest. OKIDO is an arts and science magazine which covers everything from poetry to baking to drawings and much more. Each magazine costs £4 and has an annual subscription of £24. You can ever purchase back orders if there is something you think your child has missed. This is something I am looking forward to doing with my oldest. He will love this.
Hot Wheels are still a big thing in our household, not just with the boys, but Aria is joining in too. We are loving this 8 car adventure that’s as hot as Lava also know as the Hot Wheels Track Builder Volcano. As the volcano “heats up,” load up to eight cars on top. The volcano’s eyes are red with anger! Push the button and the kids decide their cars fate. Send them racing down the top of the volcano and crashing through the fiery lava to make their escape into four different adventures—one in every direction. The track creates lots of fun and the kids control where the cars go. Not only that you can connect to various other Hot Wheels tracks for more fun. Priced at around RRP £36.99
With the premier of the new Star Wars film just around the corner, I had to add in a little touch of the light and dark side. With being a big part of the boys life, it felt that the Hot Wheels Star Wars Character Car 5 Pack be the one to include. This set is based on the favourite heroes and villains from the series. The exclusive Anakin Skywalker car can be flipped and driven on either the “light” or the “dark” side. Why not embrace the light and dark sides of the Force. They make a great gift for Star Wars fans of all ages.
This one is for the younger ones of this age range. Tyler who is 6 adores the Magformers WOW Set. He spends hours building cars and towers. The possibilities are endless with this set. The set consists of a total of 16 pieces: squares, triangles, a special pilot boy element and 2 wheel sets. There is a booklet inside which shows 22 different ways to play with them and 20 different models to make. What is great about Magformers is that they are magnetic and connect together. The parts are bright coloured, well made and sturdy. RRP of £29.99 I think it’s great value for money.
A fun crafting toy always goes down well. I love this design your own unique jewellery by Galt. Galt crafting kits are always simple, easy to use and are a lot of fun. The Neon Charms works by combining neon charms with the exciting selection of fashion beads. Allowing you to make a bracelet, necklace or whatever you fancy. We made some bookmarks. The kit comes with everything you need and is a lot of fun. Why not try it yourself. At £14.99 it makes a lovely gift.
Books make the best gifts and are a gift that keeps on giving. My youngest boy loves dinosaurs and getting him the Miles Kelly gift sets, the dinosaur one is an excellent gift for him. There are various different options available. This giftset contains a Children’s Encyclopedia Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Life which has 500 stunning pictures of dinosaurs and facts about them. Project Dinosaur is a fun lift the flap and find out book, which is great for engaging and learning all about dinosaurs. And a Dinosaur handbook which you can take out and about if you visit a museum or anything like that filled with fun facts. The gift sets are great value for money priced at £20 each, saving you over 50% on the RRP of these books. A great price and a plethora of information and knowledge.
I told you they were football daft, so when I came across Messi Foot Bubbles on another blog site I had to include them in my Christmas gift guide. How cool are these? And Messi is Tyler’s favourite footballer, so these would be awesome for him. The kit comes with Messi’s official branded socks based on his latest boot designs and a bubble solution that should allow you to do some keepie-upies without bursting, along with some other tricks. The website is great, it has lots of videos showing you how it’s done and you can sign up to get a certificate too. A nice little touch. These are all about learning to control with gentle smooth movements. Let’s see how they get on. At £14.99 another great gift idea.
Power Rangers is one of those tv shows that all kids seem to enjoy. It never seems to grow old and with each new show, brings a new fan. This year saw the release of Power Rangers Dino Charge. The Deluxe Charge Morpher was top favourite over the year. You press the trigger to unleash cool light and sound effects, 25 different sounds over all and you can unlock even more by inserting a dino charger cartridge. Once inserted the morpher will say the name of the dinosaur and Ranger. The Morpher comes with two dino chargers, but you can purchase more. The Dino Chargers can also be used with an app on your smartphone or tablet to morph into Rangers and played with, so there is extra fun here and costs £29.99. The action figures always go down well and make a great gift for any Power Ranger fan, pose-able and standing at 12.5cm tall they are great value at £9.99. There are also Power Rangers Super Mega Force magazines. Each of these comes with their own plastic toy, stories, crafts and puzzles. They make great stocking fillers at £3.99. Dino Charge the Power Rangers airs on the POP channel and in the show they have to protect the Earth from intergalactic bounty hunters searching for the ancient Energems that were left in the care of dinosaurs. When an asteriod wiped out the dinosaurs the Energems were lost, and it’s up to the PowerRangers to find them first. Cool huh!
Like I mentioned above I have been thinking a lot about gifts that aren’t just for Christmas, ones they keep on giving throughout the year and Little Passports seem perfect for this. They are a monthly subscription plan that inspire and help children learn about different topics using fun activities. The one I chose was the World Edition Kit to see what it was like. This is aimed at children aged 6-10 and the can discover a new country each month. In the pack they find out about geography, history, culture and language with the use of games, stickers, fun souvenirs, maps and a cute little passport. The first one comes in this great little box too, keeping everything in one place to go back to again and again. And the subsequent months can be stored there also. There are different purchase options from one month up to a year depending on your budget.
Games are something that my boys enjoy. I’m always on the look out for something that is suitable, educational and fun. My boys aren’t big tv fans but have been watching Adventure Time on Cartoon Network and are loving the magazines. Check them out if your little ones are a fan. They are great stocking fillers. Adventure Time: Finn & Jake Investigations is for the Wii U, Xbox One, Playstation 4, PC and Nintendo 3DS. It is based on the tv series and sees Finn and Jake Investigations the dynamic duo exploring the Land of Ooo. During which they solve mysteries, puzzles and defeat their enemies. There are a total of five cases to unravel and lots of fun characters to meet along the way. The game is a PEGI 7 and an RRP starting at £19.99.
One of our most valued and played with toy of the year has to be the Kano computer kit. Working in IT this is something that appeals to me and being a trained software developer, I know how well coding helps expand and explain the world around us, especially when it comes to technology. This great piece of kit helps making coding simple, rewarding and most importantly fun. If your child is interested in gaming or learning more about how technology works, I’d highly recommend this. It sets challenges to get to the next level and which are fun, but teach the basics in coding without even realising it. Why not check out my Kano Computer review and what Lucas thinks of it. He asked for the screen to go with this on his Christmas list this year.
What is on your child’s Christmas wish list? Is there anything that I should be adding?
Disclaimer:- I was sent some of the above items as stated in the post, others I have purchased myself. I’ve not been paid further for mentioning any of these products in this post. All words and opinions are my own and the links have been included out of courtesy.