The TLC 2015 Christmas gift guide for kids!
Stuck for gift ideas for your own (or other) children? You’ll find plenty of inspiration in our 2015 Christmas gift guide – handily segmented into age groups.
What do you buy the child who has (almost) anything? Every year, as Christmas approaches, so does that familiar panic at wondering what you can buy your children that:
- They haven’t already got
- They will like
- You will like
- Fits your budget
Buying the perfect present gets even tougher as they approach their teen years and want everything their friends have, whether its age appropriate or not.
But this year you have a secret weapon up your sleeve – we asked Santa’s secret shopper, Nerissa Buckell from online gifts, homewares and accessories website Crimson Tiger, to take on the challenge of coming up with Christmas gift ideas for not only all her own children, but yours too!
So here it is… our imaginative, creative Christmas Gift Guide for 2015 – handily split into age groups.
Toddlers and tantrums (up to 6 years)
Personalised crayons – Bluebells & Dewdrops is a small company that make crayons in all shapes and colours. They are not online but can be found on Facebook. You can spell out your child’s name at just 50p a letter.
Aquadoodles – perfect for when you are at relatives homes or in the car, they can colour in to their hearts content without the fear of them getting pen on the soft furnishings as they are colouring in with water. From all good toy stores from £14.99
Nightlights – no trailing wires, and plugs to worry about with these solar powered lights. During the day the battery tea light is charged by solar power and then slotted into the back of the frog, owl or cat and will cast a reassuring glow at night. £29.99 from Crimson Tiger.
Robot clock – your little one may not be able to tell the time with this retro robot but you may need to see the time when you find yourself staggering into their room at three in the morning. £28.99 from Crimson Tiger.
Giraffe height chart – allow the children to measure their height to see how near they are to coming off their booster seat (my youngest measures himself twice a day to see if he has reached that magical height!). £16.00 from Zander and Sons.
Primary school darlings (6-9)
Knitting nancy – this is likely a blast from the past for some of you. Included in this kit is the wooden dolly, instructions, wooden needle and four different coloured wools. £5.99 from Crimson Tiger.
PomPom maker – I never thought I would see four boys from 8 to 15 years finding pompom making so interesting, but it kept them all occupied during a very wet half term with declarations of how relaxing it was! Amazon and Hobby Craft have a great variety of sizes of plastic pompom makers that avoid the need to feed wool through a cardboard hole. From £2.95.
Guess Who – buy the travel version and change the pictures to those of family and friends. ‘Do I have glasses? Am I bald? Am I Gramps?’ £4.99 from ToysRus.
Inflatable space shuttle – do you have a wannabe astronaut? How about an inflatable space shuttle for £29.99, or a space helmet from £16.99, or space food apples for £3.29? You can even buy dress up clothes for the big wannabe astronauts. All from Spacekids.
Torch – starting the round of the sleepovers or overnight school trips? A torch of their own will be useful. Mountain Warehouse do a great range of head torches, perfect for reading under the covers and camping from £4.99.
Boot bag – budding David Beckham or Kelly Smith? A personalised kit bag to keep their muddy boots or sports gear in should go down well. £22 from 3 Blonde Bears.
Busy bag – Ally Robinson does a gorgeous busy bag, a cotton bag with pens, pencils, sharpener and note book for £11.95, from notonthehighstreet.com. And this pink cat notebook is a stocking filler steal at just £3 (also available in green).
Hair bands – hair bands and clips are always going missing, this pink daisy purse (£6.50 from Crimson Tiger) is the perfect size to keep them all in one place. Fill with the snag-free popbands £8 from Popband.
Too cool for school (10-13)
Nanoblocks – if Lego bricks are no longer a challenge Nanoblocks make a great gift. Their range includes animals, instruments and best of all landmarks. Starting from £3.99 some of which have a difficulty rating, from the usual toy shops.
Toy kit – this Scandinavian toy kit by Jane Foster (£15) is a kit of four toys to make which are screened printed onto fabric for you to cut out and make. They can be hand or machine sewn.
Star Wars origami – are your kids getting excited about the long-awaited release of Star Wars? Keep them busy by making their own droids and vehicles courtesy of this Star Wars Origami, £12.99 from Firebox.
NeON Light Writer – encourage curious minds AND have fun with Geek & Co Science NeON Light Writer. The kit helps them to write their name in neon lights (the neon light is fixed to card and can be flashing or constant) – and the instructions don’t just tell you how to do it, but explain the science behind it too. £14.99 from Wicked Uncle.
Skateboard stickers – whether they are a newbie or a pro at a 360 heelflip or varial double kickflip, they will be stoked at these skateboard stickers – from 90p each from Skate Hut.
Board games – Forbidden Island (around £14) and Pandemic (around £24) are great team games which are perfect for kids with issues about losing, as you play together against the board. Another great board game is Settlers of Catan (around £30) where the board changes every time you play. Great tactical games. From good independent toy shops and Amazon.
Sound Asleep Pillow – I’m trying to avoid tech, but if you have ever found your child asleep with headphone on you will know why this is on the list. Sound Asleep Pillow, think pillow crossed with speakers. £17.99 from Firebox.
Jewellery – it’s never too early to start your daughter’s jewellery collection. Try one of these personalised sterling silver necklaces with initial, and a choice of chain length and charms that you can add to. From £16 from Crimson Tiger.
The door slammers (14-when will it ever end?)
Alarm clock – if you have a teen that likes long lie ins and dreams of being James Bond then this gun alarm clock by Thumbs Up will help get them up in the afternoons mornings. Place the clock under their pillow and it vibrates until they pull the trigger aiming at a surface and will display the time. £15.49 from Amazon.
Personalised nail polish – create their own nail polish for them. NailsInc do Styled By You, in which you choose the colour, the cap, the box and the message to go on it. £25 from Nails Inc.
Wall art – happy pennant wall art is a great reminder for when they are in a grump. Available in a choice of pink tassels or blue tassels. £19.00 from Zander and Sons.
Create your own recipe book – gather all their favourite recipes from relatives and friends, granny’s secret recipe for chicken surprise, Uncle Reza’s cheese and peas and so on. Type them up with pictures of the recipe contributor and either bound into a book yourself if you have a ring binder or better still make it as a photo book from companies like Photobox. Prices start at £16.99 (just remember to save the text as a jpeg).
Customised headband – a customised headband created in a word, name and colour of your choice, is seriously cool. It doesn’t have to be their name – it could just be their favourite word. £15.00 from GG’s Pin Up Couture.
A driving lesson – if you are not far from the historical Brooklands near Weybridge, and they are over 1.5m they can have an under 17 driving lesson lasting 60 minutes on the original, historical Brooklands motor track. They also do 4×4 experiences and skid lessons. Prices start from £75 (you can find out more here.) If you aren’t within travelling distances of Weybridge have a look at Tank Driving for tank sessions in various locations across the UK.
And something for almost every age!
There’s one final gift that’s pretty much universal – and won’t get cast aside in a few days. And that’s the gift of learning. If you’re really stuck for something to buy, or don’t want to buy your children more ‘things’, why not buy them a learning voucher, or suggest relatives put money towards some?
Companies like Regency Tuition offer Christmas vouchers that can be used for everything from beginner’s French or Mandarin, to violin lessons.
Looking for more Christmas gift inspiration? You’ll find plenty of good ideas at Crimson Tiger.
