Top Kids Gifts

Summer may not yet be here, but the light peeking through the morning drizzle is enough to wake the best little sleepers. My tired eyes and snappiness are the obvious signs that for the last few weeks our youngest has been wide awake and perky at 5:15am! No amount of bribery will get her back to bed, the light is telling her that it is officially morning, even if her grumpy parents are insisting its not. Unsurprisingly we are knackered, and so is she, we are also VERY VERY grumpy.

Desperate times call for desperate measures so my mission yesterday was to find a Gro Clock and ensure that the weeks of sleep deprivation are brought to an end. It wasn’t easy to track down, but I found one eventually (in Tesco of all places! – Mothercare, Mamas and Papas and Boots failed us miserably). I paid over the odds for it, but it was a desperation purchase and for our sanity not one I was willing to have left to a haphazard internet delivery.

It may be early days, but she didn’t make a peep until the dot of 7:00am when the smiley sun face appeared. There was no audible alarm set, so she must have been awake and watching and waiting for the sun to come out. An extra 2 hours sleep for me, and hopefully more sleep for her too, she wasn’t flagging by 9:00am anyway, which is a good sign.

I’m sold, if you know any early morning sleep deprived parents then this may be the answer to their prayers. Buy one, they’ll love you for it.

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock recently you’ll know that kids LOVE Hexbugs. For the uninitiated, the idea of a creepy crawling thing vibrating itself across the floor (eugh) is probably enough for you to gently guide your small people away from their first purchase. I employed a rather old but well used diversionary tactic, for several months, whenever the subject of Hexbugs arose. But I had underestimated the power of an 8 year olds’ persuasion and persistence. Eventually I cracked,  he had Birthday money, so if he wanted to waste it on Hexbugs that was OK by me.

A day later and I am eating my words. Hexbugs are FAB.

We’re now slightly overrun with Hexbug Nano track and bugs, but the more you have the better it is. I can sit for hours, almost mesmerised, watching the colourful little critters randomly weaving and wobbling their way up and down and round the track. Very therapeutic and calming, so great for calming slightly excitable kids.

The latest addition to our Nano family has been the Hive, which we’ve placed at the very centre of our newly built track. This configuration is made from 4 sets – Nano Hive Habitat Set, Nano Bridge Battle Habitat Set, Nano Elevation Habitat Set and Nano Glows in the Dark Habitat Set.

Hexbugs had a shaky start in our house, but they’ve turned out to be our toy of the year so far. They’re not recommended for under 3′s (due to small parts) but our 2 year old loves them – obviously we don’t leave her to play with them on her own, chewing the track and swallowing the batteries!

Babies are easy to buy for, they probably won’t already have lots of toys so you’re unlikely to duplicate and there are some great toys on the market.

As young babies can’t do much, toys aren’t hi-tech. The best choices have bright contrasting colours with patterns and textures as well as crinkles, rattles and squeaks. The Lamaze range are brilliant, anything from this company will be well received.

I especially like the Lamaze Sir Prance A Lot, as it will attach to a baby gym or buggy too.

Wrist or sock rattles are also a great choice, endless hours of fun for the baby. These Manhattan Toy reversible wrist Rattles one of my favourites.

Books are also a really good choice for babies. Most people don’t immediately think of giving a baby books as a present, but babies love them. Bright colourful pictures with a cuddle and what will, over time, become familiar rhythm and language. There are hundreds of books to choose from, but these are some of my favourites.

Anything from the – Thats not my…. range. They are bright, repetitive and tactile - what’s not to love!

Also the Stripy Horse range of board books, and of course the old favourite Meg and Mog

If you’re anything like me, buying kids gifts and presents, can be overwhelming. Even if you know what they like, the choice is vast and the price tags are large. Its hard enough buying for my own children, let alone their friends’ birthday party gifts. And don’t even get me started on the toy superstores, aisle upon aisle of brightly coloured, battery eating plastic, most of which they’d never play with and which cost a small fortune.

Over the last year we’ve made more visits to the toy superstores than I can remember, and most of the time we’ve come away with nothing. Even worse than leaving without any toys, is the toy superstore induced ‘hangover’ that the kids get. Over stimulated by the vast array of stuff, hugely disappointed at not being able to find anything and the fallout low from the massive adrenaline rush of being in the store. It was all too much for them and for me, so we decided to find an alternative that got them what they wanted without the ‘hangover’.

Over the months we’ve been building up a stash of great presents for their friends birthdays. And in the months that follow, we’ll continue to do the same for all age groups. Not only that we’ll let you know where to buy them without having to physically set foot inside the store.