Christmas Gift Guide for Children

What is on your child’s Christmas wish list this year? We have picked a selection of things that may give you some alternatives to consider.

	Playmobil Carrying Case £9.99  www.playmobil.co.uk Do your children ever want to carry on playing, even when you are trying to get them out of the door? Well the clever folk at Playmobil have taken their ever popular characters and put them into carry cases and they get a big thumbs up from our mini reviewers, who have continued to enjoy playing even in the car! They are suitable for children aged 4-10 and at less than £10, make the perfect stocking filler this Christmas.
	Think Words game £19.99 www.amazon.co.uk This fast paced game is great fun for all the family. It takes seconds to learn how to play but gives you hours of fun. If you want something that gets your children’s brains working without them realising, then this is the perfect gift.
	Jelly Fun Jelly Slush Maker £17.99 Available from Toys R Us, Smyths, Amazon and more! If your children love jelly then they will LOVE making fruity, jelly, slushy cocktails with this fun jelly slush maker! All you have to do is spoon in one colour/flavour into each of the 3 compartments in the carousel and load into the dispenser. (we recommend an adults helping hand with this!) then just keep repeating, building up layers of colour and flavours. Our mini reviewers *may* have made a bit of a mess while making their slush drinks but it was great fun and kept them entertained. They are trying jelly gummies next!
	Blo Pens Super Activity Set £19.99 Available from Toys R Us, Smyths, Tesco, Amazon and more! The BLO pens Super Activity Set includes 14 BLO pens, 14 stencils, a workstation and 10 sheets. BLO pens have caps that are washable and interchangeable. They use non-toxic ink and are completely safe for children to use. So what did our reviewers think? All you need to do is place a stencil on a sheet of paper and blow through the pen to see your colourful drawing appear. You can use the BLO pens to make lines or circles, and create different effects by blowing harder or softer. As mums, we love that this set comes with a case, to make clearing away the mess MUCH easier! So it gets a thumbs up from the children and mums too!
	Poochi and Co £19.99 – Available from Amazon Now we have to admit that they are cute. They have been seen on all the major shows in America and are coveted by mini style icons. The adorable doggy handbag has a handy shoulder strap and the dog even has a collar and name tag. The bag itself isn’t particularly big but then again, what 6 year old carries a lot in her handbag??? Not suitable for children under 36 months.
	Mad Hatter Chronicles puzzles From are £12.95 from Amazon If you know a boy aged from 6-10 the chances are they’ve watched the Matt Hatter Chronicles on tv, it’s one of those all action kids shows where Matt is the hero who goes on yet another quest each week. These puzzles depict the show really well and the 3D effect is very cool, especially through 3D glasses that come free. It’s great quality and being highly durable, it’s fun even for small fingers. We loved the ‘Defenders’ 200 piece and the ‘Bring it on’ 500 piece puzzles, being in 3D the kids were engaged for longer than a normal puzzle as they were so keen to see how it looked in the end. Really great to see Matt Hatter Merchandise!
	Zed the Zombie £19.99 – www.argos.co.uk Zed is a great game for those children that think games are not cool any more! Zed is super cool and not as easy as he looks to play with. Players simply activate the timer on the base unit and then race against the clock to put Zed’s body parts and accessories back on him. Putting the parts on Zed can be tricky, so it needs a little patience but a great idea for those looking for a different kind of gift.
	Remote Control Nano quad micro quadrocopter Around £28 – Amazon What a great stocking filler this is! Remote control toys can often be big and expensive which means an RC toy may be a child’s main present at Christmas but being so compact it’s perfect to fit in Santa’s sleigh. It can be taken anywhere too, our young tester had in the car on many trips although we had to draw the line at school. Although on bring a toy day at Christmas maybe, I’m sure his teacher will love this whizzing around the room. Having said that it’s a really cool grown up toy so I think his teacher will actually love it. It’s really well made, and incredibly light and takes about half an hour to fully charge.
	Maisey & Daisy decorate your own pencil case £7.99 – WHSmith This very cute little craft kit has iron on transfers, fabric paint and pretty flower gemstones to create a pencil case any little girl will want to show off. It was suggested to us that this could be suitable for boys but our small male reviewer preferred some of the other games. The kit was easy to use and at a very reasonable £7.99, it makes an ideal stocking filler this Christmas.
	Peppa Pig Aquarium www.tetra.net If your child wants a pet this Christmas, why not consider a fish!! You could get double brownie points by investing in a Peppa Pig aquarium too! We are big fans of Peppa Pig in our house, so this definitely encourages the little ones to get involved with looking after the new little fishes. We would recommend getting this delivered because it comes with everything you need to set up your tank, unfortunately this makes it quite heavy, so let the delivery man bring it in the house for you. Have fun with your fishes.
	Radio Control Jumbo Inflatable Despicable Me 2 Minion from Bladez Toyz – £29.99 www.argos.co.uk You cannot escape the attraction of the Minions, so why not bring an interactive 2ft tall Stuart or Dave into your house this Christmas? This inflatable radio controlled ‘Minion’ includes an easy to use handset, allowing him to move in all directions and perform fun 360 degree spins. We have had much hilarity chasing our minion and we would say he has been enjoyed by the “big” boys as much as the little ones! Not suitable for children under 36 months.
	The Whimsy Wood Book Series Prices vary – amazon.co.uk We love that this series of 35 (yes 35!!) books is written by a mum of three. Sarah Hill is a children’s author and she wrote each book specifically for a month in the calendar, so the flora and fauna within the wood, change as you read through the series. We also particularly love that 10% of book sales is donated to The Wildlife Trusts, UK. So if your 5-8 year old is looking for a new book to read, these adorable stories each have a positive message and may just be what they are looking for.