2017 Christmas Gift Guide

17th November 2017 Uncategorised

Can you believe that it’s now only just over 5 weeks until Christmas? Now that Halloween and Bonfire Night are over, we are full steam ahead for the countdown to the big day. If you hadn’t already gotten the idea I LOVE Christmas and love to spend time choosing the perfect gifts for my family and friends and then spending a ridiculous amount of time wrapping them all to make them look beautiful, all ready to be destroyed Christmas morning.

As we are now getting so close, I wanted to start a little ‘Festive Friday’ feeling on the lead up to the big day full of gift ideas, crafts, table and wrapping ideas each week to name but a few. This week we’re starting with a Gift Guide.

Not just any gift guide though: one that is specifically aimed at toddlers and preschoolers. It’s basically the bits I have come across in my research that I think my kids will love and therefore I hope in turn, yours may too. And if you’re lucky and stay tuned until the very end, they’re may even be a handful of ideas for some mummy and daddy treats too.

FOR THE CHILD WHO WON’T SLEEP

Unless you have been living on another planet, then you will know that the Danish way of doing things is worth considering. Think ‘Hygge’ and parenting, it seems that bedtime and sleep is next on the agenda. The Children’s Meditations in My Heart by Gitte Winter Graugaard is a collection of meditations designed to help children drift off to sleep. Recently translated into English,  The Children’s Meditations in My Heart is now available in the UK and can be found on Amazon for £9.24 (paperback) or £14.95 (hardcopy). Beautifully written with stunning illustrations, this is perfect for parents like me who are willing to try something new in the battle for a good nights sleep.

FOR THE CHILD WHO LOVES ANIMALS

I love the concept of this as it really is so much more than ‘just’ a toy. The Utopia 360° Virtual Reality bundle is a STEM based learning product for children. You download an app on your phone, place your phone into the VR headset, look at the AR flashcards and simply watch as they come to life. Packed full of educational features such as learning names, spellings and sounds, there are 3 bundles to choose from: animal zoo, space exploration and dinosaur experience meaning that there is an option to suit every child. The Utopia 360° retails at £29.99 and is available on Shopping Nation. We went for the animal zoo as the Bear loves animals and I know will love seeing these come to life.

FOR THE CHILD WHO WANTS TO EXPLORE

The Hape Street Surfer is perfect for smaller kids who want to scoot. With an extra wide wheel base and skateboard style wooden deck, it provides a little more stability compared to others on the market. This makes it the perfect option for children just starting out in kick scooting to allow them to develop their balance and work on both their confidence and their speed! Available on Amazon, the Street Surfer is currently online for £59.56.

FOR THE CHILD WHO LIKES TO READ

Once Upon a Time: A Timeless Collection of Fairy Tales is a collection of 12 classic stories. The difference here though is that they come with a twist as each one is beautifully illustrated and personalised to the child. Encased in a purple hardback cover which is embossed with gold, this is a storybook that’s more than a little special and would sit proudly on the bookcase to be enjoyed for years to come. Available from the Find Me A Gift website, this personalised book of fairytales retails at £29.99.

FOR THE CHILD WHO IS DINOSAUR MAD

Many children go through a toy phase be it babies, cars or dinosaurs. Luckily for the latter there is a towel which is perfect for the occasion. This Dinosaur Hooded Towel is super cute and snuggly and boasts a spongy 3D head, eyes, and jagged spikes down its back. A hood for the head and pockets for the hands, this is a perfect way to make bathtime fun and allow kids to have a ROARsome time (do you see what I did there?!) – the Little Monkey may not be able to talk yet but he knows the sound that a dinosaur makes! This towel available at Find Me A Gift and retails at £19.99.

FOR THE CHILD WHO HAS RHYTHM

What preschooler doesn’t love noise? I know my little man does. The Hape Stacking music set encourages children to make their own music and explore the sounds that they can make. Each sturdy wooden block is home to a different instrument for optimum choice (sorry for that!). These blocks build up for additional fun, and also pack away as the ultimate space saver. I know the Monkey is going to love this on Christmas morning and will have a fight on his hands once the Bear sees it too! The music set is £29.99 and available from Amazon.

FOR THE CHILD WHO WANTS TO FEED THEMSELVES

You know the stage: they are full weaned and suddenly demand that they feed themselves despite having a distinct lack of coorindation. This is where Doddl cutlery comes in. Designed specifically for children, it is designed to offer a natural progression from baby-led weaning and works with a childs natural grip. Available from the Doddl website and retailing at £16.95, this cultery set is perfect for children who are currently getting more food on themselves of the walls than in their mouths. I for one am hoping that it will save my carpets a little.

FOR THE CHILD READY TO BALANCE

Although not for our Christmas as it was given to us for a review in the summer, but I wanted to share this one with you anyway just because it’s so loved in our house. The Toddlebike2 is a pre-balance bike and bridges that gap between sit on walker and a bike and is the perfect first step towards independent riding. Originally I thought it would be for the little man, but in practice it’s been the Bear that literally plays with it every day. It’s taken her a while but she’s gotten so confident and using it and now picks up some speed on it. The Toddlebike retails at £23.95 and is available online from the Toddlebike website. The team are also offering an additional 10% discount on the total order from their website using the code BLOG17. You can read my full review here.

So those are some of my ideas for the kids. However, in this gift guide I didn’t want to forget the parents, afterall we also deserve a little treat after all that shopping, wrapping, cooking and planning which comes with Christmas. So, here are a few ideas for the mummies and daddies from their little Christmas angels.

FOR THE ORGANISED PARENT

Bags of Love have a wide range of photo gifts available. I personally loved this 2018 diary which is week to view plus additional calendar, information, address book and map sections. Perfect for the parent who needs to keep track of their time as well as who needs to be where and when. Anyone who knows me, also knows I swear by my paper diary and I love that this one is so personalised. Bags of Love photo diaries are available from £30.

FOR THE ADVENTUROUS PARENT

Introducing the Wonderbag….yes it looks a little odd but this is basically a non-electric heat-retention cooker. How it works it that you put together a one pot meal – think casseroles, stews etc – bring it to the boil using conventional methods and then transfer to the Wonderbag. It will continue to cook you meal for up to 12 hours without the use of additional fuel. Perfect for things such as camping, outdoor adventures and I have been assured that you can make a cracking leftover Christmas dinner stew with it. It even comes with its own little recipe book for inspiration and retails at £35.

FOR THE STYLISH PARENT

Nothing is a better treat at Christmas than something you just wouldn’t buy for yourself. As parents we are often the worst for doing that – finding money for whatever the kids needs, but never ourselves. Therefore what’s a more perfect time to really treat our partner to something stylish. I love this tweed jacket by Dobell which is the perfect mix of modern style with traditional tailoring. The Dobell Light Brown Small Check Tweed Jacket is currently on sale for £59.99 (40% off).

FOR THE PLANET FRIENDLY PARENT

For those people who really do already have it all, this is a gift with a difference. TRINE is a Swedish-based crowdfunding platform which asks people to invest in a solar energy project. This is not only an investment with a return of up to 6%, but that investment is at the same time working to save the planet and support businesses and families who live in off-grid areas. Investment starts from £25 and the campaign you wish to invest in can be selected on the TRINE website.

 

DISCLAIMER: this post may contain affiliate links. I was also provided with some of these items in return for my honest review. As always though, all opinions expressed are my own along with the decision to include them in this review.