December is a busy month. Father Christmas, Santa Clause, Saint-Nicolas and Sinterklaas all have to do their shopping. We all want happy children, and we all want to buy things they actually use and play with.
So here is a list of gift ideas that I can recommend.
- Lego. Our boys play with Lego most of their time. Last year they started moving from Duplo to the smaller Lego and it continues to be a hit. Lego has it all, whatever their interest is, from shops to dinosaurs, from racing cars to houses and castles. Sinterklaas will give the boys the Frozen Castle this year. A big present for them together.
- Books! Books last a life time and good stories can be reread many times. First you read them to your kids and soon they will be reading them by themselves. This year we read a lot of Roald Dahl, Fantastic Mr Fox for instance was a big hit. But all the books by Julia Donaldson remain popular, for instance The snail and the whale. And my last book tip: Winnie the Witch by Valerie Thomas; there are many stories available.
- A marble run. Not that easy to build, even for a grown-up… But this is something that can easily entertain children for quite a while. This is the set we have: Marble Run
- A family game. For instance the games that I blogged about before here Kroko Loko and Bus Stop. But other games that work here already are games from an assorted game box like Snakes and Ladders and Checkers, and of course the game Who is it?
- A secret diary. They may or may not be writing some letters already, but writing secret messages will always appeal to children. These diaries come with a pen and UV light and of course a tiny little lock. This is the one I found Frozen Secret Diary. (And yes, our boys have a Frozen crush too!)
For smaller presents I often go to Action, where you can find many craft ideas (note to self: do not get the glitter sets again…) like colouring books, sticker books, empty cards to make your own, paint, glue etc.