We know you’ve been eagerly awaiting the second drop of our ultimate Christmas gifts for kids! It’s landed and we begin with presents for…
Sporty Kids
Junior Tennis Racquet & Balls from TennisHQ
What Is It:
With a huge range of everything you might need from the tennis pro to the tiny humans who are starting to learn and love tennis with something for everyone at every budget range. We found their buying guide hugely useful in knowing what to get and why, so we ended up getting our kids two junior Head Gravity racquets and balls which are perfect for children to start their tennis journey.
What We Thought:
With an introduction to tennis recently taught at their school the girls quickly knew what to do and so far we haven’t had any broken windows! The rackets are the perfect size for their little hands, making it easy for them to swing and connect with the balls. They love running around and cheering every time they manage to hit the ball over the makeshift net we set up. Roll on the summer where this will be a perfect way to entice the kids away from their screens and get outside.
Where To Buy It: Junior racquets start from £14.95 – https://www.tennishq.co.uk/collections/junior-kids-tennis-rackets
Pink SRF Stomper Adjustable Quad Rollerskates from skates.co.uk
What Is It:
Get ready to roll in style with the Pink SRF Stomper Adjustable Quad Rollerskates! These vibrant pink skates aren’t just a fashion statement—they’re built to be comfortable for small feet. With adjustable sizing, they’ll grow right along with your young skater, making them a perfect gift that lasts. Whether cruising down the sidewalk or gliding through the rink, these sturdy skates provide a smooth, fun ride with maximum support. Perfect for beginners and kids with the stabiliser wheel, low footbed and washable liner.
What We Thought:
It was barely 10 seconds before Starlight Express ended that the girls said they wanted skates and these pink ones are perfect. The wider rear axel means it didn’t take them too long to master the basics and quickly got their balance and confidence. I like how they can grow with the girls and will be used for a few years and was amazed at how quickly they learnt to take them on and off. The rear brakes help alleviate my fear of them not stopping and it brings me such joy to see them pottering around on them pretending their trains.
Where To Buy It: £38.95 from https://www.skates.co.uk/products/sfr-stomper-adjustable-quad-roller-skates-pink
Air Up Flavoured Drinks Bottle
What Is It:
A water bottle like no other, perfect for rehydrating after any activity or taking to school for a scent-flavoured sip. The Air Up is a unique hydration system designed to make drinking water more enjoyable by infusing flavour through scent rather than taste. Using their patented Scentaste™ technology, Air Up bottles allow users to drink plain water that tastes like fruit or soda simply by placing a flavour pod on the bottle’s top. With a variety of stylish bottles and flavour options, Air Up not only promotes healthier hydration habits but also offers a fun and sustainable alternative to sugary drinks, making it perfect for both kids and adults.
What We Thought:
The big playground hit, the girls have been going on and on about these and they sort of feel like magic. It’s amazing how the smell pods make the water taste, well, like the smell! We love the fun range of flavours and a good way to make sure our 5-year-old peach iced tea-obsessed girls get a sugar-free alternative. Since using the bottles we haven’t had to remind them to drink as often and they love the admin and autonomy of choosing their flavour.
Arts & Crafts
Scandiborn Inspire My Play Sensory PlayTRAY
What Is It:
Meet the Inspire My Play Sensory PlayTRAY by Scandiborn – the ultimate setup for sensory play! This versatile tray is designed to hold all kinds of play materials, from sand and water to rice and slime, with removable compartments to keep everything organized. Ideal for little hands, it encourages creative exploration and fine motor skills in a tidy, mess-friendly way. Whether for solo play or group fun, the PlayTRAY brings endless possibilities, making it a fantastic gift for curious minds and budding imaginations this holiday season!
What We Thought:
A beautiful Scandi-designed way to make messy play, less messy. From birth to mid-childhood we have found ourselves using it for all sorts of craft activities with the compartments allowing for easy organisation and making it all mess-free. We loved the fact the lid meant we didn’t have to tidy it all up if we planned to use it again and the accessory range for messy and art play is stylish, practical and perfect to encourage the imagination.
Where To Buy: £49.95 from https://www.scandiborn.co.uk/products/inspire-my-play-sensory-playtray
Princess Castle 3D Model Castle
What Is It:
Step inside a princess palace with this magical box set, featuring an enchanting pop-out-and-play model kit, as well as a handy guidebook to Chrystalia Castle. This gorgeous box set is a fairy-tale treasure trove – perfect for any little princess or prince who enjoys doll houses, model crafting and imaginative play!
The box folds out into an illustrated, pop-and-play model of a fairy-tale castle, sure to inspire young imaginations. The palace features 6 separate rooms over 3 floors, as well as a fold-out magical landscape of the castle grounds. Over 30 buildable models add to the fun, bringing a cast of magical characters to play with, including mermaids, knights, dragons, and of course Princess Merissa and her royal family! There are also plenty of background elements to bring the set to life, including trees, flowers, and royal pets!
What We Thought:
This was a surprise hit and did so much more than we expected. The box folded out into an illustrated pop-and-play model of a fairy tale castle with 6 different rooms. It captured our imagination as we built it and the girls love acting out stories with the characters.
Where To Buy It: £24.99 https://amzn.to/4hClRcM
Plus-Plus Puzzle By Number Christmas Wreath
What Is It:
Add some hands-on creativity to the holiday season with the Plus Plus Puzzle by Number! This 500-piece set combines fun, mini interlocking blocks with the challenge of “painting by number” to create a festive Christmas wreath. Perfect for kids and adults alike, these tiny blocks snap together to form a colourful 3D masterpiece, all while boosting spatial skills and sparking imaginative play. It’s a holiday craft project and a brain-teaser rolled into one – and once it’s done, you’ve got a fun decoration to show off!
What We Thought:
A delightful rainy afternoon activity in which we all got involved. The girls are now super proud to display the wreath they made but little do they know that by building it they’ve helped grow their fine motor skills and Christmas spirit!
Where To Buy It: £22.99 at amazon.co.uk and all good toy and gift stores.
Pati-School Party Creations Starter Kit
What Is It:
The Pati-School Party Creations Starter Kit is an exciting crafting adventure for kids, allowing them to create treat-inspired decorative crafts using special frosting-like pastes and unique craft bases. Originating from Japan, Pati-School emphasizes teaching children decorative techniques through fun, baking-themed collectables.
With two types of Pati-School pastes and six craft bases, kids can frost, decorate with colourful beads and rhinestones, and air-dry their creations to form lasting treasures like keychains, place card holders, or treasure boxes. Perfect for fostering creativity, this kit ensures safe, edible-looking fun that isn’t meant for eating.
What We Thought:
All the joy of icing biscuits without the sugar or mess! It brought the girls the same amount of pleasure but created something with the permanency of the toy. The pre-made pipping bags made it easy to set up and use and this felt like an innovative toy I’d not seen before. It wasn’t long before they started using their greetings for stuffed animal tea parties.
Where To Buy It: £19.99 from Smyths, The Entertainer, Very
Kinetic Sand SquishMotion
What Is It:
This delightful kit lets kids unleash their creativity as they layer, load, and squish colourful sand into fun shapes. With three vibrant colours of sand—pink, yellow, and blue—and five exciting tools including a stamper and crinkle cutter, children can create chomping sharks, smiling suns, and shooting stars that magically come to life on the squishy foam sand space. It’s all about imaginative play and the best part? The sand never dries out, ensuring endless fun and easy cleanup. Perfect for ages 5 and up, this set provides a tactile experience that will keep kids engaged for hours
What We Thought:
Another toy that, as an adult, you find yourself having as much fun as with the kids. It was fun and surprisingly calming just playing with the sand and the strange way it moves.
Where To Get It: £19.99 at Smyths
Santa’s Workshop
What Is It:
A delightful holiday activity set that combines storytelling with hands-on crafting! This enchanting kit includes a 32-page book filled with festive tales and illustrations, alongside six charming models and over 20 press-out pieces that children can use to create their 3D workshop scenes. It’s perfect for sparking creativity and imagination during the holiday season, providing a wonderful way for families to bond over crafting while immersing themselves in the magic of Christmas.
What We Thought:
Similar to the Princess Castle book we loved and sort of unlike anything else. A great mix of crafting and imagination play which we all sat around the table to create before the girls went off and played with it on their own.
Where To Buy It: £24.99 available at https://geni.us/SantasWorkshop
Make Art Book
What Is It:
The Make Art: 20+ Free-Play Art Projects to Create kit by Susie Hodge is an inspiring gift for young creatives, blending art education with hands-on fun. Featuring over 20 projects, the set introduces children to different art movements, from Impressionism to Pop Art, with easy-to-follow activities like collages, sculptures, and mini installations.
Kids can learn techniques inspired by famous artists while expressing their creativity. Complete with stencils, patterned paper, and other materials, it’s an ideal kit for budding artists ages 7 and up, encouraging them to explore art history through playful creation.
What We Thought:
A fantastic addition to our creative toolkit! My girls love flipping through its colourful pages, bursting with inspiring ideas and projects that spark their imaginations. Each activity is laid out and encourages them to explore different art techniques, from painting to collaging, making it perfect for both beginners and little artists looking to expand their skills.
Where To Buy It: £19.99 https://amzn.to/3UGfZWi
Christmas gifts for Imagination play
Le Toy Van Retro Showtime Toy Puppet Theatre
What Is It:
The stage is set for roleplay fun! Bring a bit of old-school magic to playtime with the Le Toy Van Retro Showtime Toy Puppet Theatre! This charming high-end wooden theatre is beautifully designed with a classic red curtain, chalkboard for showtimes, and a sturdy stage for little puppeteers to put on their best performances.
Perfect for sparking imaginative storytelling and creative play, it’s great for solo shows or playdates. A delightful throwback to traditional theatre, this puppet set will have kids crafting tales and creating characters in no time – and it’s bound to be the main attraction under the tree!
This amazing retro wooden puppet theatre toy is a real showstopper. With it’s unique nostalgic design and brightly painted exterior, crafted from durable, sustainable wood.
Little performers will adore this interactive toy, crammed with many realistic features to inspire imaginative learning. With a reversible sign, stage door and two chalkboards to display up-and-coming acts. For dramatic effect, we’ve included a pair of beautiful red stage drapes, a black backdrop curtain and a winding act curtain.
What We Thought:
An utterly beautiful toy which compliments your home rather than a plastic nasty thing you have to hide when guests come. From the moment we all had the beautiful packaging we knew this was going to be good. It feels like the highest quality with a freshly cut wood smell. The girls love playing with it and being able to write on the chalkboard, cut out and distribute tickets. They instantly started playing with it and haven’t stopped. This is the sort of bigger toy that you throw others away for.
Where To Buy It: £169.96 from https://letoyvan.co.uk/products/showtime-puppet-theatre?srsltid=AfmBOoobcO_iKFz9TB0n9Hn2EFTtltjVQm2TrSkti8xVL1AI_ReEGcTo
Connetix
What Is It:
Connetix is a dynamic brand known for its innovative and educational magnetic building tiles, designed to foster creativity and learning in children. Founded in Australia, the brand emphasizes open-ended play, allowing kids to explore their imagination while developing essential skills in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).
Connetix tiles come in various shapes and sizes, promoting hands-on learning experiences that enhance fine motor skills and spatial awareness. The products are safe, durable, and compatible with other magnetic tile brands, making them a versatile addition to any playroom. Perfect for young builders, Connetix tiles encourage collaborative play, problem-solving, and creativity, ensuring hours of engaging fun for children of all ages.
What We Thought:
A huge, huge hit. We love these tiles because they buy us hours of peace as the girls set about building their own little worlds, with everything from simple shapes to complex buildings and transport networks. The sturdy tiles are easy to clean up and store and just work. We’ve tried other tiles like this and they never properly stick, these do the job perfectly. If you’re looking for a toy that combines education and entertainment, Connectix is a fantastic investment that will inspire hours of creative building and exploration!
Where To Buy It: https://connetixtiles.com/
StoryDo
What Is It:
A hardcover book that tells your unique family story. Storydo books are bespoke hardcover books that tell the unique family story of the young child the book is for—from who their grandparents are, to who the child’s parents were as kids, how they met, wishes for the children, birth, milestones, cultural identity and family life. You make the book with the Storydo BookBuilder by answering questions and uploading photos and everything else is done for you.
What We Thought:
I’ll be honest, this one is a bit of an effort, but when you put the time in to make the book you end up with something truly special. You fill in the website and the design is done for you and it is a lot quicker and easier than any of those normal photobooks you make and an enjoyable process seeing what the technology did with my answers and pictures. What makes it truly special is how it’s something our girls love reading and looking at and brings memories alive. A great gift to get grandparents to buy for your little ones.
Where To Buy It: £69 for a high-quality, A4, hardcover book, typically containing between 60 and 90 pages from http://storydo.co.uk
Illumipedia
What Is It:
An engaging, interactive journey into the natural world, using a unique three-colour lens system to bring illustrations to life. Kids can explore different environments, from ocean depths to prehistoric landscapes, and view creatures like dinosaurs, insects, and animals across six continents.
Each coloured lens reveals new details, showing daytime animals, nocturnal species, and their habitats in vivid, layered perspectives. This beautifully designed book combines highlights from the popular “Illumi” series, making it an educational and visually stunning gift that will spark curiosity about nature’s wonders.
What We Thought:
Sort of like a kids’ coffee table book and a great way of making learning fun. The different coloured glasses reveal different things, meaning you get so much more out of this book and it made our kids want to read about the animals after finding their hidden pictures. I can’t wait for it to be useful with school topics and have been amazed at how it’s captured their attention.
Where To Buy It: £20.00 https://amzn.to/3YSOLyb
Poetry Play Kit
What Is It:
The Poetry Play Kit is a fun and creative way to introduce children to the art of poetry. This interactive set, designed for ages 6 to 9, combines over 500-word tiles, a poetry spinner, rhyming dominoes, and activity cards to help young poets play with language and explore poetic techniques like alliteration, metaphor, and rhyme. With 24 different activities, kids can try their hand at various poem styles, from acrostics to concrete poetry, fostering both creativity and literacy in a playful setting. Developed by the UK’s Children’s Poet Laureate, this kit is an ideal gift for nurturing a love of language and self-expression in kids.
What We Thought:
We have always enjoyed stories and rhymes, but this kit has taken their love for language to a whole new level. With its colourful cards and fun prompts, it encourages them to experiment with words and create their own poems, which they find both exciting and hilarious.
Where To Buy It: £14.99 https://amzn.to/3YTjriw
Paddington & Santa Glove Puppets
What Is It:
The Paddington Movie Hand Puppet and Santa Father Christmas Long-Sleeved Hand Puppet from Puppets by Post are made with quality craftsmanship, ensuring they are not only visually appealing but also durable for endless imaginative fun. The Paddington features detailed, lifelike elements like a red hat, blue coat, and even Paddington’s suitcase whilst Santa captures the jolly essence of the big man with a festive long-sleeved design, a fluffy beard, and his signature red suit.
What We Thought:
With our beautiful new puppet theatre, we needed beautiful puppets and these were wonderful. High quality and beautifully made, they manage to be comfortable for both big and little hands and we’ve enjoyed many a performance of when Paddington went to see Father Christmas. Spoiler alert, he wants Marmalade as his big gift this year.
Where To Buy It: From £14.99 at https://puppetsbypost.com/
