Stuck on what to buy this year? Take a read through our top picks for children aged 5-8 years…
Hot Wheels Action Sky Crash Tower
For some fast action, this tower is the ultimatemotorised crashing and racing track that allows multiple cars to stunt and race together. At an impressive 2ft tall, it can hold up to 20 vehicles making it a great set for any child that loves to play with cars. Priced £54.99 from Smyths
VTech Kidicom Advance
Fed up of sharing your phones, iPads and other technology devices?! For a safe way for children to play games, take photos and browse the internet, this device features all the popular elements of a tablet. Aimed specifically at children, it is easy to navigate and has oodles of fun features and games that kids will love, and all with assurance of built in security to protect children’s online safety. Priced £119.99 from Smyths.
Childs Farm Washbag Gift Set
The award winning British children’s skincare brand has launched two new sets for youngsters. Available in a tractor or unicorn option, this cute washbag features a couple of faves including the Organic Raspberry Bubble Bath and the cleansing Sweet Orange Oil Hair and Body wash to leave hair shiny and tangle free – a great addition to the bath time routine this Christmas. The cute wash bags are a spin on an adult version that will leave little ones feeling grown up and can be used time and time again. Priced £10 from www.childsfarm.com
Scoot & Ride Highway Kick 3 LED Scooter
A great set of wheels that has the longevity to last for years, this scooter offers up a smooth ride for children to zip about. It’s not only practical with lots of adaptable features such as height and foldable handlebars, but it also looks pretty cool! Available in several stylish colours, the pink caught our eye, but they all have extra special LED flashing wheels. Priced £79 from www.kidly.co.uk
Aloka Colour & Shine Nightlight
A crafty gift that promotes creativity as children can decorate their own nightlight, a welcome feature to try and promote calmer evenings after the excitement of the festive season. Choose from 17 different designs that can be coloured in with five special dry pens that can also be erased to allow new creations to be created over and over. Priced £9.99 from www.cheekyrascals.co.uk
Play Tepee, Space Explorer
Get creative with a special space under the stars in your own home with this intergalactic tepee creation. Holding pride of place in a bedroom or playroom, it features a pocket window for a view as they blast off into space. The 100% cotton canvas is quick and easy to pop up and put away, a fantastic gift for imaginative young minds. Priced £75 from www.gltc.co.uk
Osmo Coding Kit
They say that coding is one of the key skills of STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths), so new to Osmo’s line up is this kit that introduces youngsters to coding via hand on games. Linked with an iPad or Kindle Fire, the coding adventure encourages children to navigate colourful physical blocks with the online tablet learning that cleverly builds in terms of complexity with new concepts such as sequencing and problem solving as your child works through the levels. Priced £99.99 from www.playosmo.com
Speed Ball
This revolutionary new football has a built in speedometer that measures the speed of a kick up to a speedy 100kph. Budding footballers can challenge themselves and reap the rewards of the cheers as the interactive ball records the pace of each kick from the starting base. Priced £24.99 from Smyths.
Kids Christmas PJs
With the cooler temperatures and winter evenings drawing in, there’s nothing quite like snuggling into a cosy pair of PJs and these Polarn O Pyret are perfect for getting into the festive spirit. Featuring a unisex winter fair isle pattern, they range from aged 1 to 12 years so ideal for siblings that enjoy matching togs. The 95% organic cotton is super soft and features foldable cuffs for extra growing room. Priced £26 from www.polaropyret.co.uk
Junior Colourbrain
New this year is this game that piggy backs on to the original Colourbrain. Packed with over 100 fun trivia questions where all the answers are colours, it is suitable for those from around aged six with lots of quirky questions that will make children and adults alike challenge their own opinions. The game is simple to play and has a fab topic range. It’s also a compact gift so if you’re going away this Christmas, a handy travel item to take with you. Priced £10 from www.bigpotato.com
Melissa & Doug Scoop and Service Ice Cream Counter
Add some cool treats to the role-play collection with this this fun ice cream set. Featuring lots of different pieces to mix and match, kids can create assorted ice creams with toppings that affix together for lots of tasty combinations that mimic real life. Like all Melissa & Doug timeless products, the set only features the highest quality wooden materials that are all meticulously painted that are testament to the years of play. Priced £39.99 from John Lewis.
I Love You More Than Christmas
A super special twist on a magical Christmas tale, this rhyming book can be personalised to feature up to four children as they go on a festive adventure together. The novel is part of Wonderbly’s range of customisable books, with some great new Christmas stories that can all be personalised with character descriptions and names. Priced £21.99 from www.wonderbly.com
Children’s Chocolate Making Activity Kit
Is there anything more fun than making and indulging in a delicious chocolate treat?! This special box is filled with the ingredients and recipe cards to provide hours of fun to create four tasty, chocolate-y delights. A great present to enjoy crafty time with children together, or perhaps for family members to do from afar online. Priced £19.95 from www.choc-affair.com
Hot Wires
Discover the inner workings of plus and play electronics with this kit that opens up a world of electronic experiments. Simply snap the components together to activate the circuit board and once you have mastered this, you can continue to build adding inthings such as resistors, bulbs and LEDs for more complex circuits that support critical and logical thinking skills. Priced £50 from Argos.
