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So…have you got that slime out of your carpet yet?
Thrown out the old fidget spinners?
Hoovered up the last of the loom bands?
You never know what might spring up as the next must-have toy or playground craze (you’d be rich if you did!). These toys are driven by popularity – once they fall out of fashion, they disappear to the back of the toy cupboard never to be seen again.
If you can’t or prefer not to buy these toys, you may be worried about managing your child’s expectations – our article about what to do if you can’t get the ‘big Santa present’ can help with that.
Instead, doing your research will help you find toys that are good in their own right, and aren’t just on your child’s Christmas list because ‘that’s what my friend is getting’!
"Trying toys out before buying them is a great way of testing to see if they're five minute wonders. Some retailers provide opportunities to see the toys in action and ideally see children playing with them - it doesn't take long to gauge whether the toy has any long-term play value."
Science, technology, engineering and maths education (also known as STEM) has been a hot topic the last few years, because these subjects give children valuable skills – like problem solving and critical thinking – that they can use in many careers as well as day-to-day life.
If you’ve got a youngster who loves learning about new things, but you struggle with project ideas, consider gifting them a First Wonder Box. It’s packed with activities on all sorts of themes, from dinosaurs and bugs to ancient Egypt. Plus, it’s not just for Christmas – you can pick up a four, six, or 10-month subscription to keep the activities flowing all year round, delivered straight to your door every fortnight.
The children were really excited with the first arrival of their boxes through the post. From the moment they opened it, the activities kept the children interested and they kept coming back to the box to complete each activity. Our testers also thought they were much better than a cheap magazine. The children found the majority of the activities easy and needed little to no help. The reading and writing elements of the activities needed adult help for the younger children.
The First Wonder Box had a good element of educational learning within it, with reading, writing and science activities. Everything needed to complete each activity was also included in the box so there was no need to go out and spend money on additional things. It also included “well done” stickers which were a hit with all the children.
One of the benefits the adults liked were the low/no plastic element and that it targeted both girls and boys. They also thought it would make a great gift. In addition, it would be great to take away on trips and holidays as it is very compact
Puzzles are also very rewarding and mastering each level is a great confidence builder. Look out for puzzles that have lots of different levels to tackle, so your child can keep challenging their skills further. Similarly, consider board games that take a bit of strategy, while offering a fun competitive element.
For children who prefer less structured play, construction toys are really popular and give children the chance to think and learn at their own pace. A few good construction toys, like Classic Confetti, can encourage lots of open-ended play that gets your child experimenting with ideas and solving problems.
Geomags are a brilliant construction toy that not only allow children to get creative, but also teaches them about the science of magnets – an area covered in Key Stage 2. There is a range of shapes and we like how children have the opportunity to construct 3D shapes, adding to their mathematical knowledge and understanding, as well as building fine motor control and dexterity. With adult input they could be encouraged to name different shapes and discuss their different features (aiding knowledge required as part of the Key Stage 2 curriculum).
The ideas book is a good addition and the children enjoyed following it – it was interesting to see how they approached the constructions and how they assessed their progress and overcame any problems. This promotes logic and problem solving which is important for STEM learning (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and also approaching more complex concepts. As well as following the book, the children could also make their own creations which allowed them to express themselves creatively – learning through imaginative play.
Small world play is wonderful for keeping children’s imaginations active as they get older. Small characters and playsets like Sylvanian Families let children act out stories and events that have happened to them, helping them to make sense of thoughts and feelings. The Red Roof Country Home (complete with working lights!) offers lots of space for make-believe play and is large enough for friends and siblings to share.
The Red Roof Country Home is lovely and bright and is fantastic for encouraging imaginative play, the superfood of the balanced play diet. It was easy to set up and our testers quickly added in other toys and other Sylvanian houses to extend their role play. Playing with sets like these helps to develop storytelling skills as children verbalise their play – this helps with their progress to writing down their own stories.
Some of the rooms are removable, meaning the children could swap and change the way they wanted the house, or even extend it to three levels. This further encourages their creativity and gives them ownership over the way they decide to layout and play with the set.
Arts and crafts can be really satisfying and give children a way to show off their emerging identity. Craft sets are a great way to introduce children to new art skills – they might even discover a passion for something new. Airfix Quickbuild, for example, is an exciting introduction to model building; the pieces simply push together and can be decorated with stickers, to create a fabulous model they can display, or play with!
The Quickbuild BAE Hawk is great for improving children’s dexterity and hand-eye coordination as they put together the model plane. We found it a good way of encouraging the children to follow instructions and use logical thinking to build the model (and take it apart!). Our testers found the instructions easy to follow and were able to build the plane independently.
Once the plane was built, our testers added it to their lego constructions and flew it over their cars and houses, pretending to fire missiles. This made it fantastic for adding to their imaginative play, helping to build vocabulary and storytelling skills. The plane itself is quite robust, and we found even if it broke apart during play, it was easily reassembled.
(Review of the Quick Build BAE Hawk)
Overcoming pester power isn’t always easy, especially when your child seems to have their heart set on one particular toy. But there are many great toys out there, so you’ve got plenty to choose from!
We’ve picked out a few of our favourites in the Christmas Good Toy Guide. Simply click on the toy to read a full review online, including ratings for play value as well as an overview of the skills the toy can help your child develop.
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