The third of my Christmas gift guides is for the older children your family. This age can be difficult to buy for, especially if you are trying to find something that isn’t merchandise for the latest big film or video game release. But there are plenty of great products out there that will keep any older child occupied for hours.
For more inspiration please check out my gift guides for teenagers and younger children.
Moochies for Kids
If your anything like me, you will worry about where your child is whenever they leave your house. LV is of the age now where he disappears off on his bike or scooter and often looses track of time and rarely has his phone on him. The Moochies watch solves this problem bynot only being a phone, your child can phone two preset numbers and can be contacted by ten. But it also has a gps tracker so as a parent you can see exactly where they are and even get contacted if they go outside of the predetermined ‘safe zone’. There are four designs so there is something that will suit every one.
4×4 Salt Water Engine Car Kit
Construction kits are always high on the list when I’m looking for Christmas presents. This impressive looking car needs to be put together before adding a few drops of salt water to get the wheels turning. This is a simple and fun way to encourage engineering skills and also teach children about clean, alternative energy.
Kano Computer and Coding Kit
I wish I had found this kit before Santa had finished buying everything on a certain young lad’s Christmas list. This kit comes with everything you need to build a computer (apart from the screen) and even start to learn coding, a vital skill for any child growing up in this day and age. Kids love computers and playing games so getting to build their own games is a real winner in my eyes and to them it will seem like nothing but fun, which is brilliant!
Dining Table Ping Pong Set
Even the least sporty child will find it hard not to enjoy a game of ping pong. I myself can’t hit the ball for toffees due to a major lack of hand eye coordination, yet I still enjoy trying. Unfortunately a table tennis table is huge and completely impractical to have in a normal sized house, but this dining table set has everything you need to enjoy a game of ping pong, from the net right down to the wrist bands, and it all packs away into a sturdy red tin. This will be a real winner while the grown ups are snoozing off their turkey dinner.
Santa and Friends Paint your own Mug
What is Christmas day, without a Christmas craft to wile away some time while dinner is cooking? This mug set comes preprinted with a festive image and your child uses the special paints provided to jazz it up. You can bring it back out year after year as their very own special Christmas Mug.
The Art of Children’s conversation Game
This is a great little game, which helps develop communication skills simply by getting kids talking. Packaged in a small box it’s handy to keep in the car and hand luggage if you are travelling. It consists of a pack of cards, each printed with various questions and conversation starters aimed at getting kids to think about their answers. All mine join in when we play, although a game often takes hours because the kids keep expanding on the original question. O, who granted is a little young for the game only ever answers by putting his finger to his chin and saying ‘Ummmmm. Two!’ which is hilarious.
I’m sure you can agree that all these would be great gifts for your children who are too old for kids toys, yet not quite at the teenage stage yet!
Disclaimer: I was sent a few items on this list to review, these were items I requested and thought would be great gifts.
