It can be difficult trying to think of different gift ideas at Christmas time so here are a few of our favourite ideas for you!
The Box-Ed Subscription Box
Box-Ed boxes are designed by teachers to give screen free activities that are fun, engaging and educational too! We have tried out their boxes and they are excellent! A great mix of activities-creative, active, engaging and great learning cards too.
The boxes are designed for the age of your child with appropriate items and puzzles. There are educational puzzles lovingly printed on brown recyclable card and all the answers are in an envelope!
Things you may expect are books, Lego, crafts, baking, outdoor fun, sensory items, and excellent learning challenges.
A subscription is a great idea to provide a gift throughout the year and help keep kids away from screens too!
Click here for The Box-Ed Subscription Boxes
Yoto Player
This is one of the best gift ideas I would recommend! We love books and stories and the children listen to their Yoto player every single day. You purchase cards to play on the player and there is also loads of free media to listen to including daily podcasts and radio! Read our full review for all you need to know here!
There is a brilliant range of Yoto cards from Roald Dahl to instrumental, mindfulness and Phonics.
Click here for a discount on your Yoto order!
Tales by Mail
We are big book fans and this is a wonderful subscription box! It is hard finding new books and authors to try so it is so nice to be able to try recommended books that we wouldn’t have ordinarily found!
The books we received in the November box have been amazing and with all the extra activities such as book reviews and challenges to complete (where you can send off for a special badge!) The box includes a special message from the Authors and we even received the author’s autographs! There are other goodies for book fans including a joining cloth badge, bookmarks, badges and postcards too.
I definitely recommend this as a great way to try new books and authors and with the wonderful insights from the authors, brilliant.
Click here for Tales by Mail. Use “normum5” for a discount too.
Gloworm Festival Tickets
Gloworm Festival is the highlight of our year! It really is a fantastic festival for the whole family, see our full review for all you need to know-Gloworm Festival.
Gloworm Festival 2022 is the 14th and 15th August 2021 and there is an incredible line up! There is music, dancing and loads of fun! There are children’s favourite characters and TV personalities, CBeebies, loads of amazing music all day and into the evening, crafts, baking, workshops, a fairground, a circus, meet and greet, a farm, a beach, Playmobil, food, drink, you name it it is there! Also you can camp so you can you can enjoy the full weekend of activities at this awesome festival either in your own tent or enjoy a bit of glamping!
Click here to go to Gloworm Festival and book your tickets!
Mindful Champ-My Mindful Journal
This is such a lovely journal for children as it so well led for them to write down their activities, thoughts and feelings for the day. It is a great discussion point at the end of the day and is full of positivity! There is loads of information at the front of the diary to help and it is very engaging for children to make it a joy to fill in.
Click here for website and use “Justanormalmum10” for discount
Natural Play Make Up
This is a lovely way for children to play with make up as there comes a time when they are interested and fancy trying it themselves. I am wary of the children not growing up too fast and using make up but it is inevitable they will want to try and play with it, and this is a lovely small business that is all about the sparkle, fun and no chemical nasties!
The products use natural minerals, butters and oils and won’t block the pores of the skin. Their nail polishes are water based, vegan and fragrance free. The make up also only has hints of colour to make sure it is more natural for children. As well as the Younger children range they also have a Junior range for children as they grow, still maintaining the natural quality ingredients of the make up.
The make up pots are also made from recycled paper to be kinder to the environment. A company that is kind on the skin and the environment.
Click here to go to the website
The EasyRead Time Teacher watch
The EasyRead Time Teacher method for telling the time couldn’t be easier! There is a very simple three step method to reading the time on their special watches and clocks. It is easy to explain and easy to understand, my daughter got it straight away!
This is a great present for children learning to tell the time!
Click here for EasyRead Time Teacher Watch
Click here for EasyRead Time Teacher Alarm Clock
Oddboo Bunnies
These unique bunnies and their clothes are all handmade. Designed by the lady owner and made supporting women across the world. We love our Big and Baby Boo Bunnies and they have the most amazing wardrobe!
Each Boo comes with their own pyjamas and an outfit depending which Boo you choose. Once you have a Boo Bunny you can add to their wardrobe with seasonal clothes, superhero costumes, pyjamas, bags, shoes….. our children really love their bunnies and the clothes make great presents and rewards for them!
You can also buy drawstring bags to take them with you on adventures as they will have to go everywhere with you!
Oddboo also seek the most beautiful and quality handmade Kikoy towels and shawls, again supporting the lady makers. I would highly recommend them, we have both and the towel especially is huge, hooded and amazing quality.
Click here for the Oddboo Website
Keen Ridge Flex Boots
These really are well designed and extremely well made walking boots!
The boots are designed to flex when you walk so they take less energy to walk in and are less likely to crack and wear over time. It is great for little ones as tough boots can be so hard for them to walk in.
These boots are waterproof (we definitely tested this!) and breathable, we found the outer leather dries very quickly and they are totally waterproof! They are easy fastening for little hands with a toggle and Velcro strap. The boots also have additional heel capture for extra stability.
I love the protected toe area which is great for kids who love to clamber over rocks and kick stones to stop the toe area wearing away!
They have a multi-directional pattern on the base for extra grip and stability, this has been well tested clambering and running in them!
The Keen ridge flex boots are awesome! With the ridge flex and grip they are ideal for clambering and plenty of walking, they are waterproof and well made to be extremely durable for little ones who are only thinking about fun and adventure!
Learning Resources Blazer the Dragon/Skye the Unicorn
This robot is great to play and learn with. You can plan little routes for Botley, direct him around obstacles, collect items by inputting the moves into a hand held remote which sends the instructions to Botley. As he follows out your instructions he makes cute little noises and sounds as he goes! There is also a follow the line option too and within the instructions are some moves to try to get Botley to say secret messages!
A great fun and educational toy! You can choose various pack options-just the robot or with the extra items such as obstacles and there is a new Botley model out now too.
Click here for Blazer the Coding Dragon
Click here for Skye the coding Unicorn
Global Wakecup
Global Wakecup have sustainable items for the home including mugs, water bottles, toothbrushes, vegan backpacks, all to help reduce plastic waste and impact on the environment. They use sustainable bamboo resources and look great too!
They have so many great products to take a look at including organic night mist, shampoos, massage oil, vegan make up, vegan food wraps, handmade vegan candles, natural refill label cleaning products, it’s all there and some wonderful eco conscious gift ideas.
10% of the profits from every sale are donated to the Marine Conservation Society to support their vital work protecting marine habitats and campaigning and against plastic pollution.
Click here to go to Global Wakecup
The Bike Club
Christmas can be a time for new bikes, and there can also be pressure to get new expensive bikes for the children, that’s where The Bike Club is a brilliant idea!
You can choose a bike from an excellent selection of quality brands on their website, there are bikes for all ages and abilities from balance bikes to road bikes. As your child grows you simply exchange if for the next size of bike, no having to buy a new bike! Perfect!
The Bike Club also have all the bike accessories you will need too including helmets, lights and safety wear!
Toastd Kits
Toasting marshmallows is a campfire must do! These kits from ToastdKits include everything you need, Marshmallows, skewers, dipping chocolate and the all important stove.
The stove tin you simply remove the lid and light the stove fuel, so easy and safer for little ones than a big open fire. When you have finished you just put the lid back in and save the fuel for the next time, ours lasted for so many toastings!
The marshmallows are the tastiest marshmallows I have ever tried and the Belgian chocolate is so delicious.
They are ideal kits for camping or fun in the garden at home! Everything is great quality and well put together, these kits would make great gifts!
Union Roasted Coffee
We have been very fortunate to try the Union Roasted coffee and all delivered through your door! You can give a gift subscription which would be a great present for coffee lovers!
Union Roasted work with smallholder farmers around the world to ensure great quality coffee and improve the farmers livelihoods. The coffee is all hand roasted and a great selection of flavours; they have Christmas roasts, amazing blends, decaf, classic, espresso, something for every coffee taste!
The coffees we have tried have been really fantastic, you can definitely taste the quality, the Decaf Maraba is amazing and has been my favourite so far!
Little Brian Paintsticks
If you haven’t tried these before they will revolutionise your painting at home! They are paintsticks that you simply wind up to get the paint. They are easy for little hands to wind and use and the best bits-they are very mess free and dry extremely quickly! These are a crafting must have!
Click here for Little Brian Paintsticks
Schleich Animals
We love our Schleich animals for some free play. We have both farm and wild animals, though all the animals play happily together! The animals make lovely keepsake collections to be played with for genertaions. They are a great idea for adding to over the years at birthdays and Christmas to build up a collection.
As well as the animals there are stables, buildings, tree houses, horse world, dinosaurs, fantasy and advent calendars!
Click here for Schleich Website
Sylvanian Families
I played with these when I was younger and some of my Sylvanians are now my children’s to play with! Sylvanian Families never fail to engage our children, all the little details, different houses, shops and set ups to play with and lay out. There is always some party or picnic or event happening in our Sylvanian world! They are really detailed and make great collectible toys (offers are often available so look out for them!)
Click here for Sylvanian Families
Lego
I can’t have a gift idea list without mentioning Lego! We are big fans of Lego with a big box of duplo that is still played with and lots of kits received from birthdays and Christmas. My daughter has been a big fan of Lego friends with their little characters and all the little details, such as the Treehouse and Turtle rescue. Click here for Lego Friends
The kits where you can make several different items from the same kit are excellent, such as the Creator three in one shark kit! (Again shop around as there are often offers to be had!)
This years Lego is going to be the Harry Potter sets, as they are big Harry Potter fans! These sets include parts of the magical Hogwarts and main characters.
Click here for Harry Potter Great Hall Lego
Click here for Harry Potter Clock Tower Lego
Hape Nature Toys
These toys are sustainably made so taking care of nature whilst letting little ones appreciate it. They are beautiful items to help little ones enjoy nature, such as a flower press, bug viewer, flash light and we especially love the periscope!
They are made using bamboo and bio plastic and we have found them very durable too
Just A Normal Mum 