The Best Gifts You Can Give to Children
Children grow very fast and interests change at about the same rate. Choosing a gift for a child can be an interesting puzzle because we want children to be really happy.
5-Minute Crafts is going to offer some gift ideas that kids of different ages may like.
0-6 months
Babies’ vision is still blurry during the first months of their lives so they are interested in watching people’s faces that are always around and bright colors. They are just learning how to explore the world and the toys that can help them do this may come in handy. For example, to help a baby hold, suck, shake, hear, and watch, you can choose the following things:
- rattles
- soft rings for squeezing
- teething bars
- big bright beads
- mobiles
- soft toys or soft fabric balls
- balls and cubes with different textures
- books with sound or lullabies
- photos for hanging
- unbreakable mirrors or plastic things that reflect light
At the same time, you can start collecting the baby’s photos or an album with records of how the baby grows. You can present your child with this collection when they grow up.
6-12 months
Children at the age of around 1 year need toys for a more active exploration of the world. They should be those that engage big muscles, so it’s something they can throw, push, or kick:
- big beads or balls
- soft building blocks
- wooden cubes or pyramids
- low objects where they can crawl, like tunnels or mats with different textures
- toys for bathing
- toys on wheels without small parts, like cars or animals
1-2 years
At this age, babies are interested in everything that reacts to their motor skills. They might like:
- pyramids of rings or other objects
- toys that move and make sounds (say words, letters, or play a tune) like a sound alphabet or books with simple poems and songs
- blocks and hammers
- simple musical instruments, like tambourines, drums, or maracas
- kits for sorting objects of different shapes
- toy cars or buses, without small parts
- 4-5-piece puzzles
- rubber ducks and other toys for bathing
- tunnels for crawling
- big and simple building blocks
- musical soft toys
2-3 years
At the age of 2-3, babies might be interested in simple puzzles and things that imitate the everyday actions of other people and make loud noises. So, you might give children something that helps them imitate adults:
- toy phones
- talking dolls
- a kids kitchen, or a set for tea parties
- musical instruments with lighted buttons
- sports equipment for kids
- wooden puzzles about fairytales
- sets of animal figures (without small parts)
- simple puzzles or blocks with pictures
- building toys for children of 2-3 years old
- cars that make different sounds
4-5 years
At this age, the best idea is interactive gifts that develop math skills and verbal abilities. Children might get interested in a certain profession, play role-playing games, for example, doctor, teacher, parents, or astronauts. They might like:
- kits for creativity, for example, chalk, clay, or Play-Doh
- toys such as Legos or Lincoln Logs
- Barbie dolls
- electronic music toys
- toys that teach them numbers or letters
- railways, trains, planes
- profession-themed sets (medicine, firefighters, and astronauts)
- simple board games that don’t require reading
- balls
- puppet theater
- toys for playing in the water
- 3-wheeled bike
If you are choosing teaching toys, it’s better to buy those with encouraging phrases even when a child gives a wrong answer.
6-7 years
When children are 6-7 years old, they continue developing their skills and interests. They might also like doing experiments that broaden their outlook. Besides, they also want to have the toys their friends have:
8-10 years
Children who are 8 and older might be interested in more complex experiments and games outside. They might get interested in new hobbies, like collecting. So you can buy something to add to their collection. And you can never go wrong with the gifts that develop their creative, scientific, and sports abilities and interests:
- more complex kits: magic tricks or crystals you can grow at home, like National Geographic Geodes
- KiwiСo or other kits that help them explore the world or learn more about science or art with special toys. For example, children can make a stethoscope, make a heart, brain, lungs, and learn where and how these organs should be
- sports gifts: bike, skates, roller skates, balls, rackets
- accessories for active rest: unusual bright helmets, protective gloves, bright wheels for roller skates, LED lamps for a bike or a scooter
- video games
- diary
- decorations for hair or jewelry
- complex mechanic building sets
- board games, such as Scrabble or Monopoly
- models for building
- gift for memories: going to an interesting place, such as chocolate factory, ice cream production place, a game of their favorite team, an interactive museum, and so on
- accessories with references to their favorite games, books, movies, like Harry Potter, Minecraft, superheroes, and others
10-12 years
By the age of 12, children start valuing friendship and the activities that help them communicate with their peers. So, a gift that can help them learn new things (to share with their friends) are good ideas:
- a robot for coding, a complex building set, or a puzzle
- trendy backpack or bag
- big book about something they likes
- telescope
- starry sky projector
- foosball table or a collection of these games for a big group of people
- a set of LED lights to allow the kid decorate their room
- paired friendship lamps (one of them lights up when the other one is touched) for a child and their friend that lives far away
- gifts from Hogwarts or accessories from other stories your child likes
12-14 years
Try to get teenagers of this age interested in something new or something connected with their hobbies:
- trendy headphones
- fitness trackers or other sports devices
- console
- movie projector
- jewelry
- books
- sketchbooks, tablets, or a drawing set
- board game for multiple players
- remote-controlled toys
- accessories with the logos of their favorite films, bands, teams, etc.
14-16 years
Something that highlights the individuality and independence of the teenager is a good idea. Or it may be something that has to do with their own talents and hobbies. For example:
- removable wallpaper — a great way to give teenagers a chance to decorate their rooms the way they want but also be able to change it if their tastes change
- a digital camera that instantly prints photos
- portable waterproof speaker
- NeoCube — a set of magnet balls
- complex puzzle
- e-book
- sports equipment or accessories