Best toys and games for Christmas | Gift ideas for kids

Ad | Contains affiliate links Our first gift guide for this year's Christmas is for the young ones. Whether you are shopping for your ...

Ad | Contains affiliate links

Our first gift guide for this year's Christmas is for the young ones. Whether you are shopping for your nieces and nephews, your own little ones or kids in your friend's circle, this guide will come handy. It features some of the best and coolest game and toys on the market. Take a look!

Geomag Mechanics Gravity | Loops and Turns

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) toys are a great way to help kids develop useful, lifelong skills. It helps them learn how things work, how to solve problems and offers a unique approach to learning new things.

The Mechanics Gravity set is an excellent STEM toy from Geomag that stimulates curiosity and inspires kids to learn more about science. It is a mechanical construction system that harnesses the invisible forces of magnetism and gravity. At the heart of the system are 130 plastic mechanical elements (loops, turns, magnets) that can be combined with each other to build different models. There are no electric motors or batteries, instead the force of attraction is put to use to accelerate and push the spheres. A creative game that helps stimulate imagination in kinds!

The game is made using recycled plastic (74%) and has won numerous awards. It is suitable for children aged 8+ and is sure to keep them occupied for hours.

The Geomag Mechanics Loops And Turns Construction Set costs £34.99 and is available from The Entertainer.

Paw Patrol Ryder's Alphabet Pad

Suitable for ages 3-5, this interactive tablet encourages young ones to learn while also having fun with Ryder and the Pups from Paw Patrol. The tablet helps in developing skills like letter and early word recognition, colour recognition, listening and understanding plus responding to questions.

There are five different activities/modes on the tablet and children can learn about phonic sounds and spelling simple words among other things. It is a great toy for developing fine motor skills.

Priced at £18.99, the Paw Patrol Ryder's Alphabet Pad can be purchased from Amazon.

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire Board Game

Based on the very popular TV show, this is a fun board game that people of mixed ages can play. The brand new revamped version has digital lifelines that work with mobile devices. There are over 700 questions meaning there is plenty of variety and tricky questions as players try their best to win a (virtual) million.

Suitable for ages 12+, the game can be played by 2 or more players and is a game full of fun and excitement. Given that wrong answers can lose you the game, it is also a game of wit and luck. It is an ideal board game for smaller families gathering over the festive season.

The board game is available from www.smyths.com for £29.99.

Dantoy BIOplastic Bio Ice Cream Set 

Next on the list is an educational and environmentally friendly toy from Dantoy. The Dantoy BIOplastic Bio Ice Cream Set is made of at least 90% sugarcane, a sustainable raw material, and the bioplastic is 100% recyclable. The sugarcane is cultivated on controlled, pesticide-free plantations in central and southern Brazil and is harvested every 6–12 months. The Bioplastic made of sugarcane is a 100% sustainable raw material making these toys very environmentally friendly.

The Dantoy BIOplastic Ice Cream Set is a 11-piece set with 3 cones, 2 tubs, ice cream scoops, stand and a scooper. The set is made for kids 2 years+ and is a great for developing fine motor skills and supporting imaginative play in young ones. 

Durable, dishwasher safe, 100% recyclable and 90% bio-based, Dantoy's BIOplastic toys offer a greener way to play. Even the  box the set is packaged in is made of recycled cardboard.

Dantoy BIOplastic Bio Ice Cream Set Gift Box is priced at £19.99 and can be purchased from Smyths.

Paddington Bear Learning Suitcase

Another fun, educational toy for kids aged 3 years is the Paddington Bear Learning Suitcase. 

Featuring 5 activity modes relating to colours, numbers (1 to 5), letters (a to e), the Brown Family and objects from Paddington's world, the learning suitcase encourages listening to questions and seeking answers. It is designed for young learners; it helps them with early vocabulary & fine motor skills and makes their playtime a fun as well as a rewarding experience.

The Paddington Bear Learning Suitcase is priced at £20.99 and can be purchased from Amazon.

Ginger Fox Joggles Party Game

Ginger Fox has added another fun game to its successful range of party games. Titled 'Joggles', this is a fun and hilarious game where not everything is as it seems! You need to put on the vision-altering Joggles (included in the box) and race to complete a series of hilarious tasks with your teammate. The challenges could be drawing something, or taking a selfie or something on those lines. It may sound easy but with the vision-altering Joggles nothing is as it seems.

The challenges though simple are a lot of fun because as the game's tagline says - it is a game where perception is deception.

Joggles is suitable for 2-6 players, aged 8+. It can be ordered online here.

Star Wars The Child Animatronic Edition 'AKA Baby Yoda'

For the young Star Wars fans, the Baby Yoda (The Child) is a fabulous gift. The animated toy features motorised movements, including a head that moves up and down, ears that move back and forth, eyes that open and close etc. Touching the top of The Child's head activates over 25 sound and motion combinations, including happy and excited sounds, giggles, babbles and more.

The Child Animatronic stands at 19cm tall and includes a removable Mandalorian pendant necklace and premium soft goods robe. 3 AAA batteries are required and included with the toy. 

If you are looking for a kids' play action figure as a gift, this one is on top of the list.

You can purchase the Star Wars The Child Animatronic Edition 'AKA Baby Yoda' here.

Tobbie - The self guiding AI Robot

This fun, DIY AI Robot is aimed at kids aged 8+. It is made up of 107 push out and assemble pieces and also needs a pair of cutters and a filer for the assembly. Some adult supervision will be needed to assemble the robot. But it promises to be a fun project. Kids can do it with their friends/siblings or the entire family can come together to build the working robot.

Tobbie, the robot, has 2 modes - 'Follow me' where he will follow anything moving and 'Explore' where he uses his IR sensor to avoid obstacles. Tobbie also has lights and sounds as one would expect from a robot and walks on 6 legs.

The assembling of Tobbie is the most entertaining part and once assembled you can watch the robot operate autonomously. It is a great way to gain practical skills and Tobbie also serves as a good introduction to model building, AI or electronics in general. 

My nephew has this and he loved the assembling process as much as the finished, working Tobbie. A fun STEM experience for young kids.

Tobbie, the robot, can be ordered online from Amazon.