Disclaimer: Items included in this guide for older kids have been sent for inclusion or are items I have personally chosen for my kids’ Christmas gifts this year; as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
As my children are older, items featured in this guide are aimed generally at ages 10 and over. I do not divide gifts into boys’ and girls’ gifts as I don’t agree with adding labels to kids’ toys – both my kids love playing with each other’s toys, and I just love that!
The Amazing Flower Kit creates a stunning bouquet of 48 multi-coloured foam flowers: daisy, primrose, edelweiss, gerbera, daffodil, dahlia, orchid and poppy. No glue, no scissors, simply push out and push to fit the supplied stems.
The Amazing Flower Kit is easy to break down and reassemble in another creative colourway. Always fresh-looking, The Amazing Flower Kit is a fabulous addition to any home!
Bubble Tea Syrups
Has this craze hit your household? It’s a big thing here, and I have to admit, it is mainly me who seeks out new flavours whenever we are out and about. Just before the summer holidays, the children and I lived in Ilford temporarily, at it was here my obsession really started and I was rarely able to pass a coffee shop offering bubble tea without trying a new flavour – the children made a joke of it whenever we went out, but with so many flavours to try – it had to be done, well that was my excuse anyway.
Of course, it goes without saying that it can be far cheaper to make your own at home, so grab your bubble tea syrups and you can easily make these for yourself at home.
This is a fantastic introduction to driving for kids. They are always so quick to try to distract us parents, while we are driving, asking questions, fighting etc – what better way to show them the sheer concentration it takes to drive a car than for them to do it themselves.
This experience is for children aged 10-17 years and can be booked at over 70 different locations. Emmy did this when she was 11 at the Lakeside location, and not to leave Harry out, he also had his lesson after his 12th birthday. They both absolutely loved it, and as a parent, it was great fun to watch, and they then realised driving isn’t as easy as they had thought initially.
A 30-minute lesson costs £47.99 and a 60-minute lesson costs £91.99.
What’s included?
A 1:1 driving lesson in a Suzuki Swift or similar vehicle
A FREE Drive Diary for you to keep
Teaching from a professional driving instructor
Children need to be over 1.42m tall to join in.
They aren’t just let off easily in these lessons; they are treated as if they were taking a proper driving lesson, albeit not on a main road. They learn to start the car, operate the pedals, clutch control, gear changes, and even reversing around corners, bay and parallel parking. During lessons, they will learn to master roundabouts, practice turning in and out of roads and giving way to traffic, slalom around traffic cones, 3-point turns, and so much more.
During both Emmy and Harry’s lessons (they both had one hour with the instructor), they covered far more than I ever did in my first driving lesson. After the lesson, the instructor will tell you how they did during the lesson.
As with every experience like this, there are different add-on options available at an additional cost; however, these are optional and never pushed upon you. One option is to have a camera turned on inside the car while your child is driving, so their whole lesson is recorded for you and them, to keep and watch at home. You can also book bulk lessons or share a 30-minute lesson with a friend to split the cost.
I can not wait to crack this open on Christmas day. We have a family tradition of playing games after dinner on Christmas day and this one is sure to set the whole family off into fits of giggles.
This game contains Goggles which flip your whole world upside down, 100+ drawing and activity challenges, a board and counters and a timer.
Put on the special goggles and see just how easy it is to complete everyday tasks when everything has been flipped upside down!
You have a set amount of time to complete these easy challenges – well, they would be easy normally but when everything is upsidedown….just how easy will those tasks be?
For ages 7+ this is suitable for all the family for 2 – 6 players.
Pass The Pugs – £9.99 from Winning Moves
A new version of an old-time favourite dice game we all know and love.
A pair of pugs in the palm of your hand. What are you going to do with them? Roll them like doggy dice of course! How the hairy hounds land will determine if you are Top Dog or the runt of the litter! Will you find Puppy Love, Play Dead or roll a Bummer? Only the Pugs can tell!
Take a chance and roll the Pugs in this classic twist on the beloved family game, with Pass The Pugs. Score points according to how your Pugs land – will you get a Faceplant, a Snoozer or a Canine Combo?
These charming, detailed miniature pugs come in a handy carry case which also contains a rulebook, a scorepad and 2 pencils for keeping track of all your tricks. Whether you’re staying at home, on the move or looking for a way to pass the time with friends and family, you can’t go wrong with this hilarious twist on Pass the Pigs. Easy to pick up but tricky to master, everyone will be eagerly awaiting their turn. So go on – Pass the Pugs!
A perfect game to pop into your handbag and play while awaiting dinner when you head out. A wonderful travel game for everyone of all ages.
No real introduction needed here – we all know and LOVE playing Top Trumps – this set includes all of our Favourite Friends charachters from the much loved show.
A great gift for all Friends fans and a perfect stocking filler.
The Instant Pocket Printer.! Print out photos, notes, websites and all sorts. With the easy to use app, add fun photo frames, notes or use the cool AI function too. Enjoy hours of fun with your friends printing out your mobile photos.
Let your imagination run wild as you customise your shots with markers and stickers, making every moment uniquely yours. Print over 250 photos, and you’ll never run out of creative possibilities.
Comes with 1 sticky roll, 3 paper rolls, USB charger cable, stickers and 3 pens to customise your prints.
Perfect for popping into your bag and sharing special memories with friends instantly – Emmy loves this and is planning on taking to a New Year’s Eve party.
The 6-inch glare-free display is now 25% brighter at max setting, as well as featuring a higher contrast ratio and faster page turns for an enhanced reading experience.
READY FOR TRAVEL The thin design of the Amazon Kindle is ideal for slipping into your bag and a single charge via USB-C lasts up to 6 weeks.
NO DISTRACTIONS Your Amazon Kindle doesn’t have social media, notifications or other distracting apps. Just sink into a good book and leave the world behind.
MASSIVE SELECTION Get instant access to millions of titles in the Kindle Store, and add a Kindle Unlimited subscription to unlock even more content. Carry around hundreds of books in one compact device thanks to 16GB built-in storage, so you’re never short of something to read.
This awesome karaoke machine is packed with features to get the party started for everyone. With its built-in rechargeable battery, you can take the party anywhere and keep the beats going for up to 4 hours.
Connect your smart device via Bluetooth or use the AUX input to play your favourite tunes. The built-in LED lights move in time with the music, creating a dazzling light show that will make every party unforgettable. Plus, it comes with 2 wireless microphones, perfect for duets and solo performances.
You can even connect the speaker to your smart TV via Bluetooth and sing along to your favourite songs as the lyrics appear on the screen. With voice effects like alien and chipmunk, you’ll have endless fun creating unique performances.
Watch the fibre optic cables refract and reflect the auroral lights
Each of the tips of the fibre optic strands is lit with a piercing colour changing LED light. Ice effect colour changing base – batteries not included (3 x AAA required)
Minecrafters will love this amazing light up level scene with 16 separate conductive blocks that illuminate and can be arranged in any combination upon the bedrock base. The different blocks include grass, TNT, diamond ore, Redstone, gold and more. Perfect for a bedroom, gaming den or man cave. This Minecraft Block Building Light is supplied in a printed gift box and makes the perfect gift for any gamer or fan of Minecraft. It also makes a great, unique addition to any collection of Minecraft Memorabilia for those in the fandom. Minecraft is a sandbox video game first released in 2011 and is the single best-selling video game of all time with sales of over 180 million copies to date, across all platforms. Players explore an intentionally blocky, pixelated 3D world, to discover and extract raw materials, craft tools, build structures or earthworks. Depending on the game mode, players can fight computer-controlled monsters and either cooperate with or compete against other players in the same world.
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Clare
Hi, I'm Clare (Emmy's Mummy). A former Nanny and Mother of 2 - Emmy (born February 2010) and Harry (born October 2012). We are Essex based and share our adventures and misadventures of a busy crazy life.
