Hard to Do
When you think about it, buying gifts for children should be the easiest thing in the world to do. Every time they pass a shop or see a television advert they scream at the top of their voices that they would just love that, much more than they would the other thousand and one gifts they have previously asked for.
So, parents head out to buy the gift, only to hear when it has been opened that they have in fact made the wrong choice and there was something that little Billy or Molly wanted just that little bit more.
We looked at five secrets of buying great gifts for children, to help you avoid the unfortunate episodes you may have experienced in the past.
Accept it Will Happen
Although you obviously want your child to be happy, you have to accept that sometimes they are going to kick off because you have not quite chosen the perfect gift for them.
There are ways around this, though.
Think Smaller
Although your child may want some blockbuster toy, going for a larger number of smaller gifts means that you have hedged your bets a little, and are far likelier to come up trumps with a gift that they will like.
In the long term, if they show a particular preference towards a particular toy, you can base future gift purchases on this.
Listen
Whenever your child screams wildly that they want a new something or other, or sees something on the television, it can be easy to go “yes, okay” and move on with life. Turn this into a conversation instead, however, and ask the child which they like best out of that or the one they saw before.
Getting the child to think about it will make it easier on you when it comes to buying.
Time Consuming Toys
The attention span of children gets a bad reputation, but they have a bad reputation because of what adults give them to do! Sit a child in front of a nonsensical cartoon or give them a rubbish toy to play with and, yes, they are going to lose interest quickly.
Aim for interactive, engaging toys that your child can enjoy for hours on end.
Know It’s Purpose
One of the growing trends in children’s gift buying is to go for collectible items. Not a bad idea, but “collectible” usually means in the box sealed, and a child usually wants to play with what they get as gifts, collectible or not.
Consider this before buying anything that is, or is potentially, collectible.
A Girl for All Time provides a range of toddler girl toys, including dolls, novels, and keepsake books, bringing the past to life with activities for the whole family.