Gift Guide: Buying Birthday Gifts Online for Children
My twin girls birthday is almost upon us and like many parents across the UK and further afield we’re struggling to buy them presents in-store because shops aren’t selling toys, birthday cards, gift bags or even wrapping paper as they’re considered ‘non-essential’. As such I’ve been scouring the internet to find suitable gifts I can buy online for our twins who soon will be 9 years old.
I thought I’d share with my readers my birthday gift guide for buying online.
Barbie Fashion School – The Careers
This would have been right up my street when I was a child. Its available from Toys and Bears. I absolutely loved playing with my Barbie dolls and creating different outfits for them. I’d spend ages drawing my designs and then try to get my mum to make them for my dolls!
It’s currently priced at £12.79 and contains sticker outfits, stencils, pens and lots more to have hours of fun dressing Barbie in the different outfits and filling up your very own brilliant careers journal.What will you be when you grow up? With Barbie you can be anything! A doctor, a fashion designer, a vet – or maybe an astronaut!
I’m Genius Easy Chemistry Set
This chemistry set is currently priced at just £10.39 which for starters is excellent value for money. Suitable for children aged 8 – 12 years old, it contains 25 easy and safe experiments for learning the basics of chemistry. It includes test tubes, substances, and all the instruments required for each experiment. This set is also available from Toys and Bears.
Nancy B’s Science Club Microscope and Activity Journal.
Our twins have talked about microscopes for so long, but I’ve never found any that I thought were good enough. This Nancy B’s Science Club Microscope is £36 and comes with a 22 page activity journal that allows for tracking, writing and drawing.
It includes 40 pieces and the microscope features 30x to 400x magnification as well as LED lights to transform the tool from a dissecting microscope into a light microscope.
GeoSafari Micropro 95-piece Microscope Set
My twins are very different. M will absolutely love the Nancy B’s microscope pictured above, but R wouldn’t. She dislikes anything girly so this GeoSafari Micropro 95 piece microscope set is right up her street.
It’s £42 which I think is excellent value for everything you get with it. Young scientists can investigate a whole new world from cells to crystals using this 95-piece microscope set.
The rotating lens offers magnification of 50x, 100x, 150x, 300x, and 600x and the built-in light and focusing help deliver bright, clear images. The kit includes professionally prepared slides and equipment for children to prepare their own slides.
What is a children’s birthday celebration without sweets? If you can’t get to the shops, then let me introduce you to the online sweet shop that is Pick & Mix London.
Pick & Mix London are on a mission to become the UK’s favourite online sweet shop! They sell a range of classic Pick & Mix sweets including vegan and vegetarian sweets. You can buy any sweet individually or create your own bundle and get it delivered to your door the next day.
They have a huge selection of sweets to suit any budget and I must say they didn’t last long in our house!
Bubblegum Balloons
If you happen to have stumbled upon my earlier blog post, ‘How to make your child’s lockdown birthday special‘ then you’ll know that the theme for my twins 9th birthday party is the circus. When I saw this amazing circus balloon set on the Bubblegum Balloons website I knew I had to order it for them! What’s more, I can offer you, my lovely readers a fabulous 10% discount code off your order by using the code ‘twinmumanddad’ and simply visiting: https://bubblegumballoons.com
12 Oz Reusable Kids Stainless Steel Water Bottle from Greens Steel
These stainless steel bottles are just $15 and are available in a variety of colours: blue, purple, yellow, red and steel. They’re available online here.
My children have so many bottles. Most of which are sat in our kitchen cupboard unused because they either leak or have just been forgotten about. The caps on these bottles release the perfect flow of water, not too much, not too little, and kids can drink with or without a straw. They’re 100% leak proof so it’s safe to carry in your bag.
What’s more there are no nasties surprises! These bottles are toxin free, made from pure 18/8 stainless steel. Nothing else!
Educational games for lockdown learning from Got It Learning
With more children learning from home as a result of new COVID-19 restrictions, Got it Learning card games can help parents and carers to support remote teaching and provide a fun, interactive way to improve early reading and spelling skills. Each pack of cards provides five, fast-paced games for two to four players, in line with the National Curriculum and suitable for children aged five and over.
The quick to learn 10-minute games are a perfect birthday present that makes learning fun: Word Race, Word Pairs, Word Switch, Word Sets and Word Match, cover important, frequently used words. They also help to develop concentration and social skills, keeping children engaged and giving them the confidence to take on new words – all without the use of a screen.
Developed by an experienced teacher, the games are multisensory and dyslexia friendly, with focus sounds shown in blue. Each pack contains 40 word cards covering five different sounds, along with picture prompt cards to give children the confidence to read independently, while eight special Got it! cards make sure all players have a chance to win right until the end of the game. A simple online reading sheet makes it easy to find the correct starting point from the five available packs.
With parents and carers facing the prospect of more home learning, Got it games are ideal for improving reading and spelling in a fun and engaging way.
For more information go to: www.gotitlearning.co.uk
Has your child had a ‘lockdown birthday’? I’d love to hear your experiences in the comments below.
