Research from the British Heart Foundation found that one in five children were fed up of trending ‘must-have’ toys in less than a single day, and some in as little as an hour! Aside from the cost, young children can even become overwhelmed by too many toys. Some research argues that the quality of play may be deeper with fewer toys, as children can channel their attention with less distraction.2 And that’s not to mention how we as parents can sometimes feel when surrounded by clutter.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to see your child’s face light up with joy at seeing presents piled up next to the tree, and we completely understand that there are societal pressures to indulge at Christmas time. But presents that bring joy don’t need to destroy your bank account, or the planet.
In fact, you’ll find that most of these ideas don’t require you to spend much, if any, money. Plus, most are adapted or inspired by real activities within the My First Five Years app, meaning they are research-backed and will support your child’s development AS WELL as being a major hit with your little ones on the big day. What’s not to like?
As always, it is important to supervise young children who might put small things into their mouths.
These will be so popular and there are a ton of ideas you could try. There are plenty of easy recipes for home-made play dough to be found online. You could then choose a theme. For example, if your child is keen on Paw Patrol, add some mini figures that you already have around the house. Or a Christmas play dough kit would be great fun. Create dough in Christmas colours and add some Christmas-shaped cookie cutters. You could even include some big sequins for decorating.
Sensory play dough is a nice idea, particularly for younger children, and Christmas brings so much potential. You could use cinnamon, nutmeg, pine or peppermint. Or take inspiration from nature and create a winter play dough kit. These would also make brilliant home-made gifts for other little people outside of your family. As you can probably tell, we love play dough! It is such a great multi-purpose resource for play and building skills across so many areas from fine motor skills through to language development. You really can’t go wrong.
You might not want to risk this one with older children but if you are giving these gifts from you, or you have younger ones (under one), wrapping up toys you already have in the house might be an option. Maybe it’s time to pull out that jigsaw that Grandma found in a charity shop and you’ve had at the back of the cupboard!
Oh the possibilities. You could make it into a den yourself first, or a rocket, or a shop, or an ice cream truck. Or add in a packet of pegs and some old bed sheets (that could also be decorated) and call it a den-making kit.
Alternatively, just cut out a door and some windows and leave the options open. If you give your child a shop, it can only be a shop, if you give them a blank box it can be whatever they want it to be. Add in a pack of chunky crayons so that they can draw wildly all over the sides and you have hours of fun ahead.
Plus, a big box itself is an exciting thing to unwrap on Christmas morning and can be a bit sturdier and promote more open-ended play than some of the shop-bought ‘cardboard playhouses’ on the market. The role play opportunities ahead will support your child to develop their thinking skills too, as well as opening up more possibilities for talk during play!
You might have already experienced young children racing through the opening of presents, pulling at the paper, throwing it to one side or up into the air, or ripping it into pieces. As parents this can be uncomfortable. We might think that this demonstrates ingratitude or greed and encourage them to slow down. However, often young children are simply losing themselves in the joy of the unwrapping.
There is a lot to love about unwrapping and a lot to learn, from fine motor skills while trying to remove tape through to gross motor skills when pulling and moving the tape away. So why don’t we embrace this with a gift that is all about the unwrapping? For any under-ones, wrapping up a whole set of wooden bricks (that you already own) in paper will provide plenty of fun. It doesn’t have to be Christmas paper because the joy is in the unwrapping – newspaper, old wallpaper or even fabric will be just as much fun to unwrap. You could do the same with cuddly toys. You might even find it less stressful when they chuck them to the floor afterwards (completely normal) unlike the disappointment when you’ve spent £50 on a toy they barely notice!
Don’t want to buy masses of presents but want the excitement to last longer than five minutes? Why not create a treasure hunt? A treasure map under the tree will be met with pure delight and is wonderful for their language skills too. If you really want to get creative, you could make a treasure chest out of a shoe box for the end of the hunt, and then pop in some coins (wrap up some cardboard circles in tinfoil). Or if you wanted, a £1 bag of chocolate coins would be a Christmas treat. Plus, there will be plenty of opportunity for pirate-themed role-play beyond the hunt itself.
If you wanted to let them collect items along the way, for young children don’t discount the idea of wrapping up some real-life objects. Using real-life objects for play supports language and communication skills. As your child is exploring these new things, they will be encouraged to use new words and descriptive language to share their thoughts and feelings about these objects. It sounds a bit strange to us as adults but actually an 18-month-old child will often really enjoy banging a wooden spoon as they head on an adventure, or an egg box is wonderful for carrying treasure.
This one isn’t completely free and requires a bit of work, but a personalised photo book is a HUGE treat for any child. Children are so beautifully self-centred and seeing themselves and the things and people they love in a book will make their hearts soar. You can buy prints really cheaply online (under £5) and stick them into a book yourself. Or spend a little more and have a photobook made. There are plenty of discount codes available online. You could write your own story. Or if that is a little daunting, just narrate their life – here are your favourite toys, this is Grandma and Grandad, et cetera.
Alternatively, pop in the pictures without any words and watch how they build their own worlds. We guarantee this will be a gift they treasure for longer than a day and supports so many skills, from fine motor skills when turning pages, to speech as they talk to you about the wonderful things that they have been getting up to, and cognitive abilities while thinking back to the past and remembering how far they have come.
Related to the above, if your child is a little older (3+) you could create them a book-making kit. Print out a handful of photos and put them into a box with an A4 scrapbook, glue and a whole load of stickers or pens that you already have in the house. This will encourage a life-long love of reading, as well as giving them the opportunity to express themselves creatively. It is a lovely activity that could be done in the days after Christmas when the excitement has died down, and will be another one that lasts well beyond the Christmas holidays.
You might think that gifting an experience is more suited to a teenager but that’s not necessarily the case, and it doesn’t need to be as elaborate or expensive as you might think. Particularly if you have siblings, to a four-year-old a trip on their own with you somewhere might sound like the most fun ever. Or an adventure on the bus to get a hot chocolate with Grandad, if that is not something they normally do. Experiences are also a good suggestion for those relatives who are keen to splash some cash (but normally on something plastic and loud!).
These bright, fun bottles will make any baby happy. Plus, you can prolong the fun by switching up the contents in the New Year. Save bottles from the recycling bin over the next few weeks and then fill with objects you already have in the house like pom poms or beads or even rice that’s been coloured with food colouring. Another item that would work as a gift for babies outside of your family too.
You’ll have seen them in shops and garden centres but actually creating a kit for growing is really simple and cheap to do at home. Cress is a great starting point because it is pretty fail-safe and the only thing you should need to buy is a pack of cress seeds (normally under £3). You’ll also need some paper and pens, cotton wool and a left-over yoghurt pot. Depending on the age of your child/your own preferences you could decorate the yoghurt pot yourself or let that be part of the gift. Write a very simple set of instructions (like the ones below), pop everything they’ll need into a box and you’re done! Watch as your child develops their understanding and appreciation of the natural world.
Although most of these ideas are cheap and quick, some do require a time commitment and we know that not all parents have this option. Creating these sorts of gifts also might not be something that you enjoy or want to do. That’s ok. We know that the pressure to make gifts at home can end up being just as heavy as the pressure to provide expensive gifts, so please take these simply as suggestions not shoulds.
As we said at the start, children do not need numerous gifts at Christmas, so please don’t feel guilty whatever you decide to do with presents this year. There is enough pressure on parents without adding any more. The magic is in the cuddles, the lights, the togetherness and the love, which we know you will be providing in bucket-loads, regardless of whether you spend £100 or £1!