I genuinely think that babies are one of the hardest age groups to plan Christmas gifts for - mainly because they grow and develop so quickly that it’s hard to know what gifts might stand the test of time or at least continue to be played with more than a few weeks after the holidays!
When preparing this gift guide, I wanted to include many gifts that would grow with a child so if you’re little one is a January or February baby, maybe consider looking at some of the gifts in my under 3’s guide as they will probably give you more longevity.
Teething toys
Teething is one of these things that all parents dread in the first year of life, although it may be reassuring to hear that in my experience, the first tooth is the hardest tooth to cope with. Chewing can help soothe sore gums and encourages the tooth to push through the gum.
The teething ring that I have linked, has a few extra features that I liked. The ring shape allows your baby to use both hands and they can practice passing the ring from one hand to the other. I also like that the ring is high contrast with its black eyes and mouth- perfect for grabbing the attention of little eyes that are developing.
For older babies over 4 months, I would want to expose them to a teething toy that they could put in their mouth (such as a matchstick monkey) as they will be working on eye-hand-mouth coordination and it is important that they get used to the feeling of things being in their mouth in preparation for the introduction of solid foods.
Buy Miffy Teething Toy
Books
You can’t really go wrong with books at most ages, in my opinion. As many of you already know I’m a huge advocate for reading with children because it has so many benefits. Not only does reading with children provide opportunities for bonding, and a calming activity but it’s also a wonderful way of developing language and literacy as well as encouraging a love for reading from a young age. Black and white books are perfect from birth as they are high contrast. For older babies, I love sensory books. The Usborne “That’s not my…” series has so many different books in the series and their repetitive nature can make them popular with toddlers too.
Finally, lift-the-flap books are great fun however I love these ones with felt flaps especially as they are much sturdier and can handle the heavy handedness of older babies and toddlers.
Light and Sound Sensory
You may have spotted a theme in all of my recommendations so far, the reason that most of my suggestions are for toys or activities that stimulate the senses. This is because babies discover so much in the first year through their senses. This sensory light, is like an indoor fireworks display, the changing colours and patterns will be very entertaining for your little one. We used these for disco baths with a toddler and infant and they both thoroughly enjoyed the activity!
Lovevery
If you don’t already know this brand, you can thank me for the introduction. Lovevery have created stand alone baby products (such as their play gym) as well as kits that come with a wide variety of activities for your baby as well as a guide for parents that explains what your child is learning at each age, and suggests a variety of activities you can engage in with your child to promote and encourage this learning and development. You can buy each box on its own or subscribe and have it delivered to you.
Building Blocks
This is a toy that will grow with your little one, to begin with they may simply enjoy practicing picking them up, bringing them to their mouth or knocking two together and exploring the noise they make. As they get bigger they may enjoy knocking down towers (they figure out how to knock them down long before they learn to build them though). By age 3 these same blocks will be used for a variety of small world and imaginary play which will likely continue until they reach pre-teen years.
Sensory Cubes
Sensory cubes are again multi purpose and can be used for a long time. I’ve already written a lot about sensory learning and development so I won’t go on too much longer but in terms of extended use, you could use them to develop early geometry skills (talking about 2D & 3D shapes), colours, numbers etc.
Lamaze
Many of my clients find the Lamaze toys garish and unsightly but for what they lack in pleasing aesthetics for magazine worthy homes they make up for in both durability and opportunities for development and learning. Most of the Lamaze products are suitable from birth and are brilliant to have on hand when travelling over the holidays.
They have black and white as well as other bright colours that stimulate babies from birth. They also have other sensory elements including a variety of fabric textures, crinkle sounds and squeakers for your little one to enjoy.
Musical Instruments
These are another gift that will likely last for several years, though don’t blame me for the headache that comes with the musical performances… there are some things that we all just have to endure.
From birth you can use these with your baby, they may begin to turn their heads to see where the sound is coming from. And once their palmar grasp is developed will begin making sounds for themselves. These can also be used to accompany music and nursery rhymes if you are a music loving home. There is some research that suggests that exposing children to certain musical genres not only builds their language skills but also their ability in less obvious areas such as maths.
Finger Puppets
I love these little finger puppets, although the Norland nanny in me feels she should be making her own! From newborn you can encourage your little one to track these (follow them with their eyes whilst you slowly move them around). They can also be a fun story telling tool for children who don’t enjoy sitting down with a book so much.
Sentimental Gifts
Your baby only gets one first Christmas, and there is nothing quite like a little hand or footprint bauble to remind you of how quickly time flies. Whilst possibly this gift means more to you as a parent than to your newborn in time these sentimental gifts may well give your child something to look back on too.
I hope that this Christmas gift guide has been helpful and given you some great ideas for your little ones this year. If you are a parent of an older child, I’d love to hear any suggestions that I may have missed out or forgotten in the comments!
Happy festive season!
Comentários