Magnetic mosaics 

This toy is great for little children to play with because the concept is simple and because it's magnetic you can redo the mosaics over and over again, which is great! It's quite literally all it says it is; a mosaic that little kids can do but it's magnetic so you just but the magnetic squares onto the magnetic board and you find you have suddenly completed a mosaic! Another great thing is there are a variety of animals, objects, etc that children can do the mosaic on and the every number corresponds with a coloured square, so you know where each colour goes. Alternatively, if your child wants to go a bit rogue then it allows them to do that, you just don't follow the number and colour match up. This was definitely my younger sister's favourite present when she was about two or three and it was played with for hours!

Presents for ages 1-5

There are a lot more presents for this age group than for older ages, but the toys I've listed are definitely great for younger kids and they're also still fun to play with when they grow up too! 

Aqua play 

Aqua play is the most amazing toy! It's suitable from a really young age but it's also still fun to play with when your kids get older. There are multiple sets you can get but the idea is that all the pieces link together to create a sort of channel that you fill with water. You can then get boats or whatever you feel like putting into the water and you've basically got a tube of water that your child can push their boats along. I realise that it may seem a bit dull and basic now that I'm writing this but it really is loads of fun and I would definitely recommend!

Magna-Tiles

These are probably the favourite in our house out of the three toys I've mentioned in this age range. There is just endless fun in magnetic shapes that allow you to create literally whatever you want! Castles, houses, trains, anything you can imagine! Our set had 100 tiles of different shapes in; squares, triangles, all different shapes and sizes. But we loved them so much that we ended up buying another pack of 100, which just gives more creative license to build bigger! All the tiles are magnetic so you can attach them to each other, they're also translucent so they look really effective when a light is shone through them. We've built some pretty cool things in the past; they're a really great present and I would highly recommend! 

Magic sets

I think that every kid either loves watching or performing magic tricks. There are loads of brands that do magic sets, some can be big sets and others are just one or two tricks in a box, but they are so fun! We have loads of sets and some are definitely better than others. I would recommend Marvin's Magic, we have a few of these sets and they tend to be really good. Melissa and Doug also do a really nice magic set made from wood for younger children. When my younger sister does a magic show for us, I seriously don't know how she sometimes does it! 

Presents for ages 6-11

There are some really great presents out there these days for this age category but sometimes it can be hard to find them. These are my families favourites from when we were little!

Fort magic

THIS IS AMAZING!!! Honestly, if I had to recommend one toy that every child should have, it would definitely be Fort Magic! It’s not very well known in the UK, probably because you can only buy it in the USA, but if you could somehow get hold of a pack, it would be any child’s favourite present. Having said that though, I have seen cheaper similar packs in the UK but I’m not sure how flimsy they are, I know for a fact that Fort Magic is really robust. Fort Magic is basically lots of plastic pipes, all different sizes, curvy ones, straight ones, etc. It also comes with lots of different connectors so you can build your dream dens, castles, literally anything you can imagine! We’ve made amazing dens in the past, even an aeroplane and a circus tent! The set comes with fabric grips too, so you can create walls. It’ such an amazing toy and we enjoy it as older kids just as much as we did when we were little.

Slack line

For older kids, this is definitely a great gift. It took us a few attempts to take down, but we did it in the end! It's a really cool 'toy' that kids don't feel embarrassed to receive, it's something that they can enjoy with friends without feeling like it's not 'cool' enough. So, I think it's a win in terms of presents. We're awful at it! It doesn't matter if you're not very good at it, you can just spend some time practising!

Poi

Poi come in lots of different forms, we have two sets, one pair lights up and is by Firetoys. The light up ones are really cool to use in the dark and you can twirl them around you, making cool light patterns in the dark. Our other pair of poi are made from organza and in the daytime look really pretty to swirl around and dance with. They're really simple but effective and a nice gift to have.

Presents for ages 12+

As you get older, the presents tend to become a bit more boring! There's the obvious but not all kids want boring presents every year just because they're getting older. It's really hard to find presents that older children will like and enjoy because most kids don't want children's toys as they get older and there's a such short supply of fun gifts for teens. But, they are out there if you look hard enough, but I'm going to save you the time of searching forever and list them right here, because older kids deserve to have fun too!

Aerial silk hammock

This is a really cost effective way of doing aerial silks without having to have a tripod to hang it from. It's also a lot cheaper than a full aerial silk. It's basically a hammock made from the same material that aerial silk is made of, so it's sort of the same thing but a lot shorter and isn't two individual silks, just one in a hammock shape. Having said this though, it's so much fun and much more practical than having an actual aerial silk. We usually hang it up on a tree outside and you can use it as a form of exercise, just for fun to try aerial silks, a swing, or a hammock so actually it's much more versatile. We've had so much fun on it and it's something that we will continue to use however old we get! The set up is also really easy too, so it's such a cool, great gift for older kids.