The Gift of Toys
The Gift of Toys
The one thing that you can pretty much be sure about is that children love to be given toys as gifts. Any toy is better than no toy, but usually a clued up child knows exactly what he or she wants and they will not hesitate to tell you, especially in the time leading up to a birthday or to Christmas.
So what do you look for in a toy for a child?
Mainly, you won't need to go searching through your mind for ideas as, already stated, children generally know what they want and will let you know.
What Do They Want?
However, what they want and what you can afford (or more's the point what you will allow them to have) is another story. The popular toys of the moment will change rapidly as new movies for children come out and new superheroes or main characters are created on the big and small screens. Cartoon characters are often favorites as well as the computer generated characters that seem to be usurping the animated kind.
Also, there will be brand name models of all manner of things that kids will latch onto depending on the power and reach of the advertising that accompanies them.
Boys vs Girls
For boys, this will usually incorporate model cars, trucks or other vehicles, boats, trains and train sets (yep, still popular) as well as super heroes like Batman, Spiderman etc depending on which is the latest movie. They prefer action toys and things they cab build stuff with, so Lego is still popular as ever as are other construction-like toys. Some games are popular, although the kind that involve putting things together or answering questions are better than out and out board games.
For girls, the good old reliable dolls still remain the queen of toys with the top models and brands being favorite depending on the current advertising machine. Teddy bears and other soft toys go down well with younger girls, along with dollhouses and tea sets and while we hate to say it, domestic-themed toys still have an attraction that boys don't see.
Whatever toys you're thinking on, make sure that your child will actually want it before you go out and buy it and even if its not their first choice, it had better be second or third choice or you'll soon find it ignored at best or "accidentally" smashed up and in the trash before its a day or so old!
[BACK TO TOP]