Presents

November is the worst month for me! It’s the month where most of my family have their birthdays. So, I start shopping for their birthday and Christmas in August. I know it sounds early but I like to save money. I don’t want to be skint around Christmas time.

You know what? It works! I am not skint in December and I can go out tasting all the festive hot drinks my stomach could handle.

I always start by writing in my Christmas notebook. I write a list of ideas of what I could get for people. I try to set a budget, to help save money.

This post is not about my tips on how not to spend too much. It’s about my gift recommendations from new born to 3 year olds.

Just remember some kids around these ages don’t care what they get. They care about who is with them. So please don’t spend a fortune on them.

Newborns

As James is a November baby I wasn’t sure what to get him. Then I got a wonderful idea, a star named after him. You can get this from as little as £15 up. We got ours from starlisting.com where we spent more to get a wooden star engraved with his name on it. It’s beautiful and it’s a present that he will cherish in the future.

You can also get clothes from charity shops. No joke, I have found a lot of bargains. All in amazing condition and some new! Helps to save some dosh too!

1 YEAR OLDS

To be honest I had to look through old photos of what we got him. I totally forgot!

The one gift that James loved was a ball pool but you need a lot of room for it. Also, we spent quite a bit of time tidying up after him. As he kept throwing balls everywhere! So unless, you don’t mind balls hiding in corners then go for it! Ours was a present.

We also got James a trike so we can go out on more walks together. We got a little tikes 4 in 1 trike. It was easy build up, I managed it with James walking around trying to help me! Prices from £60 to £80. It’s best to shop around for it!

We love toys from IKEA as they are sustainable. So it’s always worth checking out their toys. Especially, their beaker towers. James loved playing with them. We also bought a toy case from their and it’s not so big but can hold a lot of little toys. We also got an abacus and found it to be useful for teaching James colours and numbers. Honestly, if you haven’t check them out!

James got a lot of toys for his first birthday but he didn’t play with them until later on. So, please don’t feel you have to get them much!

We love Lego in this house and James loves trains. So we bought him a duplo train, again, this was a toy he would play with later on.

2 YEAR OLDS

For James’ it was a no brainer!

A wooden train set! Luckily, a neighbour gave us one and my parents kept one my brother had! Did you also know? That ikea has one too! I don’t advertise for IKEA but they have pretty cool trains there that are battery powered.

Does anyone else miss toys r’us? I do!

That’s where I discovered a toy shop online that I just love Jacques of London. Yes, some of their toys are expensive but they do have sales on! Their toys are so beautiful and wooden. They have a great selection of educational and fun toys perfect for little ones.

We picked a vehicle jigsaw and a shape jigsaw. James still loves playing with them and helps him with his vocabulary. Also they are not noisy!

3 YEAR OLDS

James will be 3 soon. Very soon! I have got his presents wrapped and ready. Again, I got some earlier this year during some sales and rummages in a charity shop.

Again, I went to my favourite online shop Jacques of London. They had a great sale on where I got him an easel and a few jigsaws. Their packaging is beautiful. I am also sure James will love them too.

We have also got some play dough and some baking equipment such as a small Christmas spatula. As he loves baking. James is showing more interest in doing arts and crafts so I have other members of the family contributing to his art supply.

Just remember gifts come from the heart. It’s the thought behind the gift, that counts.

💖