The perfect Christmas gifts for those hard-to-buy-for children (and yes, we mean yours!)
I am the person who whispers ‘Christmas is coming’ from September, mutters it from October, shouts it from November and goes into full on Christmas overdrive come the 1st December (it’s a lot to hold in for 4 months!) Well, we are nearly there and I have officially finished the children’s present shopping, most of which is now hidden in places I will absolutely never remember. If you are still looking for gifts for those hard-to-buy-for children, or perhaps last year’s offering of a vintage Encyclopedia Britannica went down like a lead balloon and you wish to make amends, then this is the Christmas gift guide for you.
A bit left field you may think, but we use these pens for rock painting, specifically kindness stones. Not only is it heart-warmingly lovely painting stones with life-affirming messages and hiding them outside for people to find, it’s also brilliant fun searching for the stones to paint in the first place. These below we hid on the last day of our annual Little Oxplorers Fairy Door Trail, they came all the way from Tenby Beach and were collected whilst on holiday. The design doesn’t have to be complicated, it could simply be a heart or a smiley face, but the message is clear: spread positive vibes and happiness!
We were given this for Christmas last year and it comes everywhere with us. It’s an excellent boredom buster and can be played inside or out. Hide the gold coins alongside a clue, which leads to the next and the next until the end of the hunt revels a GOLD BAR! The clues are either pictures for smaller children or riddles for older kids. Seeing the children work in joint enterprise is particularly pleasing, as is sitting down and having a cup of tea whilst they hunt.
Metamorphosis is a truly an amazing process, and to be able to see it up close is such a unique experience. We have bought the Butterfly Garden with 3–5 caterpillars twice and there are many more options available. The caterpillar season has come to an end for 2019 and will resume again in March 2020, but gift certificates can be purchased all year round or you can pre-order for the kit to arrive on a specific date. Watching the transformation from caterpillar to butterfly takes between 3–5 weeks and releasing them was quite an emotional experience for us, making this a really special gift.
yesmum Family Conversation Cards
I happened upon these after buying the original new mum affirmation cards (of which I strongly recommend for new mummas)and have been so impressed with the change that it has bought to our dinner time battles. Previously punctuated with at least 10 show tunes, wrestling competitions and 27 billion spurious trips to the toilet, these 31 conversation cards have given our family meals a focus, and I’ve also found out a surprising amount about me and mine that I did not know! My favourite cards so far have been: ‘What is the person next to you best at?’, ‘What makes you feel loved?’ and ‘Say something kind to yourself’. In an age of ipads, TV dinners and endless after school activities, these cards have bought our family together, and talking, around the kitchen table.
The Great Big Tree Climbing Co.
This takes adventure to a new level! Founded in 2008, The Great Big Tree Climbing Co. is now the largest provider of recreational tree climbing activities in the country. It brings you so much closer to nature and I have it on good authority (my son!) that it’s an adrenaline thrill like no other. If your children, or any others you know, were squirrels in their former lives like mine then this is the present for them. Gift vouchers start at £20, which is the cost of an hour’s climb, and can be redeemed by booking onto a climbing event at various locations across the U.K.
My dad bought my eldest a metal detector for Christmas a few years ago, and so began ‘Grandad’s adventures’. I was slightly skeptical at first on seeing them return with their haul of bottle tops and ring pulls, however after joining in myself one day it was hard not to be fully invested in the excitement of it all! The treasure isn’t what they dig up but seeing the look on their faces when the detector bleeps — priceless!
Really wonderful art, we especially love the pictures incorporating nature. Our favourite is ‘A Quick Guide to Clouds’, we have it framed and up in the boys’ room alongside ‘ 4 Seasons’. Expensive? Nope, A4 prints start at £5.
Annual Passes
I really believe that annual passes make such a great present for families, it is just like gifting quality time together and is wonderful motivation to get up and out. All these places below we have membership to and would highly recommend; they also all have regular children’s activities on and are perfect for a general weekend run around to burn off excess energy and deliver a big dose of fresh air
Adult: £29.50
2 Adults: £49.50
Under 16’s go free.
There is so much to enjoy at Waterperry. The children’s trails, on during most school holidays, are easily a day’s worth of entertainment. Adults can take in the beautiful borders for a welcome break, unless your children are trying to stampede all over them like wild ponies, in which case they can let off steam on the outdoor play area and canter all over the lawn, located just by the very delicious teashop. Don’t leave without a bottle of Waterperry apple juice-it’s so good! Their Reindeer Trail is now on and real-life reindeer will be visiting on Sunday 8th December for a pat, feed and a selfie!
Adult Palace Park and Gardens: £27
Adult Park and Gardens: £17
Child (5–16 years) Palace Park and Gardens: £16
Child Park and Gardens :£7.60
Under 5’s go free
Is there anyone left in Oxfordshire who doesn’t have an annual pass to Blenheim? If you have been once then it’s madness not to convert your ticket into one. There is so much to do there; as well as the Pleasure Gardens, which incorporate the adventure playground, maze and butterfly house, the little train that travels between there and the palace and gardens is indescribably sweet. The many acres of grounds are the perfect place to explore: follow one of their circular walks for glorious views and tired little legs at the end. We can’t comment on the inside of the Palace itself, having never visited — with three boys the fear of destroying the historical lineage of the Duke of Marlborough via over exuberant little hands is too much! Our place is outside running down hills and rolling in the mud. Enough said.
Oxford Botanic Gardens and Harcourt Arboretum
Adult: £20
Under 16’s go free
This is annual pass will get you entry into both sites and is probably the most used of all our passes. We regularly visit the Arboretum, which never fails to disappoint: think gigantically tall trees, fallen stumps made for climbing and the constant cry of peacocks (who will have your arm off for a rice cake — BEWARE!) It offers the outdoor freedom and excitement of old fashioned childhoods and my brood only return exhausted, rosy cheeked and happy from a run around here. We go to the Botanic Gardens less, mainly because it is in town and has no parking, but a visit there the other week left the children dumbfounded as they gazed at unfamiliar and exotic plants within the seven glasshouses…these few rare moments of silence and wonder are definitely worth the price of an annual pass!
Various membership options
We received NT membership as a gift on the birth of our 3rd son and it really has been the one that keeps on giving! We use it at least twice a month visiting favourite places or exploring new ones, and on long journeys we stop at National Trust properties so that the children can have a proper leg stretch. A new discovery of ours has been Basildon Park; so much to see and do in the 400 acres of land that surround the grand house. We thoroughly enjoyed the Wild Play Trail and visiting the 20 play stations along the mapped route. There is a free Illuminated Woodland Walk on there at the moment, a canopy of thousands of fairy lights, so Christmassy! We will definitely be renewing our National Trust membership when it runs out — what better way to exhaust 3 boys?!
Books
Alistair Humphreys’ Great Adventurers
The name Alistair Humphreys may sound familiar to you — he cycled 46,000 miles around the world over a four year period and was subsequently named National Geographic’s Adventurer of the Year. His beautiful book of ‘Great Adventurers’ just won the Ordnance Survey Children’s Travel Book of the Year 2019 and would make a wonderful gift for aspiring thrill seekers.
Greta Thunberg No One is Too Small to Make a Difference
No fake news here, this is the best £2.99 you will spend. 11 ground breaking speeches, as delivered by Greta Thunberg : environmental activist, winner of the prestigious Prix Liberté and Nobel Peace Prize nominee. Truly essential reading across ages. For little ones, check out Greta and the Giants, an engaging picture book capturing the same important message in a simpler form.
Usborne 100 Paper Planes to Fly and Fold
This book comes in many different incarnations from spaceships to dragons but the idea is still the same: make paper aeroplanes, go outside, see who can throw theirs the farthest. Always a welcome and eagerly received stocking filler in our house.
The Lost Book of Adventure: from the notebooks of the Unknown Adventurer
One to cherish. Beautifully illustrated, this unique book is the encyclopedia of outdoor adventures woven into a mysterious tale. I simply cannot do it justice and urge you to read the reviews, pack up your bags and propel yourselves and your families into the wild.
The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse
Sunday Times and New York Times Bestseller. This book is neither about the outside nor adventures but the absolute beauty of it cannot be overlooked. Love, kindness and hope spill from each page and will fill the heart of every reader. It will delight old and young; ensure it is a stocking filler for everyone on the good list.
Head across to our Facebook page for more adventure ideas throughout the Christmas period.
