As my children get older it feels as if there’s zero time between birthday presents taking over our house and a new influx of toys come Christmas. Without wanting to sound ungrateful or like Scrooge, I feel that the trend with presents has moved towards quantity over quality. So in our house this Christmas, the aim is to give lovely learning toys and gifts that are worthy not wasteful. If we can manage plastic-free and sustainable too, so much the better.
At LWC we’ve selected some companies whose products make great Christmas gifts, with the bonus that they support children’s learning. We’re proud to be shopping small and smart this Christmas!
The Little Black and White Book Project
Founded by Ruth who is passionate about wildlife and gives 25% of profits to wildlife and animal charities. These are brilliant learning products as black and white images are known to help stimulate your baby’s brain during early development and Ruth has created beautiful and stylish products such as books, prints and even swaddling blankets to help achieve this. Although mainly aimed at babies and toddlers, their flash cards could also be used with older children and they have a fun T-shirt range for adults! I've recently bought two of their books for my one year old niece who loves them.
Okay, we’re going to struggle to pin this down to just one of their products because there’s so much to get excited about here. Get your children learning about the entire world or your holiday destination, through crafts, cooking, colouring, reading and writing activities. There are main subscription boxes, which are a lovely longer-term investment, as well as one-off activity boxes. Here at LWC we just love their Christmas 'Around the World' Box. Great for children age 6+.
If you’re looking for a perfect travel-size educational gift then look no further. These toys tick all those boxes for children aged 3 to 6. The boards are board-card and magnetic and the tabs are paper and magnetic so you don't have to worry about things sliding about or getting lost. We particularly like the look of The Little Wise Box of Emotions that comes with 28 magnetic feeling tabs representing 28 different feelings, finger puppets and activity book. A fun way to learn about emotions and build self-esteem.
We think this journal aimed at 6 to 12 year olds is a great idea. Created by a mother and supported by parents and educators, the journal promotes happiness and mindfulness as well as developing key skills for life. Here at LWC we’re also huge fans of journaling as a way for children to reflect on the narrative of their day and practise penmanship.
Get your children engaging with and learning about nature through these beautifully crafted subscription boxes for 3 to 8 year olds. There are also one-off and seasonal boxes, which make excellent Christmas gifts. The boxes are filled with fun craft activities to get children excited about being outdoors as well as organic seeds to plant and recipes to help them learn to cook. What’s even better is they’re plastic-free!
A fantastic book club subscription service. Parrot Street Book Club introduces children to books, authors and genres they might not have seen before. Each title is carefully picked by founders Emily and Sarah and comes with a brilliant activity pack for ages 5-8 or 8-11 years old. Prices start from £12 a month and ready for Xmas they are selling gift vouchers for 2, 6 or 12 months subscription.
And, of course, we’re including ourselves in this list because we’re proud to have awarding winning products that make excellent Christmas presents whilst supporting learning. From cute bear themed pencil cases to personalised travel journals, we have plenty for stockings or under the Christmas tree. And don’t forget, you’ll be needing plenty of our Christmas thank you postcards.
We’d love to hear where you’ll be shopping, or what you hope Santa will be bringing this Christmas!