2016 Christmas Gift Guide! {Educational Christmas Gift Ideas}

November means... Christmas gift guide time! I've got an epic collection of ideas here for you today that I have spent weeks gathering. Many of these products are on Miss M's wish list that she'll be asking Santa for this year. As ever the focus is on education and encouraging a child's development in all areas.

This year, more people than ever are shopping from their lounge rooms rather than hitting the shops - and why wouldn't you? (I saw a meme today - that said "Instagram is like the biggest store in the world"). So true!


Disclaimer: some (not all) of the products in this guide have been gifted to me, or I have had a previous collaboration with the brand. I received no payment for any brands to appear in this gift guide. All opinions are my own :)




Daisy and Hen in the Barossa would be a lovely place to do some Christmas shopping (or online). We love their beautiful collection of dolls and fairies and these wooden cameras to encourage imaginative play!


Did you catch my Splashings + water play post last month? Since Miss M discovered these they have made it to the Christmas list so that she can add to her collection. Pretty sure you can get them from Toys R Us!


I only just talked about Honey and Co Club in my last post (!) but they are too good to leave off this list. It's the subscription gift for kids that will keep on giving all year :)


What kid doesn't love The Very Hungry Caterpillar? (If this book is missing from your kid's book shelf I insist you get it for them for Christmas!!). But for kids aged 3 and up this double sided floor puzzle is a great idea! Miss M loved putting all of the food in the right order. Get it from here or here! (Gifted for the purpose of this feature). 


You can't go wrong with the beautiful quality of Grimm's wooden toys. Have a browse through the range that The Creative Toy Shop has to offer!


Dear Little Designs letter boxes and mail boxes are a great way to encourage kids to write for the fun of it! These would be a great gift for a preschooler or school kid (please note Christmas orders close 11th of Dec). We're even planning to write a letter to Santa!


Another way to encourage imaginative play is with dress ups! Schooza has some super cute crowns, tails, masks, wands and capes that you could add to your child dress up boxes this Christmas (please note Christmas orders need to be in by the 30th of November).


We already have the Alphablock + Count-a-block books, but did you know there are two more? These books are fantastic - so interactive with big thick cut out pages and they're as chunky as a block! Get the Dinoblock book from Finlee and Me and the City Block book from Amazon.


Speaking of Finlee and Me, how cute are these wooden ice creams and lollipops? Kids will love these in their play kitchens! It's like special treat food any time of day :)


How about some play dough? What a great stocking stuffer! I've found these cool alphabet stampers from Sweet Elephants, wooden texture stampers from Finlee and Me, and personalised name stamps from Doh Stamp :)


For Miss M's first Christmas I got her a personalised name puzzle from Platypus Puzzles, so of course what you do for one you must do for the other ;) so the Little Man is getting one this year!


Finally something for the littlest ones - Mini Minds have just released their sensory bottles! On the left is the rainbow set, and to the right is the sight and sounds set. So great for babies as it allows them to explore these tiny colourful items in a safe way (while shaking them all around and making all sorts of noise) :)


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I'm planning on filling Miss M's stocking with art supplies - activity books, paper, textas, crayons, paints, glue, glitter, stickers etc etc as these are things that we are always running out of and it will be the perfect time to stock up and stuff that stocking! As for the Little Man these teething toys from Jack and Izz will be making an appearance :)


Meanwhile, we're planning to take it very easy this Christmas because Little Man's first birthday is 5 days later - and when you're 1 you don't really know what presents are or what on earth is going on and the wrapping paper is far more fun than the new toy. Maybe I should just rewrap his Christmas presents and give them to him on his birthday? Is that mean? ;) JOKING! But like I said we aren't going overboard...

Do you need even MORE ideas?? Here's my gift guide from last year and I've also put together a gender neutral gife guide organised into ages 1-5. Did you catch my Teacher gift guide? It's not too late to order some of these goodies (check with the individual stores).

Some other blogger friends have done gift guides as well (lots of us do at this time of year) - be sure to check out Gift Grapevine (gift guides are what she does!), Baby Berry Collective (so many great ideas here) and Fat Mum Slim (who tells us the best places to shop small this Christmas).

Well today is the 25th, so there's officially only 1 month to go! Lots of exciting times ahead - Christmas tree to go up, Christmas concerts, parties and picnics to attend, Santa to see, presents to wrap... YAY!

Happy shopping
Lauren xx

13 comments

  1. Oh I didn't know there was a city block book too! How cool.

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  2. Beautiful gift ideas! I will definitley share this post and get a few items from your list! Also for my little one:)

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  3. Such lovely ideas. My boys have moved on slightly now (8 & 5) but I'm going to share with friends with littlies!

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  4. Love it. Loads of great ideas; especially the idea of those sensory jars. Thanks!

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  5. What beautiful gifts! Loving the mini sensory bottles!

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  6. So many cute ideas in here! Very tempted by the letterbox. Mine is obsessed with "writing letters" right now.

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  7. Some gorgeous gifts here! How cute are the wooden ice blocks and lollipops?!

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  8. Love the teething toys - I now know what I'm getting for my friend's baby shower!

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  9. The little sensory jars are a great idea and I love the letterbox too!

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  11. As always, your home is just enchanting! You have SO many, darling touches. Makes me want to move right in! Love the whimsical kitchen sink skirt and I'm determined to copy hanging one of my vintage sleds over my table this year. Wishing you and yours many blessings during these trying times.Better days ahead.PaintNumbers

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