Gift suggestions for two children I don't know, please?

[JurassicFart]

I'm a bit hopeless with gifts anyway, but this criteria has me a little stumped.

This is for a charity Christmas party, in the country where I live. The children are victims of war and these gifts will be the only presents they receive at Christmas. So I want them to be really good/suitable.

Presents must be fairly sturdy as these toys will have hard lives. So I think no soft toys as they'll get dirty quickly. No batteries as the children are in care/poverty and won't be able to afford to replace them. Nothing like a Barbie, for reasons of cultural sensitivity.

Child one - three-year-old girl.
Child two - a two-year-old boy.

My budget is max £20 per present. Any ideas?

Toy vehicles went down well with my boys at that age. I would think you could get a fairly robust one with no batteries required for £20.

Maybe plastic animals or dinosaurs would also fit the brief?

They also liked things like Duplo and blocks, but I don't know if something with lots of pieces would be preferable to avoid?

Colouring books and nice Crayola pencils?

Great ideas, thank you - especially the first two. Toy vehicles and dinosaurs are definitely great options. Who doesn't love a dinosaur!

Thanks 7Sunshine, that did cross my mind - my kids are the same age and love to draw - but I'd like to get something that will last a long time.

blocks are also great (only toy which survived 20 years in our house). Also maybe some sturdy picture books.

I'd be tempted to buy a doll too though. kids of that age love dolls.

Books! Always books. Maybe with a cuddly toy to match, like a copy of a Mr Men book with a cuddly Little Miss Sunshine or an Elmer book with a cuddly Elmer. You can get it all on Amazon.

Oops, just saw that you said no soft toys, read your post much more carefully (apologies, it's late..). I think duplo's a good bet then. Anything animal related - toy farm set maybe? Trains or trucks. Action figures perhaps? Eg Anna and Elsa for the girl. Art supplies. A plastic tea set?

Books could work but not sure if there's anyone to read to them/education level of carers etc. But a lovely picture book could be good.

Love the toy farm set idea, that's great! And the tea set. And the doll.

Amazing suggestions, thank you so much.

I would suggest perhaps a wooden train set ikea do a brilliant wooden range.

Definitely a doll for the girl or again, wooden tea set

Some sort of duplo animal/farm/zoo set.
Brio train.

Both of these were popular for years in our house from these ages.

Have a look for toys made by 'wow'. They're really sturdy and durable, and very cute!
You can get all kinds of sets... cars, animals, tractors etc.

How about some small whiteboard thingies and some pens so they can draw and rub out over and over?

I think that duplo or mega locks would be used for a long time, so provide good play value for the coming year or two, as would a wooden train set.

What a lovely thing to do!

A washable soft toy could bring so much comfort though - you can't snuggle up to plastic.

A bouncy ball might be fun too. And I know drawing supplies are finite, but a colouring book and some crayons or chalks would still being pleasure while they were there.

Also, bubble mixture, how about some gloves with finger puppets on the fingers? Warm and fun.

This is brilliant and it's cheaper cousin is equally brilliant. Durable, great for imaginative play and I've bought these over and over-my ds got one when he was 2 and he's played with them every single day for 9 years. The best toy I have EVER bought.

For the boy I know my son would love a tractor or digger and a board book about tractors or diggers like this
Playmobil 123 is great and often on an offer on Amazon. You can get a big set for £15. I bought the zoo for £15 and have seen the ark at that price too.

You could always add a cheap cuddly toy just so they have something to snuggle. Also wanted to add I wouldn't recommend wooden tractors. All the ones we've had haven't stood up top laying very well.

Or tools? Sorry I'll stop now

I would get the boy a small box of train track and some little trains (like Brio but other brands are just as good).
You can get so much play out of it because you can constantly rebuild the track into different shapes. Especially if you can find a cheap bridge or tunnel or barrier to include.