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Christmas

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Original poster

What to get a 7 year old boy

26 replies

sitckmansladylove · 29/08/2020 10:40

He loves Lego and football
He has a bike and scooter from previous years?

I don't want to go down the electronic route (though he would love a tablet)
Any ideas ?

OP posts:
InDubiousBattle · 29/08/2020 10:46

My ds will be 7 by Christmas and he already has his eye on some Mario lego. I have thought about a Beano subscription for him too. But it will be mainly Lego!

Original poster
sitckmansladylove · 29/08/2020 10:48

The Mario Lego looks really nice. I had thought of it.

OP posts:
InDubiousBattle · 29/08/2020 11:02

Ds had a lock downs worth of pocket money burning a hole in his pocket so has bought the starter set. I was a bit pissed off that you have to spend £50 on the starter set to get the Mario figure but to be fair he's played with it a lot. We're trying to avoid too much tech too but it feels like we're fighting a losing battle, all of his friends and family members his age are all about Mine craft and Nintendo switches. We might look into a second hand wii!

Original poster
sitckmansladylove · 29/08/2020 11:17

My boy sounds very similar to yours. He really wants minecraft on the Nintendo DS switch as all friends have it. I have a younger dc who I would need to get one for too if I went down that road. Huge expense for something I don't really want for them yet.

OP posts:
InDubiousBattle · 29/08/2020 11:43

I agree. It was actually a friend of my dd who was telling me she was getting a switch for her 6th birthday in September, my jaw dropped when I saw the price of them!! I'm trying hard not to be anti- tech because I know it's what all of his mates will be talking about and I don't want him to be left out but among my friends who have got their kids Nintendo ds, tablets etc, all of their other toys have stopped being played with, lots of grumps about being told to get off them, not wanting to do anything else and so on. I'm thinking we might get a second hand wii and buy him a game for Christmas. And lots of Lego! He also loves animals and National Geographic do a kids magazine that I thought I might look at too.

InDubiousBattle · 29/08/2020 11:45

I also saw a remote control car building set that looked good.

windystar · 29/08/2020 11:52

Demolition Lab was a big hit when my DS was 7. Build it up and knock it all down - very appealing at that age 😊

Ricekrispie22 · 29/08/2020 12:22

T shirt from Illuminated Apparel
Lego minifigure watch
Gigi blocks
Kid-Eco rocket or castle
Stickbot studio
Knex
Really RAD robot

treeeeemendous · 29/08/2020 12:23

@InDubiousBattle I honestly wouldn't waste money on a second hand wii, they are so old these days. All his friends at that age are more likely to have switches than Wii's. The best thing about the switch is it can be played hand held and plugged into a tv. They can also play friends online.

DS is 13. We have a PS4, a switch and a wii. They get most playtime in that order.

There is nothing wrong with gaming you just need to have clear boundaries in place and then stick to them.

We had a few tears early on as I used to say turn it off now it's dinner, but DH explained that on some games there are certain save points so if you just turn it off you might lose that or be halfway through a fifa match with a friend. Now I always give a ten minute warning so ds knows whether he has time to start another game or save etc. I quite often hear him say, this is my last game as I've got dinner. The older he's got he often pops into the kitchen to ask how long until dinner.

CanaryFish · 29/08/2020 12:46

@InDubiousBattle did your son build the Mario set without using a tablet for the instructions ? Does he just play with it on its own?
My DC used the tablet to build it I’m just asking because I never know whether to recommend it for kids who don’t have a tablet

InDubiousBattle · 29/08/2020 13:31

The switches are about three hundred quid though!
Canary we got the instructions on our laptop. The figures that come in blind bags need a half decent phone to update Mario to recognise them too. At the minute you get a free set when you buy the starter set, but you have to buy it in a Lego shop I think.

InDubiousBattle · 29/08/2020 13:33

Those gigi blocks look good.

Coldwinterahead1 · 29/08/2020 13:36

A Nintendo switch with Labo.

Original poster
sitckmansladylove · 29/08/2020 14:28

Thank You treee yes it's good to give him time to freeze the game. So expensive aren't they. They don't seem to be on special offer anywhere.

OP posts:
treeeeemendous · 29/08/2020 14:31

@InDubiousBattle yep and the games are about £45 each. Gaming isn't cheap! My son bought his own switch by saving up birthday and Christmas money and selling lots of his old toys on eBay. We had kept the boxes for lots of his Lego sets so he got a decent amount of money back on those especially the bigger sets.

treeeeemendous · 29/08/2020 14:36

@sitckmansladylove we did get the switch on offer it was a few years ago from a recommendation on here. It was with someone you had to set up an account with (obviously I did that bit!) i think it was Very. It was a bundle so it came with a game. However I'm sure it was still about £280

InDubiousBattle · 29/08/2020 15:12

And there was me thinking Lego was expensive! Ds still thinks Minecraft and Mario the computer games are little off shoots from the Lego sets, not the other way around!

Is your ds into science type stuff at all op? Ds has had a few GALT sets and he's liked them, he's had Magnetic Lab, Glow Lab and Body Lab and they were all pretty good.

OakleyStreetisnotinChelsea · 29/08/2020 15:14

Lego, Lego and more Lego and snap circuits and gravitrax.

Original poster
sitckmansladylove · 29/08/2020 21:01

Thanks all. We had a flick through Argos online and he likes the Lego Cargo train or subuteo football. But he would love those science ideas. He did a nice STEM camp over the summer.

OP posts:
Cherryrainbow · 29/08/2020 21:07

My son is a bit of a gamer and I have to admit between me and my parents we have splashed out on a switch because all the newer games are aimed towards those consoles.

But honestly he is more than happy to use a tablet as well which you can get cheaply these days. Games can he downloaded onto them for free, plus kids YouTube is a winner.

Minecraft or mario lego would be good. I begrudge spending £50 on mario lego tho so tempted to wait until it goes down or leave his dad to hopefully buy it and keep it at his house!

My son loves gaming merch and figures - funko pops are great, YouTube gamers like fgteev have merch in shops too, places like smyths have sonic and mario figures. Places like primark have good clothing along the lines of gaming and characters

Your son might like knex or magnetic tile stuff if he is into lego?

Original poster
sitckmansladylove · 29/08/2020 21:49

I watch just looking at tablets and I see there are some you can set to switch off at a set time. I would need two and really would prefer not to spend 600Shock but tablets (for weekend use or school holidays) might do the trick.

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Elenorrigbywoes · 29/08/2020 21:53

My DS got a smart football last Christmas and it counts his keepy ups. He enjoyed that and he got a football goal too. He loves a particular soccer team and gets the kit and a good football. He plays with a local club and got some of that gear too.
He got some Mecanno and enjoyed that. He likes books and got Dogman and Captain Underpants.

Lazysundayafternoons · 29/08/2020 22:01

My ds is 7 in September.
He is getting the Lego Mario starter set from my dsis for his birthday, I thought the price was way too high and was too appalled that you need to buy the expensive starter set to get the Mario figure.
He has always been into Lego but recently I got him a playmobil set and was so surprised how good it is. I've bought him more playmobil sets for his birthday (the police station is down from 80 to 50 on amazon at the minute) and will also get him more playmobil sets for Christmas.
He got a switch last Christmas so will be glad to be back to normal play sets this year.

flowerycurtain · 29/08/2020 22:17

Mine is 7. He wants a switch. Quite a few of us y2 (y3 parents) had a chat to say we'd put it off for as long as possible. One mum started it and out of I'd say 40 parents a good 20 have said they're in. Lots of us expressed relief at the idea. I imagine next Christmas when he's 8 nearly 9 I might change my mind.

In the meantime he's getting his own toolbox. Saw, hammer, socket set, drill etc. Grandpa 1 is going to make him a carpenters bench and grandpa 2 will be getting him some wood and books with easy ideas to make.

Didiplanthis · 29/08/2020 22:26

My 8.5 yr olds have only just started badgering for a switch. They have our old Wii and and donated PS3. They are not connected to the net. They cant really control their emotions playing each other yet or cope with turning it off. Im not allowing any more tech until I think they can cope with what we have !. I would say an old wii or ps is quite a good intro for a 7 year old. But remember you can't get minecraft on a wii. Only a WiiU.