Christmas Presents for Boys Aged 3.5 and 1.5

[Ruby0707]

Hi all, I am the aunt of these boys, I don't have children so any tips on good presents to buy or what are the favourites at the moment?

I would like it to make me their favourite aunty but not cost me too much 😂Say, £30 each max.

Their parents are also quite eco conscious so the less plastic, the better.

Would be grateful for your wise views on this.

Thanks!

Maybe have a look at Melissa and Doug wooden toys? I'm sure you'd find something for both ages. My kids loved the pizza and ice cream sets from that age upwards!

Or ask if they have any particular toy sets you could add to e.g. Duplo or Brio train set? Could definitely get something great to add to those for that budget!

Oh yes Melissa and Doug ice cream set 100%!!!

Thank you, great sugesstions! I hadn't heard of Melissa and Doug before so will check them out.

Something like this Tractor would have gone down well with my DS at 1.5.

Duplo is always good, and suitable for both ages. Train for the little one and a different duplo set of for the older one.

Thank you, reasonably priced too!

I'm often mindful of toys that make noise, is that annoying for the parents??

I’m quite sensitive to noisy toys but found this one okay!

It's incredibly annoying for the parents but as long as there's a mute button it's fine! Every 3.5 year old I know has asked for a monster truck, the bigger the better. Hotwheels ones generally last and are quite robust.

Another for the Melissa and Doug toys. My 1 year old DS loves the wooden house with door bells

1.5 year old - wooden groceries, wooden stacking blocks, jelly cat toy

3.5 year old- anything to do with their favourite tv character? Books, wooden train track, wooden skittles, scooter.

Thanks everyone. Great to hear what other kids enjoy :-)

Any additions to our Brio collection would win Christmas with our 3 year old boy.

Melissa and Doug also do lovely dress up outfits that are approx. £30. We have got a police officer one for my DS. It comes with some accessories (handcuffs, a badge etc)

I like Grimms, Plan Toys, Dr ziggs bubbles (you can make massive bubbles), if you look on Babipur, it has lots of examples of eco toys some are on sale too.

I'd definitely recommend magna tiles. They are plastic but something that will be used for years. My 1 year old loves them as do the 7 year olds I teach in school.

@Ruby0707 yes super annoying but surely the role of an aunt is to buy things the parents wouldn't 😂😂

I have an 18 month old and a 3.5 year old. They are hugely into Hey Dugee and Bkuey characters at the moment. They’re really into babies and prams, their dolls house, and wooden play food (they’ve got pizza with toppings, veg and fruit with a wooden knife that they use to ‘chop’ it up, and a cake with different toppings). They also enjoy puzzles, we particularly like the Ravensburger 4 in a box with different characters, we have Bluey, peppa pig and paw patrol. Other than that, experiences are always brilliant, a farm pass, trip to the play centre or trampolining play centre like ‘Flip out’ or something. They love books too, but we have so many books that I’ve declined more this year. Colouring and crafts are also good little fillers.

Melissa and Doug
habe have some lovely noisy toys that aren't irritating
schema play toys are always good so ball runs / marble runs for the older boy there are some lovely wooden ones out there that both boys will like or push and go toys etc
for the older boy our 3,5 year old LOVES board games there are lots suitable for that age but our fave is feed the woozle and dragons breath and even the younger child would be able to join in

Wooden train track is great, no batteries and can be added to. Also has great resale value as its timeless.

Oh and Aldi have fabulous wooden toys
last year we got a gorgeous wooden pirate ship and our 3 now 4 year old is obsessed with it and the play builds with age
and they have awesome train tracks which even the lo will enjoy watching the trains go round
Wooden choppy fruit / veg and food too in Aldi

Second magma tiles too
and for a special treat get the sets with animals a bit more expensive but the arctic one was a huge hit with outs last year!