10 Great Holiday Gifts for Kids
Updated: Aug. 06, 2019
The holidays are a magical time for children, but picking that perfect gift can be more of a holiday nightmare. Make your child’s eyes light up with joy this holiday season as they unwrap one of these 10 kid-approved gifts.
Lalaloopsy Cinder Slippers
Laloopsy dolls are adorably cute with oversized heads, and stylish outfits that are easy to interchange. Once ragdolls, the magical story goes that when the last stitch was sewn they came alive. The durable dolls come in a wide range of characters, including Cinder Slipper, a princess-inspired doll with a frilly pink dress and ballet slippers. For kids who aren’t interested in the world of princesses, or for parents with princess fatigue, there’s a wide range of characters available including a mechanic and pirate. Parents can also choose from a variety of books, DVDs and countless other Laloopsy accessories to complement the doll.
$27.95 at amazon.ca
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LEGO Star Wars – X-Wing Starfighter
LEGO has been around for generations, and its popularity is unlikely to fade anytime soon. There’s a huge range available, but this toy stands out for its iconic status as the X-Wing Starfighter from the Star Wars movies. The Starfighter features moving parts for kids to play with such as retractable landing gear, and folding wings. Luke Skywalker, R2-D2 and two other minifigures are also included, allowing you to re-enact your favourite scenes in miniature. It’s a fun gift for kids new to the Star Wars movies, and for parents with a penchant for the original films.
$59.97 at Toys ‘R’ Us
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LeapReader by LeapFrog
Get your child interested in reading and writing with this new entertaining educational system. The LeapReader, which resembles an oversize pen, works with the accompanying books, maps, and flash cards for an interactive experience. Kids as young as four can slide the pen over the words, and hear the text of their favourite story. Another fun feature is the special learn-to-write books, where your child’s writing will magically appear before their eyes. This set comes with an activity sampler book, one Learning Paper writing sheet, plus a couple of free downloads.
$59.99 at LeapFrog.com
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Percy Jackson & The Olympians Box Set by Rick Riordan
Your child will slip into a world of Greek gods and monsters while reading this best-selling set of books. Author Rick Riordan will have little readers captivated from the first page with stories of twelve-year-old demigod Percy Jackson. Full of mythology and suspense, Percy and his friends set out on adventures with story lines that will have parents recalling Greek Mythology 101. If you’re searching for something new to jazz up your child’s reading repertoire, this may just be the winner on the bedside table.
$21.94 at Indigo
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Plus-Plus 300 Piece Mini Pack Basic
Leave it to the Danes, inventors of Lego, to create this colourful and clever new toy. Simple interlocking rubbery pieces fit together to create pretty much any shape imaginable in either a flat or 3D form. It works with a variety of ages from toddlers straight up to older kids and is a great interactive toy for parents to get involved in, too. Building possibilities in this set are as endless as your child’s imagination and the timeless quality means it will get use for years to come.
$20 at RaspberryKids.com
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Pokémon X and Pokémon Y
Welcome to the Kalos region, which looks a little like France, and get ready to meet some new Pokémon and say hello to a few familiar faces as well. Pokémon X and Y are two new videogames made for the Nintendo 3DS console, and they’re already causing a buzz in the gaming community. Those already familiar with the game will see the format is pretty similar, but there will still be plenty of challenges to keep you motivated. For parents concerned about violence on videogames, note that although the Pokémon engage in online battles, they are fairly benign with no contact. Both games are rated E for Everyone.
$40 each at ebgames.ca
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Melissa & Doug Deluxe Wooden Railway Set
How many parents, or grandparents, remember playing with a train set? It’s a timeless toy, and this set from Melissa & Doug is a great pick with tracks of every shape, trees, bridges, cranes and switches. Of course, there’s also a train and flatbed truck for little ones and their parents to run along the tracks. Setting up all the parts will work a child’s imagination, and the interactive nature of the set makes it fun for adults to play along. This gift is a great gender-neutral choice that works for a variety of ages, making it a sure bet for the whole family.
$111 from Amazon.ca
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Monopoly Junior Party
For a great introduction to family board games, Monopoly has created this version specifically for kids five and up. This game is quick moving for short attention spans, and introduces children to strategy, reading and simple math skills in a fun, light-hearted way. When the weather outside is frightful, this game is a great option for indoor family fun and with its party themes and cute tokens, it’s sure to be a hit.
$13.49 at Well.ca
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Magnetic Figures – Princess
This magnetic set is a modern twist on old-school paper dress up dolls. The toy contains four backgrounds, a doll, and plenty of clothes and accessories to punch out and play with. The twist is that instead of being made of paper, the clothes and accessories are magnetic. Less ripped paper means more time for a child to spend using their imagination and less fuss. A wide range of kits is available including options to create crazy animals or play with pirates. Perfect for holiday travel season, it’s all contained in a stylish and portable tin.
$17 at MortimerSnodgrass.com
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Fisher-Price – Laugh & Learn Crawl Around Car
This stationary vehicle has plenty of interactive elements to spark curiosity and hold your baby’s attention. Your little one can spin the wheels, play with the balls and shapes, and sing along to over 50 songs. In addition to the play areas, they can crawl in and out of the car, press the buttons and pretend they are at the wheel driving just like Mom and Dad. Different areas are meant to encourage learning and the car includes an introduction to colours, numbers and ABC’s. There’s even a baby GPS for your little speedster!
$64.99 at Toys “R” Us
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