It can be so hard to separate older children from computer games and the tv screen and with Summer approaching, maybe it’s time to invest in a few outdoor toys that will tempt them outdoors! Last week I wrote a blog on ‘Affordable Outdoor Toys for Children 8 and Under‘ so today I want to focus on toys that suit children over the age of eight. Here are ten that I’m happy to recommend and which won’t burst your bank!
- Juggling Balls – €4.50
Juggling isn’t the easiest of skills to learn but our children have lots of time with no school and this could be a good challenge.
2. Build your own Birdhouse – €15.99
This woodwork project for children will give them a sense of pride once they have built it and painted it (paints included). It’s a great way to spark an interest in birds.
3. Flying Ring – €1.99
Cheap and cheerful, these frisbees are great fun.
4. Make your own Butterfly Nectar Feeder – €13.95
If feeding birds isn’t your child’s thing, then maybe feeding butterflies and bees is? This Gift in a Tin has everything needed to build and paint your own Nectar Feeder.
5. Compass – €2.50
Teach your child how to navigate his/her way through forests or the countryside with a simple but effective compass.
6. Adventurer’s Headlight – €7.99
For fun in the evenings, this Adventurer’s Headlight is perfect for camping trips or cycling home in the dark. If camping and outdoor adventures are your child’s thing, I also stock really cool camping cutlery, which costs €8.99.
7. Ant World – €17.99
Learn all about the wonderful world of ants and even make a habitat to view them in, with Nick Baker’s Ant World Kit.
8. Flower Press – €7.49
Allow your child to pick some flowers and press them with this retro Flower Press.
9. Make your own Insect Home – €13.95
Build this little insect hut and watch and wait. Before you know it, it will house ladybirds, solitary bees and other bugs!
10. Kites – €7 
These kites are great as they have no poles so they pack away small and they are perfect for a windy day.
As kids get older, their interests get more refined. I know some children just need a football and others need nothing, just friends to chat with. But for those that need something else, I hope this blog has helped spark some ideas and I hope you and your older children get to have lots of fun outdoors this summer.
xx Suzie
Summer is officially here, despite the weather jumping back and forth. Even with the showers and occasional cold day, my children are out playing in our garden or on our road at every opportunity and I love it! At this time of year, I always invest in a few new outdoor toys for them and if you are in the same frame of mind, here are ten affordable outdoor toys you might like too.
- Children’s Gardening Tool Set – €5.99
This cool little tool set is made out of wood and metal so they are stronger than the plastic alternatives. They are perfect for gardening with, playing on the beach with or in a sandpit.
2. The Worlds Best Bug Viewer – €4.99
This little pot is made of clear plastic so once you have caught a bug you want to observe, you can look at them from all angles. The lid has a built-in magnifying glass, which allows you to view your bug in greater detail. Alternatively, if you don’t like removing small creatures from their habitats, invest in a magnifying glass (€2.50) to help your child observe them better.
3. French Skipping Ropes – €5.75
These are great if you have more than two children or if your kids have friends who play with them regularly. Two people put this elastic rope around their ankles and the others jump over it. Alternatively, if you have fewer people, you can put the rope around chair legs. Or, you could invest in a regular skipping rope either. I stock a wooden handle Bee one and a wooden handle Flower patterned one. They both cost €7.80. Sometimes kids are given skipping ropes before they are able to skip. Most kids seem to master skipping at about the age of six.
4. Kite – €7
These pocket kites are brilliant as they have no poles and they are light and easy to bring to the beach or park. They fly great too!
5. Bruder Mini Dumper – €15.99
Some plastic toys get destroyed with sunlight and sand but not the Bruder range. They are made for real play and this Mini Dumper can be brought to the beach or the sandpit.
6. Build your own Bird Feeder – €13.95
Make up this bird feeder and attach it to your child’s window or your kitchen window and birds will come up close to feed out of it. It doesn’t quite encourage outdoor play but it does encourage an awareness of the birds that live in your neighbourhood.
7. Paint your own Birdhouse – €10.99
This set comes with a wooden birdhouse, paints and a paintbrush so your child can decorate their own birdhouse and hopefully watch some small birds visit regularly.
8. Tea Party in a Tin – €13.95
Just like families like to go on picnics, dolls and teddies do too! This little porcelain tea set is perfect for imaginary play outside.
9. Chalk Bombs – €8
Children love messy play and these chalk bombs can make a chalky mess! Throw them on the ground randomly or in a pattern to make your own colourful chalk design.
10. My Garden Play Set – €13.95
Encourage your child to take an interest in gardening with this children’s garden play set complete with a trowel, gloves and much more.
I would have added two more items to this list if I’d had them in stock. These would be the Chunky Sidewalk Chalks and the Gymnastic Ribbons. Maybe by the time you are reading this, both of these will be back in stock!
The toys I’ve featured here are suitable for children aged eight and under. I plan on writing a similar blog next week featuring some outdoor toys for older children, so if you have older ones, keep an eye out next week.
Thanks for reading. Now, all we need is some summer weather!!
xx Suzie
We were in London recently and were leisurely walking through a famous toy shop. My girls were drawn to a large drum of snow and a sales girl who was showing interested kids and parents how it was made. We watched and played in fascination. The girls held out their cupped hands and a teaspoon of white powder was placed in them. Then the sales girl poured about an egg cup amount of warm water and instantly the power expanded and took on a different form. It now felt and looked like snow, only it wasn’t cold and it didn’t melt. We were mesmerized and I resolved to see if I could find a similar product to sell in my little online toy shop.
Fast forward a couple of months and I have found a ‘Make your own Snow’ Kit to stock! As soon as it arrived, the girls insisted on giving it a go so we opened a box and tried it out.
The kit comes in a small box measuring approx 13 x 17cm. It’s light and the box is made out of tough cardboard. Inside is one small packet of snow crystals, a measuring teaspoon, and instructions.
Initially, we measured out one teaspoon of snow crystals and put it in an empty glass. We added a small amount of warm water and instantly the crystals transformed to ‘snow’.
Then we put a teaspoon of the crystals in our hands and added water. We got the same result. The water on the table in the picture above isn’t melted snow, it’s just a bad aim when it comes to pouring water into a child’s hand!!
We ended up making about 3 snowballs and used about a third of the packet. I reckon if I’d allowed the girls to use the whole packet, we would have made about 10 snowballs but I wanted to be able to bring this kit out another time when I won’t be taking photos and analysing every detail for a review.
We made this snow about four days ago now and the girls keep returning to it and play (similar to when we made slime). They roll it into balls, flatten it and roll it again. Thankfully it hasn’t occurred to them to attempt to throw the snowballs at each other. However, it doesn’t appear to stick to clothes, hands or hard surfaces.
My girls love a good science experiment and have added extra water to one of the bowls to see the effect. The snow has turned into slush but they still enjoy touching it (I don’t get this fascination with touching slime or slushy textures)
It’s hard to know what exactly is in this science experiment but whatever it is must be toxic as the packet comes with lots of warnings and although it’s a very easy experiment to do, it’s recommended for ages 10+ and under adult supervision. Initially, we put our snow in a drinking glass but it has now been transferred to a bowl as I was afraid that a visitor might attempt to taste it, thinking it was a slushy or something. I guess you can never be too careful.
My girls absolutely loved this science kit and the results.
- It’s very easy to do
- It’s quick
- Provided you gradually add water (and don’t add too much), it’s foolproof
- It works exactly as it says.
- It’s nice and cheap at only €3.99 for the box.
They gave it 10 out of 10. Due to the fact that I hate messy things in the house and I don’t like the idea of it being so toxic, I give it about 6 out of 10. I was also disappointed when I saw how small the bag of snow crystals was. However, once they started expanding, it proved to be enough snow to keep everyone happy!
If you would like to purchase a box for yourself, you will find it here.
Thanks for taking the time to read this review,
xx Suzie
My last two blogs have been hugely popular, so I’ve decided to follow the theme and do one last blog on travel toys, activities and games. If you missed my blog on ‘Travel Activities for 3-5 Year Olds‘ or ‘Travel Toys for 6-8 Year Olds‘ and you have kids those ages, they are worth a read.
Today’s blog is for older children. I have one who fits into this category and a lot of the time when we are in restaurants or coffee shops, her go to ‘toy’ is my phone (which I hate and resist most of the time). I find it much easier if I have an alternative for her to keep her busy while we wait for food, an airplane or for a shower to pass.
As with the other two blogs, I’ve kept within 4 parameters when it comes to recommending travel games:
- They have to be small, light and easy to travel with
- They can’t be expensive
- You have to be able to use them several times
- They can’t be toys or games that will annoy anyone else around when they are being played.
So, here goes – here are my top ten games to bring on holidays for 9-12 year olds.
At first glance, you might think this game is too childish but my oldest girl recently bought a pack of these and she spends ages trying to find the three hidden objects on each card. The box contains 30 cards and one pencil.
2. Make your own Friendship Bracelets €7.50
Although the box is quite big the contents are light, so it would be easy to transfer the contents into a smaller bag for travelling with. Your child will spend hours making friendship bracelets, which they can then bring home as gifts for their friends or family.
3. Gift in a Tin – Chess €13.95
This is slightly more expensive than I’d like to spend on a holiday toy but the reality is that this quality wooden game is one that won’t just get used on holidays. It comes in a handy travel tin.
4. Matilda Card Game €4.99
Card Games are great for evenings in or wet days in a caravan. This one features characters from Roald Dahl’s book Matilda and is aimed for children and adults aged 6+
5. Tintastic Games €5.99
These little tins make perfect travel companions. Choose between Scribble (similar to Pictionary), Bluff, Acting Up (similar to Charades), Starts With, Never Say (similar to Taboo) or Trivia.
6. Mini Logix – Guess My Name €6.50
These Mini Logix Cards need two people to play and there are two different packs – a purple pack with has female characters and a grey pack with male characters. It’s similar to the game Guess Who? By asking yes/no questions and clever elimination, you need to figure out what character your opponent has chosen to be. The pack contains 30 cards and two pencils. Also in this Mini Logix Range are Sudoku Puzzles for kids and Wordsearches.
7. Playing Cards €1.50
Sometimes it’s the simple things in life that outlive the more elaborate ones and that is certainly true for playing cards. We play Spoons, Spit and Solitaire with our ones when we are on holidays but there are so many fun games to play out there.
8. Wild Origami €8.65
Learn how to fold paper in a way so that it looks like animals. This set contains 55 sheets of double-sided patterned origami paper and instructions on how to make 5 jungle animals.
9. Words Game €4.50
This is a great family game where you are competing to make the best words out of the combination of letters before you.
10. Gift in a Tin – Car Journey Games €13.95
If you are planning on doing a lot of driving on your holiday, I can’t recommend this tin of games enough. It has 7 fun games for children and adults aged 8+.
Well, there you have it – my top ten travel games for children aged 9-12 Years. I think you’ll find that if you invest in some of these games, you’ll enjoy them as much as your children and together you’ll make memories out of time that might otherwise be spent moaning!
Have a great holiday wherever you go,
xx Suzie
Last week I wrote a blog with ten travel activities to bring for your preschool child on holidays. I promised I’d follow up with some activities/toys/games to bring if you were traveling with children aged 6-8, so here it is! My youngest is 7 years old and earlier this year, we traveled as a family to Asia. Out of these ten items, we brought 8 and they all were used plenty.
I already mentioned in my last blog that I have some rules for travel activities. They are:
- They need to be small and light and easy to transport
- They can’t be expensive
- They need to be toys or activities that can be done multiple times
- They have to be quiet/sit down activities that won’t disturb other holidaymakers.
So, if you have a holiday planned, whether within Ireland or abroad, with children aged six, seven or eight, I’m happy to recommend these activities to keep them busy in restaurants, on rainy days or during long journeys.
This is a game to test your patience and your skill of picking up a stick without disturbing the other sticks. It’s not suitable to play while traveling as you need a solid surface to play, but it’s a fun game for children and adults alike to play while waiting for a meal to arrive or a shower to pass.
2. Mini Games – Mazes €6.50
Djeco has a fantastic range of little boxes full of different activities in their ‘Mini Games/Logix/Grafic’ range. Each box has 30 cards with activities to complete and some come with a pencil. This one has 30 mazes for your child to work out and a pencil. Once your child has finished their maze they can be packed again, with the pencil into the box for the next time.
3. Putty Peeps – €7
This small jar of putty comes with a set of eyes and is great for your child’s imagination, as they make little animals or monsters. One of the greatest things about putty is that it doesn’t dry out so it can be used over and over again.
4. The Beetle Game – €4.50
This travel version of the Beetle Game comes in a small box with 2 pencils. If you have more children (or the adults want to join in, bring extra pencils). The aim of the game is to be the first person to draw a complete beetle. However, you can only draw each part of the beetle when you throw the dice and get the correct number. The dice is passed around, with each person taking turns. The box contains the dice and a notepad with beetle outlines for your child to follow.
5. The Secret Decoder Game Book – €7.75
Although this activity can’t be done over and over, there are enough pages in it to keep your child busy on and off throughout your holiday. Use the rotary wheel at the front of this book to match the symbols with letters, then write them underneath the codes to figure out what is being said or requested on each page. Then use the invisible ink pen to colour over pictures and reveal other clues.
6. Rainbow Scratch Art – €5.49
If your child is creative, they will love making designs or pictures by scratching the black card with the stylus and revealing an array of colours underneath. The rainbow set comes with a page of stencils, should your child choose to use them. I also stock party packs of scratch art bookmarks and keyrings, so if you are traveling with lots of kids, these kits can be shared out easily.
7. Are we there yet? Travel Cards – €5
This is a game devised for traveling in a car with children where they have to spot lots of different items as you journey. More suitable for traveling in developed countries as some of the items would be hard to find in parts of Africa or Asia.
8. Mini Logix – Wordsearch – €6.50
This is also part of the Djeco Mini range. The box has 30 fun word searches and a pencil. If you are traveling with more than one child and want to share this box, then bring extra pencils.
9. Travel Mosaics – €6.50
In my last blog, I featured some sticker mosaic activities for young children. These ones here are suitable for older kids as the stickers aren’t raised and they need to be placed close to each other to complete the picture. This Mosaic Pad has 8 board pictures to complete and hundreds of stickers.
10. Connect4 – Grab and Go – €10.75
This is a little bit more expensive but it’s a game that can be used over and over on holidays or at home. This travel version is smaller than the original game but looks exactly the same. It’s for two players.
Along with these, I always pack a book for each of my children, a magazine and some markers. We leave the screens at home and we don’t miss them!
I hope this blog has given you some inspiration. Next week, I plan on writing a blog on travel activities for 9-12-year-olds, so if you have children that age, pop back in about a week’s time!
Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope you all have a wonderful summer, whether you stay at home or leave the country.
xx Suzie
It’s the time of year again when people start dreaming of a holiday. Traveling with kids can be fun, but some elements can be very stressful and tiring. It’s during these times, that I like to whip out a bag of activities for my children to work on. Here’s some tried and tested ones that have worked for us when we have been caravaning on rainy days, flying long haul or simply waiting a long time for our food to get served in a restaurant!
I’ve chosen 10 to focus on. My general rules of thumb when it comes to travel activities are:
- They can’t be expensive (after all, I’ve probably paid a small fortune for the holiday already)
- They have to be small and light (and easy to travel with)
- Ideally, they aren’t 10-minute activities that can’t be re-used/re-done. I want to have activities that can come out and be used every time my kids are getting antsy.
- These are sit down, quiet activities that won’t annoy other passengers/ fellow restauranteurs!
In today’s blog, I’m focusing on the 3-5-year-olds. Next week, I plan on writing a similar blog focusing on 6-8-year-olds and the following week on 9-12-year-olds. So hopefully, by the time May is over, you’ll have a few ideas of what to pack to keep your child busy while away!
Melissa and Doug do some really lovely travel books called ‘On the Go’. This one here has 6 pages that need to be coloured but it’s easier for small children as there are velvet outlines, so they can colour within the lines. It’s a great activity to bring, as it comes with 6 markers. Once the pages are completed, you still have markers to draw and colour with.
2. On the Go – Water Wow – €6.99
These are brilliant for young children as it’s water play, but it’s not messy. Fill the paintbrush with water and then paint each of the pages in the book to reveal colour and items your child has to find. Within minutes, the pages have returned to their black and white form and they are ready to be painted again (and again and again and again!). I stock these in different themes – Animals, Pet Mazes (for slightly older children who have more pen control), Fairytales, Under the Sea, Vehicles, and Manicures and Make Up.
3. Lacing Pictures – €10
These come in a large enough box but you can take them out of the box and then they take up less room and they are light.
4. Paper Masks – €2.99
These are great as in each box you get 6 masks and a packet of markers (which can then be used for other colouring activities when away). I used to bring just one mask per child when we were eating out. That way, they didn’t rush through the activity in order to move onto the next mask and it meant that this activity could be used on several nights. I stock these in boxes of Princess Masks and Dinosaur Masks.
5. Mosaics – €9.99
These mosaics from Djeco are great as the stickers are raised foam so little hands can manage them. Each box contains 2 board pictures to complete and each picture (depending on your child’s ability and concentration) will take about an hour to complete. I stock the Elephant and Snail box and the Dinosaurs box.
6. Create Animals/Faces with Stickers – €7.99
This is another sticker activity where your child has to decorate an animal or blank face with stickers. Each pack comes with 16 boards to complete and hundreds of stickers.
7. Magic Pictures – €3.50
These little books will probably bring you back to your own childhood. Each book contains 24 blank pages. However, when your child rubs over the pages with a coin, an outline picture appears. These can then be coloured using your markers from the Mask sets or the Magic Velvet sets! I stock these in Farm and Animals.
8. First Sticker Pictures – €10
Again, the box for this is quite large but you could take the contents out and bring on their own if you are tight for space. What I love about these sticker sets is that they are re-usable. Each box contains 6 background boards and approx 100 re-usable stickers.
9. Connecta Straws – €8.49
This pack of plastic straws and connectors will have your child creating fun 3D shapes while you sit back and relax!
10. A children’s magazine or book
We have a tradition in our family that once we get to the airport and through customs, our children can choose one magazine each for their holidays. This not only puts in waiting time at the airport but they get something we can read to them while away and the magazines they choose usually come with some plastic toys which they can play with.
I hope you have found this blog helpful. I have erred on the younger side of 3-5-year-olds (more like pre-school aged children), so if you think that these toys are too ‘young’ for your child, wait a week and I’ll have ten more toys to recommend for 6-8 year old, which might suit your child/ren.
I hope you have a lovely family holiday, wherever you go and whatever you bring!
xx Suzie
The Easter holidays were drawing to a close. The gorgeous weather that we’d experienced earlier in the week had faded away and the girls were getting antsy playing inside. It was time for a new activity. I keep a small stash of toys or crafts I think they’d like and every now and again, I take one out to do together. That day, I choose the ‘Make your own Glow in the Dark Bouncy Balls’ kit from Galt. Their little faces lit up. They washed their hands and sat patiently at the table, planning what colours they would make each ball and who they would give them to as gifts, while I opened the box and scanned over the instructions.
The box contained eight sachets of coloured granules, two plastic moulds (one large and one small) and instructions. We could choose to make either two large bouncy balls or eight small ones. There was virtually no debate – we would make eight small ones and then more people could have them. We lifted out the small mould and clipped it together so that there was a small hole at the top. Then we choose the colours we wanted for our first ball to be and took it in turns pouring the granules/crystals into the mould until they came to the top.
This was easy, even for little hands, and very little spilled out onto the table. Then, we immersed the filled mould into a glass of cold water and waited two minutes. I expected some of the crystals to float out, but thankfully this didn’t happen.
Once the time was up, we lifted it and let it rest for two more minutes. Then, we gently opened up the mould and pried the new ball out. We then had to hold it under running water and wait for it to dry off completely. This later stage really tested the girls’ patience as they were eager to try out the balls. Each ball took about 15 minutes to make and you can only make one at a time, so the whole activity took about an hour and a half. The girls were absolutely delighted with their rainbow balls. Initially, they didn’t glow in the dark but I think they needed to absorb sunlight. We left them on the window sill and the following evening, they were glowing!
What we liked about this activity:
- The price! This activity/kit only costs €8.60
- It worked exactly as it said it would. Often we are disappointed with results which look nothing like the packet but these balls look like the ones on the box. They are not smooth bouncy calls but have a bit of texture but this is shown on the box photos.
- It was easy and it was good for getting us to all work together
- I liked that as we waited for each ball to form, we had quality time chatting together
- The colours of the crystals are lovely.
- It wasn’t particularly messy. Some crystals did end up on the floor but they were easy to sweep up.
- You get to make eight balls
What we didn’t like about this activity:
- The box says this activity is for children aged 8+. I guess the chemicals in the crystals aren’ t safe for younger children. My youngest is 7 and when she read this, her face dropped as she expected to be left out. I explained that I was happy to let her participate once she washed her hands, didn’t touch her eyes etc.
- It would have been nice to get two of each sized moulds. That way we could have been making two balls at the same time.
- Although I loved sitting around and waiting for the balls to form, after the first couple, the girls were getting tired of waiting. If we were to do it again, I think I’d split the box in half and just make four balls and then do the remaining another day.
- The box says that over time the balls will harden and no longer bounce. We haven’t experienced this yet but when it happens, it might not go down too well! At least we are prepared.
We are happy to recommend this Make your own Bouncy Ball Kit. If you’d like to try it yourself, you can purchase it here.
Thanks for reading,
xx Suzie
As kids get older I find it harder to buy gifts for them. Often I find that they just want money or computer games, both of which, I hate giving. Call me old-fashioned, but I love taking time to choose gifts for children and I find that when I give money, they often spend it on things that aren’t good for them (like chocolate or games that mean their faces are stuck to their screens!)
If you are similar and you have a ten-year-old to buy for, check out these ten toys that I’m happy to recommend. If you want to buy something cheaper or more expensive (all these gifts cost between €10 and €22) or none of these just jump out at you, check out my full range of toys for ten-year-olds here.
1. The Yes/No Game €10.49
This is a fun game for the whole family. It comes with 1 pack of ’50 questions’ cards and a bell and the aim is to be able to answer the questions without answering yes or no. It’s much harder than it seems!
2. The Science of Colours and Light – €11.99
This is a really good value science kit that combines crafts to look at the science of colours and light. It’s clever and yet simple enough for ten-year-olds to enjoy and grasp.
3. Tractor in a Tin – €13.95
This fun little kit has everything you need to build your own metal tractor. Perfect for kids that like mechanics and farming.
4. The Story Telling Game – €14.99
Children have the best imaginations and it’s great to be able to encourage them in fun ways. This game will have you all sucked into each other’s stories!
5. Putty Peeps Mixing Lab – €14.99
Make six different coloured putty, add special effects and learn all about colour formations at the same time. This kit is great for all ages.
6. Recycled Paper Beads – €17
With this jewelry making kit, you need a recycled bottle and old magazines or newspapers to make your very own quirky beads and jewelry.
7. Science Lab – €17.99
This is a brilliant kit for budding scientists.
8. Really Rotten Experiments – €22
The grosser, the better! This kit will have your stomach churning with the fun experiments and information sheet. From the makers of the Horrible Science Series.
9. Glitter Boards Dresses – €18.65
Not every ten year old enjoys gross experiments. Some are happier to sit down and do crafts. This set allows the child to design pretty dresses with glitter.
10. Art by Numbers Coloured Sand – €17.95
It can be hard to find nice craft kits that are more boyish. This one is perfect. It’s sand art and the pictures are of boy doing board sports (skateboarding, surfing, etc)
I hope this has helped give you some inspiration. Nine and ten-year-olds are quite similar, so maybe you’d like to read my ten gift ideas for nine-year-olds too?
Enjoy the rest of the Easter break,
xx Suzie
I hope you have enjoyed my blogs with gift ideas for every age. If you’ve missed them, you can catch up here. Today, I’m focusing on nine-year-olds. As children get older, their tastes get more refined and I only have time to focus on ten toys in this blog. However, I do stock a lot more, so if none of these suit the nine-year-old you have in mind (or the budget is too small or big here), check out my full range of toys for this age group here.
- Make your own Bouncy Balls €8.60
This fun kit from Galt Toys has everything the child needs to make either a few large bouncy balls or several smaller ones. Choose whether to make them in a single colour or rainbow.
- Make a Sock Owl €9.50
This fun sewing kit comes in a lovely little gift tin. After the owl has been made, he/she then has a place to live in the tin!
- Mini Breakdown Truck €9.50
This construction kit is also by Gift in a Tin and it includes all the tools and components to make a metal tow-truck.
- Create a Geode €12.99
For any geography or crystal lovers, this kit would make a great present! It’s fun watching the crystals form on the geode.
- Make your own Insect Home €13.95
This gift would be perfect for a child that loves nature and crafts. You make the insect home and then you place it outside for little creatures to live in.
This is a great price for this educational toy that has great play value after it has been constructed.
- Glow Lab €16
If the child in mind is into science, then this science kit will teach them all about glowing through experiments.
- Candle Factory €16.99
This kit has everything needed to make several candles which your child can keep or give as gifts to friends or family.
- Jungle Wind-Ups €17.99
Make a whole set of wind-up toys to race each other with this fab craft set for older children
- Kersplat €19.99
This is a fun game for the whole family to enjoy or to play with when their friends are over.
I hope you’ve found something that suits the 9-year-old you are buying for. As I said, this is just a small selection of toys that I stock. If you haven’t found anything here, then please take a look at my full range.
Enjoy the rest of the Easter break,
Xx Suzie
Over the past couple of months, I’ve been writing blogs with suggested gifts for certain ages and in today’s blog, I’ll be focusing on gifts for 8-year-olds. All the toys I’ve selected fit into the price range I usually give but if you are looking for cheaper or more expensive gifts, then check out my full range of toys for eight-year-olds here.
- Wild Origami €8.65
This pad contains double-sided patterned paper and instructions so that you can learn how to fold the paper so that it looks like wild animals.
2. Bottle Sand Art €9.50
Fill the bottles with different coloured sand and either keep them for yourself or give them as decorative gifts to friends and family.
3. Solar Bi-Plane €9.99
Assemble the wooden pieces and wire in the solar panel. Once this plane is charged by the sun, it will move along the ground.
4. Sew a Puppy €10
This sewing kit is for children who are just learning to sew. It has everything you need to make a really cute little puppy.
5. Bonkers Bubbles €10
If you have a child that wants to know how everything works, then this is a kit for him or her. It comes with an information book all about bubbles and contraptions so that you can make large bubbles.
6. Paint your own Bird House €10.99
This lovely kit has a wooden birdhouse, a paintbrush and a selection of paints.
7. Science of Forces and Energy €10.99
Learn all about energy and how things move with this really cool science kit.
8. Guess Who? Game €10.99
This is a travel version of this very popular game that will keep kids busy for ages.
9. What’s Up? Game €14.99
Place the card on the headband on your head and try and guess what is on the card by asking yes/no questions.
10. Make your own Lie Detector €14.99
Learn all about how lie detectors work and make one to test on your friends and family.
I hope this blog has given you some ideas and inspiration. If you still haven’t found what you are looking for, take a look at my blog for seven-year-olds or nine-year-olds (coming soon!) or check out my full range of toys for 6-8-year-olds. Thanks so much for taking the time to read this.
Support small, Irish businesses!
xx Suzie