I like to get meaningful toys for my kids, and I try to gift the same way too. For this year’s Christmas, I have decided to theme the gifts around family fun, logic and creativity.
The following some of the toys that I wish to get for my children, nieces and nephews (most of them are between 6 to 11 years old). When these may look a little old school, I prefer toys to be off-screen and interactive within the family.
Sharing the list here, hope you find it useful.
Twister Ultimate Game (S$29.15)
The Twister Ultimate Game* has more and bigger coloured spots, great for families like mine with multiple children to bond. There is a spinner which will designate where to place our hands and legs, twisting us into hilarious positions as the game moves on.
Active children, even the 3-year-olds will love this. The oversized plastic floor mat measures 64 x 93 inches and is easy to fold and pack.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BolCf4Znyj9/?tagged=ultimatetwister
ThinkFun – Rush Hour (S$29.15)
We spent some meaningful time playing the Rush Hour*. The objective of the game is simple – break your way out of the traffic jam. The toy that comes with 16 vehicle counters, one traffic grid and 40 challenges builds reasoning and planning skills. It is an immensely popular game with over 10 million units sold worldwide.
Although it is also available as an app, I prefer the physical form so that we can play it as a family, and to reduce the amount of time my children access to mobile phones.
As the game advances, the difficulty level increases. This is where parental guidance comes in, to steer the children along, encourage them not to give up so soon and build their resilience through failure. Honestly, if I walk away from the game for a minute, they may give up and not learn anything.
Fat Brain – Toy Acuity (S$19.95)
I bought this sturdy board game* for the kids to train up their focus. It is a multi-player game. We compete to discover and match patterns. The player who collects the most tiles wins the game.
The game not only strengthen our visual agility, but it also reinforces pattern recognition. We typically get mentally and visually drained after two rounds of the game and need to wind down after that.
The game does not get easier if you reduce the number of tiles used.
Use all tiles to ensure all players get their matching tiles.
ThinkFun Roller Coaster Challenge (S$43.44)
The Roller Coaster Challenge* is an award-winning toy that trains a kid’s logic and reasoning skills.
The set comes along with a game board, 36 posts, 39 tracks, one roller coaster car and forty mind challenging cards. The challenge card shows how to start the game, but does not demonstrate how to complete the roller coaster. The child gets to plan and figure out how to finish the game. Upon completion of the challenge, watch the car rolls from the start to the end of the roller coaster.
According to many reviewers, the set is suitable for children around six years old. Some four and five years old tried their hands at it and enjoyed the building session too. However, the 10-year-olds may find the toy uninteresting.
ThinkFun Gravity Maze Marble Run Logic Game (S$43.67)
Gravity Maze* is another award-winning toy that requires the players to create a maze for a marble to roll through.
The set contains 60 challenges, a game grid, nine towers, one target piece, and three marbles. The towers can be arranged in a wide variety of structure to facilitate the marbles from moving from the start to the end point.
Reviewers commented that the challenges intrigued adults too and the toy was a hit amongst their young and teenager kids. I am tempted to get this toy for my 11-year-old nephew.
ThinkFun Clue Master (S$14.57)
I am obviously a fan of ThinkFun toys.
If budget is an issue, perhaps Clue Master* is a better consideration. It is an equally great toy that develops the skill of deductive reasoning.
The set comes with nine magnetic tokens, game board, 40 challenges and solutions and instruction booklet. This Sudoku-style toy makes use of tokens to figure out the patterns based on clues and negative clues.
Although the game is more suitable for kids from 7 to 12 years old, it seems like some 4 to 6-years-old are enjoying the game too.
Tell Tale Fairy Tales (S$18.98)
The Tell-Tale Fairy Tales* are for younger children above four years old, though reviewers mentioned children between 6 to 10 years old would love them most.
The set comes with 120 images of the wizards, princesses, castles, forests, unicorns and dragons. Players spin stories, build on the other player’s tales or improvise with random cards.
I thought this set would help with my children’s creativity, imagination and their composition writing in school.
Dr Eureka Speed Logic Game (S$26.23)
Dr Eureka Speed Logic Game* is all about solving a formula by moving your molecules from tube to tube without touching them or dropping them!
The dexterity-based, brainteaser set comes with 12 test tubes, 24 colourful balls, 54 challenge cards and illustrated rules.
For those with some hand-eye coordination issue, they may take a while to learn to play the games as transferring the ball from tube to tube has proven to be challenging for many. There may be many moments of anger, but the game teaches them to slow down and think before they solve. So maybe the angsty moments may ultimately turn out to be worth the while.
You may also be interested in:
Our Favourite Baby Toys – 9 to 15 months
Have Fun Learning Fractions with Visual Aids
Activities we do with the twins at home – 12 months old to 15 months old
2018 June holiday plans for my kids
An update of our P1 and P2 journey
Hope I have shared a useful list of meaningful toys here.
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*Prices as at 19 Oct 2018
