Wonderdal Weighs In On The Best Birthday Present Ideas for Kids

“Moooommmmmy! It’s only 325 more days until my biiiiiiirthdaaaaay! Do you remember? It’s close, hey?”

*insert a mom sigh right about here*

Oh trust us, we remember. We remember all about that upcoming birthday because you remind us

Every

Single

Day

And we love you for it!

But what we (the parents) don’t particularly love is having birthday present responsibility sitting on our shoulders – you know what we’re talking about, picking just the right gift. Something fun, yet preferably still educational. Something that really is worth spending that hard-earned money on… If only there were an app for this sort of thing.

Well, cake and balloon talk aside, if your little ones are anything like our little ones, birthdays are a BIG deal. You only get to turn (five, six, seven) eight once, so these milestones really deserve to be celebrated properly – that includes the present(s).

Don’t worry mom and dad we’re all in this parenting game (world) together and we (the Wonderdal team *waves*) have come up with a list of 3 GREAT BIRTHDAY PRESENT IDEAS the kids will love – and you will too! They literally tick all of the below present-giving boxes:

• Educational
• Interactive
• Encourage Fine Motor Skills
• Are investment gifts (add-ons can be used for the next birthday or special occasion)

So, here we GO! Enter all things wrapped with a bow and eco-friendly wrapping (we may or may not have added a few wrapping ideas that’s good for Mother Earth too – see below).

1. You HAPE To Know About This Gift

Image source: Hape

(see what we did there?)

We’re pretty sure you’ve heard about this brand, but for those who haven’t, Hape certainly fits all of the gift-ticking boxes we mentioned above.

This German wooden toy brand covers a broad age range, starting from 12 months to 5+ years. Hape has grown to be internationally recognised, thanks to its toys being made from sustainable resources which makes them eco-friendly (another big present tick here!).

Hape is sure to cater to all interests, whether your little one is the next Jamie Oliver (their kitchen range is pretty spectacular – they don’t happen to make those wooden blenders in adult sizes, do they?). Or perhaps your little one is the next great adventurer (the Outdoor category is a must to check out then!).

Hape’s large selection of game categories include:

• Arts & Craft 

• Outdoor (start Googling who Kingsley Holgate is moms and dads)

• Construction and Railway

• Puzzles 

• Baby Einstein 
• And Role Play (cue all of the imaginative play here)

Best of all, there’s a Hape item to suit all budgets and the range can easily be sourced from various retailers in sunny South Africa!

Hape also has a dedicated Youtube channel with excellent ideas on age-appropriate play time ideas incorporating all of their products – take a look over 👉🏽 here.

2. BrainBox My First Maths

Image source: BrainBox

(Hellllllooooo little Einstein)

BrainBox My First Maths is a fun way (yes, we just said maths is fun – because it really can be) to help younger children engage with basic mathematical concepts, including numbers, shapes and measurement.

BrainBox has been developed by an experienced primary school teacher and is suitable for all ability levels. The object of the game is to study a card for 10 seconds. You then answer a question based on the roll of a dice. If the question answered is correct, the card is kept, and the person with the most number of cards after 10 minutes is the winner.

The BrainBox range is divided into two age group categories:

• 3 – 6-year-olds 
• And the 7+ age group

BrainBox isn’t just number specific, they cover a range of additional topics too, such as:

• BrainBox The World (learn fun facts about different countries)
• BrainBox Animals (a fun way to learn about animals)
• BrainBox Dinosaurs (RAWR – that’s dinosaur for, I love you, just FYI)
• And yes, there’s even a BrainBox Peppa Pig (Peppa puts all of those muddy puddle jumps into practice with loads of learning fun)
• BrainBox Science Pack (PSA: Wonderdal has these excellent kits in stock in their Shop – yay!)

BrainBox My First Maths, yes, we know, it’s the perfect gift, right? Right! Relax moms and dads, the Wonderdal Store stocks BrainBox and can be purchased after your Wonderdal visit. All you have to do is come up with a suitably brainy birthday card and that is best achieved after a cup of coffee and a bite to eat at the lovely Babushka Deli, right next door to Wonderdal (we love it when birthday present plans come together).

The BrainBox blog offers some excellent educational play ideas and additional learning information too, have a little look here.

3. Magformers Magnetic Toys

(A is for future architect…)

Description: Magformers, intelligent magnetic construction set for brain development.

Image source: @magformers

We can get behind that sentence! If you have yet to discover magnetic construction, say hello to your little one’s new BFF – in toy form. Educational toys and play structure doesn’t get much better than this!

Magformers provide a unique constructional play experience. What’s really great is that you can start your little ones off with a “Basic Set”, to see if they will enjoy it (we’re pretty sure they will). Add to your basic set once they become more advanced and their building skills get more intricate.

The Magformers site offers an excellent “Ideas Gallery” to really get the building and construction juices flowing. Their Youtube channel also has some great videos on all sorts of construction, like how to build a magnetic dog (WOOF!). 

Concerned that you won’t find these magical magnets in South Africa? Don’t be, take a look over here for some of the SA stockists.

Grab the phone camera, you’ll be sharing their creations over the Family What’s App chat for sure – no bragging allowed though, well, maybe a little.

Best you start upping your building block game moms and dads because you’re about to get Sky Scraper’d right out of the park!

Now that we’ve given you a few ideas for the best birthday presents (ever!), we did mention that we had a few ideas on how to make those gifts a little more environmentally-friendly…

Take a peek over here for some clever ideas on how to wrap those epic gifts. It’s a great way to get siblings involved too – if they’re able to keep the gift a secret, of course, Lols!

Happy Birthday To You! X 

Did you know that you can book Wonderdal as a Birthday party venue? Simply click the button below 👇 to find out how you can book the birthday party of the year with us!