5 kids products we are loving right now
If you are in need of some inspo for the perfect birthday present or something to invest in to keep the kids entertained on a rainy day or for the upcoming school holidays, then read on!
From the excitement of sinking battleships, to little cubes that are brought to life with a blast of water, these are the top five products my boys are totally obsessed with at this present moment.
I love them because they are all fun activities for kids to do instead of sitting in front of a screen and they encourage quality time spent together as a family!
1. Battleships
Boy, what a hit this board game has been (literally)! It was a favourite of mine and my husbands when we were young, so when my son recently received this game in the post for his 7th birthday present, we were ALL excited (thanks Auntie Amy!). For those of you who don’t know, Battleships is the classic naval combat game that is fun and competitive. We like to play the game in pairs so it is a family affair and my little dude can join in as well!
My son has inherited my husband’s competitive streak and so he takes the task of finding and sinking his opponents fleet of ships very seriously. Once he gets a hit and a sink there are high fives and he is jumping off his chair with excitement. Recommended for ages 7+ years, it took my son a few goes to get the hang of it but now he is fine to battle alone!
2. The Complete Jack Stack
This boxset including 20 of the very popular ‘Hey Jack’ books is a winner in our household and every second boy in my son’s classroom, proudly has these books displayed on a shelf in his bedroom. Written by the very talented author Sally Rippin, we love how there are life lessons and feelings integrated into each fun story, which my boys can totally relate to and learn from.
One such story is named “The Party Invite” based on a story about Jack not being invited to a birthday party. The book explains how this doesn’t necessarily mean Jack can’t be friends with the birthday kid anymore. We have read some of these stories together, as a way of educating my boys and to help them cope with certain situations such as this one. They are written in a simple way so that my now 7 year old can read them himself. Aimed at children 5+ years.
3. Uno
Uno is a fun addictive card game my boys ask to play as a family most nights. We initially were given the version for younger children which teaches the basics of the game, without all the rules and extra wildcards that the age 7+ version has. Consequently my little 4 year old man can now play the older kids version with just a little bit of help!
It is a great game for teaching numbers and colours to pre-schoolers and my eldest attempts to tally up the scores at the end which is fantastic for his maths! My boys get so excited if a wild card turns up in their hand and I love how they come up with weird and wonderful strategies in their head to try and win. There is so much value for money in this little packet of cards.
4. The Klutz Book of Paper Airplanes
I have recently discovered that for a 7 year old boy, life is all about making the perfect paper airplane. The evidence is in our living room and in fact our entire home, which is covered in different versions of paper planes. This book has not only taught my son how to make a variety of planes and gliders but how to modify them to make them fly faster or higher. The book introduction states, it is not paper toys you will learn to make, but ‘high performance paper machines’!
Every plane has a name… there is ‘The Hurricane’ shaped like a barrel, ‘The Hammer’ which is more like a rocket jet and my son’s favourite, ‘The Swashbuckler’ which he has just told me (without looking at the book) it is on page 18 and he likes it because “it flies really well.” This book comes with 40 sheets of paper with different designs and colours to choose from and instructions for 10 easy-to-fold planes. The paper ran out pretty quickly in our household but now we just use plain A4 paper and the boys sometimes draw on their own designs! You will also find valuable tips on making the perfect paper plane and how to fly them well. An awesome gift idea for your paper plane enthusiast!
5. Quixels
If your kids can’t get enough of construction, craft and creating, then like both of my boys they will love this product. Quixels are tiny cubes that fuse together with a blast of water to transform into monsters, animals, warplanes or whatever their wonderful imaginations come up with.
To get your kids started you will need to buy a set which includes the cubes in various colours, a water blaster (if you don’t have a spray bottle or water pistol at home), some design trays and templates and stands to put the creation on. Optional extras that may be included are plug in accessories such as a sword and a turbo dryer for added fun. Now that we have all the basics, I just have to purchase additional cubes which is great for school holidays, as it literally can keep the boys amused for hours.
Quixels are recommended for ages 4+ as the tiny cubes are not suitable for younger children and fine motor co-ordination skills are required to make the creations. A great kids craft product that just keeps on giving!
