Our two children (aged 5 and almost 2) got some great gifts this Christmas. All of these would work well on a trip away from home and they are all fairly low-tech and easy to pack. Here are our top hits of 2009:
Pink and blue LEGO digital camera
A huge hit with my 5-year-old daughter. And it's inexpensive enough to buy for a special trip, too. There's nothing like seeking out interesting objects to take pictures of to relieve the boredom of airports or restaurants or when forced to spend several days cooped up at home because it's too cold to go outside... It comes in a red/yellow/blue colour scheme, too.
"You Choose" by Pippa Goodhart and Nick Sharrat
A great book for any age, my 5 year old and 23 month old love looking at this together and because it's interactive you can "read" it over and over again. A fantastic book to share with your kids and stimulate the imagination, and a brilliant book to take along on a trip.
Maisy's Amazing Big Book of Words by Lucy Cousins
My 23 month old, who is just learning to talk, loves Maisy. This book is choc full of classic Lucy Cousins illustrations and includes flaps on every spread. My daughter also loves searching for Panda on every spread.
Little Doctor's Kit
Again, a big hit with both children. My five year old has received these in the past but the new one included a surgeon's dress-up outfit and some real band-aids and bandages that has kept the two of them busy for hours already. There's something about giving doll/sister/mum/dad a pretend injection that never seems to get boring.
Fairies: Petal people you make yourself by Rachel Haab/Klutz
This is some serious crafty fun for girls (and parents, too!). Once we'd made a couple of fairies, my daughter was off in a world of make-believe with them. The product is recommended for eight year olds and up and my 5-year-old daughter needed a fair bit of help with the fiddly gluing, but that's what I love about crafts: everyone gets involved. Klutz make a wide range of crafty sets so if you have boys, check out the Klutz website for more info.
