Gift ideas for children that last longer than a week
Gifts for children are easy to buy and hard to get right. Most of it gets played with for a week and then lives at the bottom of the box, as anyone who has tidied a child's room in January knows.
The gifts that survive usually have one thing in common: they can be used in more than one way. Here are twelve ideas built on that principle, split by age, whether it is your own child, a grandchild or a godchild.
Toys that last for years
The toys that come back out next year are rarely the ones that do the most by themselves. The more the child has to invent, the longer it lasts.
- Wooden toys
The blocks, the figures or the track in real wood. It survives being dropped, it can be handed down to a younger sibling, and it still looks like something in five years.
- The construction set
The kind that can be rebuilt and started over. Choose the open set over the finished model, so it is not over once it has been assembled the first time.
- The play kitchen and the play food
Role play is the play that lasts longest for most children between three and seven. It can be extended year after year with one more piece.
- The teddy for the smallest
For the very young, one good teddy is worth more than five pieces of plastic. Choose the one that can be washed, because it will go everywhere.
Games the whole family joins
A game is two gifts in one: the thing for the child, and the hours at the table with the adults. It is also the easiest gift to get right, as long as you know the age.
- The children's game
One that plays in twenty minutes without anyone crying. Check the age on the box and go a year down rather than a year up, so the child wins sometimes too.
- The card game
The cheapest gift with the most hours in it. It takes up no space, it fits in the bag on holiday, and it gets played long after the big game is forgotten.
- The jigsaw or the puzzle
For the child who is happy sitting alone with something. Choose a difficulty slightly above what they can do now, so there is something to work towards.
- The classics in wood
Chess, backgammon or one of the old games in a proper set. This is the gift a grandparent gives that is still out on the table when the child is grown.
For the older children
From around ten it changes. The gift should no longer be a toy, it should be a step into something they are becoming good at themselves.
- The experiment kit
Chemistry, crystals or electronics. It catches the exact moment a child discovers there is something they want to know more about, and it is hard to buy too early.
- The creative things and the colouring book
The drawing pad, the colouring book or the notebook in real quality. Good paper does more for the urge to draw than another set of pens.
- The children's classic
The book you had read aloud to you, in an edition built to last. Books are the gift parents almost never buy enough of, and they get read many times.
- Headphones or gaming kit
For those from around twelve. If they play, they feel the difference from day one, and it is far more personal than another game they may already have.
What a good gift for a child costs
Less than for anyone else. Under DKK 200 covers the card game, the colouring book, the teddy, the children's game and much of the wooden toys, and that is in fact where most of the direct hits are. Between DKK 200 and 400 sits the board game, the jigsaw, the experiment kit and the play food. Above DKK 400 you are into the large construction sets, the wooden classics and kit for older children. A child does not measure a gift in money, they measure it in how many times it can be used.
Frequently asked questions
What do you give a child for their birthday?
Something that can be used in more than one way. A game, a construction set or wooden toys last for years, while the finished model is often over the same day. If in doubt, ask the parents what the child is playing with right now, and buy a better version of that.
How do you find the right age for a game or toy?
The age on the box is a safety limit for small parts, not a recommendation. For games, the rule of thumb is to go a year down rather than a year up: a child who wins sometimes plays it again.
What do you give a grandchild you do not see very often?
Give something you can do together next time you meet. A wooden game, a jigsaw or a book you have read aloud yourself becomes an arrangement rather than an object, and gifts like that get remembered for years.
How do I avoid giving the same as everyone else?
Stay narrow. Aim at the one thing the child is deep into right now, rather than what all children that age like. Or let Min Gavepartner remember it: we keep track of the occasions, and our gift picker chooses from your own words about the child, year after year.
Min Gavepartner in short
You take care of the personal part. We take care of the administrative one. That way you can keep giving with real thought behind it, year after year.
- You describe them once
Who you give to, when, and what may be spent. It takes one quiet evening, and it is the only thing you have to do yourself.
- We remember and find the gift
Our gift picker looks for it using your own words about the person, well before the day. If you want to approve or change it, that is one tap away.
- The gift arrives at your home
You wrap it and give it yourself. You pay the shop's own price for the gift, and we never add anything on top.
Tired of having to remember and hunt for the gifts yourself?
My Gift Partner remembers your special days, and our gift picker finds a personal gift within your budget, year after year. You set it up in one quiet evening.
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