Once children come into your life, it seems that you are always buying them gifts – new baby gifts, Christening gifts, birthday gifts, Christmas gifts, and then gifts for all your children’s friends too. So it’s not surprising that finding a unique gift for the children in your life can be difficult as they receive so much these days.But unique gifts for children will be appreciated for much longer than the latest must-have toy, and the parents will also thank you for an unusual present. So, to help you out, here are some ideas for unique gifts for children, fitting all price ranges and occasions, from Christening gifts to stocking fillers.New Baby/Christening Gifts
• For an inexpensive but unique new baby gift, buy a couple of newspapers from the day of the child’s birth, plus the CD of the number one single of the week. You can then package them together with pretty ribbon or in a gift box for a thoughtful present.• Or why not buy the new baby a canvas for her nursery – artwork for children is increasingly popular and there are a wonderful range of canvases and prints that are suitable for bedrooms, nurseries and playrooms. This idea works equally well for a Christening gift. Let’s be honest, whilst silver tooth boxes are traditional Christening gifts, they’re not exactly useful or contemporary.• Another unique Christening gift idea is to buy a bottle of wine or champagne and then add a message to the bottle saying that you look forward to enjoying a drink with the child on their 18th (or 21st) birthday. You could even buy wine from the year of the child’s birth.• Or how about a collection of DVDs of classic films – Disney films are always popular, or to make the gift even more personal, you could buy some of your favourite films when you were a child and write an accompanying note explaining what you enjoyed about them. Personal touches like this mean some much more than a generic gift.Birthday and Christmas Gifts for Children
The rule with children (younger ones especially) seems to be that the cost of the gift is irrelevant – it is often the most surprising gifts that catch their attention – and sometimes even just the packaging! An understanding of what the child you are buying for is into is always helpful in putting together the best gifts.• Crafty ideas are often winners and for an affordable but unusual gift, buying lots of different stickers and stampers and packaging them together with some coloured paper and glitter glue will give them something that will keep them amused for hours.• Sticker books are also popular presents – Usborne do a fantastic range called Sticker Dolly Dressing that all little girls seems to love. And for boys, the equally well priced Usborne Activity Cards make an affordable gift for kids that will hold their attention.• For unique gifts for children that the parents will also thank you for, how about something for their bedroom? Bookends, memo boards or funky photo frames are less obvious gifts for kids, but will probably last longer than a toy.Stocking Fillers and Party Bag Treats
Finding inexpensive but unusual gifts for kids’ stockings or party bags is often tricky. There are lots of websites that specialise in children’s party bags, so it’s worth checking these out.• If you look around you can often find sets of books at great prices, so you could split the set and each child could have a book in their party bag. Or the books can be wrapped separately for stockings, or split so that you have little gifts for several children.• Stationery items are generally well-received by children: a pretty notebook, a sparkly pen or some unusual coloured crayons.One final piece of advice – it definitely pays to be organised when it comes to finding unique gifts for children. If you see something buy it there and then and keep it in a present cupboard, this way you won’t get caught out by last-minute party invitations and parents will love you for finding something that little bit different.