| p>I have a confession to make: Christmas | | | | will have cared, but six months ago and will now |
| presents for children make me nervous. It's not | | | | think you're treating them like a baby. Believe me, |
| because I don't adore spoiling my own children, | | | | in planet child there's not much worse than that. |
| but so often other people get it wrong. | | | | The most successful Christmas presents for |
| Do I sound like an ungrateful brat? Let me explain. | | | | children look gorgeous and come with guaranteed |
| Nine times out of ten, instead of a well-designed, | | | | longevity. My daughter's jewellery box with a |
| age-appropriate kids' toy, my children are | | | | wind-up dancing clown is played with every night |
| inundated with junk. | | | | before she goes to bed, unlike the plastic handbag |
| Bead sets that are marked 'for age 10-plus' - my | | | | that snapped in two the second she put her |
| daughter is five - weapons that wouldn't look out | | | | treasures inside it. |
| of place in the armed forces and soft-toys based | | | | My son plays endlessly with his wooden fort, |
| on cartoon characters. Never mind the children, no | | | | hiding everything from wooden knights to toy |
| wonder parents occasionally lose their minds over | | | | cars inside. Like the music box, it also looks good |
| kids' toys. | | | | in his bedroom - and most mums will admit this is |
| Call me old fashioned, but my ethos is simple. | | | | important too. |
| Source beautifully crafted kids' toys that aren't | | | | My advice is to go for the best example of the |
| just one-hit wonders. Anyone can spend a tenner | | | | classic Christmas presents for children you can |
| on the latest TV must-have, but wouldn't it be | | | | find, or dare to be different. Traditional blocks, a |
| nicer to invest in illustrated books or finger | | | | pull-along hand-painted animal, a china tea-set or |
| puppets that are unisex and great for a child's | | | | play tent, wrapped simply in brown-paper and tied |
| imagination? | | | | with a coloured ribbon will look far cooler than the |
| Even if you choose the cartoon they actually like, | | | | army of flashing chunks of plastic kids' toys given |
| they probably already have the duvet/ lunch-box/ | | | | by almost everyone else. Wouldn't you be happy |
| plastic figures. If not, they won't care, or - gasp - | | | | if your birthday presents lasted a lifetime? |