Finding the perfect gift for kids when you’re stuck for ideas!

*Sponsored post in collaboration with Wicked Uncle.

As a Mum of three, I’ve had to find plenty of presents over the years. Whether it’s been birthday or Christmas presents for our own children, or presents for the other children in the family or our children’s friends, it often seems like there isn’t a month goes by without somebody needing a gift. Don’t get me wrong, I love buying gifts. But it can be really hard to find the perfect gift for children these days, particularly when it’s a friend and we don’t really know what they’ve already got or what kind of things they’re into. I’ve also found that buying gifts for kids gets harder as the kids get older – they’re often into expensive video games and buying smaller gifts can be really tricky! Thankfully, Wicked Uncle have a really great range of gift ideas for kids of all ages!

Finding the perfect gift

I’ve found that as our children get older, it gets harder and harder to buy them gifts. When they’re little, the options for gifts seem endless really. They’re often into certain TV characters or love toys they can push around such as cars, trains, or anything on wheels. But as they get older, it can become really tricky to find the perfect gift. Our children are all into gaming these days, particularly the two boys. But gaming gifts can be expensive, and if I’m honest, I’d rather buy gifts that encourage them to spend time away from their screens. But as children hit the age of around 10, it seems as though they become particularly harder to buy for – at least that’s been the experience we’ve found in our house. At around that age, they’re kind of getting too old for the traditional “toys” but they don’t just want clothes or money either. And from that age on, it just gets more and more difficult to find the perfect gift!

The other issue I’ve found is that it’s got harder to buy for my children’s friends as they’ve got older too. It’s impossible to know what they’ve already got and we often only have a little bit of an idea of what they’re into, so I’ve often found buying gifts really stressful!

One of the solutions I’ve come up with that seems to work really well when we just don’t know what to buy, is to opt for a quirky or unusual gift. This means that they’re less likely to get the same gift from somebody else, and hopefully they’ll receive an unusual gift that they love!

As a money-saving addict, you won’t be surprised that I’m also always conscious that we don’t overspend on gifts that just won’t be used or appreciated. I always put money away throughout the year towards Christmas and birthdays so that we don’t get caught out and resort to paying for things on credit cards, so the money is always there ready and waiting to buy gifts, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not careful about how much I spend and what I buy.

Great gift ideas on a budget

Over the 15 years that I’ve been a Mum, I’ve come up with a few different ways to buy gifts that the kids will love and that will fit in with our budget.

Choose an unusual gift

As I said, I find it harder to buy gifts as the kids get older, but even the younger ones can be tricky to buy for. If you’re buying for a child who loves Spider-Man, then the chances are that he’s already got the figures and everything else that goes with it.

I’ve seen these interactive glow t-shirts on loads of Instagram stories recently and they’re great for the summer when kids can stay up late and enjoy the outdoors with the family. These are a really great gift idea for kids of any age – they’re particularly good for kids going to any summer festivals where they can draw their own designs and really stand out in the dark!

Buy something useful

Buying useful gifts doesn’t need to be boring. In fact, I’ll often put things like socks, underwear and stationery into the kids stockings at Christmas. I hate buying plastic tat that will never be used or appreciated. It’s just a waste of money and it’s definitely NOT eco-friendly. If you’re buying for a child outside the family and you know that they like a particular character of TV show, you could opt for an item of character clothing such as Frozen dress or a superhero t-shirt.

Shop online

I’m a big fan of shopping local for many things, but when it comes to finding the perfect gift for kids, I much prefer to shop online. There is so much choice available online, and I love that you can read real reviews from other shoppers before making a purchase. You can also benefit from comparison sites online too so that you always make sure you’re finding the best deal. I also like to do a quick search for discount codes or offers online too – it’s a great way to save a little money.

If you’re on the look out for the perfect gift for a child, whether it’s for a birthday or Christmas, then choosing something unique that doesn’t cost the earth, or something practical that they can use again and again is the best way to go.