2021 has been a hard year for so many across Australia, with long lockdowns on the east coast, to short sharp lockdowns in all other states. Everyone is looking for a nice Christmas with family, and to treating the kids, which has been difficult on them as well.

There are so many toys out there, it can be impossible to decide which toys are the best ones to buy for your little ones for Christmas. Below we’ve outlined what our best sellers are for each age group this Christmas.

1-2 Years

The best toys for this age group are toys that will grow with the child and can be used in many ways over the years.

Pikler Bundles

Piklers are great to introduce at this age, because it promotes gross motor skills, which children of this age are really interested it. They’ve started walking and they now want to explore the world, and the Pikler can really help them with a calm space to practise those climbing skills!

Road Sets

Children of this age won’t be interested in playing with small world set ups yet, but they will be interested having some representation of play in their lives. Wooden roads are also great for practising fine motor skills of being able to put the roads together, and the roads won’t pull apart when played with, reducing frustration.

3-4 Years

Children start to interact with their toys differently at this age. They will start to actively direct their own play and it’s likely if they have been playing with open-ended toys for a while that they won’t need much help with set-ups.

Blocks and Platforms

Blocks and platforms are great for this age group, as they start to reimagine all the things that they could create. It becomes incredibly fun to create houses, or garages for cars, ball runs, cakes, shops and a whole heap of other things! The play for this age group starts to become endless.

Pikler Bundles

In this age group, the love of Piklers hasn’t disappeared, but it will have changed. Children at 3 and 4 still love Piklers, but they do want variety and they will have mastered climbing to the top of the largest triangle. Having a bundle that you can change and incorporate different things will be a huge hit. For Piklers at this age, thinking climbing and sliding, obstacle courses, creating shops and so many other possibilities!

5 – 6 Years

At this age play changes a lot. It is often self-directed, with the child having a really clear idea of what it is that they want to create and play. There is a lot of life and small world representation, and while blocks are commonly given to smaller children for other development reasons, it’s this age group that will play with the blocks most independently.

Blocks and Platforms

Children of this age really love blocks and platforms, they use them in extraordinary ways, creating small worlds but also creating whole new ways of looking at the world. At this age, open-ended materials are mixed and incorporated so that the goal becomes creating a play masterpiece. Children of this age have a great way of choosing the same materials but creating totally different things each time, making the toys truly open-ended.

Roads and Arches

The roads and arches are really great for this age, because they can independently use them in their small world representation. They will set them up and create a world in which they are the creator of a town or road, and then be able to take control of the whole play scene. Bonus that the roads won’t pull apart when stood or knelt on while they play!

Christmas is a time of joy, and whatever toys you choose will reflect that. Often a great way to choose toys is to look at the interests of your child as well as what development skills are appropriate for your child over the coming year. Choosing toys with the interests of the child and accounting for appropriate developmental skills ensures the toys you choose will be loved for a long time!