Idealpresent Guide To An Ideal Christmas 2007

According to research by on-line gift advice service www.idealpresent.co.uk, if they could get the Christmas Fairy to wave their magic wand, there's three wishes that most parents would ask for:

Someone else to trawl the shops for them!
To know what presents will keep the children happy for weeks, not one day wonders!
To avoid stress during the festive season!

If these sound like the things you'd wish for, then take a look at our Christmas Gift Guide, compiled by idealpresent.co.uk. It's packed full of ideas for children of all ages, from the latest "must have" toys, to presents that they'll still be happy with next Christmas! Plus ideas for books, for those quieter moments, and games for all the family to play together. There's also ideas from real parents on how to have an ideal Christmas with your children.

How to have an ideal Christmas with children:

Go to a crib / nativity service at church - great way for small children to understand what Christmas is about. Or act out a Nativity Play in the lounge with tea towels and tinsel galore!
Involve the children in thinking about other people at Christmas (rather than just saying "I want". Find out about local organisations that take gift donations e.g. hospitals. Consider a virtual gift e.g. World Vision's Alternative Gift Catalogue www.greatgifts.org.
Make Christmas biscuits together (find a holly cutter and some red and green writing icing)
Take the toys out of their boxes before wrapping them, removing all the plastic wrapping and ties, putting them back in the box with their batteries safely installed. It saves scrabbling around with Philips screwdrivers on Christmas Day morning.
Don't give all the children's presents on Christmas Day - give them over the whole period between Christmas and New Year. Saves on present overload for little kids and brings a sense of excitement and anticipation every day!
Make sure the kids get some decent periods of time at home to play with & enjoy their presents. There's nothing more frustrating than having to go off to another relative's house when you really want to make a Lego model!

Still need some more ideas?
Idealpresent.co.uk is the first online independent children's gifts advice service, to help you with ideas and suggestions for every occasion. All you do is answer some simple questions about the child you are buying for, then idealpresent tells you what to buy, and where - from over 10,000 toys, games, books, CDs (anything you could imagine, and things you wouldn't think of!) from over 200 different retailers. The service is completely free of charge, and there's also a quick and free "what's hot" section.

Short on time?
Why not use idealpresent lists. Think wedding list, but for a children's occasion. You make up a list of up to 30 presents (ideas from idealpresent's extensive database or ideas you already have), then you send the idealpresent list e-mail to friends and family. They log on, view your list and decide what to buy - ideal present will tell them where to buy, and how much to pay. You can simply sit back and relax knowing your children will get just what they always wanted.

Game on!
Remember! Children value our time and energy spent with them far more than their presents! Here's some ideal games for all the family to play together this holiday season!

Preschool
Shopping List Game (Orchard Toys) £7 Brightminds
Hungry Hippos (MB) £10 Amazon.co.uk
5-7 Years Old
Dancing Eggs Game (Haba) £15 Firebox
Cranium Cadoo (Re:creation) £15 Boots.com
8 years +
Jenga (MB) £8 Woolworths
Bop It Extreme 2 (MB) £20 Hamleys

Idealpresent Christmas Gift Guide for Boys 2007
Idealpresent Christmas Gift Guide for Girls 2007
Hot Dozen Toys for 2007