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If we are buying presents for young people, they will
normally be grandchildren. This is not exclusively the case,
however, since you might find yourself buying something for a
grandchild's best friend, for instance. However, grandchildren
will obviously be high on the list of young people to buy for!
The first thing to say is that young people are sometimes
the easiest to buy for because they will very often tell you
what they want. If they do, take advantage of this. Many people
feel that they want to buy something that will be a surprise but
it's probably better to buy something that you know they really
want.
If you don't find out from the horse's mouth, involve the
parents in the choice. They are likely to have a better idea
about what the child would like. Even if you go your own way,
it's best to check with parents first, to ensure that there's no
duplication.
Electronics
If you are left to your own devices, then there are plenty of
sources of inspiration. To a large extent, of course, your
choice will be determined by the age of the child, but your
choice may be made easier by the fact that they want the latest
electronic gadget - an X Box, MP3 player or whatever. These can
be expensive, so you could join forces with the parents to buy
it. Don't forget to look at one of the price comparison
websites, such as kelkoo,
to see where you can get the cheapest buys.
Alternatively, you could pay for a subscription to the
X Box monthly magazine.
Very Young Children
For very young children, places such as
Mothercare, The Early
Learning Centre or
Toys R Us are obvious choices. At Mothercare, for example,
you can put the child's foot or hand into a compound and get a
cast of it to give as a present.
All Ages
There is an excellent website to help you with presents for
children of all ages, including teenagers, called
Gogoblin. Go to it and
select if you want a present for a boy or a girl and what age.
Then there are links to many suitable present ideas.
Letterbox is another
good source of presents for children of all ages.
Children very often like personalised gifts. If you think that
this would appeal to your grandchild, take a look at
The Kids
Window where you will find all sorts of personalised gifts
as well as all kinds of other presents.
Books
You might want to buy books for your grandchildren. If you do,
Amazon has, literally, thousands of them to choose from.
Another excellent website is
UK Children's Books.
Here, you can choose an author and then look at all their books
before clicking on one to buy. Try
Usbourne, too. They
specialise in children's books and provide books for schools.
They have an excellent website which could keep you interested
for some time!
Tickets
Buying tickets for events - shows, sporting events and so on -
is another option for children. Very often, you can get
reductions for children over and above any normal young people's
discounts. The best way to see what's on offer is to type
'Tickets for shows for Children' into
Google and see if there's
anything on offer. Irrespective of whether there is or not, a
day out including a show or sports event is a very popular
present with children. Talking of sporting events, take them to
actually do something, such as ice skating, 10-pin bowling,
swimming or rollerblading.
Days Out
There are also days out at a theme park such as Alton Towers,
Thorpe Park or a safari park or zoo such as
Chessington World of
Adventures (which also doubles as a theme park),
London or
Whipsnade.
There are also many fun places with an educational theme to
visit, such as the
Royal Armouries in The Tower of London, Hampshire and Leeds,
Eureka near Halifax (a
'hands-on museum for children'). There are, of course, many
museums all over the country to take children to. The
Science Museum in
London, which very often has special exhibits and events for
children, is probably amongst the best of them.
If you would like to help make this Guide even better, either
fill in the
feedback form or visit our
Forum
and tell us any ideas you have. In particular, tell us about the
best present you have ever given to a child or the best one you
ever received when you were young. We'll then add your ideas to
the Guide.
Finally, take a look at the laterlife
Grandchildren page. There are ideas for presents for your
grandchildren, books for you and all sorts of other aids to
being a grandparent.
Now read the rest of the Guide by clicking on the links in the
box. It will ease the dilemma of trying to choose the perfect
present.
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