Top Gift Ideas for Christmas

The 2015 Holiday Gift Guide

As a gift blogger I read a lot of lists put out by top retailers, market watchers and trend spotters to see what are being heralded as the top wanted gift ideas for Christmas. This year I decided to share a few of them in a blog post, some of them are already featured on my top gift ideas page on this blog which is a great page to bookmark as I keep it updated regularly so that you know any of the ideas on there are sure to be popular.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Playset

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 24" Leonardo Mutation Play Set
It's hard to believe that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are still as popular now as they were when they first burst onto the scene during the 80s, but Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael and Donatello have found a whole new audience who love their antics.

This playset is a really awesome one as it features a 24" articulated Leonardo action figure, but it's also a complete Sewer Lair Playset - does it get much better than that?

The answer, of course is YES!

The set includes 30 different features such as false floors and a skate park. It also features 9 different rooms -

Turtles' Living Room
Slinter's Meditation Room
Skate Park Half-Pipe
Mikey's Rooom (that's Michelangelo for people who don't know the TMNTs that well!)
Turtles' Dojo
Lookout Tower
Donnie's Workshop (aka Donatello)
Computer Room
Engertainment Room

I just love the fact that Leonardo opens up to reveal all of this, talk about a fun idea. What could have made it better was if it came with action figures that could play inside the lair, but they are available to buy separately so at least that's something.

Here's some pictures of the toy in action (remember that the action figures featured inside do not come with this playset, but you can purchase them separately - right here!

Barbie Dreamhouse

Barbie Dreamhouse
Barbie is another long term favorite of the holiday gift list and parents buying for their kids (heck even some grandparents I suspect) would probably remember wanting a Barbie dollshouse of their own at one time or another.

This Barbie dream house is a vision in pink (of course) and consists of three floors with a total of seven rooms AND a working elevator, an elevator in a Barbie dolls house makes me want to be a little girl again so that I can get one for Christmas myself!

The built-in garage has a door that realistically opens and closes by sliding a tab. The garage fits Barbie's coupe in perfectly as well.

Attached to the garage is a beautiful atrium window -- flip the window down, and it converts into a swimming pool, perfect for a fun pool party for Barbie and all of her friends!

The kitchen has been fitted out with sleek appliances and realistic cookware, even groceries so that Barbie can pop on her chef's hat and whip up some great meals for anyone who drops by.

The dining room features a table set for two so Barbie has a place to eat all those great meals she can make in her kitchen.

In the bathroom there's a sink/vanity and a luxe tub so that Barbie can relax before getting ready for a night out.

On the top floor she has a beautiful bedroom with a dramatic pink canopied bed that is just so what you'd imagine Barbie's bed to look like, it also features a walk-in closet with lots of space and a mirror to make sure she looks fabulous before going out for the day or night.

There's just so much to explore in Barbie's Dream House that you just know they'll be hours upon hours of fun to be had.

Check out some of the pictures below -

Lego Minecraft

Minecraft was a computer game that revolved around breaking and placing blocks, as my daughter showed me (a few years ago when she was caught in the 'Minecraft craze') you could build all kinds of structures. To me it sounded like a virtual Lego so I wasn't at all surprised when Lego Minecraft was introduced.

Now there is more to Minecraft than what I have said above, but what you need to know above all else is that it's captured our children's imagination in much the same way that Lego captured our imagination when we were younger and weren't nose deep in technology. Combining Lego and Minecraft was an ingenious idea and it's helped generations to come together in play and has proven to be very popular.

Here's a few of the Minecraft Lego available (I should mention that I haven't actually played with any of the range as my daughter was 'over' Minecraft when the Lego range was first released.

LEGO Minecraft The Cave 21113 PlaysetLEGO Minecraft 21114 The FarmLEGO Minecraft 21119 the Dungeon Building KitLEGO Minecraft 21115 The First NightLEGO Minecraft 21120 the Snow Hideout Building KitLEGO Minecraft 21117 The Ender DragonLEGO Minecraft 21122 the Nether Fortress Building KitLEGO Minecraft 21118 The MineLEGO Minecraft 21121 the Desert Outpost Building Kit

Top Gift Ideas for Kids This Christmas

Minions, Frozen, Unicorns, Dinosaurs & More Gift Ideas

There are lots of great gift ideas out there this holiday season and here's a few more for you to consider if buying for children -

Fun Minions Sing' N Dance BobFurReal Friends StarLily, My Magical UnicornSing-A-Long Elsa and Anna Frozen DollsFun Fisher-Price Imaginext Ultra T-RexAvengers: XPV Marvel-RC Hulk Smash Toy VehicleTransformers Stomp and Chomp Grimlock Figure

Another popular gift idea is to get something personalized, all age ranges seem to enjoy getting some specifically for them whether it's personalized with a photo or just there name. One place that has a range of products from photo cubes to Christmas ornaments, clothing to household goods is Zazzle. If you're after a personalized gift idea then I would click this link and go straight to Zazzle for inspiration.

Cool Piggy Banks to Fall in Love With

Money Boxes Don't Have To Be Boring!

Child to Cherish Polka Dot Piggy Bank, Dark Blue
Piggy Banks are cool because they teach us to save as children, but piggy banks aren’t just for children – I have one too! Well actually mine got broken last time we moved and I’ve had to resort to using a jar, but a new one is on my Christmas list ………. I call mine my ‘girls night out fund’, because let’s face it we could all do with a girls night out occasionally – well the girls can anyway.

My hubby also saves his coins for his ‘boys trip away’ which used to be a long weekend of fishing, but over the years has somehow morphed into a whole week – hmmm! Whatever you save for a piggy bank is a great idea that’s not just for kids, although the cutest piggy banks are usually designed for children.

Money Banks for Kids

Teach Them To Save NOW!

It's never too young to teach your children the value of saving as as children are very visual a fun looking money box is a great way to engage their interest.

The Digi-Piggy Digital Coin Counting Bank
This cute money box has both a digital display showing how much money they have in there as well as a transparent bottom part so that they can see their coins building up. Along with a cute almost kawaii-esque piggy face, this is a money box that will look great in their bedroom as well as teaching them about saving.

Green Frog Money Piggy Bank Froggy Savings Kids
Now this makes a cute statement, it's bright and fun looking that I'm sure children will simply fall in love with. You don't see the money building up, but you can shake it and feel the weight. There's no digital display telling you how much you have in there, but to be honest I used to enjoy counting up my money and being surprised by how much I'd saved as a child.

The Learning Journey Pig E Bank Pink Edition with LCD
This is a friendly talking piggy bank that also keeps a digital tally. Although I liked not knowing how much, but daughter loved having a digital tally on hers, although I'll warn you she would keep emptying it if I didn't keep an eye on her, just so she could watch the display go up as she put the coins back in!

Let Your Children Make Their Own Piggy Banks

A Fun Family Activity

When I was younger we used to make our own piggy banks – yes I like a pig money bank because that’s what a piggy bank should be!! All that we needed was a balloon, newspaper, glue and plaster of paris. Add a little creativity and a knife and we had awesome money banks that were as safe as……..well banks!

We used our piggy banks to save up for our spending money for our family holiday – mum and dad would buy us both one ice cream a day and if we wanted any souvenirs or extra ice creams etc we had to save up for it.

Just before going on holiday we said our goodbyes to our piggy banks and then smashed them up to get at the money inside!

1. Blow up a balloon
2. Make up a flour and water paste, start with one cup of each
3. Tear newspapers up into strips
4. Dip the strips of newspaper into the paste and cover the balloon - just a couple of layers will do.
5. Get some Plaster of Paris powder and mix it with water - 2 parts Plaster of Paris, 1 part water.
6. Cut the feet and snout out of egg cartons and glue them on.
7. Over the balloon, 'feet' and 'snout' with the Plaster of Paris mix - this gives you a nice smooth finish.
8. Looking at instructions online for making these piggy banks I couldn't find any that used the combination of these two methods, but they all talk about cutting the hole in the top. My dad always made sure he laid the paper mache and then the Plaster of Paris in a way that you could see the balloon through a 'slot'. I can remember a few times when he would whip off a piece of paper that my brother or I put on and make us place it elsewhere so it wasn't over the money slot!
9. It needs to dry, I would imagine at least overnight - then it's time to pop the balloon. Read the instructions on the Plaster of Paris to see how long before you can decorate it. We used marker pens on ours and made different designs every year.

Cute Pig Piggy Banks

This little piggy went to market, this little piggy stayed at home and these little piggies went squeal, squeal, squeal all the way to the bank!

Blue And Green Polka Dot Piggy BankChild to Cherish Polka Dot Piggy Bank, Pink, LargeChild to Cherish Large Daisy Pig Bank, Green

Why Piggy Banks & Not Money Boxes?

I grew up calling my money box/money bank/money tin or whatever name you would like to call it a piggy bank, by why? Well that was just what everyone used to call them whether they were cute little pigs or a tin shaped like an old fashioned bank!

The reason for the name dates back centuries all the way back to the Middle Ages in Britain. Way back then metal was an expensive commodity, we hadn’t had the industrial revolution yet and didn’t know how to mass produce the likes of steel etc. What does that have to do with piggy banks? Well the pots and pans that were used to cook with were made of a type of clay material which was called pygg (pronounced the same as pig).

This pygg was also used to make plates for eating off of and jars for storing food in. Housewives back then would pop any extra coin that they could save into one of their clay jars (just as they descendants would continue to do to this day) and they would refer to it as their pygg bank.

As English is wont to pygg bank got bastardised and became piggy bank. Now we have to fast forward a few hundred years to the 1800s. Do you ever talk to your children about ‘in Grandma’s day,’ or have your parents talk to your children about, ‘when my grandma was younger,’ ? Well I think this is something that has always been discussed and I can imagine someone saying well your grandmother always said that her grandma had a piggy bank and eventually someone requested a piggy bank from an English potter.

This piggy bank request resulted in money banks that were shaped like a pig which proved to be extremely popular and continues to be popular in this millennium as well.

So there you have it – if potters knew their history we might never have been given piggy banks and that would’ve been a shame don’t you think.

So, Do You Call Your Money Boxes Piggy Banks?

Let me know below what you call your money boxes.....