I cannot stand pointless gifts for children. There, I said it. For me, gifts for kids have to either bring them joy, have a function, or better still, some educational value. Anyone else?

I especially love gifts for children that have an educational value to them, or those that get them outdoors. BrightMinds, offer the most fun and educational toys for children of all ages, and they are pioneers when it comes to development. They believe that learning can be fun and know that sometimes all it takes is the right toy and a little imagination. I love this ethos.

So what kinds of gifts to they have? I’ve put together a short guide of my absolute favourites from the BrightMinds collection.

My First Microscope

I got one of these for the children during the first lockdown, and it was wonderful for home learning. The little boys spent weeks using this microscope to look at minibeasts, leaves and anything else they could find. It is super easy to set up and they can really take charge of their own learning with My First Microscope.

With the GeoSafari Microscope your children can discover the hidden world of small things. This toy will give them to look at plants, rocks or insects with up to 8x magnification. The microscopes chunky design is fully functional and designed especially for little hands. This is priced at £24.99.

Numberblocks 1-10 Mathlink Cubes Activity Set

The Numberblocks Activity cube set is a versatile product, we’ve been using at home recently. It is ideal for use in the classroom or at home, and a really fun way to learn about numbers. This set brings learning to life as children see how numbers work and master new key early learning maths skills through hands on discovery and play.

This set includes a 30 maths activities to help your child learn the basics of adding, subtracting, multiplication, division and problem solving skills. This is the perfect gift for a child who is at school or beginning to learn and even better if they watch the show on TV as they can watch along as they play, making it a really interactive learning experience. This set is priced at £24.99.

Butterfly Garden Kit with live voucher

This Butterfly Garden Kit is supplied with a voucher for live caterpillars which is makes a perfect gift for your little ones to get them outside, interacting with nature. This kit is fun and educational, it gives children the opportunity to watch close up the miracle of ‘Metamorphosis’. The kit includes everything you will need and your caterpillars will arrive in a clear plastic cup with all of the nutritious food they need.

The Butterfly Garden Habitat is a reusable, cylindrical mesh container perfect for up close butterfly viewing! When not in use it folds flat for easy storage, so it doesn’t add to the clutter. This set is also priced at £24.99.

The Amazing Flower Kit

I love this, never mind the kids! How stunning is this kit? The Amazing Flower kit , priced £16.00 lets your children make a stunning bouquet of 48 multi-coloured foam flowers. Some flowers that are included in this toy are daisies, primroses, orchids, poppies and more!

This art and crafts toy requires no glue or scissors. Simply push out and push to fit the supplied stems, so no need to worry. The Amazing Flower kit is easy to break down and reassemble so your child can keep creating new bouquets for the home. It’s the perfect gift for a child who loves nature and creating. I can think of lots of children who would enjoy this and it’s the perfect project to keep coming back to.