Kids are brilliant, aren’t they? I don’t have my own, but I do have a Dotty – which if you follow me on social media you will know is my awesome 4-year-old niece. We’re really lucky to have technology such as video calls, which means that I get to talk to her every day about all the things going on in her life. Although, she’s a busy social life these days and often doesn’t have time to chit-chat before rushing off to another activity, but watching her grow is such a privilege.
Of course, being aunty means that I get to spoil her & Christmas is the perfect time to put that into action. However, I don’t have kids of my own which means I don’t know my LOL dolls from my Barbie cars, so shopping for her can be tricky. Here are some ways that I have read up on about making shopping for kids a little easier.
Don’t Rush It
I read a tip online a few weeks ago and I loved it. Basically, you start a couple of months before Christmas and you show kids an online catalogue of a toy shop that you want to buy from – for example, Wicked Uncle. You ask them to make a list to send to Santa of what they would like. A few weeks later you tell them the list has been lost and can then check the site again and make you a new list – and you put that safely with the first list they made. After this, you repeat this process one more time. The end result is that you have three lists they have made at different times – any toys that have made all 3 lists are a great option for a present because it’s something that they clearly really want. I like the Wicked Uncle website for this because I can send Dotty the link to browse on her mum’s phone and they have different categories of toys so it makes browsing for what you want nice and easy. For example – this category here is for toys for 6-year-olds (though it’s easy to browse for other age groups from there too)!
A snapshot from the Wicked Uncle website
Rope in the Parents for Help
I’ll be honest, as an aunty, I do get things pretty easy – because I just ask my sister what Dotty likes and what things she’s into at the moment – although that is changing all the time! If you’re shopping for a child that is not your own then asking their guardian for hints and tips on what to buy helps you feel confident that what you’re buying is the right thing for them – and they’re going to love it!
Shop Throughout the Year
Although I love buying for Dotty’s Christmas and birthday, I know that she gets loads of things at this time of year – so sometimes I speak to her mum and if there is something that Dotty would like in the summer then I get something for her then rather than at Christmas. Obviously, I’m a soft touch and usually still send her something small for Christmas, but with a big pile of presents from Santa she wouldn’t miss not having anything from me to open – and it means that she gets to enjoy whatever I have bought her without a big pile of other new toys to contend with.
If you have any tips for making shopping for kids a little easier then I’d love you to share them below
*Sponsored post with Wicked Uncle
Debz Louise is a plus-size blogger based in Yorkshire. Behind many nationwide campaigns such as #WeaAreTheThey & winner of Best Blogger at the UK Plus Size Awards, she talkas about life as a plus-size 40-something woman in South Yorkshire.
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