It’s that time of year again to make a list and to check it twice. Especially when buying a Christmas present for a child, you want to get it right. Whether you are looking for Christmas gifts for your own children or for a friend’s child, the perfect present is as easy as a little planning ahead with a dash of creativity thrown in for good measure. 

The most common and easiest method of finding out what they want for Christmas is to ask. Particularly for kids three and up, often they will ask for whatever is advertised the most often on television. However, there are ways to test the waters to see if a certain item they say they want is what they really want. If they keep asking for the same thing, then it’s a safe bet that is really the one. Get them to make a list and rank the items in order of wish list importance. If they are not yet at the printing or writing stage, write the list for your child. While it’s nice to get items that are on the list, (which is the whole point of writing one in the first place), you might also want to slip in a couple of unscripted surprises. This is easy to do if you gear the gift around the child’s current interest, hobby or favorite movie. 

Give the budding musician on your Christmas list a gift they can really boogie to with a toy piano. Or if you’re an aunt, how about toy-size drum kit they can actually play? Schoenhut® offers a range of musical instruments including toy pianos and toy guitars that resemble full-size instruments but designed for kids with a fun and funky twist, like the Schoenhut Toy Piano 25 Key Teddy Bear with Bench in Lavender. Not sure what kind of instrument they would prefer? Let them experiment with a little bit of everything with the Little Colorado Music Table in Natural. 

Young children have inquisitive minds and like to make things with their hands. For the girl or boy on your list, pick a craft they can make all by themselves. Craft kits are very popular with children ages 3 and up. While making a craft does all sorts of things for developing their motor skills, hand-eye coordination and encouraging creativity, to the child you’re giving the arts crafts kit to, it’s just plain fun. 

Even in this technological savvy day and age, you can’t go wrong with classic toys like a rocking horse or a dollhouse. Making sure that they have a good selection of “unplugged” toys is another great ways to stimulate their imaginations. Kitchen sets and play kitchens are also an ideal way to encourage imaginative role playing. 

Still not sure what to buy for the kids on your Christmas list? Just pretend you’re five again and trying to tell your Aunt Sally why you don’t want clothes for a Christmas present.