Discovering the perfect present for your child isn’t always easy.
Most kids want the latest and greatest topping the toy trend lists, but those aren’t often items that they play with for very long.
The best gifts appeal to your kiddo’s individual interests and talents, which means that you need to spend the year leading up to the big day listening and paying attention to their changing interests.
You might find out that your child is wild for Pokemon, dreams of becoming a baker or a doctor or adores tiny toys made in miniature.
The coolest birthday gifts delight your kiddo for years and years to come.
To help you win the coolest parent of the year, here are a few fun gift ideas that are outside of the norm.
Mix It! By New Sprouts
In a market full of high-tech gadgets, toys that inspire the imagination are all the rage.
Remember the kitchen play-sets you enjoyed as a kid?
Now you can introduce your child to hours of make-believe cooking, baking, and preparing.
New Sprouts has a fun, colorful mixer that resembles mommy and daddy’s Kitchen-Aid.
It comes with a whisk beater, eggs to break, and even a stick of butter.
Your little one will happily spend hours whipping up pretend seven-layer cakes and glorious baked goods masterpieces.
Listen closely as your kiddo plays — odds are good that this toy will spark an imaginary cooking show scenario.
Sweet Tears by Baby Alive
The baby alive brand has been preparing kids to become big brothers and sisters for decades.
Not only is this a fun — and educational — toy to play with all year long, but it’s the perfect pick for a child who’s about to get a new baby brother or sister.
Baby Alive Sweet Tears is adorable but lifelike, and the lucky kiddo who gets her can take care of her from head to toe.
This baby doll play-set will also give your child the chance to play doctor, since Sweet Tears comes with a stethoscope and thermometer, among other accessories.
Nekomiya Hinata Nendoroid by Good Smile Company
Do your kids watch YouTube? Have they ever wanted to play with their favorite YT personality?
That’s possible with the Nendoroid figure of Nekomiya Hinata, a Virtual YouTube star with an enormous fanbase.
Included is a game controller, along with stickers that will allow your child to give her different expressions.
Not only can the kids recreate their favorite videos, but they can also come up with new scenes pulled straight from their imaginations.
Teddy Ruxpin
Guess what? Teddy Ruxpin is back!
Parents who played with the animatronic bear back when he first premiered in the 1980s will love this nostalgic toy.
The modern version of Teddy looks a bit less nightmarish than he used to, and his mouth and eyes sync up with his speech more smoothly.
Instead of needing cassette tapes to make Teddy talk, he now operates via an app.
Hip hip hooray for high-tech Teddy Ruxpin!
He’ll be a tried-and-true friend to younger children.
Even better, he can teach valuable educational lessons.
In addition to learning how to read, spell, and count, your kiddos will learn about friendship and sharing.
Amiibo Splatoon Triple Set by Nintendo
Does your child have a Nintendo Wii? Bet the Amiibo trend is big in your household, then. Now’s your chance to delight your child at her or his next birthday with the gift of a triple threat.
The Splatoon collection includes not one, but three Amiibo figures.
Your little gamer can choose between three of the Octolings: Octoling Boy, Octoling Girl, or Octoling Octopus.
Playing the Wii will never be the same after introducing these three mischief makers into the mix.
Pokemon All-Star Collection Vaporeon Plush by San-El
The Pokemon craze is alive and well in children—and adults—of all ages.
Plaza Japan has an entire selection of Pokemon plush dolls. The variety allows you to pick out your child’s favorite Pokemon, whichever creature that happens to be. But there’s no denying the adorable appeal of the Vaporeon plushie. The cuddly plush itself is an adorable companion for your kiddo, but he’s also up for imaginary battles.
Alongside Vaporeon, your child can stomp through the neighborhood, throwing down with all the other Pokemon enthusiasts.
The only difference is that your child will have her or his most prized Pokemon there to help out with the battle.
Amazing Yamaguchi Gambit Revoltech Figure by Kaiyodo
Fans of the X-Men can’t agree on the coolest character. It’s always a toss-up between fan favorites such as Wolverine, Magneto, Storm, and Professor X himself. Gambit, aka Remy LeBeau, the smooth-talkin’ Cajun from down Louisiana way, always comes in near the top of the list. Gambit is as cool as they come with more than a few tricks up his sleeves—not to mention a deck of cards at the ready, of course. The exquisitely detailed action figure from Plaza Japan allows X-Men enthusiasts to transform Gambit. The figure comes with detachable hands, which kids can switch out for three poses. They can also change his expression from a smirk to a sneer. This Gambit also comes with two fans of cards and a set of flaming aces.
Space Shuttle Explorer by Lego Creator
Legos make the best birthday presents!
The Space Shuttle Explorer set is ideal for future astronauts, astronomers, and scientists.
If your child is destined to join NASA, nurture those passions early.
It’s money well spent because this is a three-in-one set.
Along with the shuttle, your stargazer can build both a space rover and a moon station.
Consider even throwing in a small planetarium projector to make your child’s playtime even more lifelike.
Hydraulics Engineering STEM Kit by Lakeshore Learning Materials
Encourage your child’s interests in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math—the STEM subjects! While ideal for all children, particularly between the ages of 8 and 10, this is a great gift idea for girls who express an aptitude for one of the subjects. It comes with four activity books that have step-by-step instructions. With their help, your small scientist will figure out exactly how to turn liquid into powerful energy.
There are several learning toys related to STEM subjects on the market. Nurture your child’s interests by letting your little girl learn more about molecules and atoms by building them herself. If your boy shows a talent for engineering, buy him a toy that reveals the importance of creating sturdy, earthquake-resistant architecture.
Zubora-Chan’s Slovenly Room Set by Re-Ment
Re-Ment has the most detailed collection of miniature scenes and figures to go with them.
Each box contains an entire world, from camping trips and treehouses to chocolate shops and natural food markets.
You can find your child’s favorite character, too, such as Kirby, Pikachu, or Zobura-Chan.
The Slovenly Room set is full of messes that your kid will likely recognize—if not now, then in a few years.
Food, toys, power cords, a messy bed—Zubora-Chan’s room speaks to all of us. Check out Plaza Japan to find more mini play-sets.
To go above and beyond for your child’s next birthday doesn’t mean spending a fortune or falling in line with the latest trending toys.
It means considering your kiddo’s likes, dislikes, and personality to come up with a tailor-made present that will make the whole year.
What’s the coolest gift you ever gave your child?
Author Bio
Katie Tejada is a writer, editor, and professional kid-at-heart. She writes about the latest developments in technology and amazing toys for Internet Japanese Toy Store, Plaza Japan.
