Some of these are repeated in my gift guides for children aged 3-6 and 6-9, but I still feel it's worth putting together a post which specifically features cheaper items. I'm sure we aren't the only ones who end up searching round for a little fun something to finish off Child X's allocation of Christmasness...

Hexbugs are ace. There's no doubting it. We've reviewed the Hexbug Nano Glow-In-The-Dark and the Zombie Aquabot and both will keep my children entertained for some time to come, and cost under £10. They're a real fun gift with a lot of educational benefits - the Science involved with a glow-in-the-dark robotic shark that swims in the bath is pretty awesome.


Building tracks for the Nanobots to race around is hilarious and takes all the pain out of 'trial and error', because even when it goes wrong, it's still fun!

On the fourth day of Christmas LEGO Star Wars gave to me....

On the third day of Christmas LEGO Star Wars gave to me...

Here are some of our favourite reviews from the last few months for children aged around about 6-9..

Hexbug - my 6 year old chose to buy the Hexbug Black Hole set with his birthday money and it's proven incredibly popular. We didn't review it on the blog, but we later got the chance to review the Hexbug Nano Glow-In-The-Dark. They're excellent fun, and the sets are brilliant for increasing understanding of Science


Zip Stix are ace. They're so cheap they really count as a stockingfiller - they start at £2.99 for a single pack. We reviewed the Zip Stix Stunt Pack which has cones, a ramp and 2 Zip Stix and still only costs £7.99. Plenty of fun for your money.


Big books are traditional at Christmas and my children always get an annual as well as a couple of other books to keep them occupied when they need to be calm and peaceful. They lap up facts and can learn so much, as well as having a more mature brain and now being able to enjoy a story without pictures. One of the most read books in our house this Autumn has been The Top 10 Of Everything, which is where our 6 year old seems to get most of his opening conversational gambits! RRP £14.99


Early Readers - As well as the big heavy hardbacks children of this age are beginning to read stories independently and we love the Early Readers from Orion Books. Nothing like your traditional school reading books, these feature a wide variety of stories and characters, one of the best known being the ever-popular Horrid Henry.  Priced around £5.


Board Games are brilliant for this age group. They help reinforce patience and sportsmanship, and bring the family together. One of our favourites is Articulate For Kids, which we've only had for a short while, but have played tons of times. Being able to read the simple words on the cards by himself gives our 6 year old a huge sense of pride and is expanding his reading skills in a really fun way. Don't Laugh! is an excellent game for this age group. Adults will find the jokes a little lacking, but 6-9 year olds will think they're absolutely hilarious.


A slightly more unusual gift is one that keeps on giving. Children of this age really enjoy reading comics and magazines, and can get an awful lot from an annual subscription and there is something to suit everyone, from The Beano and National Geographic Kids, to Adventure Time and Playstation. Stew - The Magazine For Curious Kids is one of our favourites, a bit quirky and different, and treating children as smaller intelligent people, it'll be great to keep and revisit as my younger 2 get older.


There is an awful lot of LEGO which suits the 6+ age range. Children's hands are far more competent and strong, and their clutch power means they can build and take apart tiny pieces now. LEGO Minecraft is going to be absolutely massive this Christmas, but if your children aren't into that then there are all kinds of options. We particularly like the Ultra Agents and Arctic ranges, and of course the LEGO Movie sets, but one of the most used models with my boys is the Heartlake City Pool from LEGO Friends!


This is the modern world, so my last recommendation is technology. Children of this age are reaching the point where 'what Jacob said at school' is becoming more inspiring to them. They want to be a part of the tribe and fit in, and keeping up with what's happening on Nickelodeon alone may not cut it any more. DVD's and CD's are something I would consider for this age group, and also games. There are plenty of Playstation/X Box/Wii and PC games around that are designed especially for younger children and aren't obvious 'learning', even though they will be solving logic puzzles, building hand-eye co-ordination, reading and typing and practising all kinds of other skills. All of my children have spent time playing LEGO games on the Playstation, and Club Penguin on the PC, and I'm more than happy for them to do that. No.1 rule as far as we're concerned for this age group and technology is "always know what they're doing, and always be more of an expert than your child". I've completed LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean several times....purely for research, obviously...

On the second day of Christmas LEGO Star Wars gave to me.....

I am a big fan of Bunches.co.uk. I've used them many times to send flowers, balloons and chocolates to friends and family, and I have never been disappointed, so reviewing one of their Christmas Plants is a pleasure.

I was sent the Frosty Flower Basket just over 2 weeks ago - on my birthday as luck would have it!


The way the flowers are transported is really important, and Bunches do it very well. Inside the main box is a pull out carboard insert with handles, so you can lift out the entire assembly in one, and then recycle everything you don't need.

On the first day of Christmas LEGO Star Wars gave to me.....

On Monday 1st December Disney will release Planes 2: Fire And Rescue on Blu-ray and DVD. Disney's Cars was great, a real change from the movies that were around, and when they released Planes my two youngest were enthralled by it. Planes 2: Fire And Rescue is a very worthy sequel, and makes a great story for young and older alike.

We love the minifigures collections and have a full set of most of the releases - although I can't believe they're on Series 12 already! This set are one of my favourites, with some great characters that will really add another dimension to your models and play.

Series 12 Minifigures includes the following 16 characters -  a Space Miner, Battle Goddess, Wizard, Dino Tracker, Swashbuckler, Jester, Piggy Guy, Hun Warrior, Fairytale Princess, Pizza Delivery Man, Video Game Guy, Spooky Girl, Prospector, Genie Girl, Rock Star and a Lifeguard.