Whether you’re looking for the perfect gift for an Autumn birthday or enjoy celebrating the seasons with a few new play items this post has got brilliant ideas for all budgets.
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Autumn Playdough Sensory Play Kit
Spotted this cute little playdough set from The Happy Dough Company. You get four different balls of dough as well as a sweet selection of natural and other loose parts to explore. They do all sorts of different kits. You could also make your own playdough set up to gift. This post has some ideas for making handmade small world play for Autumn.
Playdough Autumnal Toys
If you’re looking for a cute little kit to go with homemade or purchased dough then Playberry over on Etsy have a lovely little Autumn inspired, wooden kit. As well as a sweet range of other playdoughs and tools.
If purchasing from Etsy check out my post that will tell you how to get the best deals from Etsy sellers. Yes, Etsy has changed in recent years but there are still some absolute gems of handmade creators to discover.
Acorn Doll
How adorable is this little Acorn Doll hand crafted by Polly Had a Dolly over on Etsy. The perfect Autumn gift for little nature lovers and those who love small world play.
When my daughter was little, at the start of each season, I’d gift her a small seasonal fairy and some other small world play bits and bobs. You could always have a go at crafting your own fairies – free pattern download here.
Autumn Story Stone Pebbles
A Pebble and a Paintbox create beautiful hand painted stones that can be used in story play. A set that really shone out were these Autumnal set above that are on Etsy.
I actually used to work for a small company creating these type of stones. They take time to make but beautifully enrich story play for little ones (and older ones). You can check out my post on how to make your own here.
Autumn Embroidery Craft Tree
How beautiful is this Autumn tree embroidery kit?! It’s the Autumn Liquid Amber Embroidery Kit by Katrina. This would be a lovely gift for an early teenager and adults. You’ll have mastered French knots by the time you’ve finished! If you’re looking to introduce embroidery to very young children just use large aida fabric stretched over a frame and give them a plastic/ metal tapestry needle and some different coloured threads to have a play with.
Wooden Toys
We’re big fans of Grapat wooden toys. Conscious Craft to a wonderful collection of toys and are Grapat stockists. We’ve ordered from them lots. Grapat’s range are suitable from one year old. My daughter Floss is almost ten and still uses these toys every day, the majority of which she had from one year old. They’re perfect as they are so open ended. This allows them to be used for so many different purposes as children grow and their play changes. There’s a great range that you can add to on subsequent birthdays and Christmas’.
Jigsaw Puzzling Fun
Another lovely find is this dreamy autumnal jigsaw for those who love puzzles. It’s the Galison Autumn by the Sea Jigsaw Puzzle; you can find it here. It’s 1000 Pieces, I really love the colours in this one. I find jigsaw puzzles make great whole family gifts that everyone can enjoy together.
Yoto Player Autumn Cards
In our house we’re obsessed with audio players and audio books/ content. I’ve written lots of blog posts about how to choose between different players such as Yoto Players, Toniboxes and Voxblocks as well as how to get the most out of these screen free devices. Check out the homepage here. They make great gifts and you can top up your resource selection at other celebration times. Yoto have a set of Make Your Own Autumn cards.
Creative Pursuits
Perfect Autumn gift ideas for the creatives in your life or the creative curious!
Alcohol markers are very popular right now. It’s taken me a while to embrace them but now I’m totally in love! They’d make a great early teen/ adult gift. I’d recommend getting a sketchbook that can withstand the pens. The paper you use is very important. Alcohol markers do stain and bleed through surfaces so I’d recommend putting a piece of cardstock behind the page you are working on and covering any surfaces you are working on. The pigments are so vivid and they’re a great medium to work with. The best part about alcohol markers is that you can get some beautiful blending and layering effects. My top tip: blend when wet, layer when dry.
Watercolours are great for all ages. My daughter Floss and I love to do watercolour together. Perfect for starting a seasonal nature journal. This watercolour palette has a great range of colours – ideal for beginners who have not the experience with colour mixing yet. If you have someone who already uses watercolour then you could always get a more specialist set of watercolour. I have this metallic palette and this mini one that we love. This granulated set is also fab and something that is a little out of the ordinary.
Outsmarted! Family Game
We love games as a family. Birthdays and Christmases wouldn’t be the same with a little family gaming. A new one that I’ve discovered recently is Outsmarted. This link takes you to the website so you can find out more but essentially there are three levels of play: child, teenager and adult. It’s such a great idea being able to level the playing field. Equally the genius of this game is it allows user to use their devices to engage with the game. Perfect for those teens with their heads in a phone!
The latest game we’re enjoying right now is Hitster. Again you need a device to be able to play. You listen to a song and need to put it in the right part of your timeline. Bonus if you can name the title and the artist! Oh gosh does this tax my little grey cells. We’ve just started using the Guilty Pleasures set. This is another game that is ideal for multi-generations. I’m in my 40s but have no clue about popular music now – luckily my daughter can help with those.
Autumn Books to Gift
If, like us, you love gifting books then you’ll find a wonderful selection of Autumnal books for children in my post here.
Gifts for Tweens
Here’s some of my favourite gift ideas for tweens who love to be creative.
As always, I would recommend adult supervision with activities and take care to ensure the items you are using are suitable for your child in both age and development. The views expressed are my own. If I have been sent a product for review then I will state this is the case; my review will be my honest opinion.
