Best presents to buy for a four year old for Christmas or birthdays
As holiday season approaches, it’s time to start thinking about presents again, so I’m back with another round-up of gift ideas. This time for four year olds, as Phoebe has turned four this year (how!?). I didn’t write one for three year olds but loads of the ideas here that’ll be suitable, as well as in my best gifts for two year olds (magnetic tiles are my number one recommendation for kids from 2+, and the Melissa and Doug Ice Cream Set and Sandwich Shop Set are both so good too). You can also see more ideas in best gifts for one year olds.
Now for some ideas for all budgets for kids around age four, all of which are things we’ve tried and tested here in the Macro home.
Gifts for 4 Year Olds Under £15
The Story Orchestra: I Can Play
Price: Around £12
Amazon | Waterstones
Phoebe really enjoys this sweet book – use it to learn to play some familiar classical tunes by pressing the shapes in the order shown on each page, and then use the piano to make up your own music too. It’s a lovely gift, and there are other books in the series that don’t have the piano but do play classical tunes with interactive buttons and the same style of beautiful illustration.
Little Live Pets Chicks
This was on Phoebe’s birthday list and went down so well we now have two of the little fellows. Such a good price for a simple but fun toy. Watch the egg crack to reveal a cute chick that chirps and walks around, and you can reset it again and again for more hatching fun.
Gifts for 4 Year Olds Under £30
Galt Learn To Read
Price: £20
Amazon
This is a fun, simple set to help learn letters, reading and spelling. The colours and the self correcting holes mean there’s not much room for frustration, and there are lots of varied cards to work through including some that get more difficult by removing letters from the words shown beneath each image on the left, for example. Phoebe got this for her 4th birthday but as she only knew a few letters at the time she didn’t start enjoying practicing this until after she’d been learning phonics for a few weeks at school, so this might be something to keep in mind depending on your child’s current knowledge of phonics. We’d keep an eye out for a deal on this one and wouldn’t pay more than £20.
Kinetic Sand
Price: £10 – £25
Amazon | Argos
There are some great Kinetic Sand sets that would make lovely gifts, and there are so many to choose from that you can make this suit any budget, too. For example, you could go for a smaller set like the Ice Cream Treats, which costs around £12, or you could go for a bigger set like the Construction Site shown above, which is around £23.
Melissa & Doug Super Smile Dentist Kit
We’re fans of lots of Melissa & Doug toys, they’re always great quality. Phoebe has recently been enjoying their Dentist Kit, which we picked up for £20 on Prime Day so may drop in price again as we near Christmas. It comes with 26 pieces including braces, pots, floss, drills etc, and is a lot of fun for role play. Just be careful because I did accidentally throw away (but thankfully recover) the ‘gauze pads’ thinking they were packaging haha.
Barbie Skipper Sets
Price: Under £20
Amazon | Smyths
I am realising now that I think about deals a lot rather than just buying nice things, but with the Skipper sets I’ve seen these fluctuate in price SO MUCH that I can’t not mention it. For example, as I write this, the set Phoebe loves which is the one shown in the picture above, the Climb ‘n Explore Playground, is £33 on Amazon. I bought this in March from Amazon for £15.99 and I’m sure it’ll go down in price again around Black Friday. I wouldn’t recommend it for £33, but for £15.99 it’s a brilliant gift. This set comes with a tiny pot of kinetic sand to make the sand pit even more fun, and with two dolls and a really sweet playground to explore it’s great fun.
I’ve picked up a similar set, the Doll Bounce House Playset for Phoebe for Christmas. That one is £19 right now but I bought it for £14.99 earlier in the year.
Dressing Up
One of Phoebe’s favourite things to do is dress up! She really enjoys rummaging through her costumes and choosing who she wants to be today, especially when her cousins come over. There are endless dressing up items you could buy but we particularly like the selections available from the following shops:
John Lewis
Matalan
ShopDisney
Tu
Kidly (some of these are so pricey but they’re stunning)
Big Gift Ideas for 4 Year Olds
Doll House
First, don’t be fooled into thinking a doll house is just for girls. At Phoebe’s school, the boys play with the doll house more than the girls do and I think it’s awesome.
Second, there are SO MANY doll houses to choose from and some can be mega pricey. Also think about the size of it – some of them are enormous and will take up a lot of space but there are plenty that are more compact and can serve you just as well.
I’m so grateful that I have one from my childhood that was made by my grandad, which I restored gave Phoebe for her third birthday. It can be a really fun project to buy a preloved doll house and renovate it if you have time to.
That said, if you want to buy a new one, here are some of my favourites (don’t forget most of these come unfurnished so you’ll need to buy dolls and items to go inside:
Tender Leaf Toys Dovetail House – £200 (pictured above)
Le Toy Van Bay Tree Doll House – £149.95
Tidlo Ivy Doll House – £124.99
Dahlia Dollhouse – £140 (this one is open on one side and stands at 4ft tall. It also comes with accessories)
Bike
We’ve been thinking about getting Phoebe a bike. This is another one I think we’ll go second hand with as they’re really quite expensive and I’m not sure how much use it’ll get. But for a four year old the recommendation seems to be a 12in or 16in bike and there are loads available from Smyths. Phoebe would love the kind with a little baby carrier on the back and a basket! I just wish they were a little less… pink!?
The one pictured above is from Halfords and is very sweet. It’s priced at £100.
Stocking Fillers for 4 Year Olds
Hopefully you managed to find something that takes your fancy among our list of ideas, but here are some stocking filler ideas under £10 that might also be helpful:
Ocean Mini Stamps – £7
Temporary Tattoos – £2
Washable markers – £4.50
Dobble – £8.99
Lego Creative Monsters Set – £8
Lite Brite Mini – £9.99
