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Father Christmas has a hard time of it. In a cost of living crisis, the elves struggle to afford top-notch toy-making materials, and there is strong resistance to using plastic amid the climate crisis. Nonetheless, the wishlists remain the same: teddies, model cars, jewellery, games. What is the person in charge of presents to do?
A YouGov poll last year found more than half of parents planned to spend in excess of £90 a child on Christmas presents. And yet, as research by toy subscription service Whirli found, approximately 26% of Christmas toys – a jaw-dropping 25 million – are neglected by the end of January in the UK alone. What’s more, almost 80% of toys – much of them plastic – will eventually end up in landfill, incinerators or the ocean.
As a mum of two, these statistics weigh heavily on my mind, and I’ve become increasingly irritated by how hard it is to find eco-friendly options that won’t break the bank. Well, necessity is indeed the mother of invention, which is why I created my own list. The gifts on it have largely been tested by children – some by my own (aged two and four), others by family (aged 10) and friends’ (aged three and five) – and a few by adults. Not everything is completely plastic-free, but I have focused on eco-friendly materials, design and cost to help you have a happy, and hopefully guilt-free, shopping experience.
The best sustainable gifts for young children
Take comfort
Golden Lion baby comforter toy
If you worry about the impact of polyester teddies, take note of these baby comforters by Little Green Radicals. Made from 100% organic Fairtrade double cloth muslin cotton, what is most impressive (and a struggle to find elsewhere) is that the inners are as eco as the outers, with an organic Fairtrade cotton stuffing made from offcuts to reduce waste. Suitable from birth (supervised), this comforter is also machine washable at 30C.
Suitable: from birth
Toys built to last
Construction toy cars, trucks and diggers
Eco-conscious parents love a wooden car, but the challenge is getting children to love them more than their plastic counterparts. Le Toy Van may have cracked it with this exquisite construction set: five vehicles, three traffic cones, one roadworks sign, all made from FSC-certified wood. Highly prized by the testers of this piece, their status as VITs – Very Important Toys – grew to incomparable heights when it was discovered they were compatible with wooden tracks (Brio etc). Including a cement mixer and dumper truck, they are not cheap, but the quality is premium, and if you wrap them individually, technically, this counts as at least five gifts.
Suitable: for 3+
Enjoy the great outdoors
Foraging friend kit
It’s an intriguing idea: charge around the great outdoors in search of leaves and sticks to create a woodland companion. The winter months are perfect for this foraging kit as there tends to be more on the ground than up in the branches. In your hunt for ears for your new friend (a figure made from UK-grown wood), you may discover such delights as snowdrops and primroses, and of course, all manner of sticks and leaves. It’s helpful if you have a plant ID app, as that adds an educational element to the fun. I also found it’s useful to name your friend before you start, bringing it to life.
Suitable: for 3+
Sow it grows
Grow your own cress kit
Carefully water the coir disc (made from waste coconut husks, not peat), pat it into the bamboo pot (made from recycled chopsticks) and sow rather too many of the seeds all at once. This seed growing kit is the perfect way to introduce little ones to gardening – and there’s an impressive range, from sunflowers to cherry tomatoes.
Suitable: for 3+
A bit of bite
Veggie baby teething ring
Is it ever too early to get children into vegetables? I think not. Start them early with one of Oli & Carol’s veggie teething rings. Made from 100% natural rubber from hevea trees, the radish and carrot design is brightly coloured and features interesting textures to rub against the gums. Biodegradable and hand-painted (with natural pigments), it ticks all the environmentally-friendly boxes you’d want from something your baby spends a lot of time sucking. A doddle to clean (no holes to prevent mould), once your baby has grown out of teethers, repurpose it as a bath toy.
Suitable: from birth
Meet your match
Tractors pairs game
It’s a competitive field, pairs cards. With so many on the market, it seems remiss to favour just one, though if you have a tractor lover in your family, this is an easy win. You start by explaining the rules of snap – matching blue tractors or red tractors – but be prepared to get educated because you may find yourself corrected by your little one to refer to “blue tractors with the seed drill” or “red tractors with the mower”. It’s as much a test of your memory for machinery as it is for your child to match pictures. Beyond the game, there is amusement to be found in examining the cards – a handy distraction to have up your sleeve.
Suitable: for 3+
Artfully recycled
Recycling craft kit
An estimated three million tonnes of extra waste is thrown out over Christmas in the UK. A recycling craft kit is not going to minimise much of that, but it’s a good way to get your kids thinking about what they throw away. Each RecycleMe mini kit comes with clear instructions on how to make a specific project, which could be a rocket, mermaid or animal. Your child has to seek out the main material from “rubbish” they find in the home – an egg box or a plastic bottle – and then use it, plus accessories in the kit, to make an artistic creation. This one got the thumbs up from little ones of ages three, four and five.
Suitable: for 4+
Lighting up play time
Hand-powered flashlight
A torch that is chargeable by hand sounds a bit like magic, but that is how Hape’s hand-powered flashlight operates. It converts kinetic energy into electricity and light, meaning all your child has to do to power it up is pull a green ring at the end a few times, turn the front to “on”, and – abracadabra – light! Made from bamboo and biomass plastic, this ingenious gadget would be ideal for camping, outdoor adventures or simply checking up on bug life in the garden after dark. (Supervision is advised owing to the glare, and pull cord.)
Suitable: for 4+
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Bowled over
Colourful baby skittles
Don’t be fooled by the seeming simplicity of this game. This is perfect for a rainy afternoon, if you have hard floors, so much the better, as that makes for a faster game, but even on carpet, it appeals. It’s great for developing hand-eye coordination while numbered pins help with numeracy. They arrive with a practical pouch for storage.
Suitable: for 1+, but very much enjoyed by older kids
Life in colour
Rice bran wax crayons, set of 12
It is impossible to overemphasise how deluxe these crayons are. Described by its manufacturers as “buttery”, that’s exactly how they feel, gliding smoothly across the page. What’s special about them is that they are made from one of the waste products of rice production, rice bran wax, which is non-toxic and uses less energy to process. You can draw with them on mirrors and glass, in addition to paper, and if you encourage your children to go over their masterpieces with a wet paintbrush, they can also transform into watercolours.
Suitable: for 3+
Hoop dreams
Mini croquet set
One for older kids, this classic in miniature enables the enjoyment of the historic game to be brought indoors and played throughout the winter. A lot more precision is required than you may at first think, tapping small balls through small hoops with a mallet the size of your hand. A lot depends on how level the floor is, although an uneven one makes the sport as much one of luck as skill – and isn’t that more exciting?
Suitable: for 3+
Brace yourself, and others
Friendship bracelet kit
No place for plastic beads here – enjoy the friendship bracelet fun in eco-fashion with cotton thread, courtesy of Cotton Clara. While originally designed for adults, these kits are great for older children, who would enjoy the more intricate patterns of chevrons and, for instance, zippers. With six designs included for up to 15 bracelets – as well as a bulldog clip to keep the thread steady as you work – this pastime provides a welcome escape from screens, with something creative to show for it afterwards.
Suitable: children under 14 should be supervised by an adult
Model behaviour
Wooden 3D gorilla model
If you are raising a future architect who would relish the challenge of building a Hedwig with broom, R2-D2, Iron Man or perhaps a primate, take a look at IncrediBuilds. The 3D models are constructed from FSC-certified wooden pieces, which pop out from wooden sheets to be pieced together with the help of instructions. While not as hardy as they may seem – a heavy hand could snap one of the components, so a light touch is advised – your child can paint them before assembling, which makes for an impressive finish. Worthy of display on a bookshelf or even in pride of place in a bedroom.
Suitable: 9+
Facts made fun
Children’s encyclopedia
Pre-digital age, the fastest way to find things out would be to look them up in a reference book. Keep this skill alive by investing in Britannica’s updated children’s encyclopedia. Inside its colourful pages lies a wealth of information, which takes the reader from the origins of the universe through to AI – a different experience from the static A-Z format of old. Covering topics including space, history, and climate change, it engages through beautiful illustrations, photographs, diagrams, and some pretty impressive facts. Did you know that our noses can pick out one trillion different smells? Or that an Earth-sized nebula cloud would only be as heavy as … some potatoes? The children I asked to test this loved it – even those who can’t read yet.
Suitable: 8+
Great pick-me up
Pick-up sticks
An oldie but a goodie, this game teaches kids about precision. The sticks are held upright, then dropped so they fall chaotically in a pile. The object of the game is to remove the sticks from the heap, one at a time, without disturbing any of the others. If you do, you forgo your turn; the person with the most sticks at the end wins the game. Nail-biting at times, and positively irritating at others, this game is surprisingly addictive. You have been warned.
Suitable: 3+ (be mindful of the spikes with younger kids)
For more Christmas gift ideas from the Filter, read the best toys and gifts for newborns and babies and the best toys and gifts for one-year-olds
Edwina Langley is a lifestyle journalist who, since becoming a mother, has turned her interest in eco-products into a borderline obsession. Pre-children, she wrote about plastic alternatives. Now she’s in-field: comparing eco nappies, trawling the internet for plastic-free nursery-friendly water bottles, and spending far too much time wondering if a ‘100% natural shampoo’ with ingredients she recognises will ever be invented
