Everyone says Christmas is for kids, and although we all love it, its true. There’s nothing better than seeing a child’s face light up when they get a present they love or their anticipation of Christmas Eve and Santa’s arrival. Finding gift that feels traditional or vintage inspired can be hard in a commercial world full of plastic tat, things that need batteries and non stop adverts for the latest TV show inspired action figure. But there are some fantastic buys out there, items that will last years and wont be forgotten about by Boxing day. All items available on line now…
1. Every little girl or boy dreams of having a wooden carved rocking horse. Its an item that’s can be in a nursery, child’s room or even a teenagers bedroom. These hand carved ones are absolutely beautiful and definitely heirlooms of the future…giddy-up horsey!
Rocking Horse from www.notonthehightst.com
2. Ok, lets be honest – kids these days love technology. Give the best of both worlds with a retro handheld game. This 1983 version of the PacMan game is so cool!
Vintage Pocket Pacman toy from retrogames.co.uk
3. Every vintage dealer dreams of finding a old bear with a Steiff button in its ear. Steiff toys can be worth huge amounts of money and are still made now. Their range is just amazing you can get everything from a tiny bat to an huge elephant. We’ve fallen in love with the pug and have added it to our Christmas list…
Steiff Pug toy from www.steiff.com
4. When I was a kid getting a Pelham puppet was top of our Christmas list. I had a clown and my sister had a policeman and we came up with some very strange puppet performances! The puppets are now very collectable – look out for puppets in their original boxes and in good condition especially their painted faces.
Pelham puppet from www.yourvintagelife.co.uk
5. Dolls house’s have always been popular and this 1970’s retro Gothenburg one is a great choice. There’s even a little G-Plan dressing table!
Ebay vintage dolls house via sandalparka
6. A Noah’s Ark is a beautiful gift for a younger child. This 1970’s one on Etsy caught our eye…simple retro style.
Etsy 1970’s Noahs Ark via WildDaisyVintage
7. Tin Toys are lovely to look at and look great in a playroom or child’s bedroom. When buying be careful – there are a lot of reproductions that look very much like the real thing and tin plate toys are not safe for young children to play with. That being said, they can make a great gift for an older child or teenager and robots, space ships and ray guns look so retro they work perfectly in modern design bedrooms. This 1960’s ray gun in its original box is just fabulous!
Ebay tin plate ray gun via lostworldplantco
8. Last week we wrote a blog on why we love Fisher Price and its not surprising – their toys are amazing! There’s so many vintage gems to choose from for a great Christmas gift. Go for one of the more unusual ones – we love this Queen Buzzy Bee Pull along…
Etsy Vintage Fisher Price toy via ChicCreative
9. Here at YVL we do love a Jack in the Box and we also love a Sock monkey – so this is a no brainer! Super cute.
Sock monkey Jack in the Box by www.wheniwasakid.co.uk
10. 1980’s kids always got a Cadburys miniature chocolate machine – and they still make them now! Share them with your kids now – just make sure you have a few 10p’s handy.
eBay miniature chocolate machine via liquidated_stocklots
So don’t forget to leave out your glass of milk, mince pie and carrot for Rudolf and who knows what amazing vintage treasures Santa may leave.
Written by Sarah Gorlov.
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