A real hit for children: gift tips from the editorial team

Gift tips from Claudia Landolt

Cheating officially allowed!

The classic, super-capitalist board game Monopoly has been causing all kinds of excitement here for years: Who comes to Zurich Paradeplatz, builds hotels and manages to drive his fellow players to ruin? Until now, I thought the only way to counter this dastardly endeavour was with a loaded dice. But now comes salvation - in the form of the cheat edition. Game manufacturer Hasbro has created this edition especially for «not-so-honest fans» so that they too can be part of these legendary family moments, explains Head of Marketing Jonathan Berkowitz in an interview. Stealing money unnoticed, making an opponent's hotel secretly disappear from the board and moving a fellow player's pawn when it's your turn: all this is included in the «Cheaters Edition» of Monopoly. Handcuffs too, by the way.

For big tinkerers

What do you give to tinkerers who are too big for Lego and Cuboro? An old-school construction game, the classic marble run from fischertechnik. You can assemble it however you like, create loops and serpentines, install roundabout funnels and jumps and try out countless variations. If you feel like it, you can also read about the physical processes of dynamics interactively. I gave the simple version to my second eldest son two years ago. After that, we didn't see him leave his room for three days, he was so captivated by the game.

Cuddling up and reading on the sofa

What could be nicer after a winter walk than snuggling up on the sofa with your loved ones and a good book? «Winter. A reading book for the whole family» is great entertainment for children, parents and grandparents. Arranged in an entertaining sequence, the texts open up the narrative cosmos of Selma Lagerlöf, Erich Kästner, Christian Morgenstern, Hans Christian Andersen as well as modern authors such as Andreas Steinhöfel, Zoran Drvenkar, Arne Rautenberg, Bernadette Watts and Otfried Preussler.

«Mister Santa» by Tilde Michels, for example, takes us to New York in December; to the city that is famous for its Christmas flair, where the largest Christmas tree in the world stands and where every department stores' has its own Father Christmas. The story that the author spreads out on a handful of pages about the department stores' bearded man John Berry, little Paco and a pair of ice skates immediately warms the heart.

Streaming subscription for sports fanatics

For young people today, it is normal to listen to the films and music they like best. According to the 2018 JAMES study, one in three teenagers has a streaming subscription and one in two can access a flat-rate subscription from Netflix, Spotify or a competitor. I'm going to give my sports-loving son a streaming subscription to Dazone, which is basically the Netflix for sports fans (and I personally prefer it to accessing series and films). Whether football, NHL or basketball, even rugby - everyone will be happy here, except perhaps those who already have little free time.

Dinner is ready!

As a mum of four boys, I'm always in the kitchen preparing food. Which actually suits me, because I'm passionate about cooking. My boys love to help with the chopping and stirring. However, kitchen utensils are helpful for the quantities I have to prepare. That's why I'm finally giving myself, my boys and my husband the long-awaited pasta machine from Italy for Christmas. Then one of us can hold the dough, the other can turn the crank, the third can lay out the pasta on a kitchen towel, the fourth can flour it - and I can finally drink an espresso in peace.

Gift tip from Patrik Luther

Sustainable farm

My «ultimate gift» should put a smile on the face of both the recipient and the giver. At least that's my ideal formula.
Personally, I favour gifts that are robust and tangible. I'm thinking here of toys and craft items that stimulate the imagination and allow for varied play. The huge wooden farmhouse was my absolute favourite item in my childhood. A beautiful wooden house with a large barn and a stable - that was my greatest happiness as a dream farmer. I had enough space to store the hay and straw, to house various animals and to park the tractors and machines in a weatherproof place - just like I was able to experience every day with «Seppel», our farmer in the village. Over the years, the farm has developed into a large estate: At every opportunity, I was given extensions and accessories.

The farm still exists today, and it is also the centre of attention in my children's playroom. Even though the machines are a little outdated, the farm has survived a good 30 years and still makes my children's eyes light up today. Now that's what I call a lasting gift! We've got into the habit of splitting larger purchases between different gift-givers. The godparents, godmothers or grandmothers are grateful when the parents make the pre-Christmas period easier by suggesting the choice and organising the gift.

Gift tip from Evelin Hartmann

The KiTa for at home

When our second daughter was born, she brought her big sister a present: the playmobil sunshine daycare centre. «But Mum, how did she carry the big parcel?» Incredulous amazement. Then: tear open the paper, cut open the box and pull out all the little figures and individual parts. There are plenty of them at KiTa Sonnenschein: from teacups to toilet brushes, the two-storey playhouse is equipped with everything a crèche child needs. While still in hospital, it took several hours to put all the parts together and attach stickers to the miniature equipment. A direct hit!

Almost three years later, the playhouse sits enthroned on a small table in the nursery and is eagerly used, misappropriated - in short: played with. Admittedly, the staircase to the upper floor has had to be reassembled several times - and has long since ceased to meet minimum structural standards. Some of the tiny cups, bags, flowers and toothbrushes have also fallen victim to the hoover and yet children still sing, play and sleep there while mum and dad go to work.

Gift tips from Nik Niethammer

A classic from my childhood

I loved the perforated plates, gear wheels and cranks made of aluminium and brass: STOKYS, the metal model building system for little engineers. Today my son, 9, plays with it - and is just as enthusiastic. Whether it's a swing, scales or lift system - (almost) anything can be constructed with the more than 600 different components. This requires patience and precision, and promotes creativity, fine motor skills and dexterity.

Tip: For young builders aged six and over, we recommend the beginner models «Basic set 0 and 1» including step-by-step instructions and model book.

The good wood grocer's shop

Children love role-playing games. And they like to recreate the world of their parents and other adults. What could be better for this than a shop. Be Mrs Krämer for once, offering everything that a real corner shop offers: Sugar, pepper and salt, safety pins, baking powder, rubber rings, washing powder, oil sardines and trouser buttons. Important: No plastic - a good grocer's shop is made of wood. The same goes for the accessories: from wooden fruit to wooden scales and small wooden boxes that display all kinds of food and other goods in the shop.

Tip: The joy of a toy lasts longer if it is not played with all year round. The shop should be in the children's room in time for Advent - and put away again in time for Epiphany.

Of dogs, cars and pirates

The «Lesen Staunen Wissen» series from Gerstenberg Verlag is one of the classics of children's non-fiction books. The titles of the more than 100 books alone make the hearts of many little bookworms beat faster: flying machines, horses, cats and dogs, oceans, knights, robots and rainforests, space exploration, football, dinosaurs, the Titanic, pyramids, Indians, cars and pirates. The non-fiction books are excitingly written and richly illustrated with hundreds of historical pictures, depending on the topic.

Tip: The book series is suitable for both reading aloud and reading to children aged 8 and over.

Gift tip from Florina Schwander

A special Barbie

My daughter is getting a Barbie for Christmas. There, I've said it. A Barbie doll. As a child, I was only allowed to play with Barbie and Ken at my cousin's house; I was denied the pink universe with blonde bobbed hair at home. I can understand my parents' decision, as there were none of these new Barbie dolls back then: Well-proportioned, not-just-blonde and cool!
And so my daughter gets a Barbiebäbi for Christmas. Maybe Barbie as Frida Kahlo from the Signature Women collection? Or the red-haired power woman with a fem shirt? Imported straight from my holidays in New York. And as soon as Ken is available in a sensible form, my daughter will get it too. Or then her brothers.

Gift tips from Florian Blumer

Donation to the children's home

It has led to controversial discussions: My question as to whether it is permissible to give gifts to children, to give gifts to other children. For example, making a donation to a children's home in Kathmandu, where the state does not look after orphans or street children. We and our children usually already have more than enough material things. But isn't a donation forcing children to empathise with something they don't even feel yet? Aren't we projecting our own do-gooder behaviour onto small, naturally selfish beings? As a primary school pupil, I hated it when we had to go from door to door selling Swissaid badges. That was because I was shy and there was a bad dog on our tour. As a second grader, I also lacked a sense of why we were doing this. But it didn't do me any harm. And who knows: maybe a seed was planted at an early age for later empathy.
So: if you do it once, give a donation, your own child will certainly not be harmed. If they are already older, they may be able to help decide who the donation should go to in their name. And you can still give something small so that the child doesn't go away empty-handed under the Christmas tree.

Aye, aye pirates!

If you think my donation idea - I would fully understand - is a crazy idea, then I have another tip. An absolute classic. The, I'm not exaggerating, most beautiful plastic present I've ever received in my life: the Playmobil pirate ship. The boundless joy when I found it under the Christmas tree, my greatest wish, is still fresh in my memory. And if anyone is worried about the consumption of resources (after all, plastic is made from crude oil) or the household budget: at the time of writing, 41 Playmobil pirate ships are up for auction on Ricardo.