Travel Friendly Christmas Gifts + Camelot Jr Give Away

This give away is now closed. Thanks to all who entered and the lucky winner as drawn by And The Winner Is plugin was Maxabella! I will send an email shortly to arrange delivery!

As I noted at the beginning of my Christmas Preparation for 2010, we will be spending Christmas away from home this year. To help me with the present side of things, today we have a great post and give away from Laine Yates. Laine is a mum of two young boys and loves to travel with her kids. Her business, ickle Kids was borne out of the desire to entertain her boys when she was out and about – in the car, on a plane or dining out at restaurants. Laine is passionate about educational toys and has sourced unique products that are both educational and travel friendly.

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Christmas is such a wonderful time of year, but as we all know, it can also be a crazy time too! Lots of families have to attend more than one “Christmas lunch” between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day and juggle their time on the road between loved ones. Traveling during the year is hard enough with all the essentials we need to take when traveling with kids. However, traveling with kids over the Christmas period with pressies, adds another dimension of stress! “Will we have enough space in the car?” “Gosh, I hope the vase we bought Aunt Bessie doesn’t break!”

So here are some ideas on “travel friendly Christmas gifts” for the whole family. I have listed suggestions under groups, but they could all be easily interchanged:

1. Christmas gifts for women – Mums, Sisters, Mother in laws, Aunts

Jewellery – I think it’s safe to say that most women love jewellery. It’s easy to pack and lovely to receive! I love shopping for unique pieces of jewellery on sites such as Made it – Handmade Market. You will find beautiful pieces with such reasonable price tags.
Spa treatments – generally speaking most women do not really make it a point to buy spa treatments for themselves, so this makes a great Christmas gift.

2. Christmas gifts for men – Dads, brothers, Father in laws, Uncles

Experience related gifts – again something a bit different and gift vouchers are easy to pack! Last Minute have lots of choice, ranging from winery tours to extreme sports. You can also narrow your search by location which is helpful.
DVDs and CDs – Around Christmas time there are always special editions of favourite TV shows and new release CDs that can easily be packed in your luggage.

3. Christmas gifts for Grandparents

Personalised presents – framed photos of the grandkids, calendars, coasters made from kids drawings. Not only are these gifts personalised, but they are light weight too!
Magazine subscriptions – these gifts will take up almost no space in the car when you are travelling. They are also easy to purchase as you can do it online, try magnation or magshop, both have extensive ranges to choose from.

4. Christmas gifts for kids

Gifts like playing cards, books, DVDs, movie tickets, stationery and clothes can all be tailored to the required age group of the child. You can also try these age specific gift ideas that are travel friendly:

For Preschoolers:
Travel Friendly Christmas Gifts
Finger puppets – not only will they be easy to pack, but they would be great to play with in the car on the return trip.
Role play toys – like our gorgeous Doctor’s Dress up Tin. This cute wooden set has everything a budding Doctor or Nurse would need – even a real bandage to wrap around a sore finger!
Sticker Play Scenes – stickers can be a parents best friend, when needing to occupy a small child in confined spaces. These packs come with a play board and are re-useable.

For school aged kids:
Travel Friendly Christmas Gifts
Brain Teasers – You can buy compact brain teasers that will keep the kids entertained for the return trip and stretch their mind. Check out our best sellers Road Block (7+) and Hide and Seek Safari (7+). These are great family games to play during the Christmas break.
Craft Kits – You can find craft kits to suit most kids interests. Crafts kits will also help keep the kids happily entertained throughout the school holidays.

Camelot Jr Give Away and ickle Kids Discount Offer

To help you with your Christmas present shopping, ickle Kids is offering readers of Planning with Kids 10% off storewide and any orders over $60 will receive a FREE wooden toy valued at $10. To receive the discount, just enter “PWK10” at checkout. Offer ends 15th November 2010.

Camelot Jr Game
They have also given me a copy of Camelot Jr to give away to one lucky reader. This is such a gorgeous game and it ticks all the boxes for me:

  • It is wooden.
  • Can be played by more than one age group.
  • Gives the kids brain a workout.
  • And they can play it by themselves!

I have loved watching my 4 and 6 year olds play this game. The child needs to create a path for the knight and princess to be reunited, using the towers and stairs. The knight and princess can only walk, no jumping down or climbing up walls. And don’t worry, it isn’t always the knight going to the princess – the challenges alternate and the princess goes to the knight too.

Camelot Junior Game

The game comes with a booklet containing 48 challenges, the degree of difficulty increases with each challenge. It really tests the kids logical thinking skills and their problem solving skills!

To enter all you need to do is click over to ickle kids and check out their range of fab travel and educational toys. Tell me what your favourite one is in the comments below.

Entry is open to Australian residents only and limited to one entry per person. Entries close at 5pm Thu 11th Nov 2010. The winner will be drawn randomly and announced at the top of this post later that day. The winner will also be notified via email. If no response is received within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn. Good luck!