This is a round up of three fantastic construction toys I’ve come across and we all love. They all demand nothing but imagination. There’s no wrong way to play with them and children naturally start to integrate other things when playing with them: marble runs, little homes for the figures or soft toys, towers to knock down with nerf guns… Construction toys provide such a wonderful way of working
All these construction toys make great group presents, so don’t be alarmed by the prices. Perfect to buy for all the children in the family, and all can be extended by add on packs over time!
In our house, we end up building something using all three at once at times.
Playmags – Magnetic Construction Toy
I can’t recommend Playmags enough, and they’re perfect for very little ones and getting bigger ones. They’re sturdy colourful magnetic shapes that ‘stick’ together to form whatever you like: ‘pictures’ on the floor or table…and are fantastic for teaching little ones about shapes, patterning, colours and the world of magnets. It helps them to develop their creativity, construction skills, their hand eye co-ordination and problem solving skills. They’re strong and cope very well with being thrown, chewed, stood on or being shot at with nerf guns or balls!
Playmags are very similar to Magnatiles, but when I was looking, Playmags were cheaper. Everyone in our family loves them and even I, at the grand old age of 112, enjoy a session with them when no-one’s looking. Visiting kids get stuck straight into them, whatever their age. Different sized sets ranging from £25 and upwards on Amazon.
Kapla – Simple Wooden Construction Toy. ‘Makes Amazing Structures’
Read all about Kapla here. It’s so simple, well made and, most importantly, requires absolutely no input apart from lots of imagination. It’s a wooden block construction toy suitable for all ages and most certainly into adulthood. Each block is exactly the same size: 12 x 2.5 x 1.5 cm and they stack. That’s it. Within seconds / minutes you can make elaborate towers that just grow up from under your fingers, marble runs, shapes, animals, buildings, model pieces of furniture or anything you like! The price varies depending on the number of pieces, and you can also buy coloured ones.
Plus-Plus – An Interconnecting Construction Toy
These Plus-Plus pieces are fantastic for not only creative imaginative play, but also for honing those all important fine motor skills needed for writing, dealing with zips and buttons, and other daily self-care tasks. They slot together so easily and there’s no ‘wrong’ about them. I really can’t recommend them enough.
We’ve also found these amazingly useful to take out and about – the kids love constructing mini ‘whatevers’ while they’re waiting at hospital appointments, or for pizzas to arrive.
Our three children are 9, 8 and 5. Our 5 year old has Down’s Syndrome and he can manage these really well.
Each piece is 2 x 1.25cm and comes in various colours.
You can get them from Amazon, and rounding up, the cost of a set is (and all sets are compatible with each other)…
600 pieces = £18.45
300 pieces = £10.80
100 pieces = £5
The pieces can slot together to form both 2D or 3D images – in both straight lines, or to form curves….
ALSO: Polydron & Geomags are another two brilliant open ended construction sets.
⭐️Beautiful Letters From Magical Places⭐️
If you would like to subscribe to our Elf Club, and receive our newsletters, special offers, free Guides and discount codes, I’d love to see you there!
To receive our Magical Newsletter
PLUS
Two FREE Guides in the newsletter:
Family Advent Activities & Ways to Make Christmas Eve More Magical!
[one_half]
[/one_half][one_half]
[/one_half]
The International Elf Service specialises in beautiful handcrafted, personalised letters from magical places … the North Pole and Fairyland. Designed to encourage children to read, while developing and preserving their love of all things magical.
‘Very Helpful’ Fairy & Tooth Fairy Letters
Try our amazingly unique and magical Family Christmas Tradition of Christmas Letter Bundles from the North Pole. Elf letters filled with secrets and snippets from the North Pole, for you to deliver very mysteriously on the Elves behalf … for your children to find.
Elfie’s Christmas Letters – Video is the Christmas 2019 Edition
***
*You don’t need an Elf or a Fairy Door to enjoy these letters. Pop magical letter by their toothbrush, in their shoes, stashed away with the rest of the mail – have fun!
Not sure? You can try these one-off letters that can be delivered any time of the year. Here and here!
A sneaky listen to our Advent Calendar Christmas letter bundle from Christmas 2018 … *The Christmas Letter Bundles Are Brand New Each Year!
Hide them among the bills and junk mail, lay them on the table first thing in the morning, stashed among the toys, or snuggled up in their bed. You choose where your children find the letters, to create a magical family tradition the kids will love!
“The best Christmas idea ever.” – Charlie Condou (Actor)
***
“These were the best things I have ever (and I mean ever) ordered!!
I’ve never seen the magic or happiness last so long x”
– Jolene (August 2017)
Come and join us on Facebook, or find us over on Christmas Traditions & Magic For Children for all year round festive chat.
Emily x
Leave a Reply