It’s never easy finding toys and games that will please everyone from tiny tots to taciturn teens, but we’ve donned our elf costumes and are here to lend Santa a hand. Here’s our selection of toys and board games that’ll make you wish you were a child again… Wooden toys, particularly those which encourage creativity…

Oh Panto! Words by Courtney O’Grady When I first moved to Scotland from America 22 years ago, I had never heard of a Christmas pantomime. Needless to say, I did not know what to expect, as my only understanding of the word pantomime had me thinking I would be watching a silent man with a…

  Kid’s parties used to be straightforward affairs with silly games, ice-cream and jelly and enough cake to make several children sick. Now, parents can be overly competitive, children sometimes have unrealistic expectations and parents are often left unsure about who – if anyone – will show up because so few people bother to RSVP.…

When I was a kid, playing outside was the norm. We would exit the house just after breakfast, and only return inside for snacks or toilet breaks. These days, there is so much competition for our children’s time, particularly from all things electronic, we have to get clever if we want to shift their focus…

Whenever I am in the company of small children, I marvel at the thought that I was once one of them. Not because of their diminutive size or their unwavering willingness to eat dirt and anything else they may find on the floor, but because they are impossibly energetic. Kids expend more energy before breakfast…