Children's birthday presents ideas

With the 2012 Olympic Games around the corner. What better time to encourage children to get sporty. A sports bag with the Olympic logo is always useful for carrying football and rugby kit. Young children will enjoy playing with 2012 Olympic ball sets. For the young tennis player Superga, the iconic Italian brand, have a large range of sneakers in a variety of colours and styles. For family team games rounders and croquet sets are always very popular. Rounders can be played in the park, garden or on the beach and is suitable for all ages.

Creative children love unusual craft sets. Card kits for celebrations such as Valentine’s Day and Mothering Sunday are great fun to put together and the recipient will sure to be delighted. For the aspiring fashion designer a sewing machine is the perfect gift. For the young knitter what better way to celebrate the 2012 Olympics than knitting their own favourite athletes using Carol Meldrum's Knitlympics inspirational patterns.

For young bookworms a Leappad tablet is a must for downloading their favourite stories. For the romantic teenager a Classics collection such as the works of the Bronte sisters or Jane Austen will always be a special treat. For the studious reader a Collins dictionary bookmark will always come in useful as a quick word check. It is very easy to carry around – just slip it into a book – all the words at their finger tips. Spending time putting together globe and country jigsaws is a fun way to learn about world geography.Ravensburger have an extensive collection of jigsaws.

For the young globetrotter a set of their own luggage always come in handy. Luggage in the shape of animals is a novelty for younger children. Skyflite make some cute penguin style luggage on wheels. Entertainment such as a portable DVD player, books to read or craft toys will help to pass the time whilst travelling.The Leappad tablet doubles as a DVD player. It also has lots of educational games which can be loaded onto it.A pencil case in the shape of a dachshund will always come in handy for keeping their pens and pencils inside.