The pre-teen age is complicated when it comes to gift buying. They still play with toys, but only certain ones, and they want all the gadgets and gizmo’s but aren’t old enough for all of them

The challenge for Christmas gift giving becomes finding a Christmas gift for the pre-teen that does not offend their perceived ‘adultness’ but still engages their childlike sence of fun. Let’s not forget a 10-year-old is still a child, no matter what he thinks!.

To help you through this mindfield of gift buying I’ve put together a few tips:

1. Character Gifts

Both boys and girls will love to get gifts of their favourite characters. Whether the gift comes as a game, a model or part of a larger set evry child will like owning a little piece of their favourite character.

2. Creative Gifts

You can really go to town here – there’s a whole world of creative gifts just waiting for you. Girls can play with face paints and jewellery makers, while boys love building technical item, especially those from Lego Technics (actually, girls love playing with them too!)

3. Family Games

Surely the mainstay of every Christmas, family game sreally bring a family together. You don;t have to stick to the traditional board games though, gaming systems like the Nintendo Wii have made it possible for the family to play computer games together.

Don;t feel that family games are just for Christmas, they’re a great way to help the family spend time together throughout the whole of the year.

4. Electronics

Now that most gaming systems make games suitable for age 3+ there’s no reason why your pre-teen shouldn’t get in on the act. Popular games with youngsters are ones where they have to look after a pet or take on a character.

No matter what gift you buy, make sure it’s something you’ve bought with love. Children know they’re lovd but it’s still nice to tell them sometimes.