Cheap Christmas gifts for kids

If you're buying for children this Christmas, but don't want to spend a fortune, check out our round-up of the best cheap gifts.

Books, puzzles and board games

Under £5

Among the best gifts for kids at Marks & Spencer are half-price puzzles such as the Build a Farm Puzzle for £2.50 (was £5) and Disney Princess Magical Puzzle for £3 (was £6). There are also 500 Jokes Books for £1.50 (was £3) and Jacqueline Wilson Best Friends Make Your Own Friendship Bracelets & Activity Books for £1.50 (was £3).

Under £10

Promising eye-boggling and brain-twisting extremes, Awesome Optical Illusions is a collection of visual puzzles, yours for £6.99 (RRP £7.99) at Waterstones. For smaller children, get The Bedtime Bear: a Pop-up Book for Bedtime, reduced to £6.39 (RRP £7.99). 

Under £25

If you’re not sure what family game to go for this year, you can’t go wrong with an old favourite. Monopoly Junior Party is for fives and over and for a limited time, it is on part of a special two for £20 offer at Argos. At £12.99, this is already a decent price but if you pick another game – such as Hungry Hippos or Junior Cluedo Carnival – they will cost you only £10 each!

Orchard Toys have a great reputation for kids games and the Round and Round Board Game (for ages 3-6) is no exception – get it for £11.99 (RRP £15.95) at Sainsbury’s where you can also save a third on various other board games and puzzles including Bop It Tetris for £16.65 (RRP £24.99).

Toys and craft gifts

Under £5

Tiger Stores are great for stocking fillers (check the store locator here) like this Baking Set for Kids with a rolling pin and cutters (£3), this Red Heart Apron (£2) and Glitter Glue with five tubes (£1). There are also lots of Beads and Colourful Wire for making jewellery (£1).

Ikea is also worth a trip to pick up a load of crafty bits and bobs such as these plastic Pyssla Beads (£5) which kids can use to make their own designs using various Shapes (£1.30) and then iron over with parchment paper. If you’ve never seen them before have a look at this guide.

Moving on to the toys, this Fireman Sam Rescue Game is better-than-half-price at ToysRUs, now only £4.99 (was £12.99), but remember to pick up some batteries to avoid disappointment on the big day!

Under £10

For older kids, Waterstones is selling this Sukie Iron-On Craft Pad for £8.79 which features 20 sheets of designs to adorn t-shirts and bags.

These Disney Princess Walkie Talkies and these Play-Doh Super Rainbow Value Packs (containing 18 brightly coloured pots) are usually £9.99 but you can buy them both for only £15 in total as part of a special multi-buy offer at Argos.

Under £25

You can also save a handy £25 on My First Scooter (suitable for two-year-olds) at Halfords, yours for only £14.99 (was £39.99) so type in your postcode to see if it’s available at a store near you.

Clothing and accessories

Under £5

If you’re hitting the high street, you can buy Comb-In Hair Colour for £3.50 at Topshop, a nice gift for fashionable teen girls and in-store at Asda, look out for two for £8 (usually £5 each) on various perfume and aftershave gift sets including a teen fave from my childhood, Charlie Red! I also spotted this rather smart Jones Red Bell Alarm Clock for only £3 and Body Tagz Body Art Transfer Set (age 6+) for £3.97.

Under £10

It doesn’t get much girlier than this Shiny Pink Brocade Dress for £5.99 or this Swan Print Tulle Dress for £9.99 at H&M and for little boys who’d rather be a dinosaur, this Hooded Green Jacket is £5.99. 

There are socks of every variety at Accessorize, costing £3.50 for one pair but you save a few quid if you grab three pairs for £8. Check out these Bear Face Socks and these slightly terrifying Lee Lee Cat Socks!

If you can handle the cuteness, there are a dozen or so Hotties (hot water bottles and covers) are on offer at BHS including this ridiculously cute Freddy Frog Hottie for £5 (was £7.50) – check the Christmas delivery dates or pick one up in-store.

Or, why not give them somewhere to store their jewels with this Silver plated teddy bear trinket box for £8 (was £10) at Debenhams.

Under £25

Finally, keep new mums and dads happy with the Slumber Buddy Butterfly for £14.99 at ToysRUs (saving you £7) which soothe babies to sleep with lullabies, nature sounds or a heart-beat and has a handy 30 minute auto shut-off.

Don't forget to check if you can save even more money with a voucher code or earn some money with a cashback offer. We've rounded up the latest of both in Top Christmas present voucher code and cashback deals this week

More on Christmas:

Cheap Christmas gifts for him

Cheap Christmas gifts for her

The best Secret Santa gifts

Twelve good, cheap Christmas gift ideas

The 12 saves of Christmas

Where to get the cheapest Christmas lunch