SOMETIMES the perfect holiday gift for your children doesn’t come all wrapped up in pretty paper.Long after the children have put away their new toys, the real gift your children will continue to cherish for years will be the memory of the time spent with family and friends, says Dr. Kathleen Alfano, Director of Child Research at the Fisher-Price.

It’s important to balance the presents from Santa or the Three Kings with activities that help children understand the true emphasis of the season should be on giving and not receiving.

To help your children understand the meaning of the season, treat your holiday activities like games. Let them make paper ornaments in the kitchen as you prepare the traditional holiday meals. Ask your children to help Grandma set up the nativity scene. Give them the best gift of all: your time and your love.

When you do go shopping to find the right gift for the little ones, Dr. Alfano reminds you to keep three important factors in mind: age-appropriateness, interests and play needs.

Age-appropriateness

Children need toys that are matched to their developmental abilities so they can achieve success. When children have an age-appropriate toy - both safety and enjoyment increases! Be sure to pay attention to the age ranges specified on the toy packaging.

For example, at six months, your baby is learning, “I can make things happen!” Some good toys for this age are those that show action/reaction, stacking toys, and toys for imitative play.

By 18-24 months, your little one can pull a toy on a string, manage a push-a-long, and put one block on top of another as well as enjoy playing with simple playsets about familiar themes such as a home or a farm.

By three, introduce toys that help refine eye-hand co-ordination, grow-with-me ride-on toys, construction and building playsets and toys that encourage learning things such as numbers, letters, colours and shapes.

Toy dinosaurs, action hero figures and playsets encourage older children (four to five) to combine their imaginative and problem-solving skills in “What-if?” play.

“Choosing the right toys at the right time will enrich your child’s play experience and provide the foundation for learning,” Dr. Alfano says.

Interests

Children are more engaged, curious, entertained and willing to keep playing when they are interested in something. Observe your child playing alone and with other children to see where his or her interests lie. If your child stays with Grandma or another caregiver during the day, or goes to a day care centre, ask what toys the child is playing with when he or she is away from home. The answer may help guide your buying decon.

Play Needs<$>

Provide your children with a variety of toys that serve various play needs: toys for playing with alone; ones that promote sharing and interaction; those that encourage imaginative play or promote physical activity or constructive play. Think about the kinds of toys your children already have and look for items that fill any of the areas that are lacking.