The Best Summer Toys Of 2015

With a seemingly never ending world of options for toys for your children, it can be difficult to know the right way to go. Everyone wants to be the cool parent who keeps up with trends and buys the best presents for their kids, but what way to go?

Toys for the garden

As summer reaches its peak, there’s no better way to spend a weekend than watching your children play in the sunshine. Outdoor toys are a great way to encourage your children to exercise while enjoying nature and discovering the world around them.

One of the best items for your child’s outdoor adventures is a tent. Tents come in many shapes, sizes, colours and designs so you and your child can find the perfect one for them, including teepee style tents for the house and garden. You’ll be surprised how many hours your child can lose enjoying the secrecy and exciting experience of playing in a tent.

For those with a patio, washable chalks are an excellent way to let your child explore their artistic size without ruining your tiling. Washable chalks come in many different colours and styles meaning your budding Picasso can spend a summer’s afternoon creating masterpieces in the garden. Then when they’re done, you can both clean the patio so they can start again.

Of course, you can never go wrong with games, from badminton sets to more modern incarnations of ball games there are many different choices. Outdoor games aren’t only great for exercise, you may even find that your child has a talent for a certain sport. Every successful athlete was once a child playing in their garden.

For outside the house

The garden is fun for a while, but all of our finest memories are of playing in the street or in the local park. There are an abundance of toys available to create new memories with your children.

Old favourites can’t go wrong, and water pistols are a brilliant way for your child to keep cool while exercising and socialising with their friends or siblings. A range of options are available from the tiny to the surprisingly enormous. In an evolution of water pistols, water pistol based games are becoming very popular and are a way to guarantee your child will be happy with their present this year.

Scooters are currently enjoying a huge resurgence amongst young people. A scooter has been the ultimate must have for kids for the past few years. With a variety of designs and even the option to create your own, a scooter will be a greatly appreciated gift.

If scooters are not your child’s cup of tea, there are bikes for all ages available. We all remember learning to ride a bike, and experiencing this with your child can be a rewarding experience. For the younger children, cars and even low riders are available in a variety of styles.

For the swimming pool

The local swimming pool is a great place to take the kids. The pool has enough to offer, children can find their own fun in water, but there are ways to enhance it.

Floats have been around for generations, but the modern interpretations are truly impressive. Inflatable vehicles such as cars and space shuttles, animals and anything else you could possibly imagine are all widely available.

Whatever way you choose to go, and whatever purpose it needs to serve, the choice of toys has never been more intimidating. But you know your child, you know what they like, and with this knowledge you can find them the best toy they could ever possibly imagine.

John Bellusci is a writer for Cottage Toys, one of the leading online boutiques for traditional wooden toys and baby gifts.