Super puppets and jigsaws – the best educational toy for your child this Christmas

Super puppets and jigsaws the best educational toy for your child this Christmas

What's the best thing about classic toys for young children? The fact that they have an appeal of their own, touching a chord of memory for the parent as well as being fun for the child? The fact that they are cheaper than the overpriced plastic packaged nonsense that comes as an offshoot of the latest flash in the pan fad TV series? The fact that they are built from quality materials, with not a break off able plastic piece in sight? All of these things are great: but the best thing of all about the classic kids toy is that it is nearly always an educational toy a play thing that teaches while it amuses.

There's a reason for that, which we as a country have nearly lost sight of in our usual haze of consumerism. Indeed, probably the only thing that has come out of our recent recession that can be distinctly qualified as "good" is the fact that we're having to abandon all this throwaway nonsense in every corner of our lives: which means that the real kids toy is back in favour, and just in time for Christmas. Talk about serendipity. This Christmas more than any other is about forgetting all that fiscal misery for a while, and trying to embrace a new kind of consumer consciousness, where things are bought to last and work, rather than just because they happen to be trendy. An educational toy fills both boxes very nicely. On one hand, a puppet or a large format jigsaw will bring endless amounts of fun and fascination this Christmas; and, on the other, it'll be great value for money and will actually last past Boxing Day.

It takes a while for any entrenched habit to go. Finally, we've reached a point where we have grown up enough to realise that joy and longevity are much better gifts than temporary gratification or the latest symbol of one upmanship. So come one come all to those online toy emporia, where a really good educational toy can be had for a very reasonable price: a first puppet, maybe (which can be used to illustrate all sorts of things when teaching a child about the world); or a large format jigsaw, ideal for getting those pattern recognition and spatial skills functioning properly.

Here's the thing: toys were always supposed to teach. That's been their function every since Day One. The reason toys are fun is because they get kids to learn about the world without them realising that is what is happening. Modern toys, have taken over the market but now the real toy, the educational toy, is fighting back. Kids are getting interested again, getting fascinated again and that might even mean that a new generation of less grasping people are growing up in the process. Now that would be a good Christmas present.

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