The Hack To Make Birthday Gift-Giving Better

We’ve all been there: standing perplexed in the toy aisle, unsure of what to get a kid you don’t know well for a gift-giving occasion like a birthday or the holidays. Well-meaning relatives, too, may not be up on what’s in or out for a particular age, which can lead to gifts that collect dust. But there’s a way to help gift-givers hit the mark every time: Amazon Gift List.

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Before you send out invitations to your kid’s next birthday, sit down with them and make a list of all the things you’d both be happy for them to receive. Choose from Amazon’s huge selection to create a gift registry, then simply add the link to your invitation and hit send. You’ve made life easier for the families coming to the party, saved yourself time on exchanges for duplicates, and ensured your kid will get presents they’re really excited about. Bonus: you don’t have to reply to a whole bunch of emails answering the question, “What should I get for your kid?” Once you try it, you’ll find Gift List a genius idea for the holidays, graduation, and house-warmings, too—really any gift-giving occasion.

Here’s how to set up a Gift List registry in just a few minutes:

1. Start your registry at amazon.ca/registries
2. Choose the type of event you’re celebrating.
3. Enter your name and party details.
4. Enter the address to which you’d like the gifts shipped.
5. Decide if you want gifts to be a surprise or allow others to see what’s been purchased.
6. Make note of whether it’s a private or public registry
7. Start adding gifts!

The best part is that Amazon keeps track of who sent you which gift, along with their address, making thank-you notes a breeze. If for some reason you do need to make a return, gifts purchased on the registry get an extended 90-day return window.

Ready to register? Here are some age-by-age gift ideas to get you started.

Best gifts for preschoolers: ages 2.5 to 4

Melissa & Doug Wooden Building Blocks Set Melissa & Doug are classics for a reason: beautifully designed, simple, educational toys that kids will come back to over and over. Perfect for ages 2.5 and up, but we bet your kiddos will be playing with these for years to come.

Paw Patrol Kitty Catastrophe Set Fans of the beloved show will love this set of figures—canine plus feline versions of Chase, Marshall, Rubble and Sky. Character toys like these are great for inspiring storytelling play.

Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Toy Trucks 2-Pack The bigger the wheel, the badder the truck. This monster pick-up and van set is made for kids whose favourite activity is bashing. There are other models to collect, as well.

Crayola Color Wonder Mess-Free Colouring Stow and Go Arts Studio These markers truly are magical, for parents too, since the colour stays on the pad and won’t transfer to hands, carpets or furniture. The case is easy to open, and the pad clips keep paper in place, making them perfect for car or airplane colouring sessions.

My First Learn-to-Write Workbook This smart yet fun workbook lets your littles practice important skills like pen control, tracing, and connecting the dots. Before you know it, they’ll be writing their ABCs and 123s (as well as maybe sitting still in a restaurant!).

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Best gifts for kindergarteners: ages 4 to 6

LOL Surprise OMG Remix Lonestar Fashion Doll Meet Lonestar, a cowgirl from the LOL universe. This country star comes with two glam outfits, a guitar, an album that plays on its own record player and a magazine with lyrics so your little cowpoke can sing along. Yeehaw!

Barbie Doll House, 3-Story Townhouse Hey, Barbie! Of course, Barbie’s got the coolest digs in town with three levels of hot pink fun. Her apartment is complete with stylish, modern furniture, a swing chair and an elevator that takes her up to her own rooftop lounge.

Mattel Disney Pixar Cars Toys You’ll be off to the races with this set of your favourite characters from Pixar’s Cars: Lightning McQueen, Mater and Sheriff. Their wheels roll for easy push play, and they’re just the right size for popping in your purse for vroom-vroom on the go.

Play-Doh Ultimate Ice Cream Truck Set Now ice cream can happen any time. Kids will love getting creative with this soft-serve machine, scooping station, sprinkles and moulds—and, of course, a register where they can ring up their customers. The best part? The set comes with built-in storage and bins to keep everything organized.

Paint by Sticker Kids: Unicorns & Magic This is an ideal gift for a kid who loves to create, but whose parents would rather not deal with the post-craft mess of paint or glue. The set comes with 10 pictures to “paint” —one colourful sticker at a time. The need for quiet concentration makes this a smart one to stow away in your airline carry-on.

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Best gifts for big kids: ages 7 to 9

Trivial Pursuit Family Edition Game By including two decks of cards—one for adults and one for kids—no one is left out of the family edition of this classic board game that challenges and amuses everyone. Plus, they’ve added a Showdown challenge that adds even more drama.

LEGO Creator 3 in 1 Cute Bunny Toy What’s better than a new Lego set? A set that can make three different toys, that’s what. Your little builder can make a bunny, a llama, and a seal, each with their own cute accessories. With movable ears, legs and flippers, all of these critters can be posed and displayed or be part of imaginative play.

NERF Elite 2.0 Eaglepoint RD-8 Blaster Nerf fight! A detachable scope and barrel mean you can customize this Nerf blaster for any kind of play. It’s powerful enough to hit a target 90 feet away and the built-in dart storage means fast reloads and non-stop fun.

Osmo-Coding Starter Kit for Fire Tablet Kids get an intro to simple coding by creating three games on a Fire Tablet with hand-held pieces and simple commands. The kit is designed for all levels so kids can keep developing skills and create ever more sophisticated games for solo or team play.

Britannica All New Kids’ Encyclopedia: What We Know & What We Don't With gorgeous illustrations and striking photography, as well as fascinating (and trustworthy!) facts, kids of different ages will turn to this compendium over and over. Whether you use this encyclopedia to settle a debate or read it cover to cover on a rainy day, this is a family library must-have.

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Best gifts for pre-teens: ages 10-12

Splendor Compete to become Renaissance Europe’s most successful jeweller in this fast-paced game. It’s easy to learn but with many paths to victory and plenty of opportunity for strategy, you’ll be playing it over and over. Bilingual bonus: the game can be played in English and French!

Eurographics Combine a geography lesson and puzzling with this high-quality 1,000-piece jigsaw the whole family can do together.

Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids Pro tablet The perfect device for that pre-phone age, this tablet has a slim yet sturdy design, and the one-year subscription to Amazon Kids+ gives them access to hundreds of ad-free books, videos and games from their favourite brands. Best of all, you set the parental controls you feel comfortable with.

Harry Potter Box Set: The Complete Collection Get on the Hogwarts Express with this seven-book collection of the best-selling series. Join Harry, Ron and Hermione as they learn to make magic and do battle with he who shall not be named.

Fujifilm Instax Mini 12 Instant Camera Introduce your tween to the joys of instant printed pictures. The automatic exposure, flash control and built-in selfie mirror mean you never take a bad shot. Plus, the bubbly design and pretty pastel shades are just so darn cute.

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