Fairy, Elf, Gnome Toy Gift Ideas for Children

Present Suggestions for Fairy Tale Figures and Playsets

© Renee Carver

Nov 24, 2008

Instead of purchasing mainstream fairy toy products from the Disney's Fairies line or run-of-the-mill sets from Fisher Price or Step 2, creative gift givers can seek out unique and nicely crafted playsets and figures for girls and boys that like fairies, elves, gnomes, dwarfs, and other magical forest beings. Such sets foster imagination and open-ended creative play and, because they are built with quality materials, may last for years to come. While some are too pink and flowery to appeal to boys, many neutrally colored sets work well for both genders.

Plastic and Vinyl Fairy Tale Figures and Playsets

• With the Superstructs Pinklets Fairy Garden Kit, children ages 3 and up can join brightly colored plastic rods with foam connectors to build cars, gardens, buildings and other parts of a fairy land. Compatible with other Superstructs sets, this toy fosters the development of fine-motor skills and logical thinking skills by including step-by-step instructions boys and girls can follow to build trellises, swing-sets, and other objects. It also fosters open-ended creative play because children can use the 110 pieces to construct their own creations. The predominantly pink and green color scheme may appeal more to girls than to boys.
• Schleich's realistic and detailed fairy tale figures (constructed of hard vinyl hand-painted with non-toxic paint) are appealing to both boys and girls and can be paired with sets such as Schleich's Summergreen Elf House and Shadow Rock Elf House. Suitable for ages 5 and up.

Wood Fairy Tale Playsets

• Grimm's Fairy Tale Village from Grimm's Spiel und Holz Design consists of seventeen solid wood pieces dyed bright colors with non-toxic water-based dyes. The pieces can be nested to create three quirky buildings or stacked in a variety of ways to construct towers, houses, and other fun play areas for small fairy tale figurines.
• Le Toy Van offers a range of enchanting painted wood playsets, from large sets such as the Belle Fairy Castle, the Fairy Tower, and the Fairy Train set to smaller sets such as the Teapot Cafe and the Strawberry Fayre Market. They are expensive, and the larger sets can be difficult to assemble, but their durability and the care taken with the details of their design are conducive to years of rich imaginative play. They are compatible with Papo figures and Le Toy Van Fairy Dolls and suitable for ages 3 and up.
• Painted in neutral browns that appeal to both boys and girls, the Enchantments Fairy Forest Lodge Stump Home is a small, three-story home built to look like a hollow tree stump. Add-on sets include a Fairy Forest Family of figures, a Bridge and River Puzzle Set, a Mushroom Table and Stools, and Living Room, Kitchen, and Bedroom sets of whimsical wood fairy furniture. Suitable for ages 3 and up.
• Wooden tree house sets are another good option for both boys and girls. Tree Blocks offers sets such as the Tree House Cottage (with a permanently assembled base and second floor and a third floor that can be put together in different configurations) and the Build a Tree House set (where the entire set can be taken apart and put together in different ways). Additional Tree Blocks accessories include equally rustic sets of furniture and a Branch Family set of gnome dolls. Other tree house sets include high-quality sets by Maxim (with sophisticated features such as gondolas and chair lifts), the Small World Ryan's Room Fairyland Forest (which includes cute features like acorn buckets and leaf swings and is painted with girl-appealing colors like purple and pink), and the more neutrally colored Melissa & Doug Wooden Tree House Play Set. All sets suitable ages 3 and up.

Both boys and girls can enjoy cooperative, open-ended play while making up imaginative stories together with enchanted creature-themed play sets and figures.

Little Wooden Elf Figure

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