Before you know it, the festive period will upon us once again… only a couple of months left!
Instead of waiting till the last minute to rush about like a frazzled, blur sotong for the right prezzie for your loved ones, why not peruse our 3-part series focussing on gifts to get for all the different VIPs in your life, for some inspo?
Start your reading list for gifts pronto with our selection of suggestions for meaningful and value-laden kid-friendly prezzies for your own loved ones, or for friends or family folk with children.
And, look out for Part 2, where we source for the most interesting finds for that friend who never needs anything, and gifts for your significant other in Part 3!
1. The gift of playful learning
Nothing is quite as worthwhile as giving your little saplings the gift of play and education. Even if they are as young as 6 months to 6 years of age. Even if they might not be able to appreciate so thoughtful a gift (don’t worry – they will, in the future).
With a tagline that says “Learn to play. Play to learn”, you know Sparkanauts is serious about the business of learning through purposeful play.
The learning activities at this kids’ education centre are specially designed to stimulate the brain through a combination of fun and research-based teaching methods. Tapping into children’s inherent curiosity about the larger world around them, the centre provides a bounty of play activities within its well-planned holistic brain development programme to help the young ones grow physically and mentally.
Which means your knee-high kids will definitely be knee-deep in all kinds of educational fun at Sparkanauts at SAFRA Toa Payoh. Think music and movement, kid’s gymnastics, art and craft, and phonetic and action rhymes amongst other activities. They’re designed to train your tyke’s balance and coordination, fine motor ability, memory and visual capabilities, mathematical skills, and letter and vocabulary identification.
Choose from any of Sparkanauts’ 7 age-based classes – Baby Cadet (5 to 12 months), Cadet (12 to 18 months), Junior Pilot (18 to 28 months), Pilot (2 to 3 years), Explorer and Navigator (4 to 5 years), and Achiever (5 to 6 years) – to let Kiddo play ahead in their early years, to find their way ahead in life. Otherwise, you could always gift a learning experience from their lineup of holiday programmes.
Sparkanauts, 293, Lorong 6 Toa Payoh, SAFRA Toa Payoh, #02-01, 319387, https://sparkanauts.com; www.facebook.com/Sparkanauts; www.instagram.com/sparkanauts
2. The gift of cleanliness
In our current climate, hygiene, sanitisation and basic cleanliness in general, are ultra-important for our and our children’s health. But, it’s not just about making sure our playful ones wash up every day, spritzing their hands with hand sanitiser, or even having them mask up when they are running about in public.
It’s also about the “thrones” your little Prince or Princess reposes on when they’re going on family outings – strollers and children’s car seats. Imagine all that dirt, insects, food bits, bacteria, boogers, and even, vomit or poop, that could be left all over, under and in the nooks and crannies of the prams and car seats your precious one’s sitting on – mega ewww.
Photo: PramWash
Save yourself – and your friends who are young parents – time, inconvenience and self-inflicted nastiness by turning to Singapore’s first baby gear cleaning specialist, PramWash. It provides a whole suite of cleaning services: soap bath, vacuuming, frame wipe down, water extraction, UVC sterilisation, antimicrobial coating, steam sanitisation and stain treatment.
All you need is to choose the kind of cleaning services you want, leave the baby gear behind, and within 1- to 2-days’ time or even in 30 minutes, pick it back up again. Trust us, the mini-royalty will be kept healthy and happy with their fresh-smelling yet familiar fave “ride”.
PramWash, various locations, www.pramwash.com; www.facebook.com/PramWashSG; www.instagram.com/pramwashsg
BONUS: SAFRA members get to enjoy 10% off all products and cleaning services at PramWash. Click here for more information.
3. The gift of fun through movement
Have an energetic wild one or a budding athlete in the fam who likes to roll, tumble and do a double back flip with three twists while sticking that landing with a camera-ready smile?
Okay, we might jest about that last triple-double gymnastic move (supposedly one of the most difficult floor tricks to accomplish), but imagine all the excitement the kids will have if gifted the chance to join a gymnastics programme.
The classes held at BazGym Gymnastics School offer the kind of physical activities that can help develop your nipper’s coordination and agility. There are 3 age-based programmes to choose from: Mini Bear (3 to 4 years), Gym Bear (4 to 5 years) and Gym Boy/Gym Girl (5 years and above), where, depending on their age, children can get to play with trampolines and balance beams, and learn to cartwheel and dive roll in a safe environment.
It’s kiddie energy that’s spent super-productively, since the bounding bunnies will be building up their strength, endurance, fitness and flexibility while picking up on skills such as discipline and teamwork, and improving their self-esteem.
Aside from these programmes, there’s also a “by invitation” Competitive course for those who wish to pursue gymnastics at a higher level; a PhysioGym programme specially created to cater for kids with special needs; and classes for adults who want to stretch themselves along with their more flexible young ’uns. An award-winning, all-inclusive school, for all kinds of winners.
BazGym Gymnastics School, various locations including SAFRA Punggol and SAFRA Jurong, www.bazgym.com; https://www.facebook.com/BazGymGymnastics, www.instagram.com/bazgym
BONUS: SAFRA members get to enjoy a $70 referral fee (to be offset against school fees), 5% off school fees, priority enrollment as well as other benefits at BazGym Gymnastics School at SAFRA Punggol and SAFRA Jurong. Click here for more information.
4. The gift of preserving family memories
You may be able to take nice Insta-worthy photos during your family gatherings, birthday parties and other such events. But, are they nice enough to last through the ages for that family album or for those forever-ever-after family portraits that are to be placed all around the home, especially if they feature loved ones and/or significant milestones in your little one’s life journey? You do want them (people, places and events) to look as good as possible after all.
That’s when and where you ought to call in the photography experts, such as those from Firefly Photography. The multidisciplinary photo studio specialises in photos and videos for both family and corporate events, so it has got all the experience and know-how to make it all click perfectly. Be it family portraits, birthday photos, maternity shoots or graduation pictures, the studio can help you with your “bond-building glowing moments” through its Family Photoshoot Glow packages.
Opt for the Glow120 Outdoor Photography Package (from $120) for capturing you and the kids being your natural selves out amongst nature. Or, pick the people’s favourite, the Glow150 Studio Photography Package (from $150), for your glamour shots that come with plushies so your little ones can be kept smiling throughout the session. Have a specific time, location or concept in mind? Then its Glow268 Customised Photography Package (from $268) should more than meet your requirements.
Whether you choose to buy a package as a present to yourself and your growing one, or for fellow parents with their own nestlings, it’s all about capturing precious family moments and memories, wisely and nicely.
Firefly Photography, 1 Yishun Industrial Street 1, A’Posh BizHub, #07-19, 768160, https://fireflyphotographysg.com; www.facebook.com/fireflyphotographysingapore; www.instagram.com/fireflyphotographysg
BONUS: SAFRA members enjoy 10% off total bill off selected promotional packages at Firefly Photography. Click here for more information.
