Christmas Toddler Toys.. blocks

As well as stimulating imagination, putting together building blocks encourages hand-eye coordination and a child gets the chance to put together her own ‘small world’.

Up to 18 months, choose blocks that will hold together without having to be too carefully aligned. Don’t just regard construction toys as something for ‘little men’ – they are an excellent learning tool for boys and girls.

For older children, it’s worth noting that Meccano now do ‘Easy’ sets that are suitable from 5 years.

Megabloks Play Table £35, 12mths+ This 3-in-1 toy makes a building platform, allows you to carry the set around, and is a storage box. The table comes with four fun scenes, stickers, figurine and car, including 20+ big, soft and colourful blocks. www.next.co.uk	Beginner Pattern Blocks £24.99, 18mths+ These 30 colourful shape pieces are laid onto bright and familiar pictures, teaching your child about colours and matching skills. The lovely wooden box safely stores all the pieces for another play session. www.brightminds.co.uk	Twisted Blocks Set (Plan Toys) £14.64, 3+ This Plan Toys set contains 11 pieces that can be twisted and turned in order to change the shapes and angles of the patterns. It encourages innovative play. www.treeblocks.co.uk
Haba Toys Building Blocks £67.39, 12mths+ This is an extra large starter set of blocks containing 102 wooden pieces and some unusual elements to fuel the imagination. The blocks help explore patterns, following through ideas, and nurture dexterity. www.ptolemytoys.co.uk	Fisher Price Trio Building Set with Storage £29.99, 3+ A good tub of bricks is an ideal way to get started exploring building. It also includes special pieces such as wheels and a figure. direct.tesco.com	Lego Duplo Brick Box £13.99, 18mths+ Before children are old enough for the small pieces of Lego, they can enjoy Duplo, which is great for building weird and wonderful creations. It can also be added to with matching vehicles, animals etc. This set includes a cat, a window, flowers, and lots of bricks. shop.lego.com