10 Quirky Christmas Gifts for Teenagers and Grown Ups.

Here at The Brick Castle we have the 2 young boys, but we've also got 4 grown up children. They are all still studying and haven't got their own families yet, so Christmas gift buying for us is more about finding interesting gifts for big kids than it is visiting toy shops...

Here are a few of the things we've been sent to review over the past year or two which have really impressed us and make a great Christmas present, especially if you aren't quite ready to grow up just yet. Oh, and Amazon links are affiliate. It only earns me a few pence each time if you order through my link, but it helps keep the website running and doesn't cost you a penny....

Mary Poppins Parrot Umbrella from Paladone

I love this. It gets so many stares. Unbelievably light and with a push button control to put the umbrella up, this brolly also bears the Mary Poppins quote "Practically Perfect In Every Way"...

Actual recommended price is £19.99 but it isn't yet in stock in many places, including Amazon, so it is being sold through marketplace at a higher price. The link below should default to the cheaper option when it becomes available...

Swizzels Veggie/Vegan Sweets

Swizzels have created new vegetarian and vegan recipes for loads of their most popular sweets, as well as the new Choos. As an adult who has been vegetarian for over 30 years, chewy sweets are a real novelty to me and they make a great stockingfiller. Everything in this photo is available now and it's vegan, so it's also Halal and suitable for anyone with lactose intolerance.

GB Posters Branded Merch and Posters

You don't have to be under 25 to have posters on the wall, and they don't have to be your favourite popular beat combo or footballer. Nor do they even have to go in the bedroom. GB Posters have literally hundreds and you WILL find one you like - maps, periodic tables, skeletons, cars, Star Wars blueprints, unicorns. They've got everything and at great prices.

They even sell very reasonably priced frames, and if you still can't bear the thought of putting one on the wall, they also have a big range of licensed mugs, glasses, aluminium flasks, keyrings, card wallets and all sorts, with your favourite game, movie or something else! You can see what we reviewed from GB Posters here...

Eye Spy: Wild Ways Animals See The World by Guillaume Duprat

This is a lift-the-flap book which was created with primary school children in mind, but the grown ups in our house have found it just as fascinating. It's brilliant fun and makes you look at animals in a very different way.

On each page is a lift-the-flap which reveal how that animal or creature sees the world. There are also other interesting facts which really explain a lot of different animal behaviour. It isn't just colour and range we see differently, cats for example can see movement far better than the rest of their blurry world...

MiniMaster Sports Football and Golf

This is 1/8th scale and the only football I'll be playing for a while! It's ridiculous fun to stand up in your living room and control a little footballer to score a goal in the 1/8th scale net. This is so beautifully designed and so well put together that it is an absolute joy to use. We can't fault it, and we're none of us massive football fans...

Also available in Golf... You can find my MiniMaster Sports Review post here. 

The Gloriumptious Worlds Of Roald Dahl

This really is a gorgeous book and it's full of nostalgia for anyone who grew up with Roald Dahl's books. It's a treasure trove of little snippets and items that were in the books, or should have been. Read more in my original review to celebrate what would have been Roald Dahl's 100th birthday.

Beasts Of Balance

This is a beautiful game which we first played a beta version of over 2 years ago. It was clearly going to be a hit and I'm delighted to see that the end product design doesn't let us down.

You need a tablet or phone for the app. and this connects to the Plinth by Bluetooth. It tells you when your world is lacking and you need to add the correct items to create balance again using beautiful animated characters. Amazing animals, elements and other features are added to the heap on the central Plinth one by one until they tumble.

Beasts Of Balance is played straight out of the box once you've added the batteries, there are no tricky rules to learn, and it's satisfying and quite addictive. We all think we can build the hugest tower, until we're trying to balance an octopus and a warthog on an eagle...

Folio Society Books

This is a very posh present, but I am a huge fan of books and some of my most precious possessions are beautiful books. We have a few from The Folio Society now and while they aren't inexpensive, they tend to cost around £40, they are a treasure to keep forever. These editions of classic books are beautifully bound with especially commissioned illustrations and excellent quality materials. You can find my Folio Society review here.

Star Wars Ultimate Co-Pilot Chewie from Hasbro

From the sublime to the ridiculous, but if you know a Star Wars fan, and especially if they have a soft spot for a Wookie, this could be the perfect gift. Over 100 different phrase/movement combinations and he'll respond to touch, noise and movement.

He is a higher value chap at almost £120, but he's very clever and gorgeous. You can find my review of Interactive Chewie here...

Big Potato Games

Big Potato make loads of different games and a lot of them are only suitable for adults because they're a bit grown up or rude! Easy to play, with no complicated rules and ideal for parties, they are also very reasonably priced!

What Humans Search For, Scrawl and Clickbait are fantastic games for anyone with a bit of a naughty side and who won't be offended if someone else draws something a bit rude for them to guess. You can find all of my Big Potato Games reviews here.

Do you have any ideas for anything we could add? What excellent gift have you previously been given or received? 

We were previously sent all of the items in this post for review, but I have put together this list because they have proven to be items we love, not at the request of the brands in the post. Amazon links are affiliate, I earn a few pence each time you order, but you don't pay any more.