It is with very little doubt that wooden toys are some of the best toys on the market for helping young children develop skills needed for later in life. Used for thousands of years as playthings for millions of children, wooden toys have become more developed and expressive; despite heavy competition from the electronic based toys of recent years, they are still one of the primary playthings for children in the United Kingdom.
With Christmas now less than a month away, here are the top ten educational wooden toys this Christmas:

Melissa and Doug Deluxe Easel
Refining the talents of your child’s creative ability is an important goal from a young age. According to Charlotte Reznik, PHD at UCLA, she says that helping nurture the imagination of a child has many benefits.
Not only does shared creation help strengthen the bond between child and parent, but also provides coping skills, such as problems with low self-esteem and loss.
This beautifully crafted Melissa and Doug Deluxe Easel is a great way to set off your child on a creative path; the easel and other wooden toys are available from Woodentoyshop.co.uk

Melissa and Doug Grand Piano
With creativity being the key to all childhood learning, this Melissa and Doug Grand piano not only shows how beautiful wooden toys can be, but the future potential of what your child can do.
Research has shown that the enjoyment of music is innate in all children and letting them play with musical instruments often helps them develop integral social skills quicker than other children.

Quadrilla Rail Set Plus
A toy that has been around for generations, this Quadrilla Rail Set Plus is perfect for children and adults to interact in a joint partnership of building this wonderful marble run set.
Colourful, textured and interactive, you are promised hours of fun with this wonderful Christmas gift for children above the age of 4.

Pintoy Sorting Basket
Settling for a younger age range, this wonderful Pintoy Sorting Basket offers one of the most traditional forms of child’s play; helping your toddler develop key eye-hand coordination skills as well as developing imperative shape associations.
These skills are imperative so that children start to evolve their problem solving skills at around 15 to 18 months, with the aim of mastering them by the age of two.

BigJigs Number Tower
Tackling precisely the same kind of area as the Pintoy Sorting Basket, though perhaps aimed towards a different age group, the Number Tower offers a range of skills during play. Not only does the toy help problem solving as well as hand-eye coordination, but it also helps children count to ten whilst reading letters in this wonderfully lofty tower block. Roughly 23cm in height, it serves as a brilliantly colourful gift for any child around the age of 12 months.

BigJigs Weaving Loom
A toy that has been around for years, this beautifully coloured loom celebrates a craft that has been used by humans for thousands of years. Not only does it serve as a fantastic introduction into arts and crafts, but it is also a brilliant opportunity for adults and children over the age of three to play together.

Millhouse Healthy Eating Kitchen and Market Stall
Besides creative endeavours, role play is one of the most important forms of play that is available to children.
Not only is it a perfect way to interact with other children, but it also helps them express and understand grown up roles in life.
This Healthy Eating Kitchen and Market Stall is also a fantastic way to introduce children to healthy living.

John Crane Tidlo Kitchen Station
As children get older, the need to role play becomes greater.
Not only does it help their social understanding, but as creativity is important for pretend play, this Tidlo Kitchen Stove offers both. Not only that, but children are offered a wonderful assortment of potential games; as well as pretending to be like mum and dad in the kitchen.

Le Toy Van Mayberry Manor
Dolls’ houses have been the centre of childhood play for the past four hundred years and have been part of British culture since their introduction.
Like this wonderful Le Toy Van house, they come in all shapes and sizes and are brilliant for children, indifferent of gender, to establish role playing activity.

Pintoy Marlborough Dolls House
Beautifully crafted and one of the most popular dolls’ house on the market, this Pintoy offering is a traditional Georgian construction that brings plenty of activity into any child’s life.
With furniture and people to accompany the house, you can be assured of hours of playtime come Christmas Day.