Unicorn gifts & toys — the best gift ideas

A soft unicorn with a sparkly horn and a rainbow-coloured mane — that’s a gift that gets to come along on adventures all day. From a small HEMA cuddly toy (HEMA is the much-loved Dutch high-street store) and a sweet touch-and-feel book for the very youngest to the wonderfully soft Maileg and Jellycat cuddly toys: something to cuddle for every budget.

For playing with and acting out the loveliest unicorn stories. The Schleich unicorns from the bayala world are beautifully made and sturdy — a mother unicorn with her foal is a lovely gift that lasts.

Building and a unicorn in one. With Plus-Plus you click together your own unicorn, with the LEGO Friends set you build a cheerful dressing-up party with a unicorn and a fairy, and with the magnetic Connetix tiles you make sparkling constructions — lovely, open-ended building fun that lasts for years.

HABA’s “Eenhoorn Flonkerglans” series is a real favourite: beautifully designed, packed with glitter and with a version for every age — from a simple memory game and a Happy Families-style card game to the big games collection. Ideal for a cosy afternoon of games.

Puzzling with unicorns, from a wooden first puzzle with big pieces for toddlers to a more challenging jigsaw for the slightly older fan. We love the wooden puzzles from Rainbow and Speedy Monkey — sturdy, beautiful and sustainable.

Getting stuck in with a unicorn yourself: modelling clay, casting, crochet or a complete craft box. Ideal for a creative (rainy) afternoon — and you instantly have a home-made showpiece for their bedroom.

Colouring, painting by numbers, ironing beads, diamond painting or cheerful window stickers — for the unicorn fan who loves drawing, sticking and decorating.

Being a unicorn for a while! With a soft cuddle cape, a magic wand, a sparkly tiara or cheerful hair clips with a horn, you turn every day into a fairy tale.

Fun unicorn accessories to show off: soft bags and shoulder bags, a purse, stick-on earrings and cheerful (children’s) make-up.

A unicorn birthday? With cheerful bunting, napkins, plates, party hats and invitations you give the whole party a unicorn style in one go.

With a unicorn on your water bottle, lunch box and backpack, every school day becomes a little more magical. The “Mrs. Unicorn” range from Trixie and the Unicorn Dreams things are beautifully designed and nice and sturdy, so they last a long time.

For little writers and collectors: a notebook of their own, a diary with a lock for secrets, and friendship books in which all their friends write something sweet.

A few more fun unicorn finds that are just a little different — from a cool scooter/skate helmet full of unicorns to a soft hooded bath towel and cheerful swimming things.

Reading aloud about unicorns is double the fun. Our highlight is De NEEhoorn (“The NO-corn”, by a bestselling author and winner of a Gouden Boek, a Dutch book award): a headstrong unicorn who says “NO!” to everything — hilarious. Besides that, sweet, cheerful read-aloud books and a sturdy board book for the very youngest. (These are Dutch editions.)

Just started reading on their own? The AVI series “Ik hou van eenhoorns” (I love unicorns) is an easy read for beginner readers — AVI is the Dutch reading-level scale used in schools — and for slightly more advanced readers there’s the award-winning Miss Eenhoorn and the hugely popular comics Evi en eenhoorn. Books children want to finish by themselves.