Gifts for school enrolment – what belongs in the School Cone?

Many people remember their first day at school – they usually keep photos of themselves with a school cone in their photo album or hanging on the wall. The first day of school is one of the most exciting days in everyone’s life. A new phase of life begins with school enrolment. Even after many years, you still very well remember lots of the gifts you received on your first day of school. This makes it all the more difficult for friends and relatives to find suitable gift ideas for the first day of school. What gifts are given for school enrolment? What is the right gift for first graders? What are children happy about, who already own a lot of toys? Does it always have to be an expensive gift or are there other alternatives?

The absolute classic among the gifts for school enrolment is the school cone. In many kindergartens, kids do handicrafts and make the school cone themselves. Instructions can be found here. There are also numerous offers for school cones on the Internet. But no matter if you made it yourself or if you bought it, big or small, filled with candy or gifts – the school cone must not be missing on the first day of school.

What are beautiful and popular gifts?

Reading is one of the most important skills a school child learns in the first year of school. That’s why books are probably one of the most popular gift ideas for school enrolment. First reading books are usually written in large letters and filled with many illustrations. The books usually tell adventure or horse stories and many stories about school enrolment and school in general.

Practical water bottles or pretty lunch boxes are also wonderful gifts for school children. Even the first purse can be a nice gift for a first grader. Filled with a bit of pocket money, the first grader can buy a chocolate bar or chewing gum at the school kiosk.

Safety is particularly important on the way to school, so funny reflectors for school bags, clothing or bicycles can also be a popular gift. Stylish desk pads with world maps or horse motifs make the child’s desk look even more colourful and attractive. Another gift idea for school enrolment is an ABC-poster with animal motifs or a poster in which the numbers one to nine are visualized with the help of animals. Not only do posters look beautiful, but they are also pedagogically valuable. Personalized pens, which can be engraved with the child’s first and last name, are also a great gift for school enrolment.

Books and exercise books can be labelled quickly and easily with a personalised address stamp or personalised name stickers. Address labels can also be attached to lunch boxes, water bottles and gym bags, so there will certainly be no confusion.
School children’s T-shirts for the first day of school are also a very individual and neat gift. In the child’s favourite colours and motifs, this can be a nice surprise in the morning. A very useful gift is the DUDEN Primary School Dictionary, which presents the knowledge in a stimulating, funny and easy to understand way.

If the child wants toys as gifts for school enrolment, then parents should buy toys with “purpose”. This means that the toy should stimulate the imagination of the child. Toys should encourage children to try something out or to assemble it. Every toy that encourages the imagination of a child is a valuable toy. The first grader may be challenged a little before something succeeds, e.g. the assembly of a toy. This is the only way to learn to try out different approaches. Toys that encourage interaction with other children or parents are also useful gifts.

What are unusual gifts for school enrolment?

You can also provide a great surprise with unusual or exceptional gifts. There are great magazine subscriptions for children, with magazines which appear weekly or monthly and contain many great stories, puzzles and interesting facts. Also a camera or an action cam – for underwater photos are great gifts. For children who like to move, a unicycle, a new bicycle, a scooter or skateboard/longboard can be just the right thing.

Tickets for a long-awaited experience could be bought as well. Every child has probably expressed a wish for an event or experience.

Tips for buying toys as gifts

• Test seals: The CE mark has little meaningfulness since it’s mandatory in the EU. Independent test seals, such as the GS mark for tested safety, are better.Contact Details: Manufacturers must state their name and contact address on the packaging of toys
• Take a closer look: unpleasant odour, loosening parts, seams or colours can be checked in advance
• Fragrances: no scented toys; they can cause allergies or mask unpleasant material odours.
• Plastic toys: If plastic, then hard plastic – e.g. polypropylene (PP) or polyethylene (PE). Soft PVC can be harmful to health.
• Wooden toys: But wood is not automatically good either. Pollutants are often present in the paint.