Researched first
Every gift starts with research: this year's Christmas lists from UK toy shops, the maker's own details (age, batteries, size, what's in the box) and what buyers report after living with it. We check the age it's made for and skip anything on a UK safety alert.
When we test at home
Some gifts we also try ourselves, and only those carry a "Tested at home" badge. For those:
Unboxed and built
We open it the way you would on the day: how long it takes to get out of the box, whether it needs batteries or an adult, and how long it takes to build or set up. We time it.
Played with by the age it's sold for
A toy for 5 to 7-year-olds goes to a 5 to 7-year-old, and a gift for a grandad goes to a grandad. We watch whether it's still being used after the first day, and whether it survives the week.
Prices checked hourly
The price beside a gift comes from the shop selling it for least, and shows when it was checked. Where we can track a shop automatically we check it every hour; an old price is hidden rather than shown, and the button then says "See price at" the shop instead.
We say when not to buy
Every review says who should skip it: the age it's too fiddly for, the gift that's cheaper elsewhere, the one that needs an app or a subscription. If something isn't worth the money, we say so.
Tested, or researched
Each review is labelled. "Tested at home" means we've had it in our hands, whether we bought it or a brand sent it free. If a brand sent it, the review says so, and it never buys a better write-up. Where we haven't tried a product ourselves, we say the review is researched, built from the maker's details and what other buyers report.
Safety
We check gifts against the UK's product safety alerts (OPSS, GOV.UK). If a product we list is recalled, we take it off our picks and tell you what to do.
Questions about a review? Email hello@presentsorted.co.uk.