In all the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping and keeping track of everything else important, family traditions can often get lost in the shuffle. Traditions provide a constant in the ever-changing world and help to build family identity and a sense of belonging for each member. This year why not try something new? Start some original and unique family traditions perfect for your unique and original family, something that each family member will look forward to every year. While it will take some work, the benefits will be more than worth it. 

Tree & Decorations

The weekend following Thanksgiving, as you are nursing your turkey hangover, is a great time to spend with the family preparing your home for Christmas. Visit the same tree farm or vendor each year and pick out the perfect tree as a family. Once you get home, turn on your favorite Christmas tunes or movie, make some hot cocoa or apple cider, and begin decorating your house and tree together. Add all your favorite ornaments and lights to the tree and countdown together as the lights are turned on for the first time of the year. Cut snowflakes from paper and hang them on the walls, paint some ornaments to hang on the tree, or decorate gingerbread houses. While working together, share your favorite childhood holiday memories with your kids.

Christmas Cards

Each year, send out the same kind of Christmas cards to friends and relatives. If you are even a bit crafty, take the time to create handcrafted cards to send out each year. When the kids are young, add a small crayon drawing or fingerprints to the front. As they get older, ask for opinions and input where design is concerned. If you don’t have the time or interest in creating your own cards, have some photo cards made with your family’s portrait. Make a day of going out with a photographer and capturing the perfect photo and finish up with a meal at your favorite family restaurant.

Make Time

Take some time out from the hustle and bustle of the busy holiday season and really enjoy the Christmas atmosphere together as a family. Try going for evening walks or car rides to gaze at the beautiful light displays in your neighborhood. Purchase a Christmas themed puzzle to put together. Each night in December take about fifteen minutes to work on it piece by piece and by the time Christmas Eve comes around, it will be complete. 

Volunteer

The holidays provide an abundance of family bonding opportunities and are a great time to volunteer some time spreading cheer to others. If your children are young, consider baking goodies to bring to the service men and women in your town. As they get older, take them caroling at a local nursing home or children’s hospital. Once they are in their teens, think about volunteering at a soup kitchen or food pantry as a family. 

Week of Christmas

Christmas Eve tradition possibilities are endless. If you are planning a Christmas day meal with extended family, have each member make part of the meal. The week before Christmas make a plan about what to serve and who will be responsible for each part. That week you could also take a trip to your local bookstore together. Have each child pick a Christmas or holiday themed book to purchase and then read them as a family on Christmas Eve. That evening give each child an ornament that represents something significant in their life from that year. This provides a great way to encourage character development and celebrate accomplishments. Plus, it starts a meaningful ornament collection that each child can take when they start their own families. As your family wakes on Christmas morning, have a special signature breakfast warm and ready to eat.

Whatever traditions you decide to incorporate into the holiday season be sure to keep in mind the individual personalities of those involved and choose traditions that will be fun and cherished rather than an additional holiday headache. 

Andrea Boley is an Event Planner and writer for Storkie as well as a mom. She loves the holidays and likes to plan for them well in advance. 

I love to cook, so I appreciate getting the latest and greatest tools and products that are available on the market. So, I have come up with some ideas to help those who are looking for a little inspiration.

Better than Basic Kitchen Appliances

Most anyone who likes to cook and bake will already have the basic kitchen appliances such as hand mixers and blenders. The items they might be looking to get, if they are just starting to beef up their skills are things like food processors, pressure cookers, rotisserie ovens, or a vacuum sealer for marinating meats.

After deciding which product to give as a gift, the next step would be to find out which brand or style would be best for the recipient. You might be fortunate and have that information already, or you might need to do a little research.

I have found the best way to search is with online reviews. For example, reviewing food processors online will give you information on various processors, and you can then narrow it down from the list.

Serve It Up with Style

I know that when I spend time cooking or baking, I like to show off my hard work by serving it up in nice serve ware pieces to enhance what I have created.

Whether it’s a beautiful crystal bowl to serve color fruit in, or a contemporary ceramic platter to serve a carved beef tenderloin on, I always appreciate an attractive piece.

The nice thing about this is that it doesn’t have to have a high sticker price. I have found some great bargains online, or on clearance at the department stores. If you know their style, it’s a nice gift, without costing a fortune.

A Five Course Meal

Give them a course for Christmas, a cooking course that is. This is a wonderful gift for those who want to take their cooking up a notch. There are courses for beginner, as well as the advanced, so this could work for anyone.

To find cooking courses, check with the grocery market to see if they provide any, the local YMCA, or the community college.

Make the gift extra special by asking if it could be a chef that would come to the home for a one on one session.  

Spice It Up

A great gift for the gourmet cook is a basket of exotic spices, yet are popular in higher end cooking. Of course this means that the cost is a little bit more than salt and pepper. Some spices that I recommend are:

• Saffron – It’s the most expensive spice, due to the time involved in harvesting. The flavor is slightly salty and bitter.
• Vanilla – Real vanilla is the second most expensive spice, due to the time and cost involved in harvesting. When the orchid’s pod is dried, it delivers a delicate, sweet flavor often added to sweet treats.
• Cardamom – This spice is the third costliest to produce. Its intense and pungent flavor is often used in curry dishes, coffee, and baked treats.

These are the most expensive spices around. But, you could also give flavorful spice blends and rubs as a gift as well. These are typically less expensive, yet welcomed by most chefs.

Basket of unique kitchen gadgets

There are some very unique and clever small kitchen gadgets that most gourmet chefs…even the amateur, would love to have in their collection.

A microplane grater/zester, similar to what a carpenter uses, makes grating cheeses, and zesting citrus so much easier. Or, an infrared thermometer uses laser technology when checking temperatures of boiling water, deep fryer oil, or other dishes when baking and cooking.

These are just a couple examples of what is out there now for the home chef. A quick search online will give you several ideas, which are low in cost (under $10), and could be added to a nice gift basket with a new cookbook.

Software to the Rescue

Gone are the days of saving recipes, or looking for recipes in old fashioned recipe boxes. There are wonderful software products available to help chefs produce, organize, and save their recipes.

If this is something you are going to consider, I would check with them, or their spouse, first to make sure their computer is compatible with the program you are considering.

To Sum it Up

Typically the people, who love to spend time cooking and baking, also love to add to their kitchen when they are able to do so. Don’t hesitate to help them in their ventures of honing their skills.

Hopefully I was able to help you with some ideas on what to get the chef in your life. Of course these are just some ideas, but maybe they can inspire you, and help you check one more off your Christmas list.

Happy Holidays, from our home to yours!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR – Melissa Cameron lives in Texas with her husband Dave and their 2 young children. As a freelance writer she writes about most anything to do with helping the household from parenting, to the latest Cuisinart toaster on sale. When she is not spending time with her family, or writing, she can be found searching for information and deals to help others.

Shirt Shuffle

The Shirt Shuffle is a fabulous product, perfect for the busy commuter who has many meetings to attend. Quite simply, you place an ironed shirt in the carrier and it will ensure that it remains crease free, so you can look fresh for any business or clinet meeting. It is very easy to use and has a wonderfully elegant design.

Scratch Map

For those who like to travel extensively, this fun map is perfect for any traveller who likes a little compeition: to use, just rub a coin over the Scratch Map to show the countries that you’ve visited.

Moshi Moshi

The Moshi Moshi POP handset is a must have gift for anyone with a quirky sense of themselves.  Inspired by the classic 1950s Bakelite-style telephone, all you have to do is plug it into your mobile phone and make those calls.

Picasso Cushion Cover Portrait of a Woman with a Hat

Made on Jaquard looms and in collaboration with the Picasso foundation, these traditional cusions are made in Flanders and have necome a must have item for all homes.

Chocolate Bomb

Braquier’s Chocolate Bomb really does explode: the dark chocolate shell is filled with almond dragees and gifts for 15 people, an excellent gift for those with a large family.

Edison Vases

If you ar elooking for an unusaul gift for someone who really cares about the environment, then an Edison Vase may just be the present you are looking for. Designed by Catherine Grandidier, the vases are manufactured from old incandescent bulbs, They are available in medium 16cm and small 11cm.

Barcelona Chair

The Knoll Barcelona Chair was designed by Mies van der Rohe when he was at the Bauhaus school. The barcelona chair was designed for the King of Spain in 1929. The chair takes exquisite skill to make, with over 100 individual leather patches which are sewn togther by hand, giving it both strength and durability as well as looking fabulous. It is extremely comfortable and has becoem a design classic. Due to its popularity the Barcelona Chair has become one of the most imitated designs of all time. When looking to purchase, make sure you ensure that it is authentic by checking out the company logo engraved on the right leg.

So there you have it. Maybe you agree with the list or maybe not. However, we hope it has given you food for thought and maybe that touch of inspiration.

Jonathan is a freelance writer who just wishes that he could relax on a Barcelona Chair

It’s that time of year… again. The Christmas holiday will be upon the world soon. And with so much to wrap-up at the end of the year, Christmas shopping can be even more of a hassle. With scores of shoppers crowding the malls and tens of thousands logging onto the Internet, there are many things to look out for when Christmas shopping.

The New Normal

In the past, Christmas shopping was done by reading circulars and flyers; then braving the lines at the local department store. It evolved into ordering from catalogs, namely for the sake of convenience. In 1991, the Internet became accessible to the average consumer. But it wasn’t until years later that online shopping became a reality.

Today, retailers embrace both in-store marketing and online marketing, attempting to drive consumers to their brick-and-mortar location as well as online presence.

But with every new solution comes new problems. Diverting customers away from the physical location only causes a serious server workload. Virtual shopping carts and check-out problems arise with an influx of new traffic. All the while, customers are trampling each others’ toes in the stores.

Tips for Online Shopping

• Order early. Just because a website’s in-stock availability appears while picking out your gift doesn’t mean it is actually in the warehouse. Account for possible delays in shipping as well as the item being out-of-stock.
• Look out for scams. Fraudsters don’t take the holidays off to get in the spirit of the season. Instead, they are hard at work sending out phishing emails. Phishing is the practice of sending out authentic-looking emails ostensibly from legitimate sources to capture personal information.
• Shop only on reputable websites. After finding the perfect gift at the perfect price, be sure you are dealing with the real McCoy. Shoppers will find the most security in protecting their personal information by using e-commerce sites with notable credentials. In the instance a little or unknown site has the exact gift being sought, check the URL for the characters "https". The "s" denotes a secure checkout site.
• Read online descriptions carefully. It’s easy to overlook details when shopping online. Brilliant images and the ease of browsing can lull a shopper into complacency. Read the product descriptions, as well as the terms, carefully. This will help a shopper avoid paying extra fees such as handling. It also will lessen the chance of buying a used or damaged item.

Tips for Offline Shopping

• Start early. Contrary to all the advice consumers receive about when to get the best deals, retailers are always offering discounts. It’s only the advertising that is more ubiquitous during the holidays–not necessarily the deals.
• Lock your gifts in the trunk. Every year, hundreds of thefts occur right in mall parking lots. Shoppers leaving newly bought items in plain view for all to see is too much temptation for some. Others actually welcome stuffed car seats as an opportunity.
• Examine items carefully to ensure they are genuine. Knock-offs become more prevalent during the holiday season.
• Be courteous. Traffic will be heavy. And with so many cars on the road filled with stressed drivers, road rage is a real possibility. Mind your driving manners and leave plenty of time to get out and back on schedule.
• Most of all, use common sense while doing your Christmas shopping. Doing so will make your holiday less stressful and more merry.

This articles was contributed by Moose Mountain Trading Company. A secure online retailer of Norwegian Sweaters and Tasha Polizzi.

1. The Christmas Tree

People in Germany decorated trees as far back as the 16th century. They would adorn them with coloured paper, candy, apples and roses. The first person to put lights on a tree was protestant reformer Martin Luther. It is believed he wanted to recreate the sparkling delight of stars shining through a fir tree that he witnessed while returning home one night. As for reaching the UK, it was Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert who brought a tree from his native homeland of Germany. There was an etching published in the Illustrated News of 1848 that showed the royal family sat about their tree and the tradition was instantly popularised in Victorian England.

2. The Christmas Stocking

Born of legend this one. A nobleman squandered his fortune in despondency after the death of his wife. This left his young daughters without dowries, a serious fate in ye olde times. However, generous St. Nicholas stepped up to the proverbial plate. He anonymously gifted the girls with pouches of gold coins by hurling them down their chimney. As they fell they were caught in the stockings that had been hung out to dry.

3. Mistletoe

Druids began the interest in mistletoe, though nothing to do with a peck on the cheek at the office party. They instead marvelled at the plant, as without roots it remained evergreen through the winter, and as such it was used in many of their seasonal celebrations. The tradition of kissing is thought to have come from Scandinavia where the plant was linked closely with Frigga, the goddess of love.

4. Candy Cane

Many food substances were used in the past to decorate trees, cookies and sweets alike. Among these was the white Candy Cane stick, originally straight. The curved version is believed to be the work of a 17th century choirmaster from Cologne Cathedral in Germany, who thought it might be nice if they resembled shepherds crooks. The white and red colours, it is often muted, represent Christ’s purity and his blood, yet there is no real evidence for this.

5. Rudolph the Reindeer

Rudolph was created in 1939 by a copywriter working for the department store operators Montgomery Ward. It was a colouring book, featuring rhyming couplets about a red nosed reindeer based on the ugly duckling premise. The rest, as they say, is history.

6. The Holly Bush

Branches of Holly were, very similarly to Mistletoe, believed to hold special powers due to the way they managed to stay a rich green throughout the winter. In Northern Europe winter was particularly cold and bleak, which fostered the feeling that evil was never far away. To guard against this holly was placed over doors and inside homes to keep any spiritual threats at bay.

And there we have it, the origins of six Christmas traditions, born from legend, religion and common practices…

David James researches and writes about everything Christmas related for the novelty Christmas gifts retailer Find Me A Gift.

The holidays are approaching and I’m cool as a cucumber. In years past, I stressed about having enough money for gifts, decorations, food, you name it and I was anxious about it. Last year, I decided that my days of worrying about the holidays were over. Everyone on my gift list got a handmade present, I reused old decorations and through a potluck dinner. Follow these tips for the holidays and you, too, can have a relaxing Christmas full of joy rather than angst.

• Decorations

Christmas decorating doesn’t have to break the bank. Recycle decorations from last year or make new ones out of things you have around the house. Popcorn garlands add a festive touch to your tree, stockings are simply made with felt, glue and yarn and wreaths can be redecorated for the season. If you make decorations this year, put them in a box or tote and use them again next year; you’ll save even more money!



• Dinner

Rather than spending hundreds of dollars to feed your entire extended family, host a potluck dinner. Provide the main course, whether it’s turkey, ham, duck or roast, and ask everyone to bring a side or dessert to share. It may sound tacky but you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how your family jumps on board.

• Plan a Gift Budget

Whether you’re buying for 1 or 100, create a gift list and set a budget for each person. You aren’t going to want to buy as elaborate a gift for your neighbor as you will for your parents so plan accordingly. Most importantly, stick to the budget you create! Make the most of coupons and sales to make your money stretch farther. It can be tempting to pick up that one extra item but stop yourself. There’s a reason that you made a list!



• Make Your Own Gifts

Making gifts is not only cheaper, it’s more personal. Are you a great baker? Do you have a favorite crafty pastime? Make small gifts for everyone on your list, package them beautifully and watch your friends and family enjoy what you’ve made. I love to crochet so last year I made scarves for all of my cold weather relatives. Those scarves were the hit of the party and only cost me a grand total of about $30!

• Comparison Shop

Even if you have an unlimited budget, a good bargain is hard to pass up. If you’re purchasing a game system for your child, for instance, look at several stores for the best deal. You may even find a store offering a gaming bundle complete with system, games and accessories.

Equating a budget holiday with a cheap holiday is all in your head. You can still have a great Christmas even if it’s a frugal one. The holidays are about good times with friends and family, not how expensive a gift you can give or how expensively decked out your home is. Try your hand at a low-budget Christmas this year. I think you’ll be impressed with how well it turns out!

Photo credits: christmas tree by Laura Bittner/flickr; Erster Weihnachtsfeiertag by Theresa N/flickr; Sales Bags by I See Modern Britain/flickr.

Mary Blanchard is a self diagnosed coupon addict! She loves to find the best deals, share her advice and investigate options. As an addict, she provides information for other addicts or just those who want to find the best buy for their dollar. One of her favorite sites to shop around for deals is the couponcroc.co.uk in the UK, check them out to see why.

TIPS                                                                                                                                              Fabric and notions

• While most sites recommend using felt for the body of the stocking, at around £5.50 per metre, polyester fleece makes an economical alternative and comes in a variety of widths (ideal for larger stockings).  It looks and handles much the same and in some cases it’s almost reversible, just like felt.
• For the stocking cuffs, choose a complimentary fabric in a seasonal print; depending on the dimensions, around half a metre will be enough for one or two stocking cuffs.  Alternatively, raid your sewing box for remnants; as well as being durable, leftover upholstery fabric can add a modern, funky feel.
• Appliqué is a great way to customise and at the same time give a damaged or discarded article a new lease of life, especially one of sentimental value.  Hankies, scarves, table linen, pyjamas, and even outgrown children’s clothes (especially those with conspicuous wear and tear) can all be recycled in this way.
• When it comes to adding a finishing flourish, check your needlework basket for buttons, ribbons and rickrack.   As well as giving free rein to your creativity, this is a great way to use up leftover notions and add a personal touch.  Try spelling out a child’s name in buttons, adding dainty rosebuds for a feminine feel or sequins for seasonal glamour.

Well-heeled stockings. Download the fancy boot pattern at http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/ Photo: MtK

Making up

• Before you begin, assemble all the materials you’re likely to need.  Take care to familiarise yourself with the on line instructions but feel free to adapt them to suit your requirements.  The traditional sock style stocking and the hand sewn method should be easy enough for anyone to follow.  Remember: children should always be properly supervised when using sharp objects or items that can be easily swallowed.
• If you do decide to go it alone, bear in mind that the boots can face either way, and if you’re going to make several – from different fabrics particularly – take care to cut out pairs of one front and one back facing the correct way (that’s to say whichever way you like, but be consistent!)
• When making up either the classic sock style or the fancy boot version, iron-on interfacing will help make the fabric stiffer and give more shape to the finished stocking.  To do this, make a second pattern of each boot and then trim off ¼”/1cm all round.  This way, the interfacing when ironed onto the fabric won’t bulk up the seams when you join the front and back together.
• Most online instructions suggest making an inner stocking and then folding down the two layers to make a traditional cuff.  For economy you can elect not to use a full lining, but instead make cuffs using a contrasting fabric and then attach them to the stocking like a sleeve.  This is a little trickier, but uses less fabric which is handy if you have a limited budget or just a small piece of fabric which may be valuable or old.
• If you choose not to make a lining, remember your stockings will be longer than those where the cuff is created by rolling the whole stocking down.  In this instance you can either cut down the patterns before you begin or create deeper, more capacious stockings with which to delight your family or friends!

To make an appliquéd stocking

Cut out one stocking front from an old sheet or other plain fabric and iron the interfacing onto the reverse.  Cut strips from your appliqué fabric and arrange them on top of the stocking front, overlapping the pieces slightly and extending them beyond the edge of the stocking front underneath.  Keep the neatest edges of the fabric on the body of the stocking with the ragged edges hanging over the edge or hidden under a neat edge.  Pin the pieces on and then run decorative stitches over the joins; this can either be done by hand or machine.  When all the pieces are in place, remove the pins, flip the fabric over and trim away all the excess keeping to the edges of the stocking front.  Carry on from this point with your chosen technique to join the back and add a cuff.  As an alternative, simply turn down the top edge and create a decorative frill from scraps of the appliquéd material on the front edge near the hanging cord.

Whether you choose to coordinate your stockings with the rest of your Christmas decorations or create designs as individual as their recipients, the sky’s the limit when it comes to embellishment.  Experiment with eye-catching badges, silk flowers or feathers.  If embroidery is your forté, personalise the stocking with a monogram or nickname.  Also, think about signing and dating the stocking on the inside and if time allows, stitch a little label or name-tag inside.  At the very least you’re creating a unique keepsake… and maybe even a future family heirloom!

Festive Furzedown's fancy boot stockings: a stylish spin on a Yuletide favourite. Photo: MtK

Drawing upon traditional American folk art and quilting techniques, South London-based Festive Furzedown offers a charming array of bespoke Christmas stockings and handmade hanging decorations.  Inspired by cheerful vintage prints that hark back to Christmases of yore,  Connecticut-raised Marianne ten Kate founded Festive Furzedown using remnants from her sewing box.  All-too aware that Christmas can be an expensive time of year, ten Kate initially began making decorations for family and friends but this has lately blossomed into a nifty sideline for the keen crafter and former charity exec.  “I like the idea of using materials I already have such as fabric scraps, ribbons and buttons, or recycling items that hold sentimental value and creating unique, handmade objects that can be used year after year.” In this respect ten Kate’s creations owe much to the quilting tradition where necessity proved the mother of invention, and family heirlooms were inadvertently created by women using material left over from dress-making.

Have a heart: hanging decorations for the tree or mantlepiece add a homespun touch. Photo: MtK

With an eye on value and using what’s to hand, Festive Furzedown is the perfect antidote to those suffering tinsel-fatigue.  “When it comes to personalising the stockings or giving the hanging decorations a quirky spin, you can really go to town with embroidery, buttons, badge, zips or appliqué – the challenge for me is always to try using what I have rather than resort to buying in new” – a recession-savvy sentiment that’s sure to chime in with many this holiday season.  For further information including a price list please email: festivefurzedown@yahoo.com

]]> http://www.stockingfillers.org/handmade-christmas-stockings/feed/ 0 http://www.stockingfillers.org/stocking-fillers-on-a-budget/ http://www.stockingfillers.org/stocking-fillers-on-a-budget/#comments Fri, 19 Nov 2010 14:41:03 +0000 samski http://www.stockingfillers.org/?p=31 Continue reading →]]>

Handmade stockings ready to fill. Photo: MtK

If the recession is leaving you with a hole in your pocket (not to mention ladders in your tights), there are still plenty of imaginative and cost-effective ways to fill a stocking with seasonal cheer.  Take heart from the origins of the Christmas stocking; the story of three sisters left without dowries after their nobleman father squandered the family’s fortune following the death of their mother.  So moved by their plight was kindly St. Nicholas that one night he placed a small bag of gold coins in each girl’s stocking as they hung drying by the fireside.  Discovering his gifts the following morning, the girls were then able to marry and live happily ever after, and ever since children have been hanging up their stockings ready for Santa to fill with treats.

Granted gold coins might be in short supply, but there are still many inexpensive yet thoughtful items to delight young and old alike on Christmas morning.  The trick is to set a budget, stick to it and to remember the gifts are intended to be small tokens not over-the-top extravagances – not that I’d complain if I found a vintage charm bracelet à la Betty Draper in mine!  As old hat as it sounds, when it comes to stockings it really is the thought that counts.  Here are five budget-friendly tips to try:

Freebie beauty gifts Most of us have a dressing table drawer full of unopened travel-sized cosmetic samples and giveaways that came as part of a gift when we made that last expensive skincare purchase.  Lip gloss (invariably in a shade that doesn’t suit), handbag-sized bottles of perfume, eye shadow duos, brushes, and dinky tubes of hand cream or body lotion make wonderful stocking fillers for gals of all ages, especially if they come in a complimentary make-up purse which they so often do.  Time to regift!

Spread the joy… and the calories by dividing large boxes of wrapped chocolates or candy among several stockings.  Most supermarkets offer half-price or 2-for-1 deals on large tins of branded chocolates from November onwards making this one of the most popular pennywise options; ideal if you want to indulge those you love… but not too much.  Small bags of foil-wrapped chocolate coins, reindeer, Santas and snowmen can add a traditional touch, too, along with nuts, satsumas and small packets of Christmas tea.

Christmas cracker cast-offs The office Christmas party or departmental lunch can be a veritable bonanza for the eagle-eyed thrifty gifter, especially if you offer to help clear up!  Discarded cracker novelties (still in their wrapping), such as key rings, hair slides, sewing kits, miniature screwdrivers, puzzles – even jokes, balloons and paper hats can all make useful additions to stockings especially for children or the young at heart.  Corporate party bags can also afford a rich source of regifting opportunity, so be sure to take a good look before relegating them to your desk drawer with a sigh.  Remember to check the items are age appropriate with no small parts that can be easily swallowed.

Personalised gift vouchers If you’re cash poor but time rich, there’s nothing like giving of yourself and your skills, so why not make a loved one a personalised gift voucher?  If you’re a dab hand with a needle and cotton, offer to help make those fiddly Roman blinds your friend’s been hankering after… or maybe you’re a whizz with paintbrush and your sister’s bathroom hasn’t been decorated in ages.  Children can make a small book of “pledges” promising to tidy their rooms, wash the car, or help with gardening.  Written in their best hand-writing and illustrated with charming drawings, these make unique and heart-warming gifts that any parent or grand-parent would love to receive.

When the going gets tough… the tough get baking.  Who can resist homemade biscuits or cookies, simply wrapped in a dainty cellophane bag and tied with ribbon?  Inspired by German Lebkuchen, moreish gingerbread or crisp vanilla biscuits are economical to make and the dough can be prepared in advance and frozen until such time as you as need it.   Invest in a set of Christmas-themed cookie cutters such as stars, hearts or bells and engage younger members of the family with the rolling out or icing.  Besides making great stocking fillers, the cooled biscuits can be threaded with ribbon and used as tree decorations or warmed up in batches for impromptu gatherings.   Nothing says Christmas like the welcoming smell of baking.  For a great selection of decorative bags and baking requisites, visit www.lakeland.co.uk.

Stocking Fillers for Boys

The first thing that comes to mind for almost anyone who is buying a gift for boys is video games. The latest game is sure to put a smile on the face of most boys on Christmas morning. If you are thinking electronics for the boys, then you are in luck since there are more than enough little gadgets that fit in a stocking, whether it’s an mp3 player, hand held video game, or memory card. Socks and underwear are also a great choice for boys.

Stocking Fillers for Girls

Similar to the choices for boys, there are electronics for girls as well; mp3 players and cell phones being pretty high on the list. The latest Barbie and loads of fashions for her and her friends will fit in a stocking. Or perhaps your little girl wants a new purse or cool accessories to go with her favorite outfit.

Stocking Fillers for Mom

Mom’s favorite perfume should fit nicely into the stocking and is sure to please. Cosmetics are also a good stocking filler for mom. As always, dad needs to be reminded to never ever fill the stocking with a new broom or mop or anything else related to household chores! Tickets for a Caribbean cruise are a definite winner or the keys to a new car.

Stocking Fillers for Dad

It’s hard to go wrong with a cool pair of cuff links or a really nice tie for dad, although a digital camera is also a nice way to say Happy Holidays as well. One way to pick something for dad is to just look back at what he got for Father’s day and hope he doesn’t remember (which he probably won’t) so you can repeat it! But just as with mom’s gifts, don’t pack it with drill bits and other material for house repairs and DIY. A stocking filler for dad should ideally be something small that he will love, not force him to repair the house or clean the car!

There are so many things that fit into a stocking that will put a smile on someone’s face at Christmas. It’s completely up to the gift giver as to whether the stocking filler should be high end, novelty, or just a small little gift to tease before the main event.