One of my favourite memories of Christmas as a child was the hours my sister and I would spend deciding on exactly what it was that was going to be making its way in to our annual letter to the jolly man in the red suit. We would spend hours pouring over my mums catalogues (Kay’s anyone?) and folding down corners or adding felt tip stars by the favoured items. We would then carefully, and in our neatest writing, begin our letter adding all manner of pictures, glitter and general sparkle before carefully folding it and posting it up the chimney above a lit fire.
I now know why my mum insisted on us reading the letter out to her before it flittered it’s way up to the North Pole. How on earth do you know what your children really want otherwise? Case in point, Molly is still desperately upset that Father Christmas did not bring her the mermaid Barbie she had carefully written in her pre-school letter to Father Christmas. I did not get said letter till January!
Despite endless lists of toy possibilities I am a bit at a loss of what to get as the girls have soooooo much. We thought it would be fun to share what we are all buying our little one’s this year in order to provide you with a touch of inspiration. And if you need a bit of inspiration, or a page to leave open for some handy hints, then head over to Rock My Style where the team are sharing exactly what they really wish Santa would be bringing them.
Lottie
As I mentioned above the girls have so many toys, it’s ridiculous. Also, with two girls we don’t really need anything for Alice as such. However, they are at ages (3 and 5) where they really get Christmas and love the whole present thing. I try desperately not to spoil them but it is hard. There is just too much cuteness around. For their main presents this year they are both having a new bike. I desperately wanted to get them the uber cute and instagrammable Bobbin Bike but all they really wanted was a bike with a dolls seat and tassels on the handlebars so that’s what they’ve got. It is about them after all. They will then get a few toys from Santa with the aforementioned mermaid Barbie being a definite. There may also be a few Sylvanians slipped in and some Lego for Daddy to build with them. I am also planning a few things for Alice’s newly decorated room and this Mamas and Papas cloud cushion may have slipped in to my basket.
Fern
Elle is always throughly spoilt at Christmas by both sets of family, then for her birthday on 12th Jan, so Matt and I tend to buy her things that she needs or that we know she’ll get lots of pleasure from. First up, a new all-in-one waterproof suit. I may splash out and get her one from Muddy Puddles as the first one we had from them has been great and lasted many hours of play on the beach. She’s also obsessed with a set of old Russian Dolls that Matt used to play with when he was little, so we’d like to get her a set of her own (mainly because Matt doesn’t want her to destroy his)! If any one has recommendations for nice sturdy wooden ones that would be much appreciated. And finally, her obsession with being a Mummy to all of her dollies continues so this doll’s bed from Edit 58 and Coco & Wolf has her name all over it.
Lorna
Anabelle’s wooden dolls house went down a storm last year. So we’re thinking of extending her creative play with a wooden kitchen or shop. These from Asda are such a steal at £35-£50.
As for the boys we literally haven’t got a clue what to buy them or in fact if they need anything. Elliott has mentioned having a really nice watch and whilst I would love to indulge and buy him one, I worry that it could get lost or stolen when he’s at school. Similarly Joseph has been asking for a mobile phone since forever and although I like the idea of me being able to call him when he’s out, I don’t like really want him to be constantly accessible by his friends. I genuinely miss the days when they asked for action figures and puzzles.
Lolly
We’re considering buying Hector a scooter this year or rather more specifically this one. Originally we thought about purchasing it for his birthday but knowing how spoilt he would be by friends and family and the fact that we’d already bought him a tipi, we thought that perhaps it was a bit excessive to give him a scooter on top. So the scooter was transferred to the Christmas list along with some beautiful books, some T-Lab wooden figurines, and perhaps something ‘Hey Duggee’ inspired (he’s obsessed with the programme!). And that’s pretty much it if I’m honest. He’s two and spoilt rotten generally so he really doesn’t need anything else.
Laura {Rock My Wedding}
Bertie Button specifically asked for a scooter a couple of months ago, so I’m hoping by the time Christmas days rolls around she will be thrilled to find this under the tree! We’ve also got her a whole host of lovely books, a wooden Doctors Set, and a homemade Advent Calendar stuffed full of wooden T-Lab animals and chocolate treats. I mustn’t forget that a “princess dress” is top of her wishlist too!
Lisa {Rock My Style}
I literally cannot wait for Christmas with Lyra this year. She’s two-and-a-half and although I thought she would ‘get’ it last year, I don’t really think she did, considering that when she came downstairs on Christmas morning to find the kitchen that Santa had brought her, she just started playing with it rather than getting all excited as we expected her to! But this year, I reckon she definitely understands. This is based on her saying, at pretty much advert that comes on the tv, ‘Ooh, maybe Santa will buy me that for Christmas!’ and looking up at us with big doe eyes. Her main Christmas present this year is going to be a bike. I’ve heard good things about balance bikes so we will probably go for something like this, in pink of course. I also picked up a train set at the recent Aldi toy event, and I’m hoping to find her some new books. Both of us enjoy the Julia Donaldson ones (love a beautiful illustration and a good rhyme) so if any of you lovely RMF readers have any suggestions please let me know.
What are your little one’s going to be receiving this year? Also, I’m after some advice please whilst we are at it. Do you say all the presents are from Father Christmas or are some from Mummy and Daddy too? How do you choose which ones? Edd thinks the bikes should be from us but I think they should be from Santa. What do you think? Thanks!
When I was little (ok,ok until I left home), we used to get a Santa sack full of smaller presents. Things like bubble bath, little toys, books etc. Me and my sister would open these first thing in my parents bed with mugs of tea.
Any big presents were wrapped up and from my parents under the tree.
It worked really well as we appreciated that Mum & Dad bought us the bikes, the Barbie chalet, the first CD player….etc. whilst Santa presents were a bonus. It’s what I’m planning on doing with my little one when he is old enough!
We had exactly the same as Sarah O, but I have to admit that at nearly 35 and with 3 little ones of my own we still get a Santa sack of little presents! (My mum does one for my sister & I and our husbands get a few things too!)
I have to confess that we still got stockings until I was about 26! I’ll never forget the look on Ste’s face when we returned home one Christmas Eve from the pub to find two stockings on our bed. Father Christmas (aka my mum) had paid a visit to our house whilst we were out. Ste said it was as magical as being six years old again and finding that Santa had been.
I still get a stocking and I’m 30 in less than two months! I love my stocking – we (my sister and I) always get new pants, new socks, nail varnish and cotton wool pads (my mum is ever practical!). And a satsuma right at the bottom, obviously. When we were younger it also included highlighters, little notebooks, sellotape – really inexpensive things but things that we loved just owning when we were kids. I fully plan to do this for my kids too (even though I’m only just pregnant with our first!) – my boyfriend doesn’t have stockings but I’m firmly adding this tradition!
And yes – stockings from Father Christmas, other presents from mum & dad.
Ha, yes we still do Santa sacks as well.
We also still write letters to Santa every year (now including the husbands of my sister and I). Primarily, this is so we have some idea what to buy each other but we still have to use the format of ‘Dear Santa, I have been very good this year…’.
Oh I love the idea of still writing letters to Santa. I may be stealing this xx
E has just had a birthday where she got the micro mini scooter from my parents and she got a dolls house when her new brother was born the week after. So she, like Molly and Alice, doesn’t need much.
So far we’ve got some ALDI jigsaw puzzles which were a few quid each, two Disney DVDs from the 2 for £12 deal at Tesco and some sticker books. To be honest, we’ll get her a bike for next summer (probably the Puky) but as she won’t use it until next summer we’ll wait and see if she’s grown between now and then.
Otherwise am at a bit of a loss.
She’ll still do better than her brother whose present will probably be a 49p silver foil blanket.
Sticker books are always a must in our house. The good thing is at this age they really don’t have any concept of price of things so they are equally happy with some cheap and cheerful stocking fillers. I am desperately trying not to buy things for the sake of it now! x
Stockings only from the big man, full of chocolate, little toys, stickers and bits and the big things from Mummy and Daddy. I want the credit for the dolls pram and Cosy Coupe! Silvia is two in March, so not sure what she will understand. Last year it was Christmas dinner that was her highlight… half baby half piglet…
Excellent point Lucy. Why should Santa be the man with all the best presents x
Noah’s only going to be 17 months by Christmas so I am trying to focus on the excitement of Christmas rather than presents – he will get spoilt by family and friends and is too young to truly understand. I’ve been ordering books and sticker books about Christmas, we are going to do Christmas crafting, lots of visits to santa, winter wonderland, watching the ice skating. I’m going to do a stocking full of little bits and I’m thinking of making he and my husband a Christmas Eve box with new pjs, film, sweet treats as it’s our only day just us three.
This all sounds magical Anna. Noah will love it x
My 5 & 7 year old girls will be receiving Sylvanian families (SO wish I’d kept my huge childhood collection, those little animals are so expensive!) and Lego Elves respectively. My 10 year old son is more tricky….. he wants an xbox, but we’d rather not go down that route. More likely we’ll get him a mobile phone as he’s started walking home alone (on bright sunny days when friends are going in the same direction!) but even so it’ll be a £5 per month with our current broadband provider type thing. He will adore it, but it doesn’t seem much! I’d highly recommend all the scooter ideas – were brilliant when ours were little. Oh and on the adult RMS side – can highly recommend Dormy Spa, absolutely gorgeous place 🙂
I’m with you on the Sylvanians Nicola. We had so many it was ridiculous. My mum kept a few bits but we’ve had to pretty much start the collection again. I’m also sure our one’s were much nicer. Right, I’m definitely booking in to Dormy (and then telling Edd that’s my present!). Thanks for the nudge xx
In our house stockings are from Father Christmas, other pressies are from Mum and Dad! And Lolly, my nearly two year old boy is also Hey Duggee obsessed so am thinking he will definitely be making an appearance somewhere! We’re thinking of also buying him a balance bike but so many different ones out there- any recommendations would be really helpful.
We have a balance bike Emma – a mongoose which Ste bought Hector earlier this year (actually I’m not sure whether it’s more for Ste). It’s ever so slightly too big for him and he’s a tall two year old so we were probably a bit premature in purchasing it for him. It doesn’t stop Ste whizzing him about though with his feet up on the frame. He loves it and I doubt it will be long before he’s doing it completely by himself – worth a look….
I have the same problem as Fern as my sons birthday is also early Jan, so he gets everything at once from all our family and friends! We tend to not really get him a big birthday present, just a couple of little bits and then we buy him a few things later in the year. This year we are going to wait and buy him a slide for the garden for his birthday in the summer.
For Christmas he has a Smart trike, a big wooden red bus and a fire engine duplo set from us. On christmas eve we will all have new pyjamas and we are going to watch Polar express – we are taking him on the Santa express steam train so hopefully he will love the film after that experience!
I’ve already bought him Dear Santa book as he loves Dear Zoo and thought this might help get him excited – I think he is still too little to understand, but I know they will do a lot of Christmas related things at nursery so hopefully he will have an inkling that something special is happening.
I’m sure he will love it all Claire. I often wonder whether we should leave Molly’s main birthday present until summer as otherwise we have to keep everything stored in the house! xx
Haha – we still do stockings, my parents are in their late 60s/early 70s and it has always been such a huge part of my mum’s life (and therefore mine) that it is impossible to stop! I start buying things in January, it is ridiculous… My husband and I now don’t really do presents, just stockings. And everything is wrapped in black, red or green tissue paper and tied with a small amount of curling ribbon in gold, silver, green or red. Santa is very particular…! My daughter is getting a Hapa First Marble Run and one of those retro Fisher Price cash register things (anyone else remember those?! Loving these retro reproductions!). She is totally spoilt, and will be getting no end of clothes and books from my parents, plus of course her own stocking.
Re books, if you don’t have the Lion Inside or Oi Frog go and get them!! My daughter is only 1, but these are her absolute favourites, and older children love them too. Tiddler is good from the Donaldson range, and I like Cats Ahoy too. They are all lightly rhyming, which I think children find so engaging. So many good books out there!
Have you been talking to Lottie Annie, she recommended Cats Ahoy too! That and Lion Inside will most definitely be in Lyra’s stocking…we have Oi Frog and love it and and you cannot beat Tiddler (‘Tiddler? Tiddler? Tiddler’s late!’) ? X
My son has just turned one so instead of doing a Christmas Eve box I’m going to do one for him to open at the start of December. So far I’ve got Christmas PJs, a few books (including Dear Santa as he loves Dear Zoo and the similar Spot ones) and some Christmas figures from Early Learning. I’m very excited about this and can’t wait to get in the Christmas mood! We’ll not go too crazy for actual Christmas presents as he got plenty for his birthday and we’d rather put some money away for him than spend it on more toys just for the sake of it!
I’m doing the first of December box thing as well – with Christmas jumpers n(multiple bought in the sales last year) and some pjs and festive books. Juliet will be two in March so I’m hoping she’ll know a bit more than last year. We’re getting her the IKEA kitchen and some books. Oh, and I may have bought the Boden dress covered in planets.. I LOVE Christmas!
Fern, GLTC have some lovely nesting dolls in at the moment in three different designs – I’ve just bought some for my big girl for her birthday.
In our house, Santa just does stockings – everything else comes from the recipient. We’re also super mean and spread things out through the day – so although stockings are fair game at 5.30am, tree presents don’t get opened until everyone’s up, washed, dressed, breakfasted and presented with a glass of fizz (where applicable). I find it spreads out the excitement, lessens present fatigue in littlies and gives you something to do between breakfast and Christmas dinner!
As always our gifts will veer wildly between tasteful educational wooden toys (which I like) and overpriced plastic tat (which is what the kids actually ask for). Juliet’s birthday is at the end of November so at the moment we’re buying for that – apart from the aforementioned nesting dolls I’ve also got her a much requested Hatchimal (which involved being online at 4.30am and truly represents the amount of love I have for her), some clothes bits and a mug. We’re looking at a bike for her Christmas present.
Tess, being 8mo, has less input into her present choices so I’ve gone full on tasteful loveliness – a couple of Orchard Tree wooden toys (some cars and a pull along circus bear) and a lovely jingly striped Jellycat elephant.
Gabriel, being a 9yo boy, wants Pokemon and Minecraft themed things. And Lego. Lots of Lego. So that’s what he’ll get!
I also have five stockings to sort out. Any suggestions for stocking fillers for a 27yo?!
We also space out the presents – stockings when you wake up (pre-breakfast), then main presents after breakfast, but then we also have a tradition of “tree presents” after dinner and once everyone’s a bit sleepy – the original idea was that they were small enough items to sit on the branches of the tree, so they are just little token gifts – usually socks/chocolate/gloves, but as a kid it was so exciting to find out that you had one more present to open so late in the day!!
I think I may go with the stockings from Santa and other things from us too this year Sara. You do have a rather varied selection to buy for. I’d keep it fun and simple for the 27yo. I’d still appreciate some chocolate coins now! x
Chocolate coins and a satsuma in the toe are non negotiable for all of my stockings!
I’m thinking of going with the theme ‘something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read’ this year; I have a feeling it would simplify things – I end up throwing a lot of money at it otherwise.
That’s such a lovely little saying. I may adopt that myself. Thank you! x
Oh, and I totally indulged my love for dressing all the children the same, in the style of the Von Trapp family, and bought matching Christmas pyjamas for all three from Matalan.
My husband just rolls his eyes at me. He’s lucky; I almost bought him some too…
Von Trapp is an excellent look. Edd also couldn’t believe it last year when I wanted to get the girls matching Christmas Pjs. They just don’t get it x
So excited for Christmas this year!! My 4 year old boy has already started to write his letter to Father Christmas and at the moment has listed Darth Vader (never seen Star Wars!), spider man Boxer pants – very specifically ‘boxer’ and a skateboard. I’m not sure about the skateboard! He has a micro scooter (which is amazing Lolly – so much better than other scooters and a fantastic buy) but he goes so fast on it so I’m a bit scared about letting him try skateboarding! We’re off on holiday to Barbados on New Year’s Eve so we are planning on keeping the gift buying to a minimum but I am planning on getting him the action camera from Vtech as you can also use it underwater!! Our 9 week old daughter hasn’t really got any specific requests so I’m planning on getting a few bits for her room which I am going to decorate in the new year. Fern – I have already got her this cute little set of Russian dolls from GLTC. https://www.gltc.co.uk/product/rosa-rabbit-russian-dolls/10003457
Sarah, I have those russian dolls on my list for Alice too! Love them x
Oh it’s so good to hear a personal recommendation on the micro scooter Sarah so thanks for sharing. It’s a definite definite on our list now!
AHH I’M SOOOOO EXCITED FOR CHRISTMAS NOW!!!!!!!!! Thank you Sara and Sarah for the https://www.gltc.co.uk/ tip off!
We too do Father Christmas presents in stockings in the morning and then presents to and from each other are opened through out the day. We’re at my parents this year, which I’m super excited about as we’ve done the last three Christmases away or with Matt’s family.
Some lovely gift ideas here 🙂
I’m hyperventilating just thinking about Christmas!! Seriously, every time I think about putting the tree up I burst into tears… little E isn’t going to know what’s hit her. I’m throwing every ounce of festive energy in my bones at that kid!
Lorna – the Asda wooden kitchen is sitting in her Nana’s house as we speak. It’s so lovely, and a real bargain.
So far, we’ve picked up the Beatles Yellow Sub Lego set (which is more for the grown ups/shelf perching) & a baby doll… amongst a few others.
Now I’m on the lookout for a couple of outdoor toys if anyone has any links to throw my way? A good swing that’ll see her through for a few years & a little car… she makes a beeline for the Little Tykes plastic cars EVERY time we hit up Toddler Group.
Okay I’m off to check out everyone else’s suggestions and get myself hyped up again.
MERRY CHRISTMAS xx
Reading everyone’s comments today has got me sooooooo excited for Christmas. I’ve been humming ‘It’s the most wonderful time of the year’ non stop. Only in the privacy of my home I might add. Little E is going to have the most AMAZING christmas with you guys and you will have the most magical one too. I’d definitely go for the Little Tikes car, the girls have always been obsessed with theirs. We also have a little tikes see saw/rocker which they love out in the garden plus a wheelbarrow and watering can is always a winner. Our swing is from Brave toys and it’s been brilliant. (https://bravetoys.com). Hooray for Christmas! xx
Oooh thanks sweetheart… I’ll get over to brave toys asap. And I might have to check out the see-saw too xx
It is so well made isn’t it Karen, surely they can’t be making any money out of it selling it so cheaply? xxx
This post has just changed my plans- I just snapped up the Asda kitchen- and you get 20% off on all wooden toys at the moment. Thank you RMF, will delegate the toy car to doting grandparents!
Charlotte & I may have been getting a bit excited last week about the 20% off Asda wooden toys. Oh how times have changed! x
20% off Lucy S – how did I not know this! Off to part with some more money xxx
So excited now!
M is getting an Asda wooden washing machine that I’m hoping to hack to match the IKEA kitchen she got last year -she is obsessed with washing machines (!?!) and a few other bits and bobs….books, wooden stables and ponies, a Makka Pakka and a few other little things.
I have decided to do her an advent calendar with various treats each day, including Christmas jumper/Christmas books/stickers/things to do such as decorate Christmas baubles/a gingerbread house and a few festive trips out so we all get in the Christmas spirit and it spreads the treats out a bit!
Hoping it becomes a little Christmas tradition in our house that she looks forward to each year!
Is the wooden stables from Asda Jane? I’ve had my eye on that to match the girls dolls house but it keeps going out of stock. The advent calendar sounds wonderful. Can you make me one please?! x
Yes they are so cute and such good value!
I had my eye on the washing machine for ages and that kept going out of stock too, so I snapped it up a month or so ago and its currently stashed at Grandma’s house.
This post inspired me to do a chunk of online Christmas shopping at naptime and I’m feeling very pleased with myself now!