Dear Santa

Everything Father Christmas has delivered in previous years, and some other things he might consider

I know, it’s October…

…but when I asked you when a post about Christmas presents would be most useful, you clearly said October. Some of you wanted it even sooner, but I can’t condone that sort of thing.

So here it is. I hope it’s useful and inspiring, and I promise not to mention Christmas again this side of Halloween.

From Lucy and Tom at Christmas, by Shirley Hughes, possibly my favourite Christmas book.

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Dear Father Christmas,

Please can my children’s stockings be full of fun but not full of junk; our planet is too precious to be sending Christmas gifts to landfill before we’ve even made it to New Year.

Preferably low on plastic. Educational is good but I do (sort of) realise that Christmas Day can be a day off. If possible please avoid things which the children can directly compare because one of them will decide they have been treated unfairly. Please nothing big because space is already at a premium.

And I know that stuff the children find fun is often stuff the grown-ups find infuriating, but please no toys that will have driven Daddy insane before we get to breakfast time.

Good luck!

Catherine

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Here’s how Father Christmas answered that brief last year…

• Sleeping Queens (played every day for at least three months)

• A collection of old postage stamps, all on a bird theme, in a small tin box with a bird on it

• A collection of old coins from foreign countries in a Christmassy box

• A small gemstone collection

• Spy Puzzles book

• Watercolour paints

• Who Was Julius Ceasar?

• Kinetic sand

• Space cube book

• Old-fashioned individually wrapped sweets

• Plus Blocks

• D Day and Dinosaur transfers

• Magic pencils

• Foam planes

• Small wooden animals

In previous years he delivered…

Tiny winter colouring book from Myriad Online

• Pavement drawing chalk

• A wooden boat for the bath

• The Story of the Snow Children book

• Mini Winter colouring book

• A rainbow candle (still untouched because it’s too precious) and candle holder

• Window crayons (quite a pain to get off the glass if you don’t do it quickly…)

• Clay bird water pipes

• Animal face flannel mitts

• Paw Patrol magic flannels

• Bird Top Trumps

• Play-doh

• Skipping rope

• A tiny jar of fun buttons

• Hot chocolate spoons

• SmartCar mini logic puzzle

Other things he’s probably considered…

From Candlestick Press

• A Christmas poetry pamphlet

• A bird call whistle

• Compass

• Binoculars

• Smart putty

• Lego mini figures

• Torch/head torch

• Rainbow stamp pad

• Knot Skills Kit from the Den Kit Co

• Tangram tin

• Stickers and tattoos

• Marbles

• Astronaut food

• Novelty plasters/bandaids

• Fancy French sweets (also these)

  

  Via Unsplash

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I’d love to hear what Father Christmas has delivered to your family that’s been a hit. Please share in the comments!

(And I know, the rest of the world calls him Santa Claus. So do my own children. This is the thing I’ve decided to take a stand on.)

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