www.what2buy4kids.co.uk

How to create the best Christmas stocking of all time!

How does Christmas Day work in your house? Are you awoken at 5am by eager faces peering around the door jam or jumping on the bed?

Do you open a few gifts in the warm before creeping downstairs to devour the rest?

Or do you wait until 6pm to open your gifts? Perhaps you take your time over the course of the day, opening one or two here and there, extending the excitement and enjoying the gift of giving.

Christmas StockingsHowever you spend your Christmas Day, for many of us it will not be complete without a stocking! Since my own childhood, Christmas stockings have provided endless fun on the 25th.

I had a homemade one that was particularly tricky to get into. Talk about frustrating! As a 9 year old I remember hopelessly trying to extract tiny gifts from inside its messily knitted interior.

For my children, I’ve taken great delight finding small but meaningful treasures for their stockings. It’s the first thing they reach for – a tradition of sorts. What do your kids do?

And guests and visitors don’t escape the delight. I prepare small stockings for every Christmas guest. I’ve realized over the years, as perhaps you have as well, that there’s something a little selfish about giving a gift. I wonder if we gain more from the act than the recipients!

Creating the best Christmas stocking of all time

I want to share with you my tips for creating the best Christmas stocking of all time. If you’ve not got one they can be easily bought on the high street and there’s a fab collection of sewing patterns and instruction here for stockings and sacks of all shapes and sizes!

But of course, as the owner of What2Buy4Kids and an ex-teacher, curating Christmas stockings is my forte. Here are my top tips – there are a number of ways you can approach this:

Choose a Christmas Stocking Theme

You could fill your stockings with a collection of connected goodies, maybe around sport or the outdoors, educational games, stationary, food or bathroom treats. Perhaps dinosaurs will get your kids roaring or maybe ballet with get them twirling! Are they animal lovers? Fill their stockings with animal-related treats.

Pick n Mix Stocking Fillers

Select a little of everything. Something smelly, sporty, a little stationary, something sweet…

Colour Coded Stocking Fillers

Colour can be an easy and fun way to choose gifts. Do you have a child that likes a particular colour ? You might like to theme the stocking around that colour and choose your gifts accordingly.

Baffle and surprise with Stocking Fillers

A few years ago I took immense joy utterly confusing my kids by filling their stockings with accessories for a separate, main present. The looks on their faces as they pulled out mobile phone holders was wonderful!

If you’re planning a trip to a theme park or an overseas holiday, surprise them by filling their stockings with travel pillows and other useful gifts.

Of course, what you pop in the stocking depends on the size of it but my useful list of stocking fillers will steer you in the right direction.

For more details, please visit : www.what2buy4kids.co.uk

You can follow us on Twitter @what2buy4kids and Facebook at facebook.com/What2Buy4Kids