Our Blog : Family gifts

The Turkey has been cooked, and the leftovers enjoyed (or, if your house is anything like mine, the leftovers are still being enjoyed), and now it is time to unabashedly start getting ready for Christmas. It's time to pull out the ladder, get the lights down from the attic and up on the house. And while I have been trying to chip away at my Christmas list slowly for a while now, its time to kick it into high gear!

 

Celebrating The Twelve Days of Christmas is an important part of my family's holiday season. That means picking out fun little trinkets and goodies throughout the year to fill the boxes for our family members to open from December 26 through January 6. To give you a jump-start on shopping for The Twelve Days of Christmas this week I am going to share with you some of the toys and trinkets that we have given to our family (and received ourselves) over the past couple of years. Today I will share with you some of the goodies that have been found inside the male family member's boxes. Later this week I will share some of the goodies that the ladies have gotten. None of the things on this list are very masculine, so most of these ideas could go for either gender and any age.

• Wall Walker

These are fun little toys. They are a bit sticky, but harmless. You throw them against a wall or window and they walk their way down. Fun for adults and kids.

• Cube Robot

These are fun toys to position and play with. They start out as a cube and then transform into a robot. We have two - the smallest one which will fit in a Twelve Days box, and the next size up. Both robots like to hang out in various places around our house. One is hanging out on our wine rack right now.

• Pencil sharpener/eraser - for the artist or doodler in your life, a fun pencil sharpener and eraser combo makes a good Twelve Days gift. There are lots of cute shapes out there now.
• Puzzles - these are a yearly occurence in our Twelve Days box. From small jig-saw puzzles to brain-teaser puzzles, they are always a crowd pleaser.
• Robot pinball

I put one of these in one of my husband's boxes last year. They are a bit hard to play with adult sized fingers, but still fun. And cheap.

• Chapstick - my father-in-law loves chapstick, as do I. There are so many varieties out there today - from your standard Chapstick brand to Burts Bees to all kinds of other brands with a wide variet of flavors from sweet to minty.
• Cork animal

 

These are fun little gifts - especially if you know someone who enjoys wine. Most of us have a couple corks lurking around in a drawer somewhere, so why not dress them up? These "Corkers" come in lots of different sets.

• Metal bookmark - the kind you can clip on the top or side of a page
• mini 8-ball - you remember the Magic 8-Ball, right? Well in some party stores and toy stores they sell miniature versions for party-favor bags.
• geode - I loved geodes when I was a kid. In some toy stores you can find geodes now where you can crack your own. It just looks like a rock from the outside, but if you split it open with a hammer you might find a beautiful geode inside!
• nose flute

 

These are fun for kids of all ages. You stick it in your nose and hum, and somewhat like a kazoo it makes noise.

• chocolate elves - lots of candy stores sell fun little chocolates in all sorts of shapes this time of year. Cost Plus World Market is a good place to look.
• movie ticket gift cards - we don't go to the movies very often, but at Costco you can usually get movie ticket gift cards that cut the cost down by a couple dollars per ticket, so they make a nice gift for a night out after the holidays are over.
• Fishing IOU - my husband made a little gift-certificate for his dad that was an I.O.U. for a fishing trip. There are lots of fun things you can make an I.O.U. for - a massage, homemade dinner, free babysitting, etc.
• Finger monsters

I remember these from when I was a kid, maybe you do too?

• Light keychain - I like to have a little light on my keychain, for when it is dark and I need to see something (whether it be the keyhole on the front door or to find something in my purse). A little light keychain makes a great Twelve Days gift.
• Wine aerator - there are quite a few wine-related things that will fit in a Twelve Days Box.
• Gift cards 
• Gift subscriptions - you can make your own little coupon to put in a Twelve Days box for any kind of non-tangible gift.
• Small toys - yo-yos, silly putty, etc.
• Ornaments
• Keychains

The list goes on and on. Get creative!

 

 

Gift idea: Christmas Eve goodies 

Makes a good gift for: Families with toddlers or young kids

Here at Twelve Days we are hoping to share our family tradition with the world. Another time for traditions is Christmas Eve – the night before Christmas. There is no shortage of children’s books illustrating the beloved story The Night Before Christmas or any other Christmas story. Below I have found a couple of fun pieces that could become part of any family’s Christmas Eve tradition for years to come.

Night Before Christmas Tea Towel - for when you are baking Santa's cookies, perhaps? 
Night Before Christmas Dish Towel -Smithsonian Store - $14.99 

Night Before Christmas Pillow - for reading a couple great Christmas stories before bedtime:
Night Before Christmas Pillow - Smithsonian Store - $165.00 

Cookies for Santa Plate
Cookies for Santa Plate Smithsonian Store - $24.99 

The Greatest Gift – the book that It’s A Wonderful Life was based on 
The Greatest Gift - Smithsonian Store - $55.00

Gift idea: Fire pit and/or s’mores kit 

Makes a good gift for: Families, someone with a sweet tooth

For a lot of people, s’mores around a fire outdoors is a camping memory. But s’mores do not have to be limited to the wilderness. Anyone can make s’mores at home – in the microwave, as I have been known to do, or in the backyard. 

I think that an amazing gift for a family of people would be an outdoor fire pit, the ingredients to make s’mores, and if you really want to include the whole shebang – some skewers, wood and matches.

Here are some nice fire pits:



And if you don’t want to just head to the grocery store to put together a couple bars of chocolate, a bag of marshmallows and a box of graham crackers, you could order one of these s’mores kits:

Hershey’s S'mores Kit- $15.95 

Recchiuti Chocolate S'mores Kit - $23.00 

Two More Weeks Until Christmas!

Gift Idea: Arts and Crafts Kits

Gift idea: Root Beer Kit 

Makes a good gift for: Families with kids, or kids at heart!

It seems like home-brewing has become a very popular trend. For a more family-friendly tilt to the brew your own trend, a root beer brewing kit would be a great gift that a family could do and enjoy together.

Mr. Rootbeer Root Beer Kit- $26.95 

Brew it Yourself Root Beer - $14.95