Our Blog : Twelve Days gifts

8 Days Until Christmas - Toys for the Brain

Gift idea: Brain teaser puzzles

Makes a good gift for: Stocking Stuffers/ Twelve Days Gifts

Recipients of all ages and abilities can enjoy one of these brain teaser puzzles. If the particular puzzle is too easy, it quickly becomes a competition to see who else can do it. If the puzzles is challenging, then the opportunity for team work opens up. Lots of toy stores carry these puzzles, and I bought some last Christmas at an office store. Keep your eyes open and you can find neat stuff in lots of stores!

Cube Lock Key Chain - $3.50

Mini Bamboo Puzzles - set of six for $23.94

Mind Twisters - $7.98/set

11 Days Until Christmas - Mini Classic Toys

This Week's Gift Theme: Stocking Stuffers

Gift Idea: Classic Toys and Miniature Classic Toys

Makes a good gift for: Anyone/ Stocking Stuffers/ Twelve Days Gifts

Kids and kids at heart alike can appreciate find a fun little toy or two (or three or four) in their christmas stocking or in their Twelve Days Boxes. The idea here is to spend just a couple bucks on toys that still require some good old fashioned imagination. Most chain toy stores still carry some of these toys – think silly putty, bouncy balls, wind-up toys. And a small mom-and-pop type toy store would probably have an even better selection of classic toys and other small goodies.

You can also find a good selection online:

Silly Putty

From Amazon - $3.99

Parachute men

From Amazon - $9.03

Wind-up toys

From Amazon - $1.99 each

Chinese jump rope

From Amazon - $5.49

Jacks

From Amazon - $7.79

These Are a Few of Our Favorite Things

No, I am not talking about raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens (although I do enjoy both of those things, and the song, for that matter). But seriously, these are a few of our favorite things that we have gotten in Twelve Days Boxes.

I have only had the pleasure of having my own set of twelve gifts to open during the Twelve Days of Christmas for the past four or five years, but I certainly have favorite things that I have received in my boxes over the years. I would have to say that my number one favorite thing that I ever got in a Twelve Days box: a small Monet “trinket box” that I use every night to put my rings in before I go to bed. The one that Mary Ellen found for me is similar to this one:

except mine has a dragonfly on it, since I love dragonflies.

I also love to get candy, and jewelry - what can I say, I am easy to please!

Jonathon has opened almost 400 Twelve Days boxes since he was a little boy, (twelve boxes a year for over thirty years) and his favorite things to get are still little Lego sets like these:

and puzzles like these:

(even though he can pretty much solve any puzzle at this point).

After all the hub-bub and hustle of Christmas is over, it is really nice to have just one little gift to look forward to each day. Whether you open it in the morning, or wait until the evening it is a wonderful way to extend the Christmas spirit for twelve more days. Jonathon and I enjoy opening our boxes, and then calling our parents to find out what they got that day. We hope that you enjoy this tradition as much as we do!

Twelve Days of Fun for Everyone

Our Shop features a couple of fun pre-made sets for different tastes and ages, but there are lots of other things you can put in Twelve Days Boxes, and lots of other fun sets you can make for someone on your Christmas list. Here are some other ideas:

Twelve Days of Classic Toys - think of all the fun toys that don't need batteries! Here are some ideas:

Bouncy balls
Wind-up toys
Small Slinky
Tops
Small Lego sets
Marbles
Jacks
Small stuffed-animal
Hacky-sack
Small jigsaw puzzles
Small brain-teaser puzzles
Finger-puppets
Small noise-makers (whistle, harmonica)

Twelve Days of Toys for Boys (or Tomboys, as I once was):

Army men
Matchbox cars
Squishy bugs (like these)
Small action figures
Parachute men

Twelve Days of Beauty for Girls*:

Lip gloss/chapstick (there are lots of cute ones out there now)
Small nail polish set (lots of drug stores sell sets of small bottles - you could put a couple bottles in a couple different boxes)
Hair clips/ties/headbands
Jewelry
Compact mirror
Candy necklace

*This set could be made more appropriate for a tween, teen or young woman just based on the quality of the gifts chosen!

Twelve Days of Growing for Gardeners:

Seeds
Seed-bombs
Plant-markers (there are tons of cute ones on Etsy, just make sure based on their measurements that they will fit in the box)
Nice hand-soap and/or lotion (or a lotion bar)
Nail scrub-brush
An I.O.U. for some time weeding in the garden!

Twelve Days for the Fisherman/Outdoorsy Person:

A fishing license
Fishing lures
An I.O.U. for some bait (no one wants worms in their Twelve Days Boxes!)
A planned itinerary for a day on the lake or the river
Waterproof matches
Sunglasses-cord
Small flashlight
Hand-warmers

Twelve Days for the Tech-lover:

Phone back-up charger
Phone accessories - there are tons and tons of these out there depending on the phone and the recipient
Giftcard for phone applications
Phone or MP3-player mini-speaker
Headphones

Twelve Days of Fun for the Office:

Fun pushpins
Paperclips in fun shapes
Erasers in all sizes and shapes
Cute sticky-notes

Twelve Days for the Kitchen:

Beer-stoppers
Wine-stoppers
Beer/wine markers/tags
Small salt and pepper shakers
Small sets of spices/salts/peppers

And don't forget to look back at these blog posts for other ideas on gifts that will fit in Twelve Days Boxes!

Twelve Days is also on Pinterest, where we have lots of boards with Twelve Days gift ideas.

Where to shop for Twelve Days of Christmas Gifts

I keep an eye out year-round for Twelve Days gifts. Some people are easier to shop for than others, but once you get in to the groove there are lots of places to shop, both on-line and in person where you can find things that will fit in Twelve Days boxes. Don’t forget that there are lots of things you can make yourself that will fit in a Twelve Days box!

When shopping in a store for Twelve Days gifts, it can be handy to either have a Twelve Days Box with you, to make sure things will fit, or to bring the size-guide card that is included in the Gift-Giver's Guide.

Brick and mortar stores:

The best way to find Twelve Days gifts is in person, because then you can look at the item and decide if it will fit in a box.

Chain stores:

Sephora – makeup, perfume, small beauty tools

Walgreens/Rite Aid/ Target – makeup, perfume, hair accessories, small toys, candy

REI/outdoor store – small flashlights, key chains, gear-ties, utility-knives

Sur La Table/Williams Sonoma – candles, small sets of spices, salts and peppers, wine stoppers and wine-gadgets

Fry’s Electronics/Best Buy – good for small gadgets, phone accessories, ear-buds

Museum shops - most museums will let you in to the gift shop for free, and we always have good luck finding fun puzzles and other unique gifts at museum shops

Cost Plus – great for unique candy, small toys and homewares/kitchen stuff

Boutiques/local stores:

Living in the San Francisco Bay Area I know lots of little boutiques and shops to stop in and browse at to find Twelve Days gifts. But most towns will have fun little boutiques, toy stores and candy stores where many a Twelve Days box can be filled.

Websites:

Etsy! I love Etsy! You can seriously find anything and everything on this site. And browsing can be a little dangerous to the pocket book. Anything from vintage toys and housewares, jewelry, bath and beauty products and small pieces of art can be found on Etsy.

Amazon is obviously another place you can shop on-line for almost anything, but it’s a hard website to just browse, so amazon is probably a better bet if you have something specific in mind.

Sephora - makeup, perfume etc.

REI - small flashlights, key chains, gear-ties, utility-knives

Williams-Sonoma - candles, small sets of spices, salts and peppers, wine stoppers and wine-gadgets

Target - makeup, perfume, hair accessories, small toys, candy

Uncommon Goods - fun toys, keychains, candles

Kikkerland - cute, unique toys

Perpetual Kid - unique toys

Do it yourself:

Not everything that goes in a Twelve Days box has to cost money! We like to do little homemade gift cards or gift certificates for a special dinner or activity.

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