My absolute favorite part of Christmas is putting together (and opening) the stocking.
As a kid, that was the best part, for me. I always had a new stuffed animal. Then it was full of all sorts of wrapped little goodies. Now, as an adult, we try to follow a Christmas/birthday budget, but the stockings are off-budget. I'm always on the lookout for little treasures I can tuck in. Here are some fun ones I have used.
Small ornaments are always fun to tuck into a stocking. I found this little guy at Target this year.
Small stuffed animals are also fun.
We usually have candy in our stockings, too. The mint Hershey's miniatures are one of my favorite treats of this season. I also found these "candy sticks" at Hallmark this year - chocolate covered candy canes. Yum!
Finally, gift cards are a GREAT stocking stuffers. But these Lego ones from Target are fantastic! They come with a gift card (you pick your own dollar amount) and a Lego set with instructions for making three figures.
Love, love, love these!
So, what are your holiday ideas? I'd love to hear them.
Here are a few more things I have enjoyed lately that might work for someone on your Christmas shopping list.
Bath and Body Works have these Peppermint candles (and hand soap and sanitizer). I love peppermint, and I can actually smell this fragrance when I first use it. It makes me think fondly of candy canes. Perfect for Christmas!
Then, they have these fun candle holders. I got this one this fall because I love owls, but they have fun winter-y ones for Christmas.
I also think anything personalized is a great way to go for the holidays. Cafe Press is a fun place to shop - you can choose designs that fit the hobbies or favorite TV shows/movies of the person you are buying for. I love this shirt based on the TV Show Big Bang Theory, but I couldn't get it because of the language.
This year I have also gotten things from Expressionary.com. Cute stationary, book plates, stamps, etc.
You can do a search for "personalized" and find all sorts of things on the web. Think of the joy of a child who finds his/her names in a book or on a set of notecards or a notebook/journal! Personalization Mall is another site to check out - look at these cute ornaments!
Okay - come back Saturday for one final set of ideas.
Just a few holiday ideas for you! If you are looking for book recommendations, check out my Bring on the Books blog entry for November 29th.
Today I want to focus on some Lego options.
One of the best "decorations" I bought for my new job as an elementary librarian was the Lego Brick Calendar. The bricks are pre-printed with date numbers and months. Each month you re-assemble the calendar to reflect the new month. I thought that my students would get used to it after a couple months, but four months into the school year I am still getting comments from my kids each week about the calendar.
Along the same line, Lego puts out an Advent Calendar each year. We are itching to crack ours open - the Star Wars one - on Thursday this week.
Finally, stores like Walmart and Target - as well as The Lego Store - often have small bagged Lego sets for sale this time of year. These, as well as the mini-figure packages, make great stocking stuffers.
Come back Thursday for some more holiday gift ideas.
