25 Nov

Little Things That Mean A Lot! Our Favourite Advent Gifts

by Jilly Wilson

Here at The Square Peg, we're getting incredibly excited for Christmas - the shops are bursting with beautiful baubles and dazzling decorations, and so they should be – as there’s now little over 4 weeks to go until the big day! If you haven’t already guessed, we love a countdown - and what better countdown is there in the world then advent?

This year we’ve noticed a growing demand for advent gifts rather than traditional advent calendars. We’ve always been fans of making your own advent calendar for children, providing them with a small stocking filler style gift a day rather than the traditional picture behind a door – or the more recent development of chocolate behind the door! But this concept now seems to have grown legs, as many more customers are creating their own countdowns to Christmas for loved ones young and old. And we do enjoy helping, after all, we love a well thought out gift! Each little present doesn’t have to be pricey; it truly is the thought that counts.

In years gone by one of the things that we know customers have struggled with is finding objects small enough to fit into the calendar itself. You can buy all sorts of advent calendars ready to fill, often they make fantastic Christmas decorations too, but these usually come with a series of tiny boxes, drawers or pesky little pockets which can be a headache to fill 24 times over!

Christmas

So, here is some of our advice for when it comes to advent gifts this December – we hope it helps!

1 – Size shouldn’t matter - don’t get bogged down with the size of the gifts if you’re struggling to fit them all in. It looks a lot more exciting if there’s a wee something peeking out of a few of the compartments, and you can always wrap them up in a bit of Christmas paper if you don’t want to spoil the surprise.

2 – Get creative! If you don’t already have an advent calendar to fill or your budget won’t allow, then it’s so easy to make your own – and then the size of the pockets really won’t be an issue either! The best idea we’ve heard recently was from a customer who used shoe organisers – we couldn’t believe how genius an idea this was. You could decorate it further if you want, or just number the pockets (believe it or not, there’s usually 24!). Another very purse-friendly option is just to wrap up and tag each small gift with a number. If you want to you could use pegs and string it up too – which can serve a dual purpose as a Christmas cardholder.

3 – Eat, drink and be merry! You don’t have to omit chocolate completely; you could always include a wee treat here and there! Or some of their favourite sweeties or savoury nibbles. If it’s for a grown up, then how about a miniature of their favourite drink?

4- Sets appeal – if you’re getting stuck with the little things then consider buying multi-packs or gift sets and breaking them up, with a portion for each day. Like this Seaweed and Sage Discovery Set from Arran - which contains body lotion, bath & shower gel, shampoo and soap. That’s 4 boxes ticked already!

Here are some more of our favourite advent gift suggestions, from classic and kid-friendly to pretty and practical. All of which can all be found in our stocking fillers collection. Many of these also make ideal favours for Christmas dinner parties or cracker prizes if you’re thinking of making your own: