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We're coming right down to it now with just three more shopping days until Christmas. Still time to finish off the stockings that wow. I found this Box of 6 Pencils £5.95 from Emma Bridgewater on lovely stationery site The Paperie and special delivery is still possible until Friday but, failing that,  is also is currently stocked at WHSmith shops. Pretty and practical with Emma Bridgewater's distinctive loveheart pattern, this gift box is a treat for girlies of all ages. 

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Amazing and original and packaged in a lovely tin with a hand-drawn design printed on it. This witty range of Clothes Plasters (from £2.99) are embroidered patches designed by artist Jennie Maizels and require only a hot iron to affix individuality and flare to your children's clothes. They come in packs of one, two, five or ten (£9.99 the ones in the tin above) and there is a style to suit all. My favourite is the "Love" range mainly because I have a favourite jumper with a moth hole at the chest and I think one of these would prolong its life considerably. Gorgeous!  

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Practise makes perfect! It's perfect for whiling away the hours on a rainy Boxing Day and comes beautifully packaged. Ridley's Magic Rope Cutter £3.99 available at Ripe along with a number of other Instant Illusion toys. Magic!

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Only a week left until the big day. So exciting! I took my daughter to her first birthday party yesterday and to save a lot of aggro, we all drew names in a Secret Santa style arrangement so that each child got one present from another child. So simple. So sensible. I drew my friend's son Oscar and we chose two Rubber Ducks £5.00 each from John Lewis for him; the two blue ones at the top in fact because I love the little rubber ring they have 'boy' written all over them. Also a great stocking filler idea for some seriously stylish splashing. 

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How cute? Why not stuff a stocking with this Blue & Red Rose Coathanger £4.20 from This Is Pretty. I met someone once who (quite vehemently) believed that padded hangers were the work of the devil and I could never understand why. Obviously some are nicer than others (pastel yellow, crocheted and smelling of mothballs are a no-no of course) but who could say that this child-size hanger isn't cute as a button and wouldn't look so smart with a pretty dress hanging from it in a wardrobe or on the back of the nursery door. It would also make a lovely present for a 1st birthday or new baby. 

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Sometimes lovely things serve no purpose other than to add a little superb decoration to your life and this is one of them. Santa's Magic Key £5.50 from East of India at The Contemporary Home is a little piece of wrought iron joy on a vintage manilla gift tag and would make a lovely stocking filler, advent calendar gift, present embellishment, party favour, table or tree decoration. I would most like to hang it on the wreath on our front door. Gorgeous. 

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Completely scrumptious. This Breakfast Menu Tray £12.00 from Jelly & Blancmange is a lovely toy for a small child. I'm a big fan of traditional wooden toys and there's something about the smoothness and roundness of these pieces that is particularly eye-catching - I love the cheese! The Jelly & Blancmange site is choc-full of good quality festive accessories, tradional toys and magic party bag fillers so go and have a wander around. I know twelve quid might be a bit steep for the stocking but I reckon individually wrapped they'd take up quite a bit of room and it'll kickstart the training for when the little darlings are old enough to start serving you breakfast in bed (which is when...roughly...by the way?)

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More sweet treats for your little ones (and big ones as well) this time from master confectioners Hope & Greenwood. A great way to reward all that good behaviour, For A Good Boy/Girl £3.50 are perfect for stockings of for trimming the tree. Each small decorative box contains milk chocolate balls wrapped in silver foil and topped off with a ribbon. I also think they would make rather original favours for a festive wedding or formal dinner. Vintage sweetie heaven. 

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This probably won't come as much of a surprise but, I actually like making and writing thank you letters and cards. If there is only one thing I manage to teach my kids over and above life's little social essentials, it will be to recognise the imperative of knowing when to say 'Thank You' and then really meaning it. It IS the thought that counts. Likely, there will be a few thank you letters to write when Christmas is over so how about these simple and delicate Thank You Tags £4.50 with bird motif from vintage stationers Edge Inspired. Measuring approximated 7cm x 4 cm (business card size) and sold in packs of ten, they would make a lovely embellishment for a thank you gift and are pretty enough even to be sent on their own with a little ribbon in a tiny handmade envelope and a short hand-written sentiment on the reverse. Pure class!

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Something for everyone and so indulgent. This is the Christmas Present Card £10.95 from The Biscuiteers - a business that has made an art form out of cakes and cookies. Choose your personal message and take pleasure watching them eat it. And what's more, the gorgeous gift box it comes in can be used afterwards to keep trinkets and personal keepsakes. Knocks a tin of Roses out of the park. Yummy!

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Here's a nice thing to find in your stocking. This pretty "Little Star" Children's Mug £7.50 is from a collection by Jamie Oliver at lovely online gift emporium It's Darling. I have something like this in mind for my little 12-month old who is currently 'practising' drinking out of a cup. Who knew? She has rejected almost every sippy cup on the market and prefers good old porcelain china like her mamma. She also seems to be really getting into tea (very weak and decaff, of course!) Altogether, she's a chip off the old-ish block. All she has to do now is figure out how to drink without waterboarding herself and, for this, perhaps a smaller mug will help. Baby steps! 

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Isn't this lovely? Noel Silver Letters £6.50 from Just Trio - a gift shop based in Bideford in my home county of Devon. They have a large selection of both contemporary and vintage style gifts and homewares. So pretty and a lovely stocking filler for one of those older 'children' who pay the bills and go to work but still gets dizzy at the thought of a sock full of excitement at the end of the bed on December 24th. The elaborate snowflake is a particularly nice touch. I can see it hanging from a door knob or silhouetted in a window on Christmas Eve. Only 2 weeks to go....

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Three lovely things today because frankly I couldn't choose between them. Trinket Box Felt Craft Kit £2.95, Spaceboy Set of of Colouring Pencils £1.50 & Three Stripey Mouse Craft Set £4.95 all from the DotComGiftShop.com where you will find many, many more lovely things for under a fiver to stuff your stockings. I chose these three from the creative kids section because that's my bag. I love the little felt and ticking mice in particular. They are simply the essence of innocent childhood magic.  

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I was so excited when I found these. Can you guess what they are? Legomen! Yes. Obviously. But there's a difference because they are also Legomen Crayons £4.00. Small pleasures. I found them on a website called Colour Me Fun and they come in 8 colours in a free cloth bag. A sensational stocking filler  that would also make a great children's party bag. The site is stuffed with different designs from stars to dinosaurs. There is even a pick'n'mix option. I like the space invaders myself but then I am the wrong side of thirty. Legomen are timeless and great for unleashing the creativity in any young artist. 

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Ok. This is quite extravagant for a stocking but bear with me because I think it's almost irresistible particularly if one of your number is getting or has recently received a two-wheeled present this Christmas. The MPH Bike Bell £20.00 from Pedlars is one of three ingenious and humorous designs, one of which will suit any enthusiastic cyclist. And, if you don't want to spoil the surprise, just install it before you wheel out the joy.

Showcase: Manchester Christmas Market

For my daughter's first birthday, we took her into Manchester for some Christmas shopping, pretty lights and gluwein (for mummy of course) at The Christmas Market. This is our second year visiting and it really really is a lovely way to spend a couple of hours in town. Here's some of our finds. 

We found some lovely gift shopping at Quite Contrary Designs just outside the Town Hall. I bought these two fabric covered mirrors £6.00 each as small gifts for friends. I love the contrasting fabric and the soft punched leather pouches they come in. Artist Mary Shears hand makes all her products working with vintage inspired fabrics, buttons, leather, tweeds and wool fabrics to make seriously gorgeous bags, scarves, keyrings, brooches and cushions. Her business is resident at the Manchester Craft & Design Centre in the Northern Quarter if you don't make it down to the market this Christmas.                                                                     

It has become a custom to find a new Christmas decoration for my daughter every year. It's a really nice thing to do for a baby (her godmother does it as well) and it means that eventually, our tree will be covered in unique and unusual baubles that will hold a lot of meanings and memories (for us more than for her I imagine but nobody says gifting has to be selfless!) Yesterday, I added this small nativity £3.50 to our current collection from one of the traditional German stalls. It is made from wood with tiny figures exquisitely painted. It was the little sheep on the right that sold it to me though. So cute!  

Speaking of sheep, we found this lovely Sheepey Scarf £10.00 as an additional birthday present for Her Majesty. I particularly liked it because, at the moment, she refuses to wear hats and it comes right up around her ears thereby giving her head at least some coverage. It's by a company called Jomanda and they make a whole range of soft toys and children's accessories that are suitable from birth. They are definitely a business to add to my Fantasy High Street. I don't know any parent who wouldn't be thrilled to receive something like this for their baby. 

Another lovely find was the ceramic stall by Interlude Ceramics. Based in the heart of the lake district, they product a simply stunning range of wheel-thrown stoneware crockery, mugs, jugs, bowls and one-off pieces. They also receive commissions. A few days ago, I posted an Engagement Album featuring gift inspiration for couples and this (above) makes a lovely addition. Last night, I bought this delightful little stoneware Christmas Pudding £1.00 to put on the mantlepiece in our sitting room for the festive season. Yummy.

Finally, no journey home from a Christmas market would be complete without having to share the passenger seat with the top half of a seven foot fir tree £15.00. We picked up ours in the main square outside the town hall for an unbelieveably reasonable price. The vendors there said that they have plenty in stock but they're going fast and the prices will most probably go up as demand intensifies and supply begins to dwindle so get down there fast. Completely in the mood for Christmas now. Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly...Fa-la-la-la-lah.............

I Heart MCR!

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How about a completely gorgeous range of vinyl wall stickers? A Bag of Bunnies Sticker Pack £2.95 by Lauren Moriarty & Co available on NotOnTheHighStreet.com. Available in 5 colours and measuring 12cm x 15cm in a nice flat pack. Have a look because they also sell similar bags of bees, squirrels and badgers. A fab present for little ones to get creative with on the walls of their bedroom or playroom...probably on Boxing Day...when it will rain. 

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When I was quite young, my mum gave me a wall-mountable pottery profile of a cat's face with a tiny hole in the mouth that dispenses string and a slot for scissors. My husband hates it. He says it's the creepiest thing he's ever seen and gives the impression that the cat has tapeworm. None of this can be denied. It is very odd. But I also can't deny its usefulness and the reason I still have it is that I still use it all the time. I have probably saved hours of my life over the years sat in the tedious occupation of unraveling tangled and knotted balls of string because of it and I was reminded of this when I came across this nice String Tin £4.99 from a range by artist Madeleine Floyd available at Lakeland. It is covered in exquisite bird illustrations and is quite diddy at 11cm making it an unexpected surprise for the stocking. I would probably try to find some nice pretty twine and maybe some Embroidery Scissors £5.00 like those below from Make Do Mend (which would make a nice stocking filler present in themselves) to put with it depending on the age of the recipient. 

Great for the garden, a home office, the kitchen and, of course, all those hundreds of small people projects where glue and sticky-back plastic just aren't getting the job done.

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Some serious flare for your small people and eco-friendly to boot being presented on a 100% recycled manilla gift tags, these pretty little Button Badges £3.50 are from a range of card and paper loveliness created by Sophia Victoria Joy that I found via the RetroRoost boutique. Great for the stockings or to finish off a very special present. Perhaps you could put them in the stocking to replace the horrid plastic tag on the chocolate money this year or attach it to the stocking itself as a starter for ten. So many possibilities...just one Christmas! 

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Something special for the stockings. A Lavender Scented Pin Cushion £8.00 by Pants & Paper. I can't get enough pin cushions. Probably because I am a rabid seamstress, they're all over my studio so I can always reach for one (although the arms of the sofa are usually full of pins as well). They make a lovely gift anyway but I really like this one because it is lavender scented so, when you're not being creative, it can make itself useful scenting the room to smell like a lazy day in Provence. I'm also really struck by the simplicity of the design with it's hand-drawn style lines and decoupage elements. It would just be a really gorgeous thing to have around - pins or no pins. Pants & Paper sell this and many other small handmade items in their folksy shop and have an entertaining blog where I note that they have received a nod this week from Theo Paphitis in his weekly Small Business Sunday competition. May I take this opportunity to add my congratulations to the mix and a bit of a loud 'hurrah' too since it is Friday!