Christmas, a time of merriment and joy, as long as you are not the one planning it, buying and wrapping all the presents, otherwise it can be quite stressful. It is fast creeping up on us (we are positive that it gets earlier every year!), and it is time to start writing gift lists and planning the Christmas festivities. Planning a wonderful Christmas can be quite stressful, you not only have to pick the right advent calendar (who knew kids could be so fussy when it comes to a cardboard calendar filled with chocolate or treats) but you have to plan how many will be coming for dinner, what they will all eat and where they will sit – although this year due to lockdown rules sadly that might not be so much of an issue. There just doesn’t seem to be enough time to organise everything, no matter how organised you are or early you start, before the big day hits.
And then there is the shopping for gifts and stocking fillers, whether at the shops or online, and finding the time to wrap them all! Finding the perfect gifts for your family and friends can be the most stressful part of Christmas of all – how much do you spend, will they like it, will the kids play with what they have been given, will your gift be buried in the drawer never to be seen again? After all, if you are not an 8-year-old child, how do you know what an 8-year-old would like for Christmas (especially as they change their minds at the click of their fingers). And even if you think you know what you’re kids would like, how do you get the perfect present for your partner who doesn’t need anything as they buy what they want when they want it?
At Our Family Reviews we have been trying out some pressie ideas that we think that our own family would like and hopefully yours will too, making gift buying for the kids (including pre-teens who seem to have little interest in anything at the moment), him and her a tiny bit less stressful. Some of the items we have tried out are a stunt scooter from Skates.co.uk for the outdoors types, board games for those cold evenings inside, a variety of wireless earbuds for the music lovers, for gamers with have tried out some gaming headsets, or maybe hidden motion detecting Fart Ninjas to embarrass Granny is your thing? Or maybe your children are animal lovers and love Vet Squad or perhaps they are L.O.L Surprise fanatics and love the fashion dolls. We really loved the Lunii My Fabulous Storyteller that allows children to select options that go into the audio story. We have even tried out some reusable glass straws that are perfect for the Christmas season for those that are trying to be sustainable with the products they use (especially now plastic straws are banned and the paper ones are not great). We hope that the items we have reviewed for our Christmas Gift Guide will make it just that little bit easier in helping you buy your gifts for your family or friends.
Before you hit the shops (or this year, it will probably be more internet-based shopping), make some time to grab a brew, sit down, relax, have a browse through our guide and see if there is any inspiration for that special little something for the your nearest and dearest.
