Christmas stocking "rules"

pateroo

My partner is a typical bloke when it comes to buying presents. I love all the little nick-nack, stocking filler type presents. So after our first Xmas together where he got a sack full of goodies and I got one (lovely) present we have made up stockings for each other with "rules" for each of the gifts.
This worked a treat and he actually really enjoyed it. We revise the rues each year as/when we discover them to be too tricky/ambiguous or a bit tired.
This is our current list of rules..... Was wondering if anyone did anything similar and had any other ideas we could add?

• Something that can be used together
• Something musical
• Something that reminds me of you
• Something you want but is disguised as a present for the other
• Something second hand
• £1 or under
• Something you know they will hate! )
• Something edible
• Something hand made
• 1 paper based
• Something for the family
• Something creatively wrapped
• Not the most obvious choice
• 1 article of clothing

midnightraven3

i adore making and buying presents

and each year we have a "task"
this year its the worst possible taste present
we drew names from a dish
so have only one to buy for
has to be no more than £2 and has to be used/worn etc all of christmas eve night, when we open our christmas eve hampers

my 18 year old son doesnt know but his buyer is thinking of getting him a vajazzle:o

i dont think i would enjoy a whole list of so many specific rules for so many specific presents TBH
but if it works for you and you enjoy it, why not:D

Laurajo_2

That sounds a great idea, I might do a smaller list for me and my dh...

Xx

pateroo

Laurajo wrote: »

That sounds a great idea, I might do a smaller list for me and my dh...

Xx

My partner loves it as it gives him a sort of framework for gifts buying! He gets some fab bits which I know he NEVER would have thought to buy without the list. I'm a big kid when it comes to Xmas. For the first time since I was 16 I am not working this year though, so will need to be even more clever about what I buy x

LE3

Something to read
Something "smelly" (bubble bath, hand cream etc)
Something to eat
Something to do/keep you busy (a jigsaw puzzle, a craft item, a model to make etc)
Something to "play with" (a toy of some sort, a paper glider - the family yoyo competition was great one year!)
Something to wear (usually socks or gloves!)
Something useful (pen, tin opener, paintbrush, slug pellets - depends who it's for!)
Something to make you laugh (usually something with a saying on it, or whatever that year's "in joke" is - one year it was a gorilla keyring that would mean nothing to anyone else but had dad in hysterics for ages!)
& a lottery scratchcard!

We always add something spider-related for my brother who hates them, I always get slippers, Dad gets a packet of seeds & before she died, Mum always got a jigsaw & a new teatowel - all long running family jokes but it just isn't Christmas till they are all unwrapped! Occasionally the teatowel would be used as the wrapping, sometimes wrapped as itself, sometimes disguised as something else or included in another present. The jigsaws were often emptied out of the boxes & wrapped inside something else to "disguise" them ...

pigpen

I love this idea.. not sure my OH would get on board though.. he struggles to get me 1 item and my birthday is the 26th! lol

My mother always gets a calendar, my stepdad gets whisky, DD1 gets a bunny, DD4 gets a cat, DD5 gets an eeyore .. some traditions are written in stone. I get a snowglobe.