Natural Nursery Blog

Lacing Game Stocking Filler

This time, a lovely, long lasting stocking filler for under £1!

Thread Friends Lacing Game, 97p, suitable for age 4 years and up

Lacing games are a great way of developing fine motor skills and this one has the added fun of dressing and undressing a little creature. The aim of the game is to help the little wooden animal get dressed in their felt clothes and requires more concentration and dexterity than many other lacing games.

Once the animal has been dressed, they can be used as part of an imaginative play game.

Ethical gifts for Christmas

It is easy to fill the children’s Advent calendars and the Christmas stockings full junk, plastic toys which will discarded tomorrow, with of chocolate and sweets. I love looking for special ideas, little toys that will challenge their creativity and their skills. Toys that will give them hours of play for several months.

First on my list are definitely the Hama Beads, especially now that they are on special! The Hama beads stimulate children creativity with the various designs and colourful patterns. Hama beads also helps them develop finger dexterity, preparing them for writing. Children place the little beads on the peg board, then an adult irons them out, securing them in a lovely pattern.

The Lifecycle Layer Puzzle is an other adorable toy that your child will enjoy for hours. Each educational puzzle is built up in layers showing the different stages in the development of the creature, from egg through to adult. It challenges the child’s manipulation and problem solving skills.

The box of magnetic letters can be given as a whole or place a couple of letters in each day of the Advent calendar. The colourful letters are easy for toddlers to manipulate and an introduction to reading through play. They are made from sustainable wood to strict fair labour standards.

Stocking fillers can be a chance to make bath time fun, naturally! Wrap your baby in a blanket of bubbles with this natural baby bubble bath from Burt’s Bees is a mild, with soft vanilla extract scent.

Wooden Toy Fruit

Our kids also loved the wooden toy fruit, we placed a couple of fruit for a week in each day of the Advent calendar. They seemed excited to try to guess what the next day would bring. The wooden toy fruit are chunky enough for toddlers to handle. It was sweet to see big sister and little brother play together with these wooden toy fruit.

Ideas for a green(er) Christmas

Let’s try to be a bit more gentle on the planet this Christmas. We have collected some ideas for a greener Christmas (in no particular order!) and would love to hear from you, what would you do?

• Have a massive clear out:  You can sell (if you have time) or donate to charity or to someone else. Become a member of your local free share group (it’s free) to offer the items you no longer need. Items usually get picked up quickly. Recently we’ve given away a broken computer, a broken shredder, a collapsed wardrobe, some big boxes of children clothing and children toys, some fabric scraps… Somebody’s junk is someone’s treasure!
• Use and recycle: Now look at everything that can be used or reused. Be creative! Last year’s Christmas pudding leftover dried fruit ma a lovely dried fruit salad for example. Cut up last year’s Christmas cards to make gift tags (or if you’re really crafty, they can make excellent material for new Christmas cards). After Christmas, many stores have cards recycling stations, keep an eye out for them. Instead of sending Christmas cards, you can also send e-cards and donate the equivalent to a charity.
• Give yourself a ‘green’ challenge: If you’re not already doing it, recycle all your glass and plastic bottles until the New Year. Some councils don’t take them from your house but you can find recycle points everywhere. (Obviously it would be better to walk there than drive!)
• If you choose a ‘real’ Christmas tree, remember to contact your council to enquire about Christmas tree recycling.
• Forget wrapping paper! Imagine the tons of paper used every year just to end up in the bin. Open your presents carefully, fold the paper away and reuse it. Use craft paper and fabric ribbons which can be used and reused (and composted when they’re really done). Get the kids to decorate some old boxes with paint, cut outs, magazines, fabric scraps… Sew some easy reusable gift bags which can be used and reused for birthdays, parties, keep the kids’ things organised.
• Start your Christmas shopping early. Throughout the year, jolt down some gift ideas. That way you won’t be stuck shopping for last minute gadgets which will be discarded after a few days.
• Buy good quality gifts: one way to protect the environment is to make sure that every item that is produced is fully used. This way we will have made the most of the resources used to produce it.
• Buy ethical gifts whenever possible. A wooden toy like the Lanka Kade collection helps provide families in Sri Lanka with a steady income. They are made of recycled rubberwood sourced from exhausted rubber plantations. Fairly traded fancy dress will provide hours of fun too. Organic products like bubble bath, massage oils are also thoughtful presents that you know will be well used. The instant gardens makes beautiful organic gifts for grown ups.
• Christmas is the perfect time of the year to discover your local food market. Produce is fresh, of excellent quality and usually produced locally. You will support your local economy and save on the fuel it would normally take to transport the produce to the supermarket.

That’s a few of our tips for a green Christmas. What about you? What do you do, don’t do?

Dreaming of Christmas

I used to rant against seeing all the Christmas things in the shop from early September. I didn’t see the point: Christmas was end of December, why wouldn’t I wait until the beginning of December to start shopping? Well, fast forward 5 years, 2 children and 2 jobs later… Now I see the point!

I start thinking about the winter holidays as kids go back to school. Not worrying about it, just thinking. I try to imagine what would please the people I love. Starting early means I have time to order it especially (or send it as we have so many relatives far away). Planning ahead means that I can take the sewing machine out for some handmade presents. I have time to trawl charity shops or antique stores to find that very special item which will make them happy. I also love giving ‘gifts of time’ like theatre tickets so I spend some time reading the programmes.

Starting my Christmas shopping earlier also means that I can take advantage of my favourite shops special offers, therefore giving much nicer presents that I would normally be able to afford. Whenever possible, I choose ethical gifts, organic products and eco friendly products. I prefer quality over quantity and will often choose gifts that will last well and be useful. No more last minute shopping for me where you end up spending way more than you planned because it’s so late and you have to find something. No more ill-chosen presents because we ran out of ideas and had to buy a present in a hurry. I often take the opportunity to buy presents for little friends’ birthdays at the same time to save on shipping costs.

So watch this space for more Christmas posts: baby’s first Christmas, No-junk stocking fillers and advent calendars, tips for an eco-friendly Christmas, unusual baby presents and recipes, ethical gifts for babies and grown up…