Sarah's Favorite Stocking Stuffers | Ideas for Creating the Perfect Christmas Stocking

[@marisadaniela6]

I love the idea of adding a single ostheimer figure in stockings and at birthdays to gradually create a collection!

[@piedadgoulet3499]

We plan to give Ostheimer figures for birthdays and holidays, too! Our son is 18 months old and his favorite book is Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you See? So, naturally his first Ostheimer figure was a brown bear. Now when we read the book he excited runs to get his wooden bear.

[@chelseynelson2646]

This is the best stocking stuffer video I’ve seen! Everything is so thoughtfully curated.

[@dianewetherill185]

Love these wonderful toys. I introduced hand weaving to our preschool students after seeing your tutorial I found that the adults were also hooked on it!! Thank you!

[@marisadaniela6]

I already bought those magnifying glasses from your shop for two of my little explorers. They are so much nicer than our old plastic ones with handles. Putting them in Christmas stockings is just what I thought of when I first saw them!

[@allisong.martin5229]

I love all these ideas! We got my son that magnifying glass for his birthday and he loves it!

[@OceanSwimmer]

Thank you, Sarah, for these wonderful ideas and traditions! Its now 10 days till Christmas, so Merry Christmas to you and yours! Keep the great ideas and concepts coming

[@catfish9539]

Beautiful suggestions. Any suggestions how to get my daughter back from the dark side '?! She just turned five. We home school, she doesn't watch tv and we are careful what she does see but she has been to Nanna and Poppa's a couple of times recently. Despite my asking not to but they looking after her involves tv and mostly Disney. So now she is quoting me Cinderella. For her birthday I bought beautiful Waldorf toys and gentle books.........they sent her a grow your own mermaid and a Disney princess and my little pony book. She refused to look at the books I bought her and that's all she has looked at since😭😭 Any suggestions to rein her back in from dismal Disney and its consumerism vortex?

[@piedadgoulet3499]

Same! My son occasionally watches Disney, Sesame St, etc, mostly at Grandma's house or to distract him when necessary (doctor's office, waiting for food at a restaurant, etc) but we don't generally do screen time at home. I prefer giving him simple wooden toys and my parents are more into giving plastic, light-up, noisy toys. He's 18 months, and even since before he was born I tried to educate my parents and in-laws about open-ended and long lasting toys vs the kind they are used to. I think they understand, but flashy things still catch their eye. He's getting a mixture of beautiful Folkmanis puppets and electronic, noisy Leap Frog toys from them this year. I think it's good to strike a balance. If your daughter is into princesses, I'd get her simple wooden king, queen, princess, and knight figures, a wooden castle or castle building blocks, and meet her halfway. The magic of Waldorf toys is that, although they are not flashy, they have staying power. She'll pick up the bright plastic stuff first, but she'll explore the open-ended toys the longest. It also doesn't hurt if you model fun play with the simple toys. My son mostly enjoys his Waldorf-type toys because I go out of my way to get down on the floor and be silly and imaginative with them. Then, once he's interested, he stays focused on them for a long time. Your interaction with her and the toys will be replace that initial "flashiness" that they lack.

[@OceanSwimmer]

@@piedadgoulet3499 ---- Great reply! Not enough parents spend time just playing with their little ones. Children follow our lead; if mom and dad are into flashy stuff, it's that much harder to bring back a child's attention to basic imaginative play. With persistence it can be done!

[@cminor99]

Thank you!

[@ana.catarina]

Activities practice for children, please