The trouble with tween girls (the Christmas gift edition)

(Disclosure: this is a PR collaboration with those lovely folks at Brantano, so you'll see one or two of their items in this list - all ideas are my own though).

Eldest daughter is closer to 10 than 11. Youngest daughter is 8 and a half. I'm putting these facts out there mainly for my own benefit. You see, you'd think it would no longer surprise me after ALL THESE YEARS how different my children are to each other. So much for me priding myself on being relatively intelligent, but I'm still not quite sure how two children with (apparently) the same genetic base to choose from end up with such a different mixture. At no time is this more apparent than in the run up to Christmas every year.

Daughter no. 2 starts thinking about her list around October every year, puts pen to paper early November, and places it in front of the chimney no later than mid-November. Her list is detailed and long, containing a mix of the fanciful (does anyone know where I can get an "invisibility cloak" from?), the realistic (various DVDs), and thoughtful ("a hoverboard for daddy").

Daughter no. 1, however, is much more laissez-faire about the whole thing (last year's list; "Just surprise me"). This may of course be down to the fact that she appears to be at that age where I suspect she no longer really quite believes in the whole Father Christmas thing (mainly brought on by the fact Mr Sardinetin and I are such bad liars), but is worried that admitting this may be tempting fate too much. This year, at least we have something concrete to go on - namely a list containing 3 items; 

1) A phone

2) A phone case

3) Surprise me

(Ah, the dreaded mobile phone debate. I've resisted it for as long as possible - up to now, I've managed to bat it away fairly easily with a simple "you're too young". Yet with increased independence and peer pressure it isn't quite as easy an argument to have any more. Realistically, it will probably end up being an 11th birthday present, and it is likely to be a second-hand parental cast off. No good for Christmas, therefore.)

So what does a true tween get for Christmas?! Well, never mind the tween herself, here are my personal favourites....

(From the top, left to right:

1) World scratch off map - as she's turning into quite a well-travelled young lady, who is also off to Berlin (gulp) with school next year

2) Glitter owl bag- because GLITTER! and OWLS!

3) A personalised purse - to go in the bag, obvs.

4) Make your own lip balm kit - for a bit of fun, plus it comes in chocolate flavour for our resident chocoholic.

5) Monster High canvas shoes - because, despite hating pink, my particular tween has a thing for pink leopard print at the moment.(Although, as I've previously blogged, shoes are also a bit of a bone of contention around here, so I may be on a losing streak with this one...)

6) F is for Fabulous....an initial letter light  - for the bedroom makeover we're planning next year

7) Vintage style Cluedo - because, despite exhibiting increasingly teenage tendencies, she still loves playing family board games. Plus this edition does wonders for parental nostalgia.

8) Great British Bake Off hoody - one of her favourite TV shows. Plus nobody likes a soggy bottom.

9) A Motorola Moto G. OK, OK, I said no phones...but if she were to get one, it might be something like this. I have one and it's a great phone for not huge amounts of money. (Plus if I give her my old one, I can have a new one, right?)

Now if you'll pardon me, I'm off to pine for the days when I could buy Christmas pudding bibs and elf hats. Thank goodness I have a one year old nephew...

Alternatives to Operation Christmas Child

My daughters brought the following leaflet home from school recently that instantly made my heart sink:

On the face of it it's a lovely idea - you pack a shoe box full of small gifts that are sent to a deserving child in a third-world country.

However, there are many reasons not to support Samaritan's Purse who run the programme, not least because their main mission is evangelical, rather than charitable.

In fact, instead of me listing those reasons, I'd urge anyone interested in finding out more to please, please read the following; Reasons Not to Support Operation Christmas Child , which offers a far more eloquent and well-researched list than I could probably muster.

I'll be writing to my children's school with my objections, which obviously come too late for this year, but I hope that they will reconsider their support for future years.  I have also discussed it with my children as best I could, and together we have decided to make a commitment to sponsor a child via PlanUK instead - which I hope will give them a more lasting insight into life in the 3rd world, and instill in them the message that charity is not just about presents and is not just for Christmas.

However, if you do feel strongly about an alternative and can't afford to make a lasting commitment, you can still purchase more of a one-off gift from organisations like Save the Children, who have some great Christmas gifts that can make a real, practical difference without a hidden agenda.