I maintain that a cute kid on Christmas morning is as good a gift for a parent as any. So I tend to find gorgeous outfits for my two to wear as soon as the wrapping paper is torn off. That said, I also understand kids find clothes as stocking fillers almost as universally unappealing as, well, coal.
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Instead chose some bright and colourful accessories and a mix of toys that will keep them both quiet and alternatively allow them to run off extra energy.
My son is desperate for the Lego Death Star, and while it costs a bomb, it would provide hours, if not days, of dedicated silence and engineering expertise.
My daughter, on the other hand, has pegged her heart on a musical Frozen doll. To deny her would be too cruel, even though it may take a lot of champagne on mummy's behalf to get past the endless repetition of Disney music.
Younger kids will enjoy a wooden bus – so old school – but fun and robust to "drive" around the house and still remaining very cute when sitting on a shelf.
Totem tennis will get a good bashing in our household this year and at $12, who's complaining. Meanwhile, the lead-up to Christmas has been localised with the book Christmas is Coming to Canberra by Steve Smallman – who seems to have written a Christmas tale about every western city in the world …
For kids keen to get in the kitchen, a kit gingerbread tree can be a fun way to create dessert, requiring only minimal parental assistance.
And when everyone has sunk into a sugar coma, it is time to bring out the Guinness Book of Records and some extremely intricate colouring-in books to keep everyone calm and happy – and potentially accommodate a quick nap on the sofa for the exhausted parents.
Having recently introduced my children to a movie from my childhood, ET, which they adored, I am also sourcing Gremlins for some cheesy Spielberg Christmas viewing into the early evening.
Santa is coming to Canberra, by Steve Smallman $9.99, various bookshops
Lego Death Star, $399.99 Toys R'Us, Majura Park
Totem Tennis, $12 Kmart Tuggeranong
Wooden London Bus, $79.95, Seed Canberra Centre
Angie's Extreme Colouring Books, Amazon $10
Guinness World Records, $29.99, various bookshops
Frozen musical magic dolls, $69.99 Toys R Us Majura Park
Gingerbread Tree kit, thatgingerheadplace.com.au $22
Gremlins DVD, $10 Big W
