Santa's gifts - now given by family..what to put in sack?

[revealall]

So DS has one large ( price and size) gift. He asked for 3 other things which come in good size boxes. I was going to put those in his sack but other people wanted to get him stuff so let them buy them.
So he will get what he asks for but won't have much in his sack. I have a book, a top and just got Raspberry Pi. All tiny.
What do I do? What else makes a good present for a 12 year old? Preferable that will bulk out the sack. He won't get the presents he asked for till family arrive in the afternoon.

I guess at 12 he doesn't do Santa?

In that case, it doesn't matter whether things are presented in sacks or in a general pile. Just tell him others are bringing gifts later.

As long as he gets cool stuff, he won't care where it is in the morning.

Are there any food things he likes that you don't normally get him that come in big packs that would be a treat but would also take up lots of space?

things like the star wars cereal - apparently it comes with a special spoon or toy at the moment or something - going to investigate tomorrow. But it's something I wouldn't normally buy the dc for their breakfast - so they'll be chuffed if a box appears at christmas I reckon, plus it's (hopefully!) a big box rather than a single portion size, so will take up space.

new comic or magazine he'd like and one about the raspberry pi

new football or rugby ball if he'll use it (or tennis or cricket or whatever his thing is)

a rubiks cube that is bigger than 3x3 - so say a 5x5 one.

some cookery stuff or art stuff (the works or Cass are good for cheap but not childish art stuff)

shower gel or pants, socks, toothbrush, etc etc - boring stuff but maybe a bit more fun than usual everyday stuff

something a bit silly to have fun with (a blown up balloon with BOO or some such written on it and wrapped up)

personalised jar of nutella

ds1 is 10 and adores having a cosy blanket - asda have really nice microplush ones for about a fiver that last really well and are really soft to snuggle up into or Tiger have fleeces throws that are marked out like a football pitch for £4 - both would take up plenty of space!

is he too old for a personalised match attax card? some boys seem to adore them even as they get older, others never get into it or have them as a primary school thing...

emoji cushions can be cheap on amazon - this sort of thing although I hadn't realised quite how many poop emoji cushions there were - not sure I fancy those! random emoji cushion example - I haven't searched for best price or delivery sorry

go and have a look on the current christmas bargains thread in the christmas section - think it's up to thread 14 for this year so far... lots of ideas and bargains!

Good ideas thank you! Fleece blanket would be perfect.

No I'm sure he doesn't believe ( although pretty sure he wants to) but it's just us two until everyone arrives. And it's just us everyday, before anyone says " just enjoy the time together". Seeing a sack of presents is the thing that makes it a bit more fun and Christmasy.

My DSis puts all sorts of practical things in her DCs stockings - docks, pants, new toothbrush and paste, chocolate orange, sweets, pens & pencils for school, books they might enjoy. Soon bulks out the stocking for not too much outlay!!

A chocolate bar wrapped inside a huge box full of packing bits ? He's old enough to see the joke.

Aww no, don't do the chocolate bar thing, that would probably make my 11 year old cry!

Nerf guns have big boxes if he's into that.

I got a board game, Forbidden Island, from Amazon, the packaging is lovely and those grown up board games often have amazing artwork etc. to give him something to look at for a while.

The Japanese inspired ones can be stunning.

Is he into You GI Oh or any of those deck building games?

A football for taking to school?

Or is he remotely interested in learning the guitar? My cousin got an inexpensive acoustic guitar one year, and taught himself loads from the internet.

Clothes? Hoodies are quite bulky

How about a large canvas picture for his room. We bought the DS's large canvases of the original 1970s star wars posters last year and they were well received.

One of those giant chocolate/sweet things? They do a giant ball full of lindt chocolate balls or a giant toblerone?

I've also gone down the fluffy blanket route since as the DSs get older the things they want seem to decrease in size and so the blankets have really bulked out the pile. Likewise we've bought them both a new hoodie and a new dressing gown (darth vader so not boring).

At 12 now might be a good time to swap the sack for a more reasonably sized stocking. Or, as we used to do, encourage him to put out his biggest sock, so rugby, hockey or winter sock; why not let him rummage through your collection of socks too.

How about something like bop-it beats? My nephews would like that even though they are at the older end of the age range. Or a table-top pool or football table? I think napkin and Debenhams had them for about £10-£15 and they are in huge boxes

*maplin, not napkin!

A cushion for his bed or a chair? You can get emoji ones which are quite cool (including the poo one) for about £10! Or everywhere has Christmassy ones with penguins and things on at the moment.

Novelty slippers or a Christmas jumper would take up space.

Some 'grown up' toiletries? A few Nivea for Men or Lynx bits?

Posters or prints are fairly cheap - put it in a cheap Ikea frame, and that's a bulky present. Or even a canvas box print for the wall, I've seen some tasteful(ish) Marvel ones around for about a tenner.

Notepads, pens, pencil case, rulers and general school supplies are cheap enough in most places.

Ooh and you can get radio controlled helicopters quite cheaply now (£15ish) and that would keep him entertained on Christmas morning.

Yes, stuff you might have bought anyway and takes up space.

Fleece blanket (Primark/Asda) & novelty cushion, socks, pants, gloves, shower gel, hair gel, Lynx-type spray, toothbrush/scarf, anything edible, school supplies.

Board game is a nice idea.

My cousin once got a wastepaper basket for his Christmas present from his parents at about that age. He seemed pleased . . .

But this is why we have gone with the small hockey-sock size stocking!

Go for a stocking, its smaller but still looks traditional and you can have too much stuff spilling out so it looks extravagant.

My dc always have the following practical things which I would get anyway:
Pants, socks, toothbrush, stationary for school, new pencil case, slippers, pyjamas, dressing gown and a new outfit of clothes.

All stuff they need. I discussed one year as they got older whether they'd prefer to come January sale shopping for those but they said no, they liked to open them.

Board games definitely! Something that can be played with 2, so you can really enjoy the morning when it's just you :)

I popped into Home Bargains today for a quick pick up of a couple of things...

Over an hour later, basket changed for trolley, I staggered out laden down with lots of stuff... Including plenty of bits that would be good for a sack like this.

Included a scotch sellotape dispenser for £1.50 in the shape of a player kicking a football, interesting sweets for 20-50p, minions popcorn to do in the microwave, dvds (ready for a movie night), pencil a foot long and inch thick for 49p (silly but quite fun and big), little wind up models of cars or dinosaurs to make yourself for a pound instead of a fiver, and so much more.

now need to go out again tomorrow to hit all the shops that I didn't manage to get to today as I spent so long in Home Bargains!

The Stealth Archery Set is great fun and comes in an impressively sized box. Easy to master and a bit more 'grown up' than Nerf. About £18 on Amazon I think.

However I think that a board game is a really great idea.

If he has a smart phone he might also enjoy a Google Cardboard viewer. I just found one for under £3 including expedited delivery on eBay. Can't link as it was on the app, but search Google Cardboard then refine the list to 'expedited delivery' then order by price.

Not big, although you could build them for extra bulk, but lots and lots of fun.

Definitely time to stop doing the sack, its actually more fun to have everyones presents all mixed up under the christmas tree when they get a bit older. Also their presents tend to get smaller and more expensive so the sack thing stops working. But I'd definitely agree get him a few more bits and bobs, presumably you would have spent more on him anyway if you had bought him the things the family are getting him so it makes sense to get him some more bits and bobs. I wouldn't neccessarily worry about them being big though. At 12 hes old enough to know its cost that matters, not size.
Definitely agree with board game, maybe books, clothes, computer games or dvds? Lego if he likes it? Box of choccies of his own, new football or whatever hes into. Something for his bedroom eg. Rug, lampshade etc. Calculator/equipment for school.