Christmas Spoilers Ahead.

Should you be family, for instance, & wanting to keep as a surprise for the day, the gifts waiting under the tree at SunnyO for your children....

Although I have canvassed widely for ideas & nothing will really be a surprise.

So the mission: You have half a dozen or so nephews & nieces all under the age of 10, but all (someone correct me if I'm wrong) over the age of 4. (this is not counting Mrs Llew's nephews & nieces, who range in ages between 4 & 34, and number in the dozens.

Xmas this year will be hosted at the one & only, world famous SunnyO. The weather should be scorching, it last rained there in 1984. However just in case, there should be some accommodation for indoor activities.

There will be approximately 35 people present, representing 4 generations of family.

My first urge each year, is to be a real bastard & get all the kids noisy presents. Drums, bugles, tambourines, you name it. Then I come to my senses & remember that that would only open me up to revenge giftings in the future. So I put that thought aside quickly, though reluctantly.

My 2nd thought this year, was that what we really need is something the kids can share, and play with outside without us having to supervise them overly, because in time honoured tradition, we'll be on the deck getting seriously pissed. In the end, though, a small quad bike, and power tools failed the test... mostly because of the cost.

So, after much research, questioning of sales people, soul searching, and cruising discreetly past the decorative Jessica in the Jane Daniels section of floor 2 (see the last post) the truly fabulous Kirkcaldies have a small selection of outdoor games & toys. the most impressive of which is the Garden Chess Set. One of the most wonderous things about this set is how they pack the whole lot into something the size of a winebox.

However, none of the kids, and few of the parents play chess. So I have started my Christmas shopping with the purchase of the Garden Noughts and Crosses, and Garden Pick Up Sticks. Sure to be winners.

That was last week. Today, I retraced my steps again, disappointed that Jessica wasn't there, and chose the 38 inch, Monarch Butterfly kite, made from rip stop nylon & fibreglass. You can't go wrong with a kite. They also had a kites shaped like a racing car & a biplane, but in the end I decided best to keep it simple. Kites tend to last about 30 minutes in my experience. Fortunately, should the worst happen, we have several kites already at SunnyO.

And that's as far as I've got. I have gifts to find for one more little girl, and some also for a trio of boys belonging to my cousin.

Although I am seriously considering getting a big paddling pool. Not only will the kids love it, but so will Wilma. It would seem unfair to gift that to any one kid, as I expect everyone of them will be piling in on it, and it'd be rotten if someone, or some dog, killed it.

I'm taking suggestions for the other gifts though, should you have some brilliant ideas.

Oh, and in case it rains... I will supplement the primary gifts with books, and activity packs.