After Alice Breaking News. It is officially Christmas time!

I'll admit it, these days I am a grumpy old woman. There are so many ways to get my goat, that I am plain all out of goats (I started with a sizeable tribe). For instance, I love Cadbury's Cream Eggs (even when they muck about with them and fob us off with inferior grade chocolate) but that doesn't mean I want to start eating them several months before Easter (in fact I need as much restricted access as possible to prevent me actually looking like an egg). Halloween is fast becoming a favourite rite (yes, yes I know, despite all the shortcomings) which is not to say I want to start tutting over the terrifyingly flammable sexy zombie/ sexy witch / sexy cat outfit choices for girls from September onward.

This preamble is just a long sanctimonious way of me saying that today is December 1st. Therefore at After Alice, we can officially start talking about Christmas without feeling like idiots with premature celebration problems. 

So. What do we have for you? A budget-kind range of stocking fillers to please Alices everywhere, whatever delights them. From the classic (yo-yos, spinners, terrible jokes), to the fantastic (awesome action figures for girls, compasses and art kits), and pretty much everything in between. We will shortly be sharing our top 20 choices but our full range of wonderfulness can be seen in Party On Alice or pocket money. 

For those feeling the Christmas pressure already, rest assured, we can help. Too pushed for time / lacking in co-ordination / scared of paper cuts? We can wrap your Christmas parcels and send them out direct to the lucky recipient. Just choose this option at check out. Free gift messages can be attached. We also do a rather lovely Chrimbo card. 

Still in need of inspiration? We don't think you can go far wrong with the following Christmas present buying yule rule. Something you want. Something you need. Something to wear. Something to read. Thank you Facebook for circulating that genius post. For the latter, my eldest daughter is getting another year's subscription to the fabulous science magazine for kids Whizz Pop Bang!. An inspired gift that gives her pleasure every month (sheer delight from having her own addressed post is just the start) and gets the whole family excited about science. My youngest is crossing her fingers that she'll find an Animalium Activity Book under the tree, having fallen in love with the original book after a trip to the Natural History Museum. You'll find lots more brilliant bookish inspiration here. 

One last thing, don't forget to check out our beautiful Valentines Marble, after all there are only 2 and a bit months to go . . . (sorry, couldn't resist).