Christmas Stockingfillers under £10

Some of these are repeated in my gift guides for children aged 3-6 and 6-9, but I still feel it's worth putting together a post which specifically features cheaper items. I'm sure we aren't the only ones who end up searching round for a little fun something to finish off Child X's allocation of Christmasness...

Hexbugs are ace. There's no doubting it. We've reviewed the Hexbug Nano Glow-In-The-Dark and the Zombie Aquabot and both will keep my children entertained for some time to come, and cost under £10. They're a real fun gift with a lot of educational benefits - the Science involved with a glow-in-the-dark robotic shark that swims in the bath is pretty awesome.

Building tracks for the Nanobots to race around is hilarious and takes all the pain out of 'trial and error', because even when it goes wrong, it's still fun!

Fun Foods. My children always get interesting sweets in their stockings and Fruit Bowl have a heap of goodies that make it a bit different, and a bit more body friendly. A full portion of fruit in every one must help cancel out the 3lbs of Cadbury's Creations that they ate for Christmas Day breakfast, right?

If you want something a little less solid then Crushed Fast Fruit Snacks are more smoothie than chewy and my children prefer them to fizzy drinks. Bizarre as it might seem to put them into a stocking, it delights my children and doesn't end up squished and rotting underneath the heaviest present in the universe like last year's banana did, so it makes me happy.  

LEGO don't only make big sets and buckets of bricks - they make little stuff too. Minifigures are great fun, cost around £2.50 each and are available in all kinds ofcharacters.

LEGO Mixels are £3 a bag, and come in sets of 3 which make a bigger model when put together. Buy all 3 of a set, or just buy one, or buy 3 completely different ones and randomise. They have some amazing body parts and special bricks and add loads to your child's box of tricks.

Zip Stix are loads of fun. Made in the same way as those flicky bracelets and reflective arm bands, they are easy to master, fun to play with alone or competitively, and the sets are generally around or under £10.

Board Games come in all different varieties and lots of our favourites are from Orchard Toys, made in the UK from 100% recycled card, and plenty cost £7.50-£10. They can be a gift that lasts a lifetime and something to return to for years. They're also an excellent way to spend Christmas Day afternoon and those darker Winter evenings playing together as a family. All of my toy, game and puzzle reviews are listed on my reviews page...

Books always feature quite heavily in our stockingfillers. Picture books and colouring books, comics, annuals and eventually novels and compendiums. Giving a child a gift of a book is giving them something they can treasure forever, something they can share and learn from, something that might bring them a little magic or humour. Some of our favourite books this year were from TickTock Books, at only £5.99 each, re-read again and again, and my boys have them by the sides of their beds right now....

No-one gave me added incentive to include these items. These are my pick from the reviews I've done this year....