the birdie blog

“The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there,” the narrator reads as the excitement mounts in one of the best known Christmas stories, “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” by Clement Clarke Moore. Perhaps this sense of joyful anticipation is part of what makes stocking stuffers such a special piece of the Christmas tradition. As a child, I enjoyed the tiny treasures just as much as the bigger gifts. Inevitably they were small things I could carry with me — lip balms, earrings, or maybe a key chain. They were not expensive, but I loved them because they reminded me throughout the year of that special morning spent with family.

Today I love finding just the right things for my own little family for that Christmas morning tradition. I love to see their faces light up as they see the goodies come rolling out of their stockings. Shopping for stocking stuffers is lots of fun, but it also presents some pitfalls that are important to keep in mind.

They are typically small, inexpensive gifts. Unfortunately many of the toy recalls in recent years have included small, inexpensive items that at first glance might appear to make lovely stocking stuffers. However, of the most recent 100 toy recalls listed on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission web site on December 2, 2009, nineteen included toys sold for approximately one dollar. (http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/category/toy.html) Thirteen of those nineteen recalls were due to violation of lead limit standards, four were due to choking hazards, two were due to aspiration and intestinal hazards caused by magnets, and one was due to an impalement hazard.

Of the nineteen recalls of one-dollar toys, seventeen clearly stated they were made in China. One stated the product was made in Hong Kong. (Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China.) And one for a product distributed by, T & L Trading, a company that was refusing to cooperate with the CPSC to recall infants’ pacifiers due to a choking hazard, gave no information regarding where it was made. (http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/category/toy.html)

When shopping for stocking stuffers with these recalls in mind, it is helpful to consider cost versus complexity as well as manufacturers’, distributors’, and countries’ past performance with regard to toy safety. Do not be afraid to look under labels that seem to conceal where a toy was made. Do not open packaging before buying, but do not hesitate to ask a sales person to do it for you if that is the only way to get the information you need to make a purchase decision.

I recommend choosing painted toys only from trusted manufacturers with high standards and excellent safety records and being extra cautious when purchasing toys containing magnets. Be sure any magnets are securely contained within the toy, follow age guidelines, and check the toy often for damage that could allow magnets to escape.

With these considerations in mind, you can fill all the stockings like that jolly old elf St. Nicholas himself.