One of our family traditions, that my mum started many years ago, is that the host puts a Christmas table gift at each place setting at dinner. These gifts are not meant to be anything too expensive or showy just a nice token gift that we all open together. Since my husband and I started hosting Christmas dinner a couple of years a go it is a tradition that we have continued to do and I one that everyone always seems to love.

I understand many people will wonder why on earth we do this. People already get so many gifts and this is just another added expensive, however I always set a £15 limit per person and usually manage to get the gifts for closer to the £10 mark, so these gifts are not big and expensive they are simple token gifts.

So, why have Christmas table gifts?

There are a few reasons why I have continued the tradition of buying Christmas table gifts. The main reason is because I think it is lovely for us all to open a present together. Not all of us will be necessarily be together in the morning and even if we are w are so pre occupied watching the children that we don’t get to watch each, so at dinner we all have one gift to open together.

Another reason I buy Christmas table gifts  is because it is my way of saying thank you to my family for coming to us for Christmas as both my brother and my Nana have to travel miles from down South to be with us and by them doing the travelling it means I can stay at  home with my children.

And thirdly I buy them because I think that the boxes of presents make a lovely touch to my dressed table!

What make good Christmas table gifts?

If the above reasons haven’t already convinced you to start buying Christmas table gifts then you also need to consider the fact that they have the added bonus of being a great way to keep everyone, especially the children, entertained at the table whilst the food is being served. For this very reason I find that the best things to buy as table gifts are things that can be used at the table. Things that aren’t too messy or noisy and can be stopped as and when the food comes out.

Here are some of Christmas table gifts I have used over the years

Custom pin badges

Custom pin badges are a very good table gift, you can incorporate various Christmas elements into the design to create the most unique and meaningful Christmas badges for children. At pinbadges.co, you don’t need to worry about the design, just tell them your ideas and needs, and they will be able to help you complete it perfectly. Imagine how surprised they will be when you give this gift to your children! And not only can it be used for collection, but also can be used to decorate pin badges anywhere you want, such as school bags, clothes, etc.

Card games

Card games make great Christmas table gifts as they are easy to play and take up little room. Any cards will do however we have favoured top trumps and these Top Quarkz ones from The Remarkablz before now. Top Trumps are available in pretty much every category you can think of, aren’t too expensive and can be played by the whole family.

The Top Quarkz are similar to Top Trumps and turn scientists into superheros and help develop math, English and decision making skills so are educational as well as fun, which is always a bonus. They are suitable for ages 6 and over and cost £9.95.

Colouring books 

A colouring book is another great Christmas table gift as it can keep everyone busy for ages and can be done on their own or with someone else at the table. They can also be started and stopped and picked back up whenever they want to throughout the day. When opting for a colouring book for the dinner table we usually look for Christmas themed ones but this year as the children are a bit older the Newtons Rainbow colouring book has caught my attention. It has 35 colouring pages as well as 4 design your own super hero sections which sound really cool, and at only £4.99 it is well within our table present budget.

Mini Art Sets

If you are having children over for dinner that aren’t your own or maybe you don’t have children living in your own home then the complete art set is a great idea as it has everything they need so you don’t need to worry about them bringing crayons or hunting some out on the day. This complete art set from Smiggle contains colouring sheets, stickers and scented markers and is only £7 but looks like it costs more.

Solo games

Depending on the age of your child you may find that solo games are also great table gifts. They can keep them occupied between courses and they can also be used to challenge other family members to see who can get the best score without needing to take over the whole table to play the game. We are a fan of the Kanoodle Genius by Learning Resources. It is a compact game that contains over 200 2D and 3D puzzles, is aimed at those over 8 and comes in under budget at £11.99.

Fidget Toys

Fidget toys are all the rage at the moment and this make perfect table gifts as they are small and keep the kids busy. If you have a couple of children at the table you could get them all a different fidget toy so they can swap them around and try each others out too. These tangle toys are available in metallic, fuzzy, pet and classic, each offering different textiles and colours. They are great for twisting and turning and keeping little hands busy at the table between courses.

Surprise gifts

Surprise gifts are so popular with children these days and they make for a great distraction at the table. These surprise eggs from Smiggle look fab and each one contains an eraser, either dinosaur or unicorn related and at only £4.50 you could team it with a new pad and some pencils so they can practice writing or mark making and then using their new eraser to make it vanish. These will also be great if you have more than one child as they can compare which ones they got and which ones they can hope to collect throughout the year.

Nail Art

Nail art is another option as it is easy to use, takes up little room and can be started and stopped between courses. It can also involve the whole family if you are brave enough to let the little ones loose on your nails on the big day. These nail stickers from Smiggle are only £3.50 but offer up the potential for hours of fun with over 175 sticker in each pack.

Themed torch and projector

These fun torch and projectors are great for younger children to play with at the dinner table. They can project the different images off the walls, table and floor and with 24 different images to check out they will be occupied for a while. There are lots of themes to choose from including this Paw Patrol one and at £7 they are a great price for a table gift. Oh and the best bit is it comes with batteries!

Christmas table gifts for teenagers and adults

In our house it isn’t just the children that gifts on the table but also the teenagers and the adults too. Again, we keep these simple and under £15 and have included things from hip flasks to mini lego sets as well as minute bottles of alcohol and small boxes of chocolates. Another great idea though are these mini gift boxes by Kikkerland They have so many categories that there is sure to be something for everyone at your table.

Here are a few ideas

The emergency Tech kit

This one is perfect for teenagers! The emergency tech kit contains

1 bottle of screen cleaner spray

1 microfibre cloth

1 cable wrap ad

1 3ft lightning and micro USB charging cable.

This is a brill idea and cost less than £10 so well within our table gift budget.

Gentleman’s Beard kit

This Gentleman’s beard kit is obviously for those older teenage lads and men.

It contains

1 10ml beard oil

1 pear wood comb

1 pair of stainless steel scissors.

Before you go…

This cute little tin is perfect for those that still love a hand written note. It contains

10 printed tent cards

10 envelopes

ball point ben and

a note writers guide.

Notepads

Notepads also make great table gifts for teenagers and adults. Most people use them on a daily basis either for school, college, work or for journaling and if you want to make them seem a little bit more inspired than a notebook then why not have them personalised. These notebooks from Billy-Gift are lovely, you can choose from a number of designs as well as hard back, soft back ring binder or other and then to top it off you can get them personalised with a message, their name or event their business name.

Books

Books can also make great table gifts for all ages and usually come in well under budget too. You could decide to do books for everyone with activity or picture books for the younger ones through to novels or self help books for the adults. Here are a couple of suggestions…

Count down to a killing

Count down to a killing by Tom Vaughan Macaulay is a murder mystery delivered with an original concept as the story unfolds via interwoven correspondence, emails and WhatsApp messages. With the suspense around an impending murder steadily building, Countdown to a Killing is a deep exploration of multiple perspectives and points of view of individuals who are inextricably bound. This book is sure to get your guests talking around the table.

Simplify To Succeed

For your guests that are more practical than imaginative they might prefer a self-improvement or motivational style book as opposed to a novel which is where Simplify to Succeed comes in. Written by Garry Mansell for entrepreneurs, business owners and leaders it is jam packed full of advice on what works and what doesn’t based on 40 years of business experience.

So, there you have it my top tips for children’s Christmas table gifts, plus a few extras for the teenagers and adults, to keep them happy and entertained this year. If you have any more ideas, then feel free to add them to the comments and I’ll be sure to check them out.

If you are looking for Christmas gifts for children then we have several guides for you to check out.