Today is the first Advent Sunday – the countdown for Christmas has truly begun. And along with it – thinking about pressies. What to buy?
Mum always uses her four guides to gift giving for Little Tyke and Mini Tyke:
- Something You Want.
- Something You Need.
- Something To Wear.
- Something To Read.
Now, what is WANT and what is NEED is debatable. I can tell you that George and I think that treats are much WANTED and NEEDED at the same time!!! So I think we should have them twice!
Seriously, we think she’s missing Something to Eat in her guideline. Everything else, to be honest, even if they’re meant for us are really for Mum. Especially when it comes to Something to Read.
You can justify that we may need a coat or jumper and we need bowls to eat from. True, but we’re not picky.
So the list of suggested Christmas gifting isn’t just for us but really some ideas for anyone you know who have dogs, love dogs and obsessed with us! Or if you are thinking of something to treat yourself.
May’s comment: What do you want for Christmas? – we ask.
Sharing some gifting ideas for yourself or someone you know who have dogs. Today’s post suggests some things that one may want and things that one may need. Tomorrow we will have more ideas for something to wear and something to read.
SOMETHING YOU WANT …
What is Christmas without toys! All Darcy needs is her Teddy, but quite a different story with George who loves nuzzling his toys, squeaking them and teases humans with his toys. So every year, I add one new toy (that I like!) to his basket. This year we found two!
Moe the Mini Monkey 
Kong Wubba Floppy Ears
WANT : Moe the Mini Monkey from Mungo & Maud
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe … Mini Monkey dog toy. George is a monkey at times so this mini squeaky is perfect for him.
WANT : Kong Wubba Floppy Ears from Piggy & Tutes
Love the funny faces on these Wubba Floppy Ears. They are fun, interactive fetch and retrieve toys. The long, floppy ears are easy to pick up and throw for a great game of fetch. George loves to squeak and shake Floppy Ears back and forth for endless fun.
Christmas is also about feasting. According to greedy Darcy, food of any form would fall under NEED! LOL! And she also would WANT this very much.
Three differentt flavours 
WANT or NEED? : James’ Treats limited Christmas Edition from Ella & Co.
Ever since we started daily feeding a combo of Honey’s raw and Ella & Co.’s freeze dried, we’ve also been using their air dried meaty treats for training. This Christmas there’s a limited edition of Air Dried Turkey & Cranberry dinner! Developed by James Middleton and approved by his dogs, these bite-sized treats are the perfect stocking filler for naughty and nice dogs of all ages. With human-grade, locally-sourced ingredients, the natural turkey and cranberry recipe (60% turkey, 40% fruit, veg + superfoods) will have your dog drooling at their very own Christmas dinner.
How about some keepsakes? Maybe a mini portrait? Or a colourful rendition of the doggies.
10 x 10 teenies 
Stocking Fillers! 
Displayed on an easel
WANT : These 10cm x 10cm teeny illustrations by DogsDogsCatsDogs tell a story and make great stocking fillers. In the case of Darcy and George I chose to have them looking terrorised by squirrels surrounding them! I know they both love to hunt and chase those bushy tails, but if one should stop in their tracks and confronted them, I think George will bark at it while Darcy might retreat and run to stand between my legs! LOL! My two are really scaredy cats! So you can tell Alice of DogsDogsCatsDogs something about your dog or cat and she will illustrate them. No need for framing. They are best displayed on mini easels!
WANT : Pop Art Pups by Martine Davis of ArtyPaws!
But if you rather want something unconventional and see your pooch transformed into abstract pop art that will brighten up your room – see how Martine can transform your pet into colourful Pop Art. Her pieces come in different sizes and in popping colours!
SOMETHING YOU NEED
Is there Something You Need? In the recent years of deep cleaning, I have thrown out, given away and sold numerous things. I try to minimise and keep things that I find practical, necessary and which brings me joy when using them. But there are some things I needed to keep but find no joy in them. Eventually, I found replacements that I so enjoy using – and want to share them with you. Are they something I want or need? Ah, the debatable question.
Because we travel often, whether on staycations in London, in the countryside or trotting globally, I cannot always expect to find a dog bowl at the other end. And at times our journeys are long and a drink of water or feeding are required. Yes, there are the ubiquitous plastic folding bowls. They have done the job, but when I found this … it answered a “need”!
NEED : Melo Foldable Travel Bowl from Band & Roll.
Easy to clean, foldable and highly portable pet travel bowl made by hand of waxed canvas with leather applications in our family workshop in Berlin, Germany. Can be used as a drink or food bowl. Dry food recommended.
Over the years, I’ve used trackers on Darcy but they are usually too large for George – and it is George that needed a tracker more than Darcy – except for the fear that she might have lost her way. So when Apple came out with the AirTags, it was one way to keep track of George. There has been an earlier post (Let’s Tag Each Other) that explains the practicality of this small device.
NEED : Apple’s AirTag is a super-easy way to keep track of your stuff and dogs! Attach one their collars and just like that, they’re on your radar in the Find My app, where you can also track down your Apple devices and keep u
You feed and water them, you keep track of them and when you leave home with them, must NEVER, EVER leave home without poo bags! But sometimes you forget them. I’ve tried using several poo bag holders attached to their leads, but they were often cumbersome – either too heavy, the attachment too long or even worse – unappealing! LOL! But when Anya Hindmarch recently came out with a Dog Poo Bag charm – it has become a firm favourite.
NEED : Dog Poo Bag Charm from Anya Hindmarch is one of my favourite finds this year. A fab choice for someone who idolises their pooch and has everything they need!
Designed to hold your doggy essentials so you don’t have to, this charm can be clipped onto a coat or bag for ease of access. Insert your own poo bags from the base of the dog.
Finally one last WANT/NEED : the return of Anya Hindmarch’s iconic accessory – Be A Bag. This was something I had long wanted but they had discontinued it for years. Be a Bag immortalises the moments you treasure and liberate your photo stream. I need a wash bag so it can travel with me wherever I go, but there’s a range of bags that you can choose from – totes and clutches.
Unfortunately this is too late to order for Christmas – but this is a fab idea for a gift for yourself or someone special any time of the year!
So tomorrow, we will share some gifting ideas for Something to Wear and Something to Read
One Response
I found something I definitely needed under the tag “something you need”? Little did I know I needed it, thank you for the article. I was somewhat amiss as to what to get my three cavaliers for Christmas.