Calico Critters Stocking Stuffer Blind Bags and THE BIG GIFT from Santa!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All opinions stated are genuine and my own.

One tradition in our family that we love is giving everyone a stocking. The kids laugh when I bring them to our family gatherings ("You're still making us stockings?!"), but the one year I skipped the tradition, everyone noticed, and not one of them was happy about it. That was the one and only year I didn't fill a stocking for each of my grown kids. Now I have grandchildren, and I have continued to do the same for them, though I put different items inside (I've grown more health conscious over the years, and refuse to stuff my grandchildren's stockings with candy). One great idea for this year's stockings for the littles that does sit well with me, are these adorable Calico Critters Baby Shopping Series blind packs. Each one comes with a mini figure and a shopping accessory. 

This poster is stick and peel, and won't hurt the wall. I thought maybe I'd hang it up at the bottom of the tree, on the wall, down low, where my granddaughter will have her own little section for gifts. It won't have the crease you see here, because it will be on a flat wall. I put it on boxes here, just to see what it would like like when unrolled. These little critters are oh so cute in their winter garb. I know my baby girl, and this poster will probably tickle her pink. Next year, she'll share gift space with the newest little bundle of joy in our family (who is now sitting up on her own!) but this year, it's still all hers because my second baby grand is too young to care about presents. Of course, she'll still get some... they just won't bring joy to her yet, like these Calico Critters will to her older cousin. ;)

Some I will put in her stocking, and the others I will be sharing with friends who have little ones who will love these too. They are the perfect size for the holiday stockings, and they have that extra element of fun/surprise because you don't know which mini figure you will get until you open the package. There are 9 different blind bags that you can collect.

When you take it out of the package, you will find a Calico Critter, an accessory and a colorful pamphlet that shows scenery for these cute little critters. That little paper booklet is something my granddaughter will pour over and study for awhile. She will talk about what she will do when she add the 'other characters' to her collection, and show me where she will put them inside of her Calico Critter doll house. As for the ones in her hand, she will probably also name and rename them (she doesn't stick to the names they come with, which actually cracks me up because she is so serious about it), and direct me on how to care for them when I am playing too.

This cute little gal sits up nice and straight, so you can put her into many different situations, including sitting on the floor, a chair, a couch (all mini-sized, of course), etc. The heads move on these, so you can make the poses more realistic.

The raised details on the teeny tiny cash register are a nice touch too (those ears on the top are precious). The more realistic items are, the more fun they are when you are playing 'pretend.' I would have really loved these when I was little, and now I am happy to play with them and gift them to my granddaughter. This is the 3rd year in a row we have gotten her Calico Critters playhouse items that she now enjoys so much. I just know it is going to be a cherished memory from her childhood when she gets older. There is a special place on her long dresser for all of her items from this and other Calico Critter series. They all go together nicely (you can definitely mix and match from the different series). We always take them down when I go over to visit, and we talk about them if she comes to my house. Probably I should get a set here too... never thought of it until now, but what a fun surprise that would be!

And just so you can get a feel for how tiny these finger-sized critters are, I have put the Calico Critter we opened, in the midst of the stocking-stuffer size surprise packages I am talking about. Do you see her?  :) I can't wait until we start opening some of these. I really hope one of the packages we keep has the cute little Wilder Panda with Popcorn that I saw in the paper brochure (for my granddaughter, of course ;)) .

Now for the BIG GIFT from Santa!!

I cannot imagine a little girl who would not LOVE to find this adorable Calico Critters Elegant Town Manor as their BIG GIFT from Santa (or from you!).

The inside is an imaginative wonderland with a spiral staircase and room to plan how you see fit. Of course, since it is a dollhouse of sorts, you can rearrange furniture and Calico Critters at will, and I'm sure you will; that's half the fun of it, isn't it??!

This is what is included in the kit. It is quite a bit to get you started, adequate by far, in fact.

Of course, you can order other items and accessories as well, such as those I wrote about last holiday season (that my granddaughter still loves and plays with today), or

any number of cutsie and practical items that should go in a house, like this washer (that spins) and vacuum cleaner. I'm telling you what, this is just the kind of toy that I loved when I was little. Play items in a toy house with little characters to use for pretend play...that's a great gift to give. Although we didn't have Calico Critters around when I was little, we had something similar, and I surely loved it so. These characters though, are so cute, and this town manor is amazing, and the items that come with it, or that you can buy to add to it, are incredibly awesome. Yes that is a lot of positive adjectives, but the Elegant Town Manor and any available accessories, truly deserve them. This is a gift you can give and know it is going to be loved for a long time to come; perhaps even for generations to come. It is truly a wonderland gift item to give. 

Learn more by visiting the Calico Critters website. You can also find them in retail stores nationwide (including Walmart) and online (including at Amazon). Ages 3+