Christmas means gifts and struggling with originality. Maybe not this year …
| Text : Elizabeth Kerr | Photo : Penny Scallan Design and Stuck On You |
December rolls around and the first thing most of us think is, “I hate Christmas shopping.” Regardless of whether or not you enjoy the holiday, the crowds and frequent “Currently out of stock” tags on every product in every imaginable retail outlet are frustrating and headache-inducing. Add to that the irritation of not being able to come up with the right item and you have a recipe for disaster. And grumpiness.
If you live in Hong Kong, two Australian designers and retailers may be able to help you out on both those fronts. Given the kid-friendly nature of Christmas, Penny Scallan Design has just launched a kid-centric line of home and lifestyle products that are not only quieter than the latest videogame, they’re more colourful and functional too, and they add a dimension to the holiday that doesn’t revolve around just toys — no matter how much emphasis Mattel and Nintendo place on them.
A kid’s bedroom can be given a quick, bright makeover with some of Penny Scallan’s cushion covers, beanbags, clocks, storage boxes and various other usable items (available online or at Bumps to Babes in Central) that take the sting out of, “Go clean your room.” As Hong Kong distributor Tania Gutteridge sees it, “The Penny Scallan Design collection for children was created to give kids a sense of joy and pride in their surroundings. For kids that are prone to being messy (and that’s most of them!), the colourful storage boxes are fun and encourage kids to tidy their toys and belongings away.” Hopefully anyway.
If the children you’re buying for are staring down the ’tween years, PSD make hairbrushes, backpacks, accessories tins, wallets and drink bottles among other novelties. Most items could go either under the tree or into a stocking depending on what the rest of your Christmas morning looks like. On top of that, for parents who value some level of education not likely to be found in a first person shooter, the accessories like clocks and piggy banks are an animated spin on everyday objects. “We hope that it adds an extra playful touch when it comes to learning about saving money and telling the time for kids and their parents,” Gutteridge explains.
Now, about those stockings. Of course, all kids like to think they’re special and that Santa parks his sleigh closest to their home, so to that end comes personalised stockings (mantle not included), sacks and even letters from Santa. As Gutteridge explains, they were made, “with the view of making Christmas as fun and enjoyable as possible for the little ones. The Christmas stockings and Santa Sacks are (early) gifts in themselves, and the personalisation aspect makes it even more special. The Santa’s letters are completely unique in Hong Kong. Each letter is personally addressed to a child from Santa Claus.” The letters also include stories about Christmas lore and praise recipients for good behaviour. Bottom line it’s a way to keep the pleasure of make-believe alive for kids for as long as possible — something that’s increasingly difficult to do.
Available from Stuck On You’s online boutique, the shop custom-makes the traditional items as well as stocking stuffers (t-shirts, colouring kits, jumpsuits) and a variety of wooden tree ornaments made from sustainable forest products. You could deck out the whole house and only need to make one agonising trip to Toys R Us. Gutteridge agrees. “The Christmas collection provides a convenient, one-stop-shop for parents wanting to find unique Christmas gifts and decorations that their kids will love — and they can do all their ordering online without having to brave the Christmas shopping crowds.” But order sooner rather than later: Stuck On You stockings take at least 2 weeks for delivery.
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