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Tiny Gifts ideas and arithmetic

Four pieces about the sums rather than the taste: what a stocking holds, what a class of twenty-four costs, what survives the post, and what to give somebody with a full shelf.

Where a piece quotes a federal text, that text is linked in full on how we update the catalog.

  1. A keyring, a lip balm and a small tin side by side

    What fits in a Christmas stocking, and what only nearly does

    A stocking is a narrow bag that tapers to a toe, and the toe is what decides. That one shape throws out more presents than any budget does, and nobody checks it until the thing will not go in.

  2. A box of mini notebooks with pens beside it

    Two dollars a head: what a class of twenty-four costs

    Twenty-four children, one budget and one evening to get it done. Here is where the money goes, and which of the counted boxes are worth their price per piece.

  3. A small tin and a flat keyring, both envelope-sized

    What survives the post: small presents that arrive whole

    Under five ounces and flat enough to slide is the difference between a stamp and a parcel. Wax, glass and chocolate are the difference between a present and an apology.

  4. A candle tin, a hand cream and a fine chain laid out together

    Giving something small to somebody who has everything

    The problem is not money. It is shelf space, and a present that needs some is a present that costs the person something.

Every price, every pack count

Every size, price and pack count in the Tiny Gifts catalog sits behind this button, with the figures from our last update against each one.