Best children's books for Christmas - win over £200 worth of gorgeous gifts

there were 4 of us and little money so we never got much and as i was a twin i usually had to share. i remember getting a dolly from grandma one year though and did i love that dolly (meg was her name)

One Christmas, I received a pair of 2nd hand brown leather school shoes as my "Father Christmas" present and I remember being so disappointed. But my grandmother gave me a set of 12 Derwent colouring pencils, in a red plastic wallet, and I was so pleased to have those! I can still remember the smell of them! They more than made up for the 2nd hand shoes!

My favourite toy was Tiny Tears when I was 6 years old. My Mum made lots of clothes for her and I happily played for hours and hours.

I was given a little white soap in the shape of a polar bear. I think a baby polar bear had been born at London Zoo and named Bruin. I held it constantly and even went to sleep with it in my hand. I think I may have been about 4

My best present was my baby alive doll. Was so chuffed really didn’t think I would have got one because money was short.

A doll that walked.

Unfortunately, I can't remember that much - but I do remember longing for a bottle of nail varnish which I actually managed to get at the age of about 10 - clear of course.

The best present I received as a child at Christmas, was a Teddy Bear, I called King, he was so big, I could sit on his legs (I was six) and had him, untill he fell apart, when I was in my 30s.

I got a green cloth bound book about Pip who was a pixie, I was obsessed by magical folk created by Enid Blyton, and this book transported me to another world.It didn't matter what other children had got, that I hadn't, because I had a secret world inside my head !

The one one gift that I remember is a copy of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I read it very quickly!!

I don’t know about the best present I ever received, but I do remember when I was very small getting a sack of wooden alphabet bricks together with some offcuts of wood for building towers - it was so heavy I could only just drag it along. One of my grandchildren now has them ?

My favourite Christmas gift was a red pogo stick. I did manage to stay on it for a few jumps

My mum was widowed just before Christmas when I was 8 years old, 3rd out of 4 of us. Eldest aged 14, youngest 6. I received an Enid Blyton book for Xmas and treasured it for years. Must have read it over and over again.

The waterbabies book with gorgeous pictures is still a treasured possession 40+ years later. .all the fads are long since gone

My favourite was also a doll. She had eyes that closed and hair the same colour as mine which she wore in two plaits. Within days I had taken the scissors to her lovely hair to make her more like me. She looked awful (and not a bit like me) and my Mum was furious - rightly so given the benefit of hindsight. I did still play with her a lot but always wished she had her lovely hair.

It was a box of water colour paints with a vast range of colours and one sable paint brush. Oh I was so going to paint a masterpiece or two and make a name for myself. Alas at Grammar school at the age of fifteen I was invited to leave the art class and guided towards the needlework class. Yes I made a beautiful domestic science apron and hat but oh dear that dream of fame has yet to be achieved.

A stocking on the end of my bed with a tangerine in it and a Bunty annual.
Can't really remember getting much else.
I'm sure there were other things, but nothing lavish.

What an absolutely fabulous prize!! It actually reminds me of the best Christmas gift I received as a child - a lavishly illustrated copy of 'The Night Before Christmas'. Either that, or a card I received with a crisp £5 note inside (which, in those days, was a small fortune for a child)

My best present was a type writer. Not a plastic one but a real metal one. I thought I wanted to be a secretary and spent hours learning to type, thinking I looked so grown up. Ended up becoming a nurse instead

I was once bought a writing bureau. Think I was about 10! I loved and still do paper, envelopes, writing, note books and books in general. I would sort it every day. Many happy hours sat at that desk.

My best present ever was when I was a teenager and living in Uganda. There were few fashion shops and Rock and Roll
had hit town! I longed for a skirt with net petticoats. On Chrismas Day I opened a skirt complete with multiple layers of beribboned net underneath. It must have taken my mother forever to do by hand!!

Best gift ever received on Christmas Eve when I was 8 - a very much wanted black miniature poodle puppy. He was clever, obedient & brave and a wonderful companion for 13 years. Still miss him.

My most memorable Xmas present was receiving my first transistor radio when aged eleven. My father let the 'cat out of the bag' by trying it out the night before and guess who heard? I had years of entertainment listening to Radio Caroline (yes, all those years ago!).

The best Christmas present I received was a petite typewriter with its own case. I loved it.

The best Christmas present I received was a petite typewriter in its own case. I loved it.