With Krampus being released in UK cinemas today, we thought it would be a great time to take a look at other creepy Christmas Monsters from folklore, that are used to scare kids into being nice. Quite honestly some of them have got us scared! 

Krampus 


The Krampus is a scary, furry, horned figure who is used as a tool to encourage good behaviour in children. It is believed that Krampus punishes children who have misbehaved by giving out sticks and coal,  whereas Saint Nicholas rewards well-behaved ones with gifts. The Krampus has also been described as carrying around a chain behind him, that he would hurl at children that were in his way. He is believed to be the anti-Santa or his evil twin, though his origins are unknown, but one thing is certain; you certainly wouldn't want to be on this guy's list! 

Jólakötturinn 


Jólakötturinn is known as the Icelandic Yule Cat or Christmas Cat, and unlike regular, domestic cats, he's not very nice. In fact, he will probably eat you! In Iceland, in order to get people to work hard, they used to reward them with new clothes. The lazy family members wouldn't receive anything, so to encourage them to work, they were told the tale of Jólakötturinn. According to the tale, he could tell who the children were by the number of clothes they had, and that he would then proceed to eat the lazy children! If a killer giant cat doesn't motivate you to do chores, I don't know what will. 

Frau Perchta


Frau Perchta is a witch who hands out both rewards and punishments from December 25 through January 6. She is more well known for her gruesome punishments to the misbehaving rather than being nice; apparently she will rip out the internal organs of the sinful and replace them with garbage, how lovely. 

Belsnickel


Belsnickel comes to children sometime before Christmas, wearing old tattered clothing. Belsnickel carries a switch to frighten children, and candy to reward them for good behaviour. The switch is only used to warn children they still have time to be good before Christmas. Then, if the children are polite about the way they've been told, they get rewarded with sweets. So remember to be polite kids! 


Yule Lads 


They make look as innocent as the seven dwarves, but we can ensure you they're not. These Icelandic trolls stole things and caused trouble around Christmas time, and like the Yule cat it's used to scare children into behaving. There are 13 of these Yule Lads altogether, each with a name and their own distinctive personality. 
Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, and there is no better way to celebrate this joyous season than to have the whole family gather round and watch a festive a film together! With that in mind, we have a few suggestions that we strongly recommend to get you in the Christmas spirit:

 Be warned: spoilers may lie ahead. 
 

How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) 

In this adaptation of the cherished children's tale by Dr. Seuss, the bitter,green Grinch (played brilliantly by Jim Carrey) comes up with a plan to take Christmas (which he absolutely despises) away from the cheery and festive inhabitants of Whoville (who he equally loathes). His plan may be foiled, however, when he bumps into cute Cindy Lou, who tries to melt his dark and black heart and change his devilish plans to ruin the festive season.
 

Elf (2003) 

This beloved festive comedy is a favourite among many families, and for good reason! This film follows Buddy the elf (Will Ferrell), a human raised by elves, and his experiences with modern-day New York and human culture, whilst on the search for his birth father. The whole family will be chuckling away whilst they watch Buddy struggle with human life. 

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) 

This film is well and truly the definition of a Christmas classic! It's entertaining and message driven, with a truly remarkable performance from James Stewart as George Bailey, a man who is contemplating suicide. By the end has a fresh, new outlook on life, as his neighbours all pitch in and help him get his life back on track. If you're not sobbing into your mince pie by the end of this film, there's something wrong with you! 


The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) 

Michael Caine, Gonzo the Great and Kermit the Frog – now these probably weren't what Charles Dickens had in mind when he was writing A Christmas Carol, but that is one of the many reasons to love this warm-hearted take on the classic story. Despite the presence of Muppets, it is to be believed to be one of the more faithful versions of the original tale, and is of course our favourite! 

Die Hard (1988)

All John McClane (Bruce Willis) was hoping for was a a quiet and relaxing Christmas, but Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) has other ideas, when he holds the staff (including John's wife) of the Nakatomi headquarters hostage. With no immediate police help, John is forced to take matters into his own hands and try to save his wife from the evil German terrorist. This against-the-odds action is hailed to be one of the greatest Christmas films ever, and for good reason too!  

Home Alone (1990) 

After mischievous Kevin McCallister (Macauley Culkin)  get's into an argument with his family, he's sent to his room. The next morning, the whole family leave for their trip to Paris, but accidentally leave without Kevin! He wakes up to an empty house, all by himself, and soon begins living an eight year old's dream. This dreams is short-lived, however, as he soon realises that two burglars are going to attempt to rob his house on Christmas eve. Left to defend the house on his own, Kevin sets up a host of make shift booby traps around the house to try and stop them..

What are YOUR favourite Christmas movies? Let us know on Twitter!

Now that November has ended, the time has come for us to announce the winners of our Movember competition. Throughout the entire month we've been encouraging you lot to grow out your majestic moustaches, and tweet us your fan-tache-tic movember attempts to win prizes while showing your support for a great cause, and you didn't disappoint! We've been inundated with brilliant moustache pics from far and wide, making it really difficult for us to choose the best three. If we could, we'd send you all a moustache-themed prize for being such great sports!

We started by shortlisting our moustache donning competitors before choosing our favourite three, but before we announce our winners, we'd just like to thank everyone for entering once again; you should be so pleased with yourselves for supporting such a worthy cause!
So, in 3rd place, who will be winning this ZAP - Mullet and Tache Set is... @grinnerlynn! We love the arts and craft moustache, and we salute you for that pose! 
Congratulations to @crummey15, you're our runner up and the winner of this classy Anchorman Wallet and Moustache Set. We loved your White Goodman style moustache! 
And finally, the entrant who stood out to us most and will be winning this fantastic Thabto Moustache Door Mat, is @leeinroyston! Your Double moustache was well and truly spectacular and is deservedly our winner

To the 6 entrants we've shortlisted - you made cracking attempts, so we thought we'd add your pictures to show our appreciation. Please feel free to enter again next year, you may well end up in the top three!

Congratulations to our lucky winners and thanks to everyone who entered. Keep your eyes peeled for more awesome Gadget Inspector competitions coming soon. 


We at Gadget Inspector know how hard it is to choose the right gift in time for the 25th of December. So, with Christmas now just around the corner, we thought we'd put together a gift guide to help you choose the perfect gifts for the little ones in your life!

£39.99 each

If your kids loved the Minions or Despicable Me films, they'll love these Inflatable Remote Control Talking Minions just as much! The cute, squishy minion is really easy to control and even easier to inflate. It can move in any direction and spin 360 degrees; it even plays 12 original sound effects in an authentic minion voice! It's the perfect gift for any child, although we're fully grown adults and we love playing with him as well. 


£39.99 each

From a galaxy far, far away comes everyone's favourite Star Wars characters in the form of the cute inflatable RC toys. Your little ones will love going on intergalactic adventures with their new inflatable companion; each inflatable comes with its own original sound effects and can move in any direction. They can also spin 360 degrees and can be operated indoors and out, so the adventures can be taken anywhere!


Chunky Wooden Puzzles (4 to choose from)
£2.75 each 

These chunky wooden puzzles are the perfect way to get your children's cogs turning. They may look simple at first but we assure you that they can be quite tricky! They come in small packages, which means they are the perfect stocking fillers. If you're after something that will keep both kids and adults entertained for hours this Christmas then our chunky wooden puzzles are perfect! 


£12.99

Are your children constantly pestering you about getting a pet? Then this Robo Fish is a must-buy! Place your lifelike fish into a bowl of water and watch as the Robo Fish activates and starts moving! It's a great alternative to a pet because you don't have to worry about feeding or cleaning it! It also come with a decorative castle and coral for your fish bowl.


Space Rail Level 3
£29.99

You and the kids will have hours of fun with this glow in the dark rollercoaster! It's really easy to build, and once it's up and running, simply place the steel balls at the start and watch them whiz around the track. At the end of their fun-filled journey, there's a battery powered elevator that automatically returns the heroic steel balls to the start of the track for another ride! It's fun for the whole family!

Are you looking for the ultimate gadget that will change your life forever? Well look no further, because we've found it! This Connector: Stylus/Pen/Charger won't solve world hunger and pay your taxes, but aside from that it can do just about everything.
There's never been a more hi-tech pen than the Connector, it's the ultimate gadget for creative types and smartphone addicts, because of its awesome three-in-one function!


You're probably wondering by now how this Connector Pen actually works, so, we'll tell you: 
 
You can use this pen as stylus for your tablet or your touch screen phone, but if you twist the end of the Connector, a nib will pop out and you can use it as a normal pen, cool right?
The real ace up the connector's sleeve is its built in charging cable, which allows you to charge your tablet or smartphone without the use of mains power. The charging function is universally-compatible, and the connector itself is charged by plugging it into your computer USB port; really simple and endlessly useful! Thanks to its super slim design it also fits easily into your pocket, so it's always on hand and ready for action when you need it! 

You're probably thinking this amazing piece of tech will set you back a few bob, but, you'd be wrong! This hi-tech pen will  cost you just £9.99! An absolute bargain, when you consider it can do just about anything! 

What you waiting for? Click here to purchase your very own Connector Pen, and make your life a whole lot easier!