Stocking stuffers can be inexpensive and fun, with options like toys, candy, and practical items. Consider age-appropriate gifts and avoid choking hazards. Gag gifts and expensive items are also options. Start shopping early to find thoughtful gifts for everyone in the family.
Stocking gifts can be expensive or inexpensive. Your budget will largely determine whether or not these small gifts are actually “big” gifts in terms of spending. If you’re planning on a budget, it’s okay to fill a stocking with relatively inexpensive items. Traditionally, Christmas stockings wouldn’t have been crammed full of iPods, perfume, or jewelry anyway.
Whether you want to stick with less expensive, whimsical, or silly stocking stuffer gifts, there are plenty of choices available. Many toy stores, especially Mom and Pop stores, have oodles of fun little things for kids. Consider standard gifts like bouncy balls, bubbles, mood rings, fortune-telling fish, kaleidoscopes, balm gliders, new crayons, markers or colored pencils, or flashlights.
You should always choose age-appropriate stocking stuffer gifts, especially for very young children. Do not give potential choking hazards to small children; also consider what type of candy or snack would be safe for a young child. With recent concerns about lead in toys, you may also want to stick with home-made or safely constructed toys. If a child is likely to mouth toys, stick to plain wooden toys or gifts that you know have been tested for safety. For older children who aren’t likely to mouth, chew, or swallow toys, lead poisoning is at a much lower risk, so you may feel safer than small toys or those that haven’t been tested for safety do not pose much of a risk.
If you like some of your stocking stuffers to be edible treats, consider the value of nature’s wonderful bounty. Instead of loading up a stocking with candy, try small boxes of raisins, nuts in their shells, or oranges. That way kids can still eat something good without hurting their tummies or teeth, or suffering from a sugar overeat at Christmas.
Some stocking stuffers for adults or kids are just too big to fit in a stocking. When you run into this problem, you have a couple of choices. You can put the gift with other gifts under the tree, or you can put the gift in the tree and include it in the gift pile. Some children love receiving “tree” gifts as much as they love giving gifts.
Christmas is an opportunity for everyone to become a child again. An older husband or teen may be delighted with nostalgic toys as stocking stuffers. Consider an old favorite candy, a classic toy like winks or picking sticks, or even small wooden planes. There are numerous ways to fill grown-up stockings with gifts that are still inexpensive and fun.
Gag gifts can make great stocking stuffers. Try Santa’s licorice charcoal or reindeer droppings made from chocolate. Even the old snake in a can of peanuts or the flower that squirts water can be fun choices. If you can’t find many in your local toy or candy stores, look to magic shops for inspiration for those with a good sense of humor.
You can, of course, go the alternative route and stuff your stocking with relatively expensive gifts. For kids and adults, consider MP3 players and gift cards or gift certificates. Jewelery and perfume can be ideal in stockings, a new watch will fit most stockings, and you may even be able to fit a DVD in the top. Don’t forget other thoughtful items like subscriptions to your favorite magazines. Also, winter clothing, such as socks and warm wool mittens or mittens, work well as stocking stuffers. You can also stuff mini-umbrellas, small alarm clocks, pocket watches, pens, book lights, pocket knives, cell phones, and a variety of other more expensive things into your socks.
If you really want to provide a thoughtful padded sock, don’t wait until the last minute, when items are in short supply. Instead, start shopping for sock pads at least a few months in advance. Many times we see something in the store that looks perfect for a sock, but we wait to buy it and then find we’ve waited too long. If you shop throughout the year, collecting small gifts for children and spouses as you see them, chances are you can present each family member with a wonderful stocking filled with creative and thoughtful gifts on Christmas morning.
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