This is the first post in a 12 day series called “12 Days of Christmas {Planning}”.
My mom is one of the most awesome stuffers of stockings! When I was a kid, I always looked forward to opening the carefully wrapped goodies. She had a knack for picking out fun gifts that each member of my family would enjoy and were unique to our individual interests.
Here are some of my favorite stocking stuffer ideas. I hope they give you some inspiration!
Many of the items are linked to Amazon (affiliate link), but you can also find a lot of these items in local stores.
UPDATE: Like the list below? Get all 125+ ideas on this FREE printable HERE!
Tot Stuffers
1. Playdoh
2. Bubble bath
3. Bathtub crayons
4. Pacifier
5. Cute socks
6. Baby/Tot photo book (tots love looking at pictures of themselves and their family members)
7. Dum Dum lollipops (not for the youngest tots!)
8. Bubbles
9. Character band-aids
10. Board book (This one is Goodnight Moon. Another one of my favorite authors of tot books is Sandra Boynton)
11. Character spoon and fork set
12. Character kids cup (Target “dollar spot” often has these)
Kid Stuffers
13. Noise maker (shakers, tambourine, maracas, whistle)
14. Mini cereal boxes
15. Stickers – especially scratch n’ sniff stickers (Michaels craft store has a good variety)
16. Pez
17. Tape (I don’t know about yours, but my kids love having their own tape dispensers)
18. Chinese paper yo-yo
19. Candy necklace
20. Stretchy bugs/critters (I don’t know why, but kids go crazy for these. Bags can be found at Target in the birthday party aisle)
21. Silly straws
22. Glow sticks
23. Astronaut ice cream
24. Lip gloss/lipstick
25. Mini nail polish (inexpensive and good choices of kid’s colors at Walmart)
26. Fruit snacks
27. McDonald’s gift card (just enough to get an ice cream cone on a “date” with mom or dad)
28. Matchbox cars
29. Slap bracelets
30. Kazoo
31. Crayola Model Magic packs (very popular in my house – I buy the large box at Michaels and use the %40 or %50 off coupons)
32. Lego or Playmobil mini figures
33. Food shaped erasers (girls love the scale of these for playing with dolls)
34. Glow in the dark stars and planets
35. Heat bags (sew a pouch of fabric filled with dry rice)
36. Dress up jewelry
37. Earrings
38. Travel game
39. Webkinz or other small stuffed animal
40. Fancy edge scissors
41. Silly socks
42. Box of crayons
43. Coloring Book
44. Silly putty
45. Can of silly string
46. Animal sponge capsules
47. Magic washcloth
48. Glue sticks
49. Washable Markers
50. Watercolor paints
51. Origami paper
52. Disposable camera
53. Rearview spy glasses
54. Smencils (scented pencils – these are not cheap, but kids love them)
Teen Stuffers
55. Earbuds
56. USB Flash drive
57. iTunes gift card
58. Stretchy book covers
59. Diary with invisible ink pen
60. Cell phone cover
61. Embroidery thread for friendship bracelets
62. Beef jerky
63. Gift card to bowling alley or skating rink
64. Makeup
65. Funky pens
66. Gelly roll pens and black paper
67. Perfume
68. Nail polish in funky colors
69. Manicure pen
70. Lanyard for keys
71. Keychain
72. Wallet
Mom Stuffers
73. Coffee shop gift card
74. Nail polish
75. Scented hand lotion (particularly from Bath & Body Works!)
76. Scented hand sanitizer (particularly from Bath & Body Works – can you tell I love this place?)
77. SD memory card
78. Jewelry (earrings)
79. Gift card for a pedicure (I know this one’s not “cheap” but it sure will earn you a lot of points, dads!)
80. Keychain charms of kids with initials (SO cute!)
81. Package of decorative buttons (for crafting)
82. Knitting needles or crochet hooks
83. Crochet or knitting pattern or help book
84. Fancy hand soaps (particularly from Bath & Body Works!)
85. Seeds
86. Scrapbooking ribbons, tags, embellishments, etc.
87. Fancy or silicone cupcake liners
88. Beaded bookmark (can also be found in bookstores)
89. Fancy scissors
90. Scrapbook paper (rolled up in a paper towel tube)
91. Gourmet coffee
92. Specialty tea
93. Ped Egg
94. Votive candles
95. Icing tips/bags
96. Mascara
97. Box of dollar store note cards
98. Chocolates (bag of Dove or Bliss or other favorite chocolate)
Dad Stuffers
99. Coffee shop gift card
100. Drill bits
101. Tool keychain
102. Mini flashlight
103. Gift card to bowling alley
104. Wallet
105. Tape measure
106. USB flash drive
107. Picture hanging hardware (wink, wink)
108. Nails & screws
109. 3M Command hooks
110. Car charger for cell phone
111. Beef jerky
112. Car wash gift card
113. Golf tees
114. Golf balls
115. Pocket Farkle
Practical Stuffers
116. Barrettes / pony tail holders
117. Comb
118. Calculator
119. Book light
120. Pencil sharpener
121. Deodorant
122. Toothbrush
123. Kids toothpaste
124. Dental floss
Anybody Stuffers
125. Favorite candy bar
126. Snack packages (cheese crackers, cookies, etc.)
127. Hand Sanitizer
128. Gum
129. Sudoku book
130. Christmas ornament (start a tradition and give or make one for each immediate family member)
131. Hand and foot warming packs (found in the dollar spot at Target)
132. Slipper socks
133. Hot chocolate packets
Free Stuffers
134. Free Printable Christmas Coupon Book.
The 12 Days of Christmas Planning:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wow!! Awesome post, Ginny! I am printing these off and putting them with my Christmas gift ideas.
Denise
Glad you like it, Denise! I hope you found some ideas and inspiration 🙂
Love this site, so much fun to check out Ideas
Thanks! Glad you like it. Thanks for “liking” me on Facebook, too. 🙂
This is an amazing list. I just told my husband that I did not want to fill our kid’s stockings with junk toys or candy. Great ideas for the adults too! Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome, Mollie! Thanks for stopping by. I love sharing tips with friends and I hope you found some useful suggestions.
Your name made me do a double take for a minute there! Nice to see another Mollie out and about!
My two year old is not getting candy either. He’s plenty hyper without it!
Great stocking stuffer list. My hubs loves to fill stockings, your list is amazing. So I’ll use the adult ones on him. Thanks so much for sharing at Sunday’s Best. Just liked you on Facebook, would you mind returning the follow?
Thanks, Cathy! I’m glad you like the ideas. 🙂 I appreciate the “like”, I’ll return the follow.
I am so pinning this thank you so much for all these amazing ideas. this list will really come in handy this year. Thank you for sharing and for linking up to last weeks show and share party. Please come back this week and share your latest project with us.
A mommy’s life…with a touch of YELLOW
tyandwhitneyulrich.blogspot.com
You’re welcome! Thanks for the “pin”. And, thanks for hosting the party! I hope these ideas help you out this Christmas.
GREAT list!!! I’d love you to link up with us.
http://www.toysinthedryer.com/2011/12/fun-stuff-fridays-2.html
Thanks for hosting! I added my link 🙂
Absolutely useful info 🙂 Btw, this is the favorite blog of the week so your post will be featured tomorrow. Thanks for joining us at Creative Bloggers’ Party & Hop.
Yay! Thanks for the feature. And, thanks for hosting the linky!
thank you so much! i was wondering what to get my fiance for his stocking. lovely ideas. 🙂 xxx
I’m glad it helped you! Thanks for stopping by.
What a HUGE and Great list! Thanks so much for linking up! I know my readers will find this to be so so helpful! Merry Christmas!
You’re welcome! Thanks for hosting!
Thanks for posting this. Great ideas! I have pinned it so I can easily refer to it.
Thanks for the pin. I’m glad you like it! Merry Christmas 🙂
Hi Ginny!
Thanks for linking up in my Holiday TIps, Crafts & Recipes. You are featured today! yay! Love your tips because I LOVE stuffing the stockings. Thanks, Susie
http://cafescrapper-scrapsoflife.blogspot.com/2011/12/hot-chocolate-bark-holiday-link-up.html
Yay! Thank you so much! Merry Christmas 🙂
Great list. Thanks for sharing. Thanks for linking to Things I’ve Done Thursday!
Melanie
Sew Rugged @ bear rabbit bear
bearrabbitbear.blogspot.com
Awesome website! Amazing ideas! I am from Brasil and i’m still learning how to live here =]
Thanks for all the cute and helpfull ideas!!
I would so love a copy of this (the 125 Stocking Stuffers), we do stockings as “You’ve been Stocked” for Christmas to some of the nieghbor & friend’s kids and this would be so helpful, sometimes you just run out of ideas. :o) Thank you.
Only thing you forgot is state lotto scratch off tickets. Everyone loves those!
Great list! It’s all about the little things… and you’ve made me want fruit snacks now! It’s been years, haha.
Love all the great stocking stuffer ideas! When my daughter was very little i started doing her stocking in a “theme”…For example; music theme with a recorder, harmonica, etc.. , art theme using crayons, markers,etc.. hair accessorie theme….the list goes on and on now that she is 20!!! But she still loves the theme stocking stuffers and loves to try and guess what idea i’ve come up with year after year.
This is great!!! I added it to my Pinterest so I can look at it when Christmas gets closer. Thanks
Tip for opening gifts with a small child:
A toddler usually has a bunch of cheaper items while a teen may have fewer more expensive things. As a toddler opens one gift after another, they don’t even remember what they have. I would have them take breaks. He could open a couple of gifts then stop, remove them from the boxes and play with them. Later we would repeat. The older kids could help the baby open them and take care of the trash. That way it isn’t so overwhelming for a baby or toddler. The older they became, the less breaks were needed. Even as young children we would do it in two sessions. Parents could have coffee while we opened gifts and then we would take a break while I made breakfast and we all ate before going back to more gifts. If that sounds like we were rich and spent a lot of money on gifts, it isn’t true. Money was tight, so they seldom got much other than Christmas and birthdays. I bought sale items starting in October and things were much cheaper back then.
Love your lists, Ginny. My mother-in-law was the best stocking stuffer for her four kids, and then also for the spouses, and then also for the grandchildren and their pets. everyone had a stocking and it was stuffed to the gills.
several things she would always put in each stocking were an orange or tangilo in the bottom. She would give everyone several small votive candles (the 1-2 in size). she gave note card and thank you note card packages of 8 cards, fancy pens… (she got a thank you note every year from everyone!!) That sweet lady is gone now but her memories live on in the families she leaves behind, carrying on her traditions for our own children and now our grandchildren. <3 😀
I just love traditions like that! It’s so fun to carry on what a loved one started and share the joy that was in their heart with future generations. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
How do I find the coupon book ideas and free coupon book download?
thank you sooo much!!! now i know what i can get mummy and daddy! love from jade.
I love this list. Sometimes the stockings can cause more stress that the presents. One year I mixed the dry ingredients for a batch of cookies, placed it in a bag and attached a note for a date to make cookies with mom.
I LOVE that idea, Patty! I’m stealing it. 😉 Thanks for sharing it. Merry Christmas. 🙂
I can’t seem to get comments sent w/out “error”. This site is my first.exciting “Following”. Your ideas are immensely helpful and fun. Blessings to you and your loved one’s as you have blessed me.
These are wonderful stuffers! I found a bunch as well for under five dollars on http://www.fivedollarfinds.com. A few are the same, but figured I would share for the holiday season approaching!
I try to stay away from sweets in the stockings and these are PERFECT replacements. I found a good one but it’s pretty specific to one of my friends–she lost her keys TWICE this year, so she’s getting a key return tag!! (if you lose your keys, they mail them back to you) here’s where you get it: https://www.popalock.com/key_return_program.php
Help please, i cant print this, i and already a subscriber, is there another way to do it?
Hi Alice. Make sure you have the most up to date version of your PDF reader. You shouldn’t have any trouble printing if your software is up to date. I highly recommend Nitro Reader. It’s totally free to download.
Good stocking stuffer ideas. I would just replace Bath & Body Works with my favorite, Loccitane.
the astronaut ice cream is considerably more than what you listed. Amazon is selling it for over $25 for 12, not $3.10. You may want to amend that. great idea though, I was hoping to use it for my daughter’s class this Christmas, but with 27 students I’ll have to find something else.
Lots of great ideas! Loved the astronaut ice cream idea in particular… until I followed the link and saw that it was $25 for a pack. I sure wish it really was $3 because it is genius! Thanks for sharing anyways.
I love this thanks
Hi thank you so much for your great blog you have made my life so much easier with Christmas ideas for people thx
Lots of great ideas for the whole family. There’s something for everyone. Thanks for putting that together.
Your lists are really good and full of some great ideas…until the last one for dads. Might as well put some coal in that stocking… How about: video games, gift cards to Bass Pro shop, gift card to Game Stop, gift card to Toys R Us, Sears Gift Card, CDS, DVDs, tickets, passes to indoor swim park, electric toothbrush…anything is better than drill bits and golf balls in the winter.
most of the teen gifts are for girls. what about the boys?
Thanks so much for this. I am so appreciative of knowing what to get before heading out to the pseudo dollar store.
love the list my mom taught me how to stuff the same way,lol,practical and fun!!can add deck of cards,glasses repair kit,flashlight.and we always got an orange,i asked my mom about the orange and she said,” to take up room”!lol……there are five of us, so i get that!dvd’s/cd’s r good too!
I am past having to stuff stockings, but I want to add a thought to your shopping. I had six kids to stuff stockings for and I found that the best way for me was to start the shopping for stuffers in January. Otherwise it was a nightmare if I waited til too close to Christmas. It was also harder to find the money at the last minute. I also had a bag for each one so that I could add to it as I bought things.
LOL. I know I already posted an idea but thought of something else as I was looking at others. All our relatives lived out of state so when the kids were young they received a lot of small gifts from aunts and such. Most were a small thing that might only last a short time but get lost in the pile of larger gifts. We made a tradition that the kids could start 5 days before Christmas opening one gift every evening from a person that would not be there on Christmas. The trick was that they had to have their thank you note written before the next evening or they couldn’t open another.
Are you a girl-only mom? I have 2 tweens (boy & girl) and this list is very girl oriented. Still great ideas though – thanks for sharing.
Now the mom of teens I still buy all the silly stuff! Its fun and they look forward to certain items every year like yo-yo’s crazy flavored chapsticks magic wash cloths and candies and gum.The Dollar Tree is a great place to find cheap fun items. Once in awhile way down in the toe of the stocking (if small enough) I stick the most wanted Christmas item, although they get bummed after opening the presents under the tree and not seeing what they really wanted and they think the stocking is just fun silly stuff but when they get to the bottom of the stocking surprise the best gift ever!!! I did that with ipods, iphones and even for my hubby sporting event tickets! Just be careful not to do it too often cause it would ruin the surprise and they would be looking for the “Big” gift!!
Love the kids/teens lists. But if you wouldn’t want your husband to get you a dusting cloth and pledge, then I would skip the screws and picture hangers for him…..
I usually look for his favorite candy, things related to his favorite sports team, and especially things that I mention he doesn’t need when we’re out shopping.
Tools that he has specifically asked for would be fine except most of them my husband wants wouldn’t fit into a stocking….
When I on was a kid (very long time ago) I always got an orange and some nuts and a small piece of chocolate along with all the little things. I carried that on with mine and my grandkids. Now they don’t “believe” and it isn’t near as much fun.
My older kids love getting batteries lol We are constantly having batteries die and those things are so stinking expensive that they rarely get replaced. So if they get a big pack of batteries they in turn get about 5 toys/electronics fixed and working! 1 present is liking getting 5! Big bang for my buck LOL
Great ideas! And you even tell us where to buy things. This year I’m going to go out in November to get stuffers and not wait until Christmas Eve!
Alison Palmer recently posted…More Fall Cleanup Tips
This is a great list! I needed ideas for my parents and little sister for Christmas and I have all my ideas now!