I don't understand "stocking stuffers"

[poppy]

To me the stocking is some candy and maybe a notebook.   A little fun before present opening.

 

But I see people getting pretty expensive things and saying "great stocking stuffer!"  Like luxury beauty products, tools, alcohol, jewelry, ipods, cosmetics, nice wool socks. etc.

Is it just the size?   If it's small it goes in the stocking?

Or is it that most gifts go into the stocking and there are just a couple of wrapped gifts?
Or do people just go completely hog wild with spending?

[maize]

Any of the above.

 

We don't do individual wrapped gifts at this point; the only individual gifts I give my kids are stocking stuffers. Wrapped gifts are group gifts here.

[hjffkj]

For us, dh and I set a limit on stocking stuffers on the years we do them, we didn't do them for each other this year. That limit is usually $20. So if I see nice wool socks for $4, which I can find sometimes then it is a great stocking stuffer. Or any other nice product in that price range.

 

But I know people you just set a spending limit and allocate it any way they want.

[Laura Corin]

We usually just put inexpensive things in stockings.  This year the boys are getting chocolate coins, an orange, fit-over style sunglasses for driving, little bottles of fun hot sauce, small hardback notebooks.

 

They receive one wrapped gift from each family member; we are a small family, so that's around six gifts, including clothing from the dog (who worries about us because we lack fur).

[DawnM]

To me the stocking is some candy and maybe a notebook.   A little fun before present opening.

 

But I see people getting pretty expensive things and saying "great stocking stuffer!"  Like luxury beauty products, tools, alcohol, jewelry, ipods, cosmetics, nice wool socks. etc.

Is it just the size?   If it's small it goes in the stocking?

Or is it that most gifts go into the stocking and there are just a couple of wrapped gifts?

Or do people just go completely hog wild with spending?

 

We have more than a couple gifts but I wouldn't call it going hog wild.  We have a budget we feel comfortable with and stick to it.  Other people may spend more or less as they feel comfortable.

[medawyn]

Yup, in this house, adults pretty much just get stockings.  Most of the things are still small and silly, but there's usually a few more substantial items in there.  The kids still get mostly stuff from the dollar section at Target or similar.  Plus toothbrushes and toothpaste and bubblebath, because that's what my mom always did.

[Word Nerd]

I don't get wrapping things that go in a stocking. The whole point (IMHO, of course) is that the stocking is the wrapping!

[Arcadia]

Our stocking stuffers for our kids are whatever that comes from the stocking stuffer aisles of Target and Walmart. It is usually chocolate candies and a small Lego toy. Since my side of the family has a tradition of overfilling the stocking, we make sure we get average size stockings that are easily filled to the brim. We celebrate Christmas as a secular holiday though as we have relatives who are Christians, Catholics, Methodists, Presbyterians even though we are an agnostic-atheist family.

 

We hang the stockings by the main door handle so they can’t be too heavy when stuffed either. Christmas presents from relatives just get put next to the stockings as we don’t have a Christmas tree.

 

ETA:

Small and light items goes into the stocking as stuffers. It doesn’t matter what is the cost.

Edited December 15, 2017 by Arcadia

[marbel]

It can be any of those things, depending on the people involved and how they like to do things.

 

I might want to get my daughter a luxury beauty product, and because it fits in her stocking, might put it there because I don't have any other ideas for her stocking and I don't want it to be empty. Or I might wrap it and put it under the tree. She might be getting modest gifts other than that.  Having nice things in the stockings doesn't necessarily lead to crazy spending on gifts under the tree.  

 

No doubt some people go hog wild with spending, but I'm not sure that what they use for stocking stuffers has anything to do with it.  

 

Edited December 16, 2017 by marbel

[DawnM]

I don't get wrapping things that go in a stocking. The whole point (IMHO, of course) is that the stocking is the wrapping!

 

I love watching my kids unwrap things!  We wrap EVERYTHING!  

[rjand6more]

Stocking stuffers at our house are just fancy versions of things I would normally buy. LOL

Like, each kid gets bandaids(even the BIG kid) but they are fun ones.

DH said last night that it's a good thing Christmas is close because the kids are almost out of toothpaste.:)

I get fun(maybe more than I would usually spend) school things like sticky notes, pens, etc.

Nailpolishes and facemasks. Etc.

We probably spend $20-30/stocking for the kids.

[Dmmetler]

I put small gifts in the stocking, and bigger stuff under the tree. Last year DH and DD got my engagement ring refurbished (I’d stopped wearing it when I was teaching young kids). It was wrapped and in the stocking-and was probably the single highest value item there.

[Bluegoat]

I don't generally spend a ton on stockings, though I don't really have a rule about it - I might spend my budget there if it seemed like a good idea.

 

It's more that my budget overall is pretty small, and stockings can add up really quickly.

[ktgrok]

All of the above?

 

Older people like teens/adults tend to get some pricier stocking gifts (although usually not an iPod or anything like that) in their stockings...up to and including some nice makeup or whatever. Younger kids are less expensive overall.

 

We WAY overdo the stockings. But its a family tradition on my mom's side and we enjoy it, so we keep it up. Stockings are filled, and then an equal amount to that or more is stacked next to the stocking. At least. It's crazy. It's often unusual or quirky things...things you don't buy all th time, like fancier chocolates or pickles that are unusual or whatever. Trader Joes comes in handy there, lol. Kids also get things like a thing of playdoh, or silly putty, or a card game, Plus candy. Plus toothpaste/toothbrush/deodarant/bodywash/etc. Plus maybe a calendar. Oh, and each child gets a can of olives, another weird family tradition. Maybe some favorite snack foods. Hot sauce. Whatever. It's overboard. But we can afford it. In lean years it is all from the dollar store or free stuff...my mom used to collect happy meal toys when we were little to stick in there or go to the thrift store, etc. All of this is wrapped in tissue paper. Because tradition...sigh. 

 

Little kids also get one bigger "santa' gift that is unwrapped the first thing they see. The teen's santa gift last year was a big stack of cases of ramen, lol.

 

Then regular gifts are wrapped and under the tree. 

[Corraleno]

For me, it's the physical size that determines whether something goes in the stocking. So even if it's an expensive gift, as long as it's small I will wrap it and put it in the stocking. There's also lots of candy and other inexpensive stuff in there, but I made the mistake of buying those GIGANTIC Pottery Barn stockings; it would take about $100 worth of candy to fill those suckers up, so I put anything in there that will fit. I'm eternally grateful to the person who suggested Pringles as stocking stuffers — that was a big help!  :thumbup:

[Night Elf]

I consider a stocking to be another gift. It's just not one item but a random assortment of things. I don't count stocking stuffers in my gift budget. So I can spend X dollars on each child but the stockings are not part of that dollar budget. Because of that ,I try not to go overboard. The most expensive item in a stocking is a $25 food gift card. That just seems an appropriate stocking item and not something to wrap and put under the tree.

[MotherGoose]

In my house they are small fun toys. But not junk. Once I emptied a lego set in there. This year it's tiny fun toys. Once I was old enough to understand, I got the years minted silver piece, and Cash. We also got one of those big candy cane sticks. So I won't raid the target dollar aisle to fill up the stocking.

Edited December 15, 2017 by MotherGoose

[Prairie~Phlox]

I spend about $20 per stocking. My mom never stuffed stockings, so I love stuffing them & finding deals.

[Melissa B]

We have moved to only doing stockings, so we may do more in them than average. The items do tend to be on the practical side though: body lotions, shoe laces, food gift cards, pens, earbuds, etc.

[SKL]

Small size.  Other than that, a bunch of stuff to bulk it up.  I think someone on WTM gave me the idea I'm using this year of pringles for bulk.  :P

[SparklyUnicorn]

It's a tradition I wish I never started.  I usually just buy candy, but geesh that crap adds up (cost wise) and my kids don't really need more candy.  But I don't want to spend more, I don't want dollar store items, I always forget about it and end up running to some pharmacy last minute...  My kids have come to expect it so...

[Bluegoat]

Another good bulky filler is a water bottle, or even other fancy drinks in bottles or cans.

[Guest]

I dont do much in the way of stocking stuffers as gifts. DD has always been the most likely kid to get something besides candy in there, because she liked nail polish or nice lip balms. But, no, I don’t put pricey things in the stockings, even if they are physically small.

[gaillardia]

What I got in my stocking for years: an orange or tangerine, a couple of walnuts in the shell and an almond, a candy cane. My parents were from the depression era, born in the 20's/30's, so I think that is where that idea came from. 

What do or have I put in my kids stockings? Matchbox car for a boy, pack of gum, a favorite candy, candy cane, Lego toy, small stuffed toy, unwrapped.

 

I mentioned the stockings the other day. One of the teens asked why I would put them up, we don't put anything in them anymore. :( So I thought maybe I better put something in them. I made the stockings and I love to see them hanging. 

[Innisfree]

For us, stockings have the same things dh and I used to get in them: a tangerine in the toe, an apple, some nuts (in the shell), and candy. The candy is the hit, of course, and the rest takes up space so there isn't too much candy ;-), though there's no shortage.

 

There's usually some mention of how big a treat the fresh fruit and nuts used to be, too, complete with a reference to the Christmas when (then Princess) Elizabeth asked for an orange for her present. That tale may be apocryphal, I don't know. This is what comes of having older parents for multiple generations, lol.

 

Presents from Santa are under the stockings, not wrapped, and presents from the family are wrapped and under the tree.

[I talk to the trees]

Stockings in our house are filled with the things that have become traditions for us. Dh gets Jelly Babies and maybe a t-shirt and pajama pants. Dd gets a t-shirt, a little game of some sort, and a hair or makeup item. And Santa always brings me a Games magazine and my favorite face powder. So nothing expensive, but things we all love to get.

[Debbi in Texas]

I never had stockings growing up (still haven't), so I tend to go overboard. My son just likes candy in his though, so that helps. It is nice candy though.

[MooCow]

We always did stockings last, and my mom would put in something a little special. I remember one year it was a swatch watch. And she always put in Sees candy.

 

Now with my own family, I can't afford that, so it's a low value gift card and socks and cheaper candy.

[prairiewindmomma]

This year we are doing stockings + experiences...just changing things up.

[KungFuPanda]

To me the stocking is some candy and maybe a notebook. A little fun before present opening.

 

But I see people getting pretty expensive things and saying "great stocking stuffer!" Like luxury beauty products, tools, alcohol, jewelry, ipods, cosmetics, nice wool socks. etc.

Is it just the size? If it's small it goes in the stocking?

Or is it that most gifts go into the stocking and there are just a couple of wrapped gifts?

Or do people just go completely hog wild with spending?

I just do snacks and trinkets in ours. When the kids were little, stockings were fair game immediately but they had to wait for us to wake up to touch anything else.

 

I think other people are more serious about how they utilize stockings.

[Annie G]

We didn't wrap stocking stuff when the kids were little but as they became teens and the gifts became fewer because they were more expensive, we started wrapping some.  Some of our things are tradition like a single special bottle of soda, Andes mints, cashews for dh, pistachios for the kids.  We usually try to find a fun item or two to stick in there also. 

 

I've never put deodorant, toothpaste, to shampoo in ours. Just fun stuff. 

[Frances]

We only do stockings here, no other gifts. Even then, probably the most expensive thing that would ever be put in the stocking is some very nice face lotion/sunscreen or a special ink or pen. More common items are favorite candies, gloves, books, chapstick, batteries, etc.

[Elizabeth86]

I love em. My dh doesn't get it either. He just wants to get some candy. My mom never out much in stockings either.

[Prairie~Phlox]

Thankfully my dh "gets" full stockings, his mom did the same. We don't do a lot of other gifts & don't spend a lot per child, usually $75-100 each now that they're older. I don't wrap things & am always looking for clearance items to put in them. I even shared this post with them & they said they LOVE getting stockings.

[MBM]

No stockings here. A few presents. That’s it.

 

Bah humbug. :)

[poppy]

Ha, so after all these replies, I still don't get it!

 

 

Or maybe I do.

What I'm seeing is:

Some people ONLY do stockings

Some people put expensive stuff into the stockings and get 1-2 other gifts

Some people put expensive stuff into the stockings and also put lots of other expensive gifts

Some people put trinkets in the stockings and most gifts are under the tree

 

 

We are most definitely in the last category. 

There is no wrong way to do it, but, I'm thinking with such variety, the term "stocking stuffer" doesn't mean much!

[edelweiss]

I agree that "stocking stuffers" can mean lots of different things!  I put physically small items in ours.  My daughters like make-up, so if I buy one of them a $28 Nars lipstick that they requested, I would put it as a stocking stuffer rather than wrapping it up as a gift.  I tend to have items in a mixture of costs in the stocking because I really choose what to put on there based on size.

[boscopup]

I put candy and small trinkets in there. The kids also get SOCKS. Lots and lots of socks. They're fairly big stockings, so I stuff 12-15 pairs of socks on top of the candy. :lol: (and every year, come December, I hear, "I can't find any socks!" - they've lost 10-11 pairs of the socks from the previous year)

 

Real gifts, no matter the size, go under the tree. We just wrap smaller stuff in shipping boxes that other easily wrappable items came in.

[solascriptura]

For us, stocking stuffers are chocolates, socks, underwear, and stuff we all need (but I decided to wrap since it’s more fun that way). Hair ties, pencils, gum...

[teachermom2834]

We do mostly based on size. Candy and snacks, socks, a rolled up tshirt, body wash are all common. What has developed over time is that we stopped wrapping Santa gifts. So the deal is now family gifts wrapped under the tree to be opened on Christmas Eve with stockings and a few unwrapped gift items near the stockings that are from Santa in the morning. Stockings are placed on a chair with the stuffed stocking surrounded by a few unwrapped gifts. So typical stocking fare with a toy next to the stocking. Now that no one believes in Santa the gift placement is typically determined by size and or shape for ease of wrapping or presentation. So stockings morphed into stockings+ Santa gifts all together. So anything is fair game in their "stockings" but there is nothing actually under the tree from Santa.

[EmilyGF]

Last year someone on the forum suggested giving everyone their own can of Pringles, which I thought was brilliant because it is cheap and takes up a lot of space. I'd completely forgotten, but around Thanksgiving, the kids began asking me to please put Pringles in the stockings again. I guess we have a new family tradition!

 

I have five kids and stuffing the stockings can REALLY add up fast - a dollar here, a dollar here, and pretty soon it becomes a lot of money!

 

Emily

[1GirlTwinBoys]

Our stocking stuffers is candy and a small glass bottle of Coke.  Sometimes there might be a gift card but that's it.

[Wabi Sabi]

Our stockings are not huge, so size is a limiting factor. My kids' stockings usually have a paperback book for each, maybe a pair of earrings or gloves, an orange in the toe, a couple handfuls of small candies like Hershey Kisses, maybe one or two other full sized candies, new earbuds, toothbrush, often a fancy shower gel, lotion, toiletry (and probably purchased at TJ Maxx for $3-$4), beef jerky, a box of ds' favorite pencils, hair ties, batteries, etc. It does add up, and I probably end up spending $30-$50 even on a small stocking, but it's mostly stuff I would've bought for them anyhow (not junk junk), and I only have two kids so it's manageable for us. 

Edited December 16, 2017 by Wabi Sabi

[Garga]

I try to build up to the best present. So, stockings are opened first and it's the little and goofy stuff.

 

Then we move to the gifts under the tree. I'll keep one or two to the side for the kids to open last. They can open whatever they want, until that last gift. That's the one I think they'll like the best.

 

We had a year where they opened the best stuff first and the boring stuff (like socks or whatever) last and it's not as much fun. It's more fun to see the little stuff and build up to a fun finish. Much like fireworks.

[Chris in VA]

That's how we do it, too, Garga--

 

For me growing up, stockings were placed in beds at night so they are the first thing you see in the morning. You unwrap each item and can even eat candy before breakfast if you want to. 

Then you go into your brothers' room, which is usually off-limits, and find they are waking up and opening their stockings, too. 

Then you actually chat with them, and they are nice to you, because you are the youngest and usually a pain, but it is Christmas, so their hearts are made more tender to you.

Then you call the dog upstairs, which is Not Usually Allowed, and he comes up so happily, and his Beagle-Eagerness is just all over the place.

 

Then you troop together in your jammies, holding your stockings, into your Parents Room, saying "Merry Christmas!" and they groggily (but good-naturedly) repeat the greeting, and give hugs. 

 

Then you still must wait just minute while Dad gets the floodlights ready so he can film you coming down the stairs and into the livingroom to see the tree and begin Christmas Morning. 

 

Now I know we were given stockings in our beds so that Mom and Dad could get a few minutes extra sleep. We do the same in our home, because now the dad is a priest who doesn't get home until 1:30am Christmas morning and needs the extra sleep. 

 

I miss my brothers!  :001_smile:

[ktgrok]

This post is so full of joy it made me tear up. Thank you for sharing. Our traditions are slightly different, but so very much the same. Nostalgia :)

 

Much love to you and your family this season. Merry Christmas!

 

(and for those wondering what is different, stockings were out in the living room, each on a chair, and we had to wait for mom and dad to even see those, because as I said in an earlier post they are over the top and so mom wanted to see us open them. Then we had to have breakfast before opening the rest of the presents. I now know that "breakfast" was actually just time for mom and dad to get caffeinated before continuing.)

That's how we do it, too, Garga--

 

For me growing up, stockings were placed in beds at night so they are the first thing you see in the morning. You unwrap each item and can even eat candy before breakfast if you want to. 

Then you go into your brothers' room, which is usually off-limits, and find they are waking up and opening their stockings, too. 

Then you actually chat with them, and they are nice to you, because you are the youngest and usually a pain, but it is Christmas, so their hearts are made more tender to you.

Then you call the dog upstairs, which is Not Usually Allowed, and he comes up so happily, and his Beagle-Eagerness is just all over the place.

 

Then you troop together in your jammies, holding your stockings, into your Parents Room, saying "Merry Christmas!" and they groggily (but good-naturedly) repeat the greeting, and give hugs. 

 

Then you still must wait just minute while Dad gets the floodlights ready so he can film you coming down the stairs and into the livingroom to see the tree and begin Christmas Morning. 

 

Now I know we were given stockings in our beds so that Mom and Dad could get a few minutes extra sleep. We do the same in our home, because now the dad is a priest who doesn't get home until 1:30am Christmas morning and needs the extra sleep. 

 

I miss my brothers!  :001_smile:

 

[mmasc]

My favorite part of Christmas morning was always my stocking when I was young, and it’s still my favorite. I’m not sure why it was/is...🤔 I think I just liked the things like body wash, lotions, lip gloss...all the little, cool assortment of stuff in a cool package—a sock! Therefore, I really, really enjoy filling my kids’ stockings. We don’t do big, expensive stuff, but it’s fun to find neat, unique stuff. Santa fills the stockings, so I do have to be careful to not put really obvious things in there. We had the bigger stockings growing up and I just loved sticking my arm in there searching for stuff. Lol It’s so funny how traditions vary in each family. I was so surprised when at my first Christmas with my inlaws, I saw that they had these tiny stockings and my MIL would just put the ‘stuffers’ in a gift bag and say ‘Here’s your stocking stuffers!’ What?!!! 😵 But, but, they’re not stuffed in a stocking?!!! She’s a sweet woman, but this is just crazy. 😂

[Kfamily]

In our home, the stocking was filled by Santa...so usually chocolates and a few small gifts (lotions, hair barrettes, fuzzy socks, unique treats, lipgloss...I have 2 girls) and Santa also leaves 2-3 unwrapped gifts. Usually 1 gift is a larger gift with 1 smaller one, but sometimes its 3 medium gifts. Santa usually delivered the new bike, roller skates, doll baby buggy/stroller, etc. and often the additional gift went along with it..so a new bike helmet, etc. Santa does not wrap presents, because then it would match Mom and Dad's wrapping paper. :) 

 

The remaining presents are from Mom, Dad and family and are wrapped.

 

Generally, we open 1-2 presents on Christmas Eve...usually these were Christmas pajamas, game, family gift, new Christmas book, etc.

[J-rap]

I think stocking stuffers used to be a few cheap extras:  a coloring book, candy/snack foods, pens, a tiny stuffed animal, etc.

 

I think retailers decided to market more expensive small items as "stocking stuffers" in order to make money, and now it has caught on.

 

 

[DawnM]

Most years stockings are filled with gum, toblerone, gift cards, pocket knives (or small flashlights, tools, camping supplies), and such.

 

In years past, many of our gifts were scouting or backpacking/hiking/camping related......hammocks, knives, tents, that sort of thing.

 

The oddest thing for me is that my boys spent over 10 years in scouts, loved all of it, oldest even went to Philmont.....and now that the older two are out, they want nothing to do with any of it anymore.  Middle son stopped liking the camping part by age 14, but did it because it was required and he still liked scouts and his friends.

 

Forgive me for having a nostalgic moment.  I have had some tears this am.  Middle son turns 18 today and I am not wanting him to grow up.