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Stocking stuffers- what are you putting in your kids' stockings?


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Love the pringles idea. We have big stockings. I sewed them when they were born and was excited for new kiddos. Now I have to fill them every year :lol: And I love the sugar cereal. Our Easter Bunny does that every year for a treat, but for some reason Santa never thought of it... duh!

 

And our Easter Bunny never thought of doing that! What a great idea! :D

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In the past we have put the individual size boxes of cereal, poptarts, chocolate covered granola bars, anything sugary that I won't usually buy for them. I love the tape idea. Everyone is going to get a roll this year. During some lean years I have baked batches of cookies or rice crispy treats and wrapped them individually for the kids to snack on. We have also bought boxes of little debbies and opened them up and divided them. And packets of hot chocolate mix, and to go with those, I melted chocolate chips in the microwave and dipped plastic spoons in them and wrapped up tied with a ribbon. Our stockings are always cheapy things so a $5 gift card would definitely be under the tree somehow. Coloring books and crayons (bought during back to school) or how to draw books, etc.

 

I made big homemade stockings for the first couple of kids, then had to continue on to 6!, and now I too have these big ol' stockings to fill. Definitely did think that one through!

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We have HUGE stockings, and Santa fills them with unusual snacks & candy, gum, CD's, DVD's, toothpaste, toothbrushes, socks, card games, pens & pencils, underwear, handkerchiefs, batteries, pencils, markers, cologne, cosmetics, gift cards (iTunes, GameStop, Amazon, Taco Bell, Starbucks, Subway...), etc.

Edited by ereks mom
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See there, now I have to add something more to my list for DS7....the boy just loves tape! Thank you - he's going to be thrilled!

 

I did the colored masking tape one year. I got rolls in all of the primary colors. Huge hit with ds when he was young. At 14, the only thing I have so far is candy. I haven't thought of anything else yet.

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I did the colored masking tape one year. I got rolls in all of the primary colors. Huge hit with ds when he was young. At 14, the only thing I have so far is candy. I haven't thought of anything else yet.

 

I'm having the same problem with ds15. Some of the ideas on this thread have inspired me though. This is what I have so far, or maybe it's enough, not sure:

 

jellybeans (Jelly Belly which he loves but I don't buy much)

Hot Wheels car (it's become a tradition, he even saves them)

itunes gift card

Game Stop gift card

book (new David Lubar book, silly really, but he has all the others so I figured why not)

other candy (Skittles, M&Ms)

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I have two who love crafts so I got them some small kits from Oriental Trading.

 

Other things I've put in in the past:

 

character undies when they were small

fun socks

small bouncy balls

balloon punching bags

plastic animals or reptiles

wallets

flashlights

candy

small calculators

small tools

hair things for dd

chapstick

Dover stuff- stickers, tattoos, small activity books and notepads

art supplies

small travel games

card games

flash drives

scotch tape- very much in demand here and they are always running out

glue dots- "

duct tape- "

Runescape membership giftcards

giftcards to the book store

small Klutz kits

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I'm having the same problem with ds15. Some of the ideas on this thread have inspired me though. This is what I have so far, or maybe it's enough, not sure:

 

jellybeans (Jelly Belly which he loves but I don't buy much)

Hot Wheels car (it's become a tradition, he even saves them)

itunes gift card

Game Stop gift card

book (new David Lubar book, silly really, but he has all the others so I figured why not)

other candy (Skittles, M&Ms)

 

I do small gift cards for my teen too. Also, I try to think of small things he needs, like a new wallet or belt. Also, junk food I don't normally buy is always a hit: jerky, bottles of Starbucks coffee drinks, pringles, etc.

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Boys:

Snow gloves (We're spending most of our Christmas budget on a trip to the snow. Santa is bringing them each snow pants, too.)

Breakfast cereal, the individual boxes

Lego minifigure

Wallet

Chocolate

Candy cane

Clementines

 

Girls:

Mini notebooks and pens

Bath soak

Lotion

Chocolate

Candy cane

Clementines

And some things chosen for each girl individually (ex: Sketchbook for artist dd, Barrel of monkeys and a chocolate bar with a souvenir wrapper of our state for our exchange student, eye makeup for my other dd)

 

One of our most popular stocking stuffers, and one that the kids still use, was the jeweller's loupe. I got 2-packs from Amazon for...$5/ea, I think? I got the idea from a stocking stuffer thread on this board. We still have them; the boys take them on nature hikes.

 

In the past we've done:

Underwear

Socks

Bandaids

Toothbrush and paste

Sunglasses

Hot Wheels

Legos

Lip gloss or lip balm

Animal-shaped soaps

Small books

$5 gift card to...bookstore, Jamba Juice, coffee shop, golf course

Golf balls

Swim goggles

Punch balloons, styrofoam gliders, etc.

Silly Putty

Brain teaser puzzles

Candy and gum

Cards and card games

 

I like doing stockings. If it was up to me, we'd just do stockings and be done. Actually, since the kids voted to spend most of the gift budget on a trip to the snow, that's just about what we're doing this year. :)

 

Cat

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I am loving all these new ideas, and stealing quite a few!

 

One more unusual thing in our stocking, that after this year will likely reappear annually -

 

New medic alert bracelets for our allergy kid. Doesn't sound exciting, but they are more fun to wear when made by elves (wink, wink) and they do make all kinds of kid-friendly designs.

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We do a version of toys and candy already listed.

 

Also, throughout the year, I collect charms and lapel/hat pins whenever we go on a field trip or family vaction. I also buy a charm the represents a major accomplishment or new activity for the year. For instance this year older DS is getting a lawnmower charm, latin pin, Monticello Charm and Kings Tavern pin from Williamsburg. They love opening that special gift, then I sew them on the outside of the stocking. Each year when we hang the stockings, we enjoy looking at the many memoriesrepresented.

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Toothbrushes are traditional. Sylvia will get an apple and Rebecca an orange. Also:

 

Scented nail polish

Justice GCs

Small stuffed animals w/big eyes from Justice

Kelly Clarkson CD

Card games

Lip gloss

Charm bracelet with 3 charms

AG mini craft kit

 

Duh, I almost forgot: Suckers, chocolate, peppermint Pop Rocks, and Bubble Tape!

 

I can't think of anything else. I hope I have enough to fill their stockings. They'll also get tickets to Phineas & Ferb Live and a little spending money, so hopefully that'll make up if they're not stuffed. ;)

Edited by Mommy22alyns
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For Scouts: emergency blanket (those little silver blankets), compass, whistle, (or even better- the whistle, flashlight, electric glow stick combo), stuff sack for their gear, spork or swiss army knife, cool neckerchief slide, boy scout sewing kit for quick repairs, duct tape, .... I'm sure there are more neat little gadgets that we did over the years. Go hit the camping aisle at Walmart or your local sporting good stores, there's always neat stuff for scouts!

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I am loving all these new ideas, and stealing quite a few!

 

One more unusual thing in our stocking, that after this year will likely reappear annually -

 

New medic alert bracelets for our allergy kid. Doesn't sound exciting, but they are more fun to wear when made by elves (wink, wink) and they do make all kinds of kid-friendly designs.

 

This is a great idea for my daughter with multiple food allergies. Where are you buying this? I feel like I must have been living under a rock not to know about this!

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DH usually gets the kids a couple of items, but I have some Australian candy (this is tradition as DH and his family are Aussies), a Christmas ornament, and a movie for each kid. Usually when DH unveils his independent purchases, the movie gets relegated to its own wrapping, but I never wrap it early - just in case!

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so it might appeal to different age groups. I've done this kind of thing the last few years.

 

Girls (22, 20 and almost 19):

 

Good razor blades for their Venus razors

Cotton rounds for makeup removal

Tweezers, clippers, eyelash curlers, emery boards and the like (not all each yr)

Fingernail polish

Victoria's Secret body spray (scents of the perfumes, but aerosol and cheaper)

Little makeup bags from VS

Pr of socks

Pr or few pr of undies

Starbucks cards

 

And this year for foodie goodies (mine don't love candy), I put:

 

Small packs of crackers from World Market with little individual hummus packs and the Jason's healthier version of Nutella packs, as well as packs of the vintage gum and some nice chocolates.

 

For DS 16:

 

Boxers

Victoria's Secret cologne spray for men

Really bright little flashlight

Rubber key covers for his car and house keys

Cheapo little basketball game for a fun gag gift

Subway gift card

The same foodie items as the girls, except I will throw in a big Reese's cup or some Reese's trees.

 

For my 2 1/2yo grandson:

 

Cars (Hot Wheels, "Cars" cars, little racers, etc. - he is INTO cars)

Little rubbery boat and submarine for bathtub

Books

Plastic dinosaurs

Dinosaur finger puppets

Few candies (m&ms, fruit juice suckers, etc)

 

For 4mo grandson:

 

Books (board and tub)

Organic bamboo lovey with wooden teether on one corner

Little hammer rattle

Sea horse rattle

Little Ty sea turtle "beanie" (sales raise $ for sea turtles - we love sea turtles)

His first chunky wooden Melissa & Doug puzzles will be with his stocking too

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ds12

Legos

candy

beef jerky

mechanical pencils

magazine

fruit (some crazy kind he always asks for and I never get)

 

 

dd9

candy

fuzzy socks

Legos

leg warmers

hair clips

scented pencils

shampoo (she likes to try fancy stuff in various scents)

 

ds5

Legos

fuzzy socks

candy

gum (first time!)

 

dd2

hair brush

head band

socks (she loves them)

 

I'm still working on the lists. The younger two are hard...

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For dd 18:

Life Saver's book

M&Ms candy cane

beef jerky

pistachios

iTunes card

Dairy Queen gift card (There is a DQ right across the street from her dorm.)

probably some chocolate :)

And perhaps a pair of earrings, if I can find just what I want

A Copic marker

And perhaps some other things, if they will fit.

 

Other things I have done for her:

She likes treats from Asia Mart, especially Pocky. She loves trying something new.

Tea.

Chopsticks

Spices

Jewelry

Stuffed animal We used to get her a Ty Beanie Baby cat for a number of years. We loved having something cute peeking out the top to greet her. Last year she got a stuffed microbe. Our son did, too, and they both loved them. I also bought one for my niece a week later and she loved it, too.

 

 

For our 4.5 yo son:

Life Saver book

M&M candy cane

Iron Man figure

Small Lego kit in a bag

Cork pop gun

A pen with koosh-like hair

Tape

Comb

Maybe mittens/gloves, if I can find a good fit.

He would love one of those lovely toys that you squeeze and something gross pops out.

A card game.

Tape measure

I am sure there will be a few more things, too.

 

I usually go overboard buying presents for our son, so I save some of it back for his birthday. That way his birthday shopping is all done. His birthday is close to 6 weeks after Christmas.

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HOLY COW! It's someone else who does olives!!!!!!!!:svengo:

 

My 6 year old daughter LOVES olives and I got her a big jar of gourmet ones stuffed with orange from Marshalls the other day for her stocking.

 

I also have Thomas trains for my son, Squinkies for both (I hate those stupid things, but they love them so I relent), and a couple of Toobs --- fairies for dd and zoo for ds.

 

I've only read through pg 4, but I have to say that those Toobs are awesome!! My 4yr old and 2yr old would LOVE them. Thanks for sharing :)

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Candy, that I can later steal back for myself

Pencils, to replace the 4,687 of them that have been sucked into the black hole that must exist at my house

A little money, to then demand back to pay for the overdue fines on their library books

Fast food gift cards, so that I do not feel bad for all the times I stop and buy myself overpriced coffee while telling them that we need to save money by not buying treats

Little notebooks, so that they can keep track of all my failings as a mother so that they can throw them back at me when they are older

 

Tis the season!

 

I love Christmas. I love stockings. I love this time of year. We celebrate in big ways both in honoring the true reason for the season and in giving to each other. But I have to admit, my rarely seen cynical/sarcastic side along with the ever present Mommy guilt side certainly related to this. :)

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We do olives too! My older kids each get a can of black olives :)

 

One thing we do every year that I didn't see posted yet scratch off lottery cards. We get 10 or so for each of the older girls and they have fun hoping for something more than a free ticket. It's not something we would normally buy so it's kind of fun.

 

Thanks for all the great ideas! I've gotten quite a list started.

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Where do you get smencils? Invisible ink pens? Amazon? Can I get them in person somewhere?

 

I saw smencils at Meijer in the "seasonal" section with other stocking stuffers. No Meijers in TX, but maybe Target? I've seen them at Barnes & Noble too, either in the kids section or near the registers.

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I personally hate stockings! I feel like I do all this shopping, and then I have to fill the stockings, which is never cheap! This year, I was having my kids each buy gifts for each other when I had the brilliant idea - let them fill each other's stockings! I'm off the hook, stockings get filled, and it's a neat thing between the siblings. There is also a $$$ limit when I do it this way. That's what we're doing this year.

.

 

I was never keen on stockings either until I discovered that by choosing carefully and wrapping everything I could get more sleep on Christmas morning. The deal is every kid could take their stocking to their room when they woke up but they had to stay in their rooms and stay quiet until everyone was up. I'd put in a Foxtrot comic book for the boys, a teenie bop magazine or a book I knew my daughter wanted, a Dvd or inexpensive video game, a small toy, plus candy. Worked like a charm-kept them occupied and happy which was good by me.

 

All teens here this year and here's what I'm thinking so far (thanks for the ideas on previous threads!)

 

Beef sticks

Nutella

Stainless Steel water bottle cleaned out and filled with M&M's

One gift card--varies by kid (itunes, Sonic, pizza)

Nail polish and hair stuff for my daughter

Inexpensive extra flash drive (I was hoping to find fun ones but couldn't find anything locally)

Tardis charm for my daughter

Star wars boxer shorts for the boys in a tin

Stretchie gloves (the kind they're always losing)

Mechanical pencil lead

Candy they don't usually get--Swedish fish, German chocolate, Buttered Popcorn Jelly Bellies, marzipan if my mom makes it down in time since I can't find it here.

 

I'm thinking to put some kind of tool in for the boys--not sure on that yet.

 

Great thread, thanks! I'm off to read the rest for more ideas.

Edited by Pippen
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Candy, that I can later steal back for myself

Pencils, to replace the 4,687 of them that have been sucked into the black hole that must exist at my house

A little money, to then demand back to pay for the overdue fines on their library books

Fast food gift cards, so that I do not feel bad for all the times I stop and buy myself overpriced coffee while telling them that we need to save money by not buying treats

Little notebooks, so that they can keep track of all my failings as a mother so that they can throw them back at me when they are older

 

Tis the season!

 

LOL I love this! And great idea..fast food gift cards..I'm forever doing the same thing.

 

 

As for us, mine usually get foods they don't normally get much of. Fruit roll-ups, cereal (fun stuff like fruit loops, etc.), snack cakes, juice box, stuff like that. Along with just whatever strikes me/we can afford. I like mini puzzles, balls, cars, flashlights, funky socks, gloves (because they always get sucked into that black hole too).

 

This year I'm adding a bottle of tabasco sauce to the older boys'. They are at that "dare you to" stage.

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I saw smencils at Meijer in the "seasonal" section with other stocking stuffers. No Meijers in TX, but maybe Target? I've seen them at Barnes & Noble too, either in the kids section or near the registers.

 

I've bought Smencils at Barnes and Noble. Also try teacher supply stores.

 

We do the Lifesavers book each year (original for ds, gummy for dd).

I think this year, since ds is in his own place, I'll get him some kitchen gadgets and seasonings, some toiletries and an iTunes gc.

 

For dd, she'll get some snacks, a hair barrette she saw on Thinkgeek.com, pencils, gum, zebra duck tape, nail polish, body wash.

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a can of my child's favorite soup

 

lollipop

 

$2.00 bill

 

book

 

chocolate coins

 

a chocolate turkey (because we didn't see my daughter at Thanksgiving)

 

a CD

 

a $5.00 gift certificate to the local doughnut store

 

I've been known to put in a package of new underwear and socks, magazines, cereal ....

 

Regards,

Kareni

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