Many stocking stuffer ideas come from thinking about a person’s interests and hobbies. A package of baseball cards or other sports cards are exciting to collectors. Some people have collections of hundreds of beanie babies. Other people, both young and old, collect stuffed animals. For a dog lover there is nothing cuter than a stuffed puppy hanging out of the top of a Christmas stocking.
Paper stocking stuffing ideas can be exciting as well. How about a coupon to a fast food restaurant or a subscription to a magazine? Maybe you will find a ticket to a Red Sox--Yankee game just sitting there in the middle of your stocking. Or maybe it’s a ticket to a hockey, football or basketball game. Other brilliant stocking stuffer ideas include event tickets, such as to concerts, theater productions, or maybe even skiing tickets for a weekend in Vermont. Finding lottery tickets in your Christmas stocking might seem to be a bit commercial, but nobody ever complains, especially if the ticket is a winner.
Seasonal stocking stuffer ideas, such as Christmas ornaments, are always a hit. Many people collect Christmas ornaments from every year and this tradition even gets passed on to their kids. A Christmas mug or glass can fit well in the middle of most stockings. Make sure to wrap it well so it doesn’t get broken. And, while we are on the subject, wrapping all of your little stocking stuffers in Christmas paper will make opening each one a lot more fun.
Useful stocking stuffer ideas
There are all kinds of stocking stuffer ideas which are simply useful items that you will be sure to use at some point during the year. Items you can never find when you want one, such as pens and pencils, or batteries are great stocking stuffers. Others might include a notebook or diary, fishing lures, golf balls, kitchen utensils, a computer mouse, toothbrush, book, socks, candles, underwear, mittens, tools, flashlights, or even a long distance calling card.
That leads us to stocking stuffer ideas for people who go nuts about electronics. Today there are a lot of small electronic gadgets which are very helpful day to day and that are just the right size to fit into a Christmas stocking. Among these are a cell phone and the accessories that go with it, a digital camera, iPod and iPod nano, video games, CDs, DVDs, MP3 player, or pocket radio. There are all kinds of small computer gadgets that would be big hits as stocking stuffers, including such tiny ones as a flash drive or memory stick.
Stocking stuffers for kids
It doesn’t matter if you have a one-year-old or a sixteen-year-old, when it comes to stocking stuffer ideas for kids. Tots love edibles like animal crackers and candy, stuffed animals, toy cars and trucks, color books and crayons, dolls, Legos ™ or PlayDoh™. Bubble bath always goes over big with children as do those little bottles of bubble mix which you blow through a wand. There is always room for a doll or a stuffed animal in a child’s stocking.
Teenagers like CDS or DVDs, video games and a phone card or a music gift card, such as i-tunes or one of the other music services. Cell phones and hand-held computers and electronic games are also good stocking stuffer ideas.
And don’t forget the pet stockings. Your favorite dog is going to expect lots of treats, such as biscuits or bacon strips. Cats like treats too, and keep both dogs and cats in mind as you pick out stuffed toys, balls, and other things to chase. They also have plenty of treats for rabbits, gerbils, hamsters, reptiles, and other small critters--all of these are great stocking stuffing ideas for pets.
Start shopping around early for your stocking stuffers and you should not have any trouble finding just what you need. Keep in mind how much fun it is unwrapping all of the stocking stuffers, and if you haven’t tried it lately, next Christmas is a good time to hang your stockings up on the mantel and start a new family tradition.