When my sister and I were in high school and college, we loved Christmas mornings. Our father would take it upon himself to stuff our stockings with lots of interesting items.
Laura and I would guffaw as we pulled out random items from the stockings: Marks-A-Lot jumbo black markers, rolls of Scotch tape, and packages of Doublemint and Juicy Fruit gum.
His idea of stocking fun was practicality and office supplies.
Whether because of genetics or environmental influence, I have adopted my dad’s stocking stuffer technique. I tend to gravitate toward practical items for my kids’ stockings, too. They love them! The items aren’t expensive; they are useful; and they won’t rot their teeth.
Things that will appear in my kids’ stockings this year:
- toothbrush (characters)
- toothpaste
- stickers of their favorite characters
- socks (favorite characters)
- colorful or character bandage strips
- pencils, pens, crayons
- notepads, notebooks
- hair do-dads
- fingernail polish
- lip balm
- small bottles of Play-Doh, bubbles
- Glow bracelets and other miscellaneous small toys
Great places to shop for these items:
- Go to Dollar Tree now! I find that Dollar Tree is always well-stocked on holiday items at the very beginning of the season. That’s right now because of the early push on Christmas this year. Today I found some cute notepads and pens and those magic wash clothes that begin as a small square but grow once they are wet. My kids love those types of things; so much more useful than cheap toys and a lot healthier than candy.
- The one-dollar aisle at Target is another fabulous place to find these types of items. I found the Slinky Junior toy as well as Crazy Eight and Old Maid card games there.
- I have gotten lots of good deals at Big Lots in the past as well. I haven’t been there yet this year, but I will go. They tend to have well-recognized brand name items for a LOT less money.
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