Budget Friendly Stocking Stuffers

[rnorwo1]

I am going to load my 3 sons' stockings with scotch tape!! That stuff is like gold around here,. They are always asking for it and I have to stop what I'm doing to find some, and then eventually I have to cut them off from it b/c they use so much. I think they are going to be thrilled to have their own and be able to use it until it's gone... maybe they'll even learn to be a bit frugal with it if they "own" it! I usually also get them a character flashlight, they're usually abot $3 and they love them.

 

[pigletto]

So far...
DD 13- Bath and Body Works scented antibacterial hand spray and cream.

And.. that's it.

Things I traditionally do are toothbrushes, underwear, deoderant, hair stuff, make up, pens, individual hot chocolate mixes in fun flavors, candy, gum etc.

DS (6) will get socks, undies, character band aids, silly bands, crayons or markers, matchbox cars, stickers, bath crayons, candy etc.

I try for a mix of practical and fun. My kids lose or wreck their socks at a ridiculous rate so it's always practical to throw some more in there and if I have to buy toothbrushes anyway I might as well include them. But there's always quite a few fun items too.

 

[DominicaAnne]

toothbrush, toothpaste, mittens, hairbands, crayons, playdough, toy cellphone, fisher price little people, small books, bubble bath, cute socks, winter hat, a favorite candy or treat, a plastic cup with a favorite character on it, sidewalk chalk, bottle of bubbles, a play necklace

I also did hair trinkets, bubble bath, a small package of cookies, crayons and coloring books, and mittens. I would also buy inexpensive books.
Does she like bath toys? You can get leters for the bathtub, bath crayons, or rubber ducks.
Refrigerator ABC magnets also make good stocking stuffers.

Great ideas! Thank you

 

[pigletto]

I am going to load my 3 sons' stockings with scotch tape!! That stuff is like gold around here,. They are always asking for it and I have to stop what I'm doing to find some, and then eventually I have to cut them off from it b/c they use so much. I think they are going to be thrilled to have their own and be able to use it until it's gone... maybe they'll even learn to be a bit frugal with it if they "own" it! I usually also get them a character flashlight, they're usually abot $3 and they love them.

So TRUE! Whenever I go to wrap a present someone has stolen and used all the tape for some project. I'm going to load my own stocking with it

 

[RangerPooh]

I like the scotch tape idea My girls always snag mine, even when I think I've hidden it well.

 

[mjantz]

Not to hijack the thread but I start buying scotch tape in September so I'm ready for Christmas. This came about after 1 year when I ran out & DH went to the store & came back with double-sided because it was all they had. I think I have 5-7 rolls around here some where.

 

[blackforest]

I've had that happen too! I have found that a suppy of glue sticks does the trick. Unless, DD8 has been getting "creative"!

 

[magchavez]

Don't forget band-aids for little ones. Toy Story, Barbie, Scooby Doo are always popular in our stockings.

 

[MissAndrea]

Just posted this in the other stocking thread but I will post here too-

Love all of these ideas! What I usually do is shop the Target dollar section all year. I'm one of those people who shops all year and puts it all in the gift closet. Anyhoo, I love when the dollar spot goes 75% off because I will buy tons of little stocking stuffers for $.25! DD9 usually ends up with markers, pens, pencils, cute little post it notes (all with characters on them), lip balm, some little tween body wash, bubble bath, or lotion. Then non-dollar spot will usually be a DVD or 2. If I need some filler, then I'll add some candy. This year I'm putting Littlest Pets because she LOVES those things and they are small enough to put in there. Right now there are some cute Mickey pens in the dollar spot at Target but I'm saving that as a Tinkerbell gift for the next Disney trip.

Editing to add- I bought a bunch of books at garage sales this past summer (they look brand new!) so there will be a few of those in there. And silly bandz!

 

[squirrel]

I found a good deal on calculators and mini digital photo keychains.

I also keep my eye out all year long for deals.

As we are all grown and do a $50 draw for one family member, we don't have to fill the stockings. We get each person a few items or one bigger item as there are at least 4 other people putting stuff in the stockings. Some years we have stockings and bags as there is so much to put in the stockings it doesn't fit.

 

[3boymthr]

For oldest DS so far I've gotten a personalized deck of cards from Artscow ($3.99 shipped) and a travel alarm clock (free after promotional GC from LL Bean ). In addition I will get him a PSP game.

I haven't gotten anything for the other kids yet. Usually I get them all some candy and a flashlight and small stuffed animal (usually a Webkinz but sometimes not) and then the rest of the things that end up in the stockings are items that are too small to go under the tree; this probably a pocket knife for middle DS who will be moving up to Boy Scouts.

These were the small stuffed animal from last year, but I just have to post them. They were very fun. http://www.amazon.com/Flingshot-Fly...CLZU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1289914347&sr=8-1

They really do scream. A cheap filler if you are buying more than one.

 

[RangerPooh]

Let's not forget the $5 gift cards that fit nicely into stockings We usually do McD's, Starbucks/various coffee shops, 31 flavors/Coldstone, Subway (usually $10)

 

[DominicaAnne]

Some years we have stockings and bags as there is so much to put in the stockings it doesn't fit.

My mom calls those bags "active overflow"

 

[Gina]

For DS (14) I'm putting guitar picks, guitar strings, banjo picks, reeds for his sax, iTunes cards, lots of little chocolates that he loves, mechanical pencils (loves those too), a couple mini-bottles of cologne, some new headphones, and whatever little interesting things I find between now and Christmas.

Our sweet dog usually gets a couple of things in her stocking. The cats couldn't care less (about anything, lol) and I'm not going to fill their stockings with cat food (which they actually would care about) so theirs go empty.

 

[PrincessParty]

DD14: rubber duckies (she wants to collect different ones).

My DD14 collects rubber ducks and garden gnomes...has for years. Has over 300 different ducks and 150 gnomes.

Oriental Trading Company is the place for ducks! Happy hunting, even if it's not duck season!