I’m almost ready for Christmas. Most of the gifts are purchased, wrapped and under the tree.
But my inner monologue has been going non-stop for the past few days.
Our kids have plenty of stuff. Rooms filled with toys. Toys in disarray.
No matter how many times we purge, we still have more than we need. Then Christmas comes, I dole out gift-ideas to the others who love them, and then try to come up with gifts from us that will make Christmas morning special . . . but won’t end up tossed aside before New Year’s Eve.
It’s just so tempting to buy more. As someone who tends toward excess, that temptation is almost too much to bear. Christmas is a great excuse to grab anything that they would “love,” and I LOVE a great excuse!
I’ve heard the advice to give each child three gifts, just like the wisemen brought Jesus. I’ve always thought it was a good idea, but haven’t done it until this year. While I’m willing to accept the “how noble” pats on the back, I’m not really noble.
I just can’t come up with more things that they actually need after the gifts they’ll receive from extended family. My goal this year has been to buy them things I’m confident will have continued play-appeal. I’m using my mommy intuition.
But it’s hard.
I know that they’d “love to have” many different things. But while the girl in the commercial might smile and laugh at the little robo-hamsters zipping around for hours, my girl wouldn’t.
And then it would be clutter.
I got so frustrated today looking for stocking stuffers. Really, stocking stuffers are . . . . stuffing. Stuff that makes the stocking look big, filled up. Like the cotton batting inside a pillow.
So I bought some candy (and am going to use any wrapped candy hubby brought home from work-gifts), silly putty, fruit (it’s big and healthy), a small toy for my daughter and Gameboy games (that I got free with Swagbucks) for the boys.
I looked, and looked . . . and looked at the dinky plastic toys and flashy doo-lollies meant to be stocking stuffers, and all I could see was clutter.
Do you have any great non-clutter stocking stuffer ideas?
Pens and pencils. They're practical – the kids can use them at school and the holiday ones are darn near close to free at Walgreens.
My kids get silly bandz, temporary tattoos, chapsticks, candy, shower puffs, crayons, bubble bath, pencils, socks, a toothbrush, little notebooks, mittens, and one book in their stockings. The book and the socks take up a lot of space so it still looks pretty full.
After 2008, I finally declared war on seasonal stuff, other than candy…I don't buy Santa Claus yo-yos or necklaces or even Christmas-themed pencils at Christmas and the Easter Bunny does not bring Easter-themed toys like those awfully cute chirping chicks, either. The seasonal "stuff" like that is always the stuff that ends up becoming out-and-out clutter and waste, because the kids don't want to play with it (or put it away!) after the holiday has passed. My rule of thumb is that if a potential "stuffer" for baskets or stockings will immediately go on major clearance after the holiday, I force myself to not buy it. It really has helped cut down on the number of small plastic things I step on. If I absolutely can't resist something like Christmas stickers or those candy cane pens, I give them to the kids before Christmas so they can use them the heck up while they're still in season.
Oh, sorry to comment again but a few good non-clutter ideas…
Play dough
A cup or mug, maybe with the kid's name or favorite character on it (not Santa or a penguin, see above!)
Aluminum water bottle (takes up a lot of space in the stocking, and they come in lots of colors)
Playing cards
Those silly magic-towel washcloths you can buy at the dollar store. One year my mom found four different themes and bought each of my kids five of their very own. Those things actually hold up surprisingly well after you first drop them in water to unfold them, the kids love them, and with each kid having a different theme, I always know which kid left his/her washcloth on the floor and can call the appropriate child back in to pick it up.
I found some little individual Playmobile people. My boys are really into those because they are "flexible" –meaning they can play with whatever other action figures they want, or army men.:)
Otherwise, I like things like small books and consumable items. I'd add bubbles to the things you mentioned. Who says they are just for summer? Other than that, I can't really remember what we got.
Hi Nony, I really agree with you on this post…I too used to buy the seasonal cheapy plastic things but do it no more, it all ended up at Goodwill because I cannot stand clutter and it was such a waste of money I could have used elsewhere or donated. This year my boys are getting packs of gum (teens inhale this stuff) candy, gift cards for Itunes and that is all…By the way, we (my mom and I) enjoy your blog. My mom struggles with clutter badly. So the running joke after I showed her your blog is that she is going to become like Nony *someday* 🙂 I sure wish she would! Hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas!
Growing up our stockings were always filled with toiletries for the year, a tradition Santa has remembered now that I have my own children. We get socks and underwear and toothbrushes and deodorant and shampoo and soap and bandaids and candy and a piece of fruit. Works for us!
I was tired ofthe same thing to with stockings. This year I bought both girls a watch, my little one got bath stuff. The older one getting shaver(she's 15). The little one is getting paints and older one is getting earrings. I also got them there favorite candy. I also cut back on presents this year. My kids have too much stuff now. Let alone more stuff. Tomorrow we are cleaning there rooms but today we are baking up a storm with at least 9 different cookies recipes My sil and my favorite(only) niece is coming to help should be alot of fun if the adults can get along.
bubble bath, school supplies, colouring book, beanie baby, hair brush…cause we can never seem to find our, toothbrushes, art supplies, scarf, mitts, scratch lotto tickets, lip balm, new bath puffs..undies with characters and socks with characters on them..
celina in canada
I don't know how old the kids in question are, but gift cards are a hit here with mine (not the 2yo though, he doesn't get it 🙂 ). For the *stuffing* aspect of it you can get (or make) a holder for it that takes up space. I saw a whole rack of some neat ones at Target. If they're too young for their own shopping (or iTunes, my two oldest now have iPods, sheesh) you could do the same with chore passes or other around the house "coupons".
Thanks for all these ideas! Keep 'em coming.
I think I'll definitely pick up some undies for everyone, since those will take up a lot of space!
And anonymous, it's great to know that you and your mom both read. Along with my main goal of getting my own house under control, I often hope that people who love slobs might be able to understand them better by seeing inside their/my head!
We like to do bug bites and scooby snacks for our boys (santa and the Easter bunny are the only ones who get them those) they take up some room. Fun bubble bath or bath paints, character tooth brush (the dentist gets them those otherwise they just get the cheap plain ones) My mom does chapstick, playing cards, fruit, the traditional little debbie christmas tree cake, some free sample stuff we both get throughout the year (coffee, perfume, ect.) and one year did lottery tickets for the older kids (my mom does a stocking for everyone, inlaws and grandkids rather than a gift for everyone, our family is HUGE and it makes it something a little more personal to have you stocking with your name on it at grandmas!)
I think it was Life as Mom who wrote about stuffing them with a special breakfast. I bought our 4 boys mini cereal boxes, juice boxes, and applesauce. I also do 3 gifts and this year one of them is a bucket of candy. It's not the healthiest I know, but It's not another toy to throw out in a couple of weeks. I really like reading everyone's ideas, I'll have to write them down (and hope I don't lose that piece of paper by next year. HA!)
This goes with undies, but SOCKS. For. the. Love! We need socks so badly around here (my daughter is an athlete and hers just SMELL so bad it is amazing!) ANd, yes, toiletries (everyone shaves and that is SO expensive!), smell good lotion I wouldn't ordinarily buy, pens, pencils, post-it notes, word search stuff.
A friend of mine puts Christmas socks in their stockings…it's a tradition that everyone at their house for Christmas must have a pair of Christmas socks for the opening of gifts. She also will put a new calendar in each stocking along with a toothbrush and various toiletries, batteries of varying strengths and many of the things others have mentioned before me.
As a kid we could always count on an apple, an orange, and a box of Bazooka Joe bubble gum in the foot of our stocking. Also, my mom wrapped each thing individually, that much wrapping paper can take up some serious space. We also got toothbrushes, chapstick, I would get earrings. And batteries. We starrted to get a pack or two of AA batteries every year. More if we had toys that needed them. It's a great way to take up spcae in the stocking, everybody had their own pack, and it was something that my mom would have to buy anyway.
Toothbrushes -the battery powered kind and "kid" toothpaste show up in our kids' stockings every year. It's practically a must since their stockings are also filled with candy. 😉
love all the ideas stocking stuffers can be soooo pricey. I love the idea of underwear and socks we can always use them. We all get one magazine for our stocking which takes up some space. I buy us treats because I too know they will be eaten up. I am definitely going to use some of the ideas I read here thanks everyone for sharing.
I usually don't "stuff" a stocking. I will put a $5 dvd, toothbrush, kiddie toothpaste, and a few small toys. This year, I'm not doing the little "junk" fillers that not only waste money, but they get played with maybe a minute before they are broke and then end up in a landfill. I'm taking a tip from FishMama over at Lifeasmom.com and putting breakfast in their stocking along with toothbrushes in their favorite character, kiddie toothpaste, and a $5 dvd. Not much, but I don't see how y'all put so much into those stockings. 🙂
PS Nony, I give 3 toys and 3 outfits. Kids always need clothes and buying them in December gives a cushion for any mid-year growth spurts(DD went from an 8 to a 16 in one year). Plus they have enough gifts to open to not feel cheated in anyway.
My kids love getting their own roll of scotch tape in their stocking. It cuts down on my frustration with using tons of tape! They are now 19, 17 and 14 and still enjoy tape! It sounds dorky but it works.
My kids all get toothbrushes, 1 package of favorite candy (Skittles this year) pencils and erasers. My girls are getting crayons and note pads to draw on and lip gloss/colored chapped stick and my boys are getting small legos and regular chapstick. I do let my kids open 1 present on Christmas eve and it is always new pajamas. This is a tradition from my grandparents. They wanted the Christmas morning pictures to look nice so everyone got new pj's on Christmas eve.
I'm sure someone probably already said this and it's a little late for next year, but I usually put a book, smelly good stuff (deodorant, body wash, spray), socks and a very little bit of candy. Maybe a DVD or CD, movie tickets, or a jump drive (USB port). Hope this helps for next year!
Santa always used to give us a can of Pringles. Takes up plenty of space and it’s consumable! 😀
I have three girls, ages 6, 4, and 1. For the 2 older ones, we got them hair bows and headbands (the cheap plastic ones – they love these), a coloring book, markers (I’m splitting a big pack between them), a couple of little notebooks (just the plain kind), a pair of dollar socks (from the Target bins), assorted candy and gum. also, I think I’ll throw an orange in there if I need to take up more space.
The hardest thing was coming up with stuff for the one year old! She’s getting a toothbrush/toothpaste, some baby food treats, and a small stuffed animal rattle (it was from ikea for 50 cents).
One thing that I actually did this year was buy things for their stockings as I saw them. So, I saw some Christmas packs of M&Ms at Walgreens for 35 cents apiece and I picked them up, I found some super cheap hair things for them at a little shop (bows on sale for under a dollar) and I got those about 6 weeks ago. That spread the buying out, and also allowed me to avoid getting junky stuff to fill the stockings with.
we don’t do stockings. But if we did I would probably fill them with art like stuff that could be used and would disappear or wrap McDonald gift cards or something in bigger boxes and stick them in there.
Our kids ages 2, 4,5,6 were raised not believing in Santa. We still do Christmas, but as Christians our biggest theme has not been Santa (I prefer to decorate with snowmen) But knowing the gift really come from mom and dad and family and friends that love them it doesn’t put the pressure on to have so much “stuff” I to struggle with clutter and the kids have enough as it is…..so I relayed the messages to those wanting to buy them gifts that we love non clutter things – are supplies, new needed shoes and socks. Playdough and games. Yes, games takes space but they also are items that involves family time 🙂 This year our kids and the family as a whole are getting new devotional books. They kids books correlate with the family devotional.
I like the can of Pringles idea. I have 5 kids and they love getting their own bag of chips or things like that. They take up a lot of space! Also, it doesn’t take a lot of space, but every single year they all know they will get a Pez dispenser with extra Pez refills. It’s just a silly tradition, but they look forward to it.
We used to get socks and underwear for Christmas, and I remember being young enough to still believe in Santa but old enough to be skeeved out that some old dude I didn’t know was giving me underwear, LOL! So, the only time we do underwear at Christmas here is when we’re potty-training and underwear are soooooo super cool. 🙂
I do coloring books and new crayons (usually already had them hid in my stash) plus single serving packs of animal cookies in the box and goldfish in the box. Those take up lots of space and don’t punish me as the parent when my kids are hyped up on sugar! I do the character spin toothbrushes for both Easter and Christmas (about the time they new ones anyway) and usually ponytails, etc. I try to make whatever they get “consummable”, fun, and not junk.
This year the girls are mainly getting hairbows as they have none and are really into them (and we finally have enough hair to wear them) and My Little Ponies that I got at a consignment sale.
What gets to me is the cost of the stockings once you add it all up! That’s usually where I kill my budget completely.
candy, nail polish for the girls and some blingy hello kitty watches, book for the boy, earrings, bath soap, body wash, bubbles, perfume/cologne
these are such great ideas!! my adult kids and little grandkids LOVE stocking time at meme and poppy’s house!!! i fill between 14 and 18 stockings each year, depending on who is in town. the adult guys always get a large bottle of body wash. i always try to hit the stores after christmas to get the fancy bath sets at 75% off and then divide them up among the adult girls. small size lotions and hand sanitizers are $1 or less at the mall. same thing for the kid things. also, you can usually find some generic (non-holiday) items and i use those for the littles easter baskets. but if you pick up a pack or two of large plastic eggs, you could put socks and undies in those for easter too. and i LOVE the idea of pringles and goldfish! we also use fruit snacks and just a handful of candy in each stocking. i did give the littles some little games from the dollar store, but they’re the type that if it gets broken or pieces are lost, mommy won’t hesitate to toss it. 🙂
We always got a new toothbrush, some candy, socks, and maybe cash in a nice card… though that might only have been when we were teens. :). Love the fruit idea.
Little girls would probably love for-real-and-for-proper “spa day” gifts like a face mask, nail varnish, etc, if Mom has a spa session with her. Buy the ones for sensitive skin and use half a packet. Had I have commented on this in time, I’d have said something like, maybe plan it as a treat the first day the boys go back to school, but obviously that time is gone now.
For guys (or girls if they’re into it), if they’re old enough to handle it, maybe their own packet of screws, nails, etc?
But I’m definitely emailing this to myself, there’s loads of good suggestions here!
My Daughter Consumable Craft supplies
The boys I haven’t a clue but not doing alot of prepackaged foods packs of snacks are cool.
Consignment toys are another they are more expensive then the normal toys that go in the stocking but less because they are used.
The other cool idea is to have toys that belong to a set in the stocking a small Lego set is not going to add to the clutter when you have 6000 Lego pieces.
We primarily stuff our stockings with snacky (unhealthy) treats: beef jerky, favorite candy, chocolate orange, gum, etc. We might tuck a small gift in there as well. And we also keep the gift count low (3 or 4). This year we purchased a week of half-day ice skating camp as the primary gift. We absolutely don’t need any more stuff.
Toothbrushes and special beef jerky!
single serve pringles, hot chocolate K-cups, chapstick, shaving cream and razors (both my girls are teenagers), nail polish, nail file, fuzzy socks.
Nail polish, lip glass/chapstick, those poly bags of small Lego Sets, socks, undies, DVDs, candy, bandaids, toothbrush, jewelry, books, snacks, hair bows…
I am also doing candy and fruit, but no toys. I am putting $5 for each of my 10 year olds in their stocking and $50 in my 17 year olds stocking:)
Our stockings are made of felt, so they do not stretch, thank goodness! My kids get a clementine in the toe of the stocking, a new tube of toothpaste, toothbrushes, floss, fun bandaids, chapstick, gum, a candy or lollipop, fun pens or pencils with a crazy top to look great sticking up out of the stocking. There will also be a small lego or playmobil person. Maybe some silly putty or Crazy Aaron’s Thinking Putty. Mostly it is filled with practical stuff we buy throughout the year anyway, with just a few cluttery things thrown in. When they were smaller and loved baths, a canister of shaving cream was a hit. Made for a FUN bath where they got to spray the entire container of shaving cream at once.
My mom always filled the stockings with essentials, toothpaste, toothbrush, scrunchies, socks, underwear, etc.
Really fun socks, watches or jewelry, movie, booksbooks a fun drink they wouldn’t normally get.
My kids get a chocolate orange (or real orange) to fill the toe, a tube of fruit flavored toothpaste (instead of the icky mint flavored stuff Mom buys), some bulk taffy, sometimes a jar of Nutella. In years past we’ve put English crackers in to fill it up, with small pieces of ??? inside, but this year I found “Charades” crackers, so we can act out something together when the crackers are pulled. I’m so excited, both for the game, and no new clutter!
My mom always went crazy with Christmas presents, like I rememeber spending all morning opening gifts and a haze of wrapping paper. It was lovely, but I knew I wanted to be more intentional with gifts. We do want, need, wear and read. I include those themes toward stockings as well. One extra is a special ornament that my kids get every year. Other than that mostly needs go into the stocking. Undies, socks, water bottles, toothbrush, oranges. This year each is also getting a mini flashlight. Something nice to include could also be something religious? A nativity spread amongst all the stocking…
I’ve started including a box of Band Aids in each of my kids’ stockings. That is the only time I buy the name brand, cute characters and they get to use them for many months! And new toothbrushes can be found in their stockings as well.
Chapstick, gloves and hats, new tooth brush.
Socks underwear toothbrush ponytail holders .. Fruit candy.. Everyday things ..zipties for husband .chipclips for moms
It’s just my partner and me doing stockings at our house, and we have decided to do a low-clutter holiday as much as possible. Her stocking contains
Salty snacks — a bag of chex mix, a bag of cheddar popcorn
Three-packs of Ferrero Roche (her favorite candy)
Chapstick
Reese’s trees
A long-handled shower brush
In the past, I’ve given her an eyeglass repair kit — one of the tiny ones that slips in her bag — and she LOVED it. I got it for $1.50 at CVS.
We also include razor blades and/or new razor handles, CDs or iTunes cards, lip balm or (for me) fun nail polish or eye makeup, pens and pencils, good tweezers, fruit and nuts,
The roll of Scotch tape and the branded (eg. Nemo/Disney Princess) Band-Aids are my kids’ favourite stuffers. We’ve also done tiny Dollar Store canvases for painting, and glue sticks. A box of Nerds candy was what they told EVERYONE about, when asked what they got for Christmas!
We sewed extra-big stockings a few years ago. Really BIG stockings that fit REAL gifts. Sounds terrible, right? Nope! Almost all of our relatives who gift are far away and on a budget and generally send small gifts. Anything that fits goes into the stocking. Regular sized bottles of booze? Stocking. That coveted insulated coffee travel cup? Stocking. Baby doll? Stocking. Box of washable markers? Totally fit. New drawing notepad? Jar of homemade jam? Box of chocolates? Kitchen gadget? Pair of slippers? Full box of favorite tea? PJ pants? Yup! Big handful of Halloween candy I confiscated on Nov 1 to top it all off and anything too big goes under the tree. We can stick to useful, thoughtful gifts that we actually use and it turns out nobody really cares if there isn’t stuff cutely poking out of the top on Christmas morning (although I have stuffed along the way with crumpled tissue if there was something that made an awesome display).
So, I’m slowly reading through the *whole blog, get to this and I’m enjoying all the comments — but why hasn’t a.n.y.o.n.e suggested popcorn balls???
As a child the best part of what was in my stocking was always the apple, the orange, the nuts in their shells and the candy cane. There were also numerous small items which varied by year, but for the most part I don’t remember those things, although I am pretty sure the nylon socks that made your feet look filthy (and were a great hit with my sisters) were in the stocking one year.