Saturday, December 19, 2009

Stocking Stuffers!


Okay, this is one area of Christmas I struggle with: coming up with cool stocking stuffers! Candy and an orange or clementine our staples in our house for the stocking, but other things are harder for me to think of, especially for my husband! I would love for some new ideas and a little direction so,

What do you do for stocking stuffers?
Is there something that is a tradition for you to put in your stockings?
Do you put a price on stocking stuffers?



And just to let you know, this will be our last post on The Village until after New Year's. We know you are all busy enjoying your time with your families and so are we! Please check back the second week of January for a new topic to discuss. Also, if you have any questions or topics you would like to see us discuss, email us at thevillageformoms@gmail.com. We hope to hear from you!

10 comments:

Britta said...

In my family Santa brings only the stocking presents and family gives presents that sit under the tree. Lots of good reasons for it and I like it.

Traditionally we do the tangerine and candy as well. Since my daughter is young she gets some dress up jewelry, chapstick, stickers and a toothbrush.

My husband is getting a flashlight keychain, a letter from me and a game for his handheld thing. Mostly he'll get candy because he likes it.

I've never been a big proponant of huge stockings and typically with smaller stockings the lesser amount of gifts seems like more anyway.

Merry Christmas!

Jared and Delia said...

Great ending post for this year...thanks Megan!

Gold coins from Santa are a must...although I was sad to find that Walmart doesn't carry them or is out! Anyone know another place that sells those? Stockings are where I go weak for collecting junk for my kids. I hit the dollar bins at Michael's and get every imaginable glow thing/ character squishy thing, etc. that I think my kids will like. Every year they seem to hit my son's interests right on the money. Last year it was full of Cars stuff. They still have some of that this year but they also have the Spiderman, Batman, and most importantly Toy Story stuff. I am fairly certain there is princess related stuff but sorry to say I can't remember what since that is not on my radar with two boys. Oh...and they have glow in the dark farm animals and dinosaurs. Our stockings are from Santa so it is really fun to get him things he wouldn't think his candy limiting mom would get him.

We saw Santa three times this year and the third time he asked for teeth flossers. Two packs. Very specifically two packs...so those will go in as well. :)

I agree with Britta. Our stockings are standard size. I am not into those gigantic stockings that you can fit 20 more medium sized presents into...mostly because then my whole mantra about not spoiling my kids would have to go out the window. :P

Beth said...

We have always used smocked Christmas stockings made by my grandma. A few times if we've been traveling we'll use different ones, but mostly it's always the Smocked stockings. This year I made one for my little baby, who is 6 months old.

My parents have always included toothbrushes and toothpaste in our stockings. They just sent us a package of presents and included contents for our stockings - even a little baby toothbrush for our little boy.

Trish and Matt said...

I'm pretty practical -- I include things in the stockings that are wanted and maybe also a little needed as well. This year it's slipper socks for the kids and dad. I've also done warm gloves and hats in the past.

I usually add something that's just fun (this year it's a flashlight with each of the kids' favorite character on them), a little bit of candy and an orange.

The Fisher's said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
The Fisher's said...

Along with what has already been said, we use peanuts, or cashews as well - a nice break from the sugar :) I love the Cracker Barrel store for those unique candy things - I was able to get my son a toy helicopter with a moving propeller and my daughter a princess crown and wand that light up - all with a little candy in them. They also have some of the older style candy that you can't find other places.

Laura said...

My family has huge stockings, all hand-knit by my grandma. Actually filling them with presents would be rather extreme, but it's kind of lame to have only a half-filled stocking instead. Our compromise: soda pop. For as long as I can remember, we got a fruit of our choice in the toe (not everyone likes oranges, so we picked our own kind of fruit instead) and a two-liter bottle of our choice of pop. Yes, our stockings are that big.

We always really liked getting the pop as kids because we hardly ever got to drink any, let alone have an entire 2-liter to ourselves. And I know Santa (wink wink) liked it because a bottle of pop is actually quite cheap while also filling up a lot of the space in the stocking.

The top of the stocking, above the pop, would be one smaller present. For example, this year my husband is getting a card game and my daughter is getting a set of bottles for her doll. Around that would be a variety of candy to fill in the rest of the space, usually including one of those plastic candy cane things full of chocolates. Some years we would also get some kind of small gag gift, most often because my mom thought it was funny. :)

Universitybabe said...

Our stockings are a pretty typical size. I try to go easy on the candy as we usually have a ton of treats piled up on the counters. To take it's place I usually find a cd for older people, coloring books (I splurge and buy ones I normally wouldn't) silly socks, I replace my husband's razor, toothbrushes, a piece of jewelry for the girls, ties for the boys, and usually a toy or two that is so little that I don't want to wrap it. My hubby is also a lego geek so as a last resort I can place a mini set in his sock too.

chelsea said...

We do a lot of what has been said...fruit, nuts, tooth brushes, candy. Last year I got a movie for each of us and put it in there as well. My family love entertainment...this post reminded me that I haven't got the movies yet...will do that today for sure! Thanks for all the ideas!

Raylyn said...

My mom always puts a toothbrush in ours. The first year I did it for my husband he thought I was weird, but I still do it. Toiletries are always good things for adults! I loved getting makeup and jewlery in mine:)