Here are a few ideas that you don’t have to order and wait to have delivered! All of them can be found at your local grocery store, big box store, or made right at home.

For Kids:

• Snacks
  • Fancy Applesauce Pouches (I hardly ever buy these because they’re expensive, so they’re a treat!)
  • Fun Bags of Trail Mix – Start with nuts or pretzels (No nuts for little littles!), add in some dried fruit like golden raisins or dried berries, then make it colorful with red & green M&M’s or Mini Pastel Candies – put in little cellophane bags tied with curly ribbon!
  • Christmas Chocolates or Candies
  • Packets of hot chocolate + little bags of mini marshmallows
• Stickers – less than $1 at Walmart, Target, or the Dollar Store
• Play dough – either store bought or homemade
• Activity Books like “Water Wow,” coloring books, or puzzle/maze books – for older kids crosswords, Sudoku, or Logic puzzles – you can typically find these in the magazine aisle of grocery stores, at Walgreens, or bookstores
• Gift Card or Tickets, along with a note that you’ll take them on a date to that place – as simple or big as you like: out for a smoothie, go ice skating, museum, etc.
• Mini Seed-Starting kit: tiny clay pot(s) + packet of seeds + baggie of dirt + a little shovel – tie it all up with a bow and your kids can start germinating the seeds indoors in a few weeks, then eventually transfer outside in the Spring (be sure to “harden off” the plants when transferring!)
• Mini baking kit: Wooden spoon + cookie mix + tube of shelf-stable icing + fun sprinkles
• Notebook/journal + colorful pens or markers
• Fun flavors of lip balm

For Adults:

• Snacks / Drinks
  • Bag of Coffee + Biscotti
  • Box of tea + package of shortbread cookies
  • Hot chocolate + mini marshmallows (optional tiny bottle of amaretto to add!)
  • Dipping oil (available at many grocery stores or Homegoods) + crusty breadsticks or mini loaf of bread
  • Nests of dried handmade pasta wrapped in cellophane bags and tied with ribbon (thank you to my sister-in-law for that idea)
  • Little jar of jam/jelly + bag of biscuit mix
  • Bag of homemade cookies or other treats
  • In-shell nuts + a small nutcracker (not the decorative kind – a real one)
  • Christmas chocolates or candies
• Gift cards (most people enjoy being able to pick out things they like!)
• Framed photo, quote, or Bible verse (wrap in tissue paper and tie with ribbon)
• Soothing hand lotion or body wash
• Cozy socks
• Fun notepads + pens
• Stress ball or putty
• Tickets to go somewhere on a date (can purchase online & instantly print at home)
• Game – Deck of cards, Uno, Skip Bo, etc.
• Book of crossword puzzles or Sudoku
• Coupons for around the house tasks (e.g. “When you redeem this coupon I’ll ___” (wash the dishes, cook dinner, clean the bathroom) – but obviously you have to make it something that wouldn’t be your normal task anyway!)
• Mini succulent plant in a pot (can usually find these at Home Depot / Lowes)
• Fun thrift store find – a pretty vintage teacup, etc. (Just make sure the stocking is handled with care, of course!)

I hope you found this useful and inspiring if you still need to come up with some stocking stuffers!

What’s your status – are you all done and ready to go for Christmas?