Looking For Non-Toy Stocking Ideas

Ali,
Some of our stocking traditions are to put a one silver dollar for each year of the child in a little bag inside their stocking. If Anna is one, she gets one silver dollar. Then next year she gets two and so on. Our grandkids love to get the dollars and they actually save them. Some people may object to this but we do the scratch lottery tickets as well. Again the kiddos enjoy seeing if they win anyting. You may already do this but we give an annual ornament in the sock as well...like a White House Ornament. Good Luck :)
Catherine

We do Oranges, DVDs, socks and sock slippers, books and hair accessories.

another thing I forgot to mention is "cookie" making kits including their own sprinkles, colored tubed frosting/gel, cookie cutters...

Everyone has already named my favorites---school supplies, toothbrush, lotions, etc But one thing I didn't see is...
A HOLIDAY COKE
(you know the ones that come with Santa and they are round shaped kinda like an ornament)

We always put toothbrushes from Santa, then new ones again from the Easter Bunny in the baskets. We include playing cards, lottery tickets, sugar free gum, and sometimes little novelty magic tricks, and toys like slinkys and jacks.

This year Bath & Body works had the anti-bacterial bottles (no water) on sale for $1. Everyone is getting one in their stocking this year, especially with all the flu's going around!

We do toiletries at our house...new toothbrush and toothpaste, deo, razors and shaving cream. And usually socks and underwear too. Little useful things, but it means you don't have to think about them again over the winter at least! I also always put bike tubes in my hubby's stocking since he's a cyclist and he usually gives me scrapbook adhesive :-)
Great ideas here today!

Tickets for movies, museums, amusement parks.

I've got two boys and trying to fill their stockings with purposful items is difficult. We try to be conscious about the "future trash" as we like to call it. We always do toothbrushes and if they are getting close to needing toothpaste I'll throw a small tube of that in there to. We always do dated ornaments that represent something they were into that year. I do a small bit of candy and sugarfree gum. This year they're getting pencils with their (first) name on them. They always get a $5 McD's card and a Blockbuster card (reused from the previous years). If they're needing new hair brushes or styling gels I'll add those. We've put some Axe deod, bookmarks, small flashlights (we go camping a lot), fridge magnets (gotta display that art) and a small table toy like wooden tic tac toe (target dollar spot). We play the tic tac toe as we're waiting for our food in restaurants. All items that will get used/needed or serve a purpose. If it's going to break next week - it's not coming in the house...

Great question Ali, and wonderful ideas from all the readers. One holiday when my boys were older teens, I filled their stockings with all personal care items...they were young men afterall. I will never forget the look on their faces and the comment, "Not funny". We still laugh about it. So, my suggestion is to mix it up.
Happy holidays to all.

My Grandma always used to give us McDonald's gift certificates. It was a big treat and we do that or something similar for our nieces so they can get an ice cream treat every now and then at whatever place of choice. We also do socks and underwear. I have boys and we get them the fun underwear wtih cars on it. HOpe you are enjoying it all though the kids eyes.

LOVE the clip on light idea!
this year i have a hand written love note to all three little ones, disposable camera for xmas morning and hand knitted slippers....

I am a teacher and usually send home a stocking stuffer idea sheet - flash cards, markers, crayons, fun pencils/pens.
Hope this helps!

My kids love those motorized toothbrushes. So we tuck one of those in their stockings - - they LOVE brushing with them!!
They also love bath confetti and bubble bath.
Just some of things that they always want in the grocery store and I always say no to.

Christmas Socks
The Lifesaver book (we always got one as a kid, it's shaped like a book, you open it and it's LifeSaver candies--sorry couldn't resist that one, it's a tradition)
new hat/mittens
cd of music (can be homeade)
as a kid, we always got an apple/orange/banana--wish I would have kept that tradition!
a gift card to a favorite store
brain quest learning cards
pencils-fun mechanical ones
crayons/craft stuff
a new journal

walgreens has the BEST stuff for stockings!

I see that a lot of people said socks. I always got reindeer socks (and just reminded my mother about that!). You have got to check out these cool unmatched socks from The Socklady!!! www.socklady.com I found them at a craft fair a couple of ago and they are just Awesome.

We always do new undies, a fun pair of socks, a coloring book for the younger guys and a crossword/suduko book for the bigger ones. I always get a toblerone (yum!) and the boys each get a chocolate orange. Last year the biggest hit in the boys' stockings were little clip-on booklights (from the $1 bins at Michaels!) and tattoo band aids. Oh, and a harmonica (though I have to admit that it was not my favorite thing to listen to them play it, LOL!)

* Packages of veggie/herb seeds (we're starting a garden)(could also include small gardening tools
* set of gardening gloves for everyone
* a deck of round playing cards (something differnt)
* mini mechanical pencils (my son been looking for these)
* a package of sharpie markers for my husband (he's always trying to find his.)
* a movie for Christmas evening after the family has all gone home.
* a set of knitting needles for myself :)
* pastachio nuts, sun flower seeds and jelly beans are going to round out this years stockings.

New water bottle, flashlights, socks, chapstick, lipgloss, gum, sports or Pokemon cards, pens, notebooks or journals and giftcards.

My kids are all grown now. For the girls I usually put things like candles, bath soap, lotion, fuzzy sleep sox, found some really cute fingerless gloves that convert to mittens at Kohl's for $2.50 each. Hot chocolate mix, makeup samples that I get throughout the year from Clinique and Estee Lauder, crayons (who DOESN'T like a NEW box of crayons!!??), candy, wooden spoons, flower seed packets, small photo albums, memory cards for the camera, frames, ALWAYS a new box of Thank You cards, personalized stationary. The guys get sox, undershirts and underwear, wall calendars, candy, containers of nuts, beef jerky, magazines, puzzle books, small tools, drill bits, fishing lures, fishing line, tape measure, koozies, work gloves. They have VERY large stockings (a gift from a dear friend) so I usually look for something to help "fill" them up. This year Kohl's had small, warm blankets for $2.50 each that I bought for each one and had their initial monogrammed on the corner. Hope this helps!! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

A gift card to a book store because the expereince of anticipation, the trip to the store and picking out a book, reading in the kid area, and possibly a cup of cocoa in the cafe makes it so much more than the amount of the card.
A few fun school supplies to make the transistion back to the daily grind post holiday break a little happier.

Chapstick, bubble bath.

My mom always had a magnet and small metal things in a bag that my kids loved playing with (one or two magnets, paperclips, little metal balls, ball bearings, washers (like from the faucet) and some not magnetic things too. Is a good learning tool. I also love to give a box of art supplies (pipe cleaners, pom poms, google eyes, glue, popsicle sticks, stickers). It's amazing to see what kids can come up with from the basics.
Merry Christmas

mini coffee flavors. Local grocery store sells them, just enough for one pot.