Looking For Non-Toy Stocking Ideas

Didn't read the entire list - we always do fun toothbrushes and toothpaste and the mini boxes of fun cereal - fun because we only get it twice a year - Stockings and baskets!

I always get my husband an iTunes gift card and some of those little hand warmer things that you can stuff in your pockets for hunting or football games. The kind that activate when you shake them. My kids get fun toothbrushes and a new special ornament: silver stars for one and silver snowflakes for the other.

Love the clip-on lamps idea! My husband got me one last year from the $1 Store.

Here are some other ideas to go with all those toothbrushes for kids and/or adults.
• Big Jim's Giant Peppermint Stick
• fortune cookies
• Mr. Bubbles
• annual little pet rock with a 2010 message (choose a special rock, tie a special message around it and wrap it in a cute little box. After a couple of years, you either have a menagerie or you set the old one "free" in the backyard.)
• bottle of essential oil for headaches, relaxation, energy—whatever the person needs
• specially chosen prayer cards
• seeds for planting in paper cups or in your garden
• spices for the cooking/kitchen-y people
• bath tub crayons (to color on the walls, etc. My bro LOVED these as a kid!)
• magnifying glass or kaledeiscope
• silly string, whoopie cushions, those giant punching balls with the rubber band handles.

My mum always gives the kids a bag of coins for that particular year.I've put in little bags of lego, mini Mr. Potato heads, card games, crayons, chapstick, a brush and comb, socks, mini flashlight,christmas pencils, small notebook, soap, bubble bath, crayons, hand held video games. Toys R Us is a great place to find small items, as is Michaels 1.00 bins, (1.50 here in Canada).

Thinking of practical items this year for my teenaged girls...mini sewing kit (to replace buttons, etc.), nail files, double-sided tape (for the hem that may be falling or to close the space between buttons on a blouse), Tide-To-Go pens, keychain flashlight, safety pins...and of course the fun stuff too!
Lots of great suggestions here! Thanks!

I also did the clip-on reading lights!
Other things:
-we always put a DVD or CD in each stocking
-gadgets (like laser lights, tiny flashlights, spy stuff, gag joke stuff, etc)
-my favorite this year is are bungee balls from soccerstuff.com for $5 each. my ds7 is pretty high-energy and I homeschool them all. He likes to do math facts while tossing/catching these balls - so I got one for all three kids
-tub tints (my 7 & 9 yr old still love these bath colors)

These are all GRAND ideas. I have put Thank you cards in before too, always good. I bought a small pink Etequet manual from Coldwater Creek to put in my daughter's this year. This is her first year to be in a sorority so I thought it would come in handy. I'm off to World Market today to check out the above ideas. I always put underwear, socks,cd's, toothbrushes, razors, guitar supplies, rubber ducks, christmas ornament for each kids collection, tank or tees, makeup, etc. I made my kids stockings 20 years ago so they would be large enough to hold coloring books so they are about 12 inches across the top and about 2 1/2 feet long. I've taken a picture each year of my daughter standing in her stocking. I think she was 1 the first time. It's just a cool little thing for her, she will be 20 the day after Christmas. I'm looking forward to my little shopping spree for stocking stuffers now. Thanks, ms.cheryl

Almost every year I put new toothbrushes and toothpaste in each stocking. Toiletries, soap, deodorant, perfume, chap stick, etc. Make up. That kind of stuff.

My mom always puts lip balms in our stockings and a relevant ornament from Hallmark (I always get the daughter one and now I have a very solid collection from over the years).
SHe usually does little games like Sudoku books, tic tac toe, mints/gum, makeup/lotion, any other little item.

Hi- I thought of a couple some small notepads and pens or colored pencils. Maybe a wallet or coin purse. postage stamps (to send all those thank you cards) : )

Each year I adopt an animal at the zoo for each of my children. It is supports a good cause and the children get a little pamplet from the zoo with information about their animal. This year, I am hoping to get a little stuffed toy to go along with this to put in their stocking with all of the zoo info rolled up.

love 2 :) its great idea..

this year my kiddos are going to get:
a watch--my 6 year old is getting a very fun/cool Lego watch
crazy straws
smencils
fun erasers
$2 bills & coins that came out this past year
gift cards to their fave (non-fast food) restaurant
some party sized playdoh
a blinking red Rudolph nose

We put in play-doh, gift cards, photo books of the family pictures--as you all know kids love pictures of themselves and family--and money for their piggy banks. Whatever is little goes in the stocking.

I come from Germany and a famous german company releases each year a new collectors porcellain christmas bell. My husband puts the actual one into my stocking each year. As they go up in value I have a nice collection of quite worth a lot of money during the last 15 years.
Each year we put all the bells on our christmas tree the 24th of december. We hope to keep this tradition for a very long time. (One day the tree will be overloaded if we go on *lol*) Our two little girls already know that this is our clean and simple christmas tree decoration and love to look on the little drawings that are handmade on the bells and tell a different story each year.

1st hint would be in stocking.... also what about kids making their own ornaments? American Greetings is selling shrinky dink ornaments for kids to make themselves. my kids have their own mini tree and are trying to swipe "my" ornaments off the family tree so this is perfect for them... another is an origami how to book or mini desk calendar. one new shape for everyday of year. i saw one at barnes and noble. best part is you could use the tons of scrap paper you have left over!

I always buy battery operated tooth brushes in cute cartoons for the kids.

You may laugh but I give my hubby a toothbrush, deodorant, chap stick, any personal toiletries in his stocking. He loves not having to buy the stuff for a while and it's an economical (read cheap) way to fill it up!

because we have a pool and the kids have swimming lessons every week they get new swimmers in their stockings, and my daughter gets new school things, and stickers she loves stickers. LOVE the disposable camera idea.

Last year I put in a disposable camera (as suggested above) to all of the children who were 5yrs to 34 yrs. I also gave each of the smaller children a brag book and the adult children a small scrapbook so that they could put thier photos from thier camera in them. This went over big. The little ones had a blast putting in thier photos into the brag books and the older children loved altering thier book to put thier memories in from that Christmas. I will be continuing that tradition this year and every year.
Mary

We do fun things too
sparkly toothpaste, fun flavoured toothpaste.
fun bandaids,
temporary tattoos,
those washcloths that are compressed into tiny packages,
Silly shaped soaps (or with toys inside)
bubble baths,
regular bubbles,
socks,
Sprinkles with a long spoon for ice cream sundaes.
This year my teenage kids are getting those cute pack down into their own pocket shopping bags, snacks we don't usually buy, coupons for various things, engraved stainless steel water bottles filled with candy, pomegranates, oh and a £1 coin - used to be a penny but there is inflation :)

Some of my favorite practical stocking stuffers include postage stamps, rolls of quarters (college students love this for vending and laundry machines), rolls of film or batteries, an ornament, small bottle of lotion or nail polish. That's what pops into my head right away (and most have been in my stocking!)

My sons loved getting mini flashlights in their stockings growing up (with extra batteries) and now that they are adults, I always include mini vacuum sealed pkgs. of flavored coffees ($1 bin @ Target) and mini (single serving size) bottles of favorite alcoholic beverages (like those available on airplanes) and they love to see what "drink" I'm serving up each year.

these are all wonderful ideas...thanks ladies...i can't wait to start shopping for the kids stocking stuffers!!! :)