Looking For Non-Toy Stocking Ideas

Post-It notes, pens, tiny stapler, paper clips, tape, mechanical pencils, magazines of interest to the receiver, sewing items for sewers (same with other small notions for needleworkers), tiny gift books (2x2) found at bookstore check-outs, bookmarks, small purse (or pocket)-size notebook, travel size cosmetics, hand and foot warmers for my hunter husband, as well as special no-scent bar soap, card games, marbles, jacks....I love doing stockings and could go on and on. My husband had never had a stocking his whole life, until we were married almost 6 years ago, so I have lots of fun.

Special cartoon bandaids and bubbles for the bath are popular at our house!

some of the traditions in our family for stocking stuffers:
pencils/pens/crayons
scratch lottery tickets
lip balm/chapstick
travel sized personal hygiene items
new toothbrushes
small journal/paper pads
movie tickets
notes from mom and dad
hair ties/ribbons
little handmade coupons for "late bedtime tonight" or "movie of your choice for family time" etc
$5 starbucks gift cards
disposable cameras to take our own photos of the fun
playing cards
flash cards
word/sudoku/mind puzzles
stickers
enjoy!

Both of my kidlets love doing sticker collages, so there are always a sheet or two of stickers wrapped up in their stockings. Pencils in a favorite theme or character are a frequent stocking stuffer. Bubbles!!!! That's a favorite too. Refrigerator magnets. Mini bag of flavored coffee, golf balls, and a keychain matching his truck have gone into Hubby's stocking.
There are a lot of great ideas here! I might have to add a few to my list! :>

My hubby and I always fill each others stocking with soaps, lotions, razors,etc and we also give each other a tree to plant. This way we are giving back to the earth and not to mention we both love planting!! Good luck filling your stockings!!

My son loves crazy socks so I went to the dollar store and picked up 8 pairs of socks that I'm going to wrap and place in his stocking. A sock full of socks:)

As kids we always got a naval orange in our stocking. Now I do the same for our kids. They think it's kind of neat to have their own fruit. And it's usually gobbled up before lunch. I think their little bodies want something fresh after all the sweets.

underwear, socks , lip balm, fancy/fun soaps, hair ties/clips, jewellery, pens and pencils, journals, notepads,stickers, reading light for reading after lights out, toothbrush, ornament-my mom used to put a pomegranite in mine!

LOVE smartwool socks!

Toothbrush and toothpaste...you know, the fancy toothbrushes that require batteries that I always say "no" to. Of course, the Tooth Fairy has brought those lately as well.
Santa has also stuffed w/ magazines, coloring books, paint sets, etc.
Happy Holidays!!
Melle in FL

For the younger kids I do brand new colored pencils or crayons along with a coloring book. My 9 year old will love getting a crossword or word search in his stocking.

For adults I have done the lottery tickets too and giftcards for gas or Subway (healthier choice) or the spot of their choice for lunch. A certificate for a carwash (we have a place by our house where you can get a hand carwash for $12 and includes vacuuming, hand drying and cleaning all the windows), something sports related like an ornament (I just got a box of White Sox cookies for DH yesterday) or a pen.
I've also done for ladies: nail polish, eyeliner, lipstick or chapstick, bath fizzles, the small hand sanitizers from Bath & Body works, a coupon for a night of babysitting, a purse hanger (Heidy Swapp has a cute one), hand lotion, a make up bag.
For kids: (although we don't really want to eat it, we know they enjoy it and we take them once in a while) :-) I've done McDonalds certficates, hair stuff for girls, bubbles (with a note saying "save for Summer" LOL), a coloring book, a box of crayons.
I just always look for things I know the person will use. Hope this helps.
Michelle

At my grandma's house, Santa always puts Scotch tape, those mini notebooks, pens & band-aids.
Our traditions also include Chapstick, gum and/or mints, Sharpie markers, fun soaps, and anything that is cute & mini (tiny staplers, erasers, etc.)

For the slightly older set, duct tape is cool too. we have pink and blue around here, and Christmas might be the time to add red and green. They use it to build all kinds of things.

some random things i've received in my stocking over the years: shave gel/razor refills, thread for my sewing machine, lotto tickets, ice scrapper/spray de-icer, "airplane" size bottle of flavored vodkas (santa liked me that year! haha!), nail polish, hair accessories, toothbrush, pens/markers/crayons, little notebooks, fun post-its . . . i've gotten pretty random things in the past! :) hope that helps a little.

Last year I put O'Keeffe's Working Hands lotion in my dad's stocking. The developer is an OSU grad and it's a family owned business. I got my dad the jar, but I personally prefer it in the tube, which I've found for sale at Fred Meyer. Here is a link that shows the tube: http://shop.okeeffescompany.com/working_hands_3oz-1.aspx.

Didn't read the posts above so I'm sorry if I'm duplicating but here are a few:
band-aids, socks, underwear, pencils, crayons, small tablets, flashcards, toothbrush, toothpaste, deoderant, perfume, gift cards, bookmarks, post-it notes, key chain, makeup, a new drinking glass, washcloths, fun bar of soap, tickets to the movies/theater/performance...

i always include a new ornament for the kids. for my husband i include a cd on his list. socks and underwear are a good thing also

flashlights, with rechargeable batteries. cool tags for schoolbags. music gift certificates. plastic rain poncho (that packs up small). vacuum flask for hot chocolate/soup to-go ...

New school supplies! My 7 year old is getting new crayons, glue and some fun pencils and erasers in his stocking. Kids' hand sanitizer, chap stick and gum are other favorites. The little ones are tough. My one year old will get new pacifiers and some Little People figures in his stocking this year.

My kids go crazy for office supplies: rubberbands, mechanical pencils, clips,lead for the pencils, sticky notes (they make flip book cartoons with them). They also have loved craft supplies like gumdrops and toothpicks (building material for fantastic buildings/bridges), tape!!!, popcicle sticks, googley eyes, pipe cleaners, foam pieces, etc. My kids also get totally geeked out about even the smallest amounts of money-so they like quarters, a rolled up dollar... Always we do fun toothbrushes and chapstick. Flashlights, comb, mirror, small family photograph framed, sports equipment, fishing gear, and my very favorite-$5 gift cards for ice cream, McDonald's, a movie ticket, etc. Have fun!

Our 2 1/2 and 4 year old boys are getting finger paints, water colors, paint brushes, letter-shaped paint sponges, chalk, and washable dry erase markers in their stockings. Another idea for kids' and grandparents' stockings is to buy two copies of a book, one for the child and one for the grandparent to read over the phone. Our boys love following along in their books while Grandpa, who lives out of town, reads bedtime stories via speaker phone.

believe it or not, toothbrushes. we're big Green Bay Packer fans (living in OR) and have gotten my older son (who is Simon's age) GBPacker toothbrushes. flashlights to be used while camping, bike lights or those glow-in-the-dark bracelets/sticks that glow when you bend them (also good for camping).

Always add: lip balm - specifically - L'Occitane's
a tree ornament and unusual bath things !

My 5yo loves carrying a notebook around and writing notes and stories. I hit the dollar aisle and found notebooks, pens, pencils and stickers.