Looking For Non-Toy Stocking Ideas

What about a personalized cd of their favorite song or an imix off of itunes? I'm including a free game of bowling, flashlight and of course, tape! Kids do love tape!

my mom (and now I do it too) always filed my stockings with art supplys - new pens, pencils, crayons, stickers, little books that were blank on the inside. Another tradition was to put in the stocking something to cook. I remember one year i got some blueberry muffin mix and some really cool muffin papers. i got to make them in between opening the stockings and opening the gifts under the tree. it was awesome.

I put in toothbrushes, toothpaste, bubble bath, bath crayons, those washcloths that expand when wet (from the dollar store), salami sticks, nuts...

Are you near an ocean? My kids recently did a message in a bottle - all you need is a bottle with a cork and some sealing wax to melt over it. It was lots of fun.

Socks are a standby for adult stockings in my family. Sounds so boring, I know, but who doesn't love a really good pair of socks?! :) A small ornament is nice too. I sometimes give a gift card to our favorite coffee shop for exactly the cost of our two favorite coffees so I can tell my husband it's just for the two of us (haven't done this for a stocking before, but for $5-6, it seems like a good stocking option).

I always get a flashlight from Mom - I was afraid of the dark as a child and so she always gives me one.
Also when I was a kid- we got stockings then ate breakfast then did presents- so my parents put something that would keep us busy for the morning. For me, it was always books. For my brothers, it was things that needed to be assembled like legos.

art supplies, school supplies they might have lost or be running out of, passes to an event, a special picture framed, a water bottle stuffed with goodies, a journal or notebook. My mom always re-stocked our make up in the stockings, but I later learned it was so we'd stop using hers. Christmas and easter, like clockwork, she got her makeup back.

We give them their own stash of AA/AAA batteries, ear bud headphones (because they never last long) and if I've signed them up for any community center classes in the next couple of months I'll make a certificate for that and put it in their stocking.

Oh yeah, and Burt's Bees Hand Salve. My parents and my husband's parents are all gardeners and outdoorsy types - we all swear by this stuff!

i always put a special hot cocoa mug in my childrens stockings each year they feel so special and love using their own special mug all year long and i include some fun hot cocoa for them i find unique packages of it at tj maxx!

There are some pretty cool USB keys out on etsy right now. I got my husband a Captain Kirk Pez dispenser made into a USB key. A bit pricey, but cool none the less. Also kitchen gear always makes an appearance in someones stocking.

i use to make handmade coupons for my kids--there were various kinds like, kiss me, hug me, love me, whisper in my ear, tug my ear--its great to come up with silly ones also--and i always put EXPIRES: NEVER! on all of them!!!

I got my son a Mentos spout. It's a spout you screw onto a 2 liter of diet coke, and you pour a pack of peppermint Mentos into the diet coke (the mentos comes with the spout) and it makes a geyser. Don't do it inside. The kids get a kick out of making mommy's diet coke explode. I got it at Michaels. Actually Michaels had a bunch of fun stocking stuffer stuff.

Socks & underwear.
Cool or fun notebook / pens / pencils.
Small bouncy balls, a favourite chocolate bar, bubble bath.
Lots of good ideas here!

My mom always does a theme for each of us even tho we are all grown up now and we still LOVE it! Last year, my husband got all different kinds of mini rum bottles, I got all different kinds of votive candles, my brother in law got different salsas, and my sister got nail polish bottles. Other years we have received hot sauces, bbq sauces, flavored tea, coffee, gum and mints, bath products, flavored oils, craft supplies, and tools, to name a few. It is always fun to see what our theme will be. She usually tries to keep it in tune with what were are into that year. For the kids, she buys toys and candy. She says it is her "Nana's Right" to buy all of that stuff.

I should have added that I buy for stockings all year round. I usually end up with extras and those go into their Easter Baskets.

fun character band aids (becuz I am always too cheap to buy normally), chapstick, HUG cards (whenever you need a hug, use a card, with the additional option of "just asking," and no expiration) =),

Kernels popcorn. Healthy-ish and takes up lots of room (do you guys have Kernels...hmmm, maybe not). Hot chocolate and a new mug. Small boxes of lego. Socks.

magnets..any kind of magnets..letters, #s, magnets that stick together, horseshoe shaped...I don't know why but kids are fascinated by magnets and things magnets can pick up or stick to work well, too. Toys from years gone by are good, too, like the characters that collapse when you punch the base they are on-I've seen reindeer and other animals recently, Pez dispensers, super balls, plastic animals & people, silly putty, yo-yo, batteries. I know you said "not food" items but...Cracker Jacks, small packets of cheese crackers, sugar free gum, "gummy" anything, animal crackers in the boxes-stuff kids might not get on a regular basis or it's just packaged differently for the holidays. We would only get this stuff @ Christmas so it gave us something to look forward to getting & made for some great memories. I saw "lump of coal" boxes that had pocket change in them when opened up...cute!

I thought we were the only ones who did the cool toothbrushes and sparkly toothpaste! Too fun to see others do that too. What about a deck of playing cards? Uno or Rook too depending on their age. Chapstick/lip gloss is a big hit w/my girls too. I love the idea of fuzzy socks.

LOL Cathy Z! I will add duct tape and flash lights!

We always got the Lifesavers books in our stockings. My kids do not eat a lot of candy and we can't get the full books here in Panama (do they even sell them anymore?) so I bought a couple of rolls for each child. We do stockings for the adults who are onsite for Christmas as well. This year all of the adults will be getting a chamois cloth - we use them to dry the seats on the boat.

We put in stuff for our kids to demonstrate how well Santa knows them. We have the best picture ever of our youngest (then about 3) pulling a bottle of ketchup out of her stocking. She has the most delighted look on her face. It really is priceless.

Cathy - I always gave my kids tape. This year my 17 yr old son is getting several colors of duct tape. Tape DOES rule!
Great question - great answers!

I was seriously under the illusion that we were the only people who put new electric toothbrushes in our boys' stockings! Who knew?!
Thanks for this post and all the great ideas! Two regulars here are a comic book for each boy, and a blank book (you can make your own or see tons of options at www.barebooks.com where I stock up on them).
Favorite baseball team hat.
CZ may have been joking but my 4 year old would LOVE his own role of tape:-)