What are some ideas for Christmas stocking stuffers?

I’ve included small luxurious toiletries, and high end costume jewelry.

I fill them with chocolate oranges, mints, ballpoint pens, chapstick, costume jewelry, candle lighters, sodoku book, iTunes gift card, stamps, sewing kits, that sort of thing. Usually things that can be purchased at the drug store.

We didn’t hang up stockings when I was a kid, but we did celebrate Epiphany – the arrival of the Wise Men at the Manger – with gifts of money, chocolate and perfume to represent gold, frankensense and myhrr.

I always used to get a tangerine and a sugar mouse along with small cheap gifts like novelty pens, a small torch, socks, hair products, small bag of chocolate coins.
Depends on the sex and age of the recipient, maybe small perfumes/aftershaves, keyrings, personalised items such as keyrings, photos in small frames.

A high end six pack is always a nice surprise.

For adults jewelry and perfume are good. Stock certificates and deeds can be pretty exciting too.

For my kids I always put in quality chocolates, a huge peppermint stick, small wrapped gifts, toiletry products I wanted them to try or use, a small handheld game, and ALWAYS a letter from Santa thanking them for being great girls of whom their Mom could be and was always so proud.

When I was a kid our stocking always had fresh fruit, candy canes, pecans, and English walnuts. Sometimes there would be a small toy like jacks, dice, or pick-up stix.

A chocolate orange

USB flash drives…...small and useful.

Yes, depends on the age and gender and what you know of their likes.

When my daughter was small it was candy and small toys, mittens, modeling clay, play-doh, rubber animals, dinosaurs etc.

Now at 23 it is nail polish and gift cards and novelty items and various unsundries like condoms! lol

I always put in a new toothbrush, hahaha

Thank you all for the ideas shared so far. These are fantastic!
@janedelila Sample-sized toiletries is a great idea. They can be purchased in a set and individually wrapped and tucked in the stockings.

@BarnacleBill Those chocolate oranges are delictable. And thank you for the suggestion of just roaming a drug store for ideas.

@Mat74UK What in the heck is a sugar mouse? Can you provide a link? The suggestion of a small torch is excellent. The parents go away for holiday, and it could come in handy.

@Blondesjon Err…thank you for the suggestion. Your stockings must be thrice the size of ours.

@perspicacious My mother buys me stock shares and used to put them in my stocking when I was home. She picked out ones that she knew I would appreciate, like the women’s clothing store where I do most of my shopping. It was a nice, personal touch for an elderly woman who can no longer go to stores. The letter from Santa idea is very touching. Have any of them been saved from years past? The nuts idea is new to me; I’m all over that.
@Foolaholic It’s already been mentioned, but in my opinion, worthy of a second nomination. It’s definately going on my list.

@Hypocrisy_Central A USB is an excellent idea. It’s small, and if a person already owns one, who can’t use another? I carry one in my handbag.

@Coloma You never cease to catch me off-guard. I’m going to use the condom suggestion for my nephews who are now in their 20s. It will be a good way of keeping up the reputation of being the eccentric auntie.

@Pied_Pfeffer Yes, my older daughter has some of the letters she received from Santa. She is doing the same thing for her own daughter now. Nuts were always plentiful around our house. Pecan trees were everywhere really and there was always a bowl of pecans on the table. We would usually just add our stocking pecans to the bowl. But the English walnuts—we were stingy with those. If the stockings are for kids be sure there is a kid safe nut cracker around the house.

We always had different kinds of nuts and a candy cane as well as jewelery. I did the same for my kids without the nuts and started adding CD’s and video games. The kids also love getting a chocolate orange and they all count it as part of their Christmas tradition. When my daughter was fifteen, I also gave her five crisp new twenties that I rolled up and tied with a ribbon. You could get some flavored massage oils, or small accessory items made of silk.
Think of what your SO likes and get creative. Jewelery and Godiva chocolates, good things really do come in small packages.

This is what I put in stockings for adults. Travel and sample sizes of luxury brands of toiletries, makeup and perfume, small bottles of liquor, cigars, holiday travel size Kleenex, packets of mini emery boards, amusing Band Aids (ones that look like bacon strips), packages of hot cocoa, mulling spices, biscotti, maybe some holiday pencils or pens, tiny notepads, little snacks like seasoned almonds, little cakes, etc.

My mom was always the pinnacle of practical. We each got a roll of scotch tape (so we didn’t borrow hers), a tangerine in the toe of the stocking, nuts, hard candy, little pocket note pads (so we weren’t always asking for pieces of paper), pens/pencils (you guessed it), funky erasers, pocket toiletries (including nice razors as was age appropriate).

@Kayak8 My Mom has always put the tangerine in the toe too!

the mandarins!! I really miss christmas in england. you can jam cd’s in there of some good music, socks, funny keyfobs. makes me miss me mum

When I was a kid, my mom and dad always put an apple and an orange in the bottom of my stocking.

Besides a lot of what’s been mentioned already, everyone in our family gets a very small Lego set in his or her stocking, no matter your age. Kids to adults, you get Legos. It’s a silly thing we all look forward to, started by my mother-in-law when her kids were little.

How about a small blank book or journal with a nice pen? Some fun markers or arts and crafts supplies, silly refrigerator magnets for adults, fun holiday socks, homemade candies or treats, or novelty gifts. I once found a set of pens at a bookstore. They were designed to prevent people taking your pens and looked like pens from businesses except they said things like Sex Addicts Anonymous instead of the name of a bank or normal company. We put nippers (little bottles of alcohol) in my father-in-law’s stocking.

You could start your own tradition of putting a unique Christmas tree ornament in each stocking, with the person’s name and the date written on it in permanent marker. We started doing this for our kids’ stockings years ago, and now when we decorate the tree they love to find their own ornaments and remember past Christmases. Someday when they move out, get married, and have their own families, they’ll each have a good set of ornaments to start out with!

Stockings were always where “the good stuff” was. In in would be sample vials of nice perfumes my mom had been stockpiling, high end chocolate truffles, an orange, in-the-shell nuts, pastel mints in rose & violet flavors, sen sen packets, cash, a nice piece of jewelry, lipgloss, expensive nail polish and a new fancy ornament would be hanging on the outside.

Things I give to others:
Jewelry
Cologne
Artisan soaps
Small novelty glass/pottery figurines
Cash
Fancy cigarettes or cigars
Their favorite candies
A poem
Grooming tools
Sunglasses
Chapstick
Pocketknife

@Pied_Pfeffer – White Sugar Mouse

I once got a cocked mousetrap in my stocking. That’s when I realized that Santa really did know who was naughty.

For my adult children I always go to stupid.com to find funny things for their stockings, but I have an odd sense of humor.

You know I go to the dollar store and buy tons of little stocking stuffers. A slinky, crayons, candy, but my daughters is three and easy to please.

@Judi i just checked out that link…lovelovelove that place!! Where’s my credit card…..

@janedelila; glad you liked it!

@Judi: I’m shopping!

I think homemade CDs are always a nice gift… with either songs of a certain theme or pictures from the past year.

@Hypocrisy_Central had a great suggestion of flash drives and I love @MissAusten‘s suggestion of small lego sets! Perhaps I’ll need to start a family tradition!

My brother and I always got an apple, an orange, hershey’s kisses and little things like pencils, funky socks, gloves, small notebooks, candy canes, etc. I remember when I was considered old enough to shave my legs and I got a little Flicker razor in my stocking.

@Hypocrisy_Central: I got a flash drive as a Christmastime gift a few years back and still think it was GREAT!