Find 100+ stocking stuffer ideas for men, women, kids, babies and toddlers,
including budget-friendly, unique, and easy-to-ship gift options.
Stockings are a beloved tradition in our household (as in many). Growing up, our family was a bit backwards. Due to a giant family reunion Christmas Day every year, we actually opened all the big gifts on Christmas Eve. Then Christmas morning was just for stockings. Somehow my grandma still managed to find unique gifts we looked forward to every Christmas morning.
So I’ve pulled together a list of some of my favorite stocking stuffers. The gifts are divided below by category: adults, women, men, kids, and babies & toddlers. I also have a section on small stocking stuffers that are ideal for shipping. And I have some unique stocking stuffer ideas for you.
Most of the gifts are from Amazon (who doesn’t love Amazon?) with a few from other places I shop regularly.
If you’re shopping on a budget (and who isn’t these days…sad haha), look for the 💰 emoji. That means it’s a budget pick—an inexpensive option, usually under $10, but prices can change.
***This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you if you make a purchase using this link. Full disclosure statement.***
Gifts for Adults
• Scratch-off lottery tickets.
• I LOVE tea. Ever since I discovered loose leaf teas (at The Spice & Tea Exchange), I’ve been exploring a whole new world of tea. You can find loose leaf teas a variety of places, including Amazon. (If you’re not sure if they have a tea strainer for loose leaf teas, here is an easy option: Steel Mesh Tea Balls. I use these myself, and they are perfect.)
If you don’t want to mess around with loose leaf, try these “in bag” options: Tea sampler: Taylors of Harrogate Classic or Yogi Favorites Gift Box.
• Ghirardelli! Who doesn’t love chocolate? I normally buy one of the larger packs of individual wrapped pieces and then break it down for stocking stuffers for two or three different people (💰). My brand pick is Ghirardelli because it tastes delicious, is widely available, but isn’t super-expensive.
• A meaningful picture, framed. Too often we snap pics, store them online, and never have them around the house. This works for guys and gals. I LOVE ArtToFrames and own some myself. My father-in-law loves pictures of him and his Corvette framed.
• Gift cards. I used to hate giving gift cards until I started receiving some. Then I realized it really can be the perfect gift. Though I wouldn’t overdo it.
• Coffee Sampler. If you want to make this a budget 💰 option, get a variety pack and split it between different people’s stockings.
• Cocoa. If they’re not a tea or coffee fan (like my brother), hot cocoa is a perfect alternative. Ghirardelli Hot Cocoa Premium Indulgence or Starbucks Hot Cocoa.
• Car Air Freshener. I’m particularly fond of the Yankee Car Air Fresheners. Especially the Midsummer Night scent.
• Nuts. My favorites are: Broadway Baskets and, for a cheaper option 💰, Planters varieties.
• 💰 Back Scratcher. Because sometimes your favorite back scratcher (someone you love) isn’t available.
• Homemade Gift Certificates. I have “Free Printable Christmas Gift Certificates” along w/ ideas of what to give.
• Cookies. My favorite is “Grandma’s Cookies Variety Pack” if you’re buying for multiple people. Enough to stuff something in everyone’s stocking (including the kids). If you’re looking to spend a little more on one individual stocking stuffer, though, Barnett’s Chocolate Cookies Gourmet Box is great.
• Popcorn. My favorite is the “Popcornopolis Popcorn 12 Cone Sampler“. Since it’s already divided into 12 samples, you can put something in everyone’s stocking. Um, I might be guilty of eating the zebra popcorn myself, though.
• 💰 Christmas Ornament.
• Homemade sweets. I have multiple easy recipes: Christmas Pretzel Kisses, Reindeer Puppy Chow, Peppermint Bark, and Easy White Chocolate Peppermint Pretzels. They’re all quick and easy, but really cute. Just put in a cellophane bag and add a gift tag (you can use Free Printable Christmas Gift Tags).
• Candy. My favorite picks are Build Your Own Fudge Gift Box and Krispy Kreme Jelly Beans (💰).
• 💰 Luggage Tags.
• 💰 Keychain Flashlight.
Stocking Stuffers for Women
• Travel Jewelry Organizer. This is the #1 gift I recommend for women if they don’t already have one. In fact, I just leave most of my jewelry in a couple of them now. They’re easy to move from the bathroom to bedroom to downstairs if I’m getting ready in a different room. And the jewelry is already ready to throw in the suitcase.
• 💰 Coloring books for adults. Yes, seriously. I’ve discovered these are amazing stress-relievers. Favorite books: Stress-Relieving Animals and Kaleidoscope Images.
-If you know they already like to color, try these “Colorful Blessings Cards.” Out of the box and they probably don’t already own it!
-If they don’t already color, make sure to grab some colored pencils for them.
• Books for women. Recommended (I’ve read them and liked them): The Midnight Library; Girl, Wash Your Face; Code Girls.
• 💰 Pretty Christmas ornaments. My favorites are Iridescent Hummingbirds and Tree of Life Stained Glass.
• 💰 Silicone baking cups if they bake cupcakes or muffins often.
• Spoon Spatulas (these are amazing! I have two and love them).
• Sleep Mask.
• Lip gloss.
• Hand Lotion. My favorites are Bath & Body Works Lotions.
• Nail polish. My favorites are Rose Gold Colors…they’re versatile and look classy.
• Bath bombs.
• 💰 Bath loofahs.
• Bubble Bath. My favorites are Camille Beckman Camille and Honest Company Lavender (💰).
• 💰 Bath scrubs.
• 💰 Journals.
• Candles. I’m partial to Yankee Candles (particularly the Midsummer Night scent), but they’re a bit more expensive than some others.
• Wine. (I recently discovered fruit wines, and have been trying some…I think blackberry is my favorite so far.)
• Your time. Plan a spa night or movie night with your loved one.
• 💰 Headbands. Note: only get this if you know they wear headbands. There are plenty of other hair accessory options if they’re not a fan of head bands.
• Scarf, Winter Hat, or Gloves
Stocking Stuffers for Men
• Don’t forget to check out the “Gifts for Adults” above if you need more ideas. I also have a post “Ultimate Gift Guide for Men” that has more ideas.
• Money clip (💰) or money clip wallets. My FIL got a money clip wallet and loves it.
• Books for men. Recommended: Into the Wild and Blind Man’s Bluff. My husband started Three-Body Problem recently and LOVED it. But make sure this is a genre they will like before you buy.
• Audible gift membership. After our most recent move (husband is military), he has to commute longer than ever before. He’s started using our Audible membership more than I do. If you know a guy who commutes, this might be the perfect stocking stuffer.
• Grilling tools & accessories. BBQ skewers, gloves, grill cleaning, and BBQ Sauce. My husband also gets a variety of salts from The Spice & Tea Exchange. He gets rubs from Recteq; one of his favorites is called Screamin’ Pig. Yes, seriously.
• Small cologne samples/bottles.
• Look at shaving kits. See if any of the items in them are perfect for your loved one and buy that item.
• Beef jerky. Sampler packs are a particularly great gift option. Check out Righteous Felon 4 Flavor Gift Box, Righteous Felon Meat & Cheese Stick Samplers, or Icon Meat Stick Variety Pack (the last one has elk, venison, and bison to try).
• 💰 Gum.
• 💰 Nuts.
• Lifestraw.
• Whiskey glasses. I particularly like the Amlong Crystal Glasses.
• Flask.
• Your time. Plan time for an activity he enjoys.
• 💰 Pens. Check and see if they have a favorite…I know my husband has exactly what brand and design he’ll use! (That would be the Zebra F-301, in case you’re interested…haha).
• 💰 Tire pressure gauge.
• Men’s socks.
• Scarf, winter hat, or gloves.
Stocking Stuffer for Kids
• 💰 Coloring supplies. Crayons, markers, and colored pencils are a hit with most kids. And they’re a budget-friendly option. Some of my favorite picks include: Glitter Crayons; Crayola bundle of crayons, markers, & pencils; and Washable Markers.
• 💰 Coloring Books. I like Pretty Princesses, Pixar Pals, & ABC Coloring Book.
• Play-Doh. You can buy the actual Play-Doh (try sparkle or scented varieties for something different) or useful tools and cutters. Note that the scissors for cutting that come in many sets are flimsy; I actually re-purposed a pair of “normal” kids’ scissors for my son’s Play-Doh play.
• 💰 Stick-on earrings. (I loved these as a kid…as in loved so much I used to schedule out which pair I would finally wear on certain days…haha).
• Stuffed Animals. My favorites are the Three-Toed Sloth and Siberian Husky.
• 💰 Stickers.
• Silly Putty. My favorite is the Silly Putty Variety Pack. There are 24 packs in there, making this perfect for splitting up between multiple kids.
• 💰 Hair ties.
• Card Games for Kids. My favorite picks: Bicycle Classic- 6 Games, Skip-Bo Junior, Uno, and Go-Fish!
• 💰 Glow sticks– many are bracelets and necklaces.
• Books for Kids 2-4, Books for Kids 4-6, Books for Kids 6-8, Books for Kids 8-10, Books for Kids 10-12. One good option for a lot of kids is the National Geographic Big Book of Why.
• Magazine subscriptions for kids or educational magazines.
• Homemade Gift Certificates. I have “Free Printable Christmas Gift Certificates” along w/ ideas of what to give.
• 💰 Bubble Bath for Kids.
• 💰 Silly Straws.
• Homemade sweets. I have multiple easy recipes: Christmas Pretzel Kisses, Reindeer Puppy Chow, Peppermint Bark, and Easy White Chocolate Peppermint Pretzels. They’re all quick and easy, but really cute. Just put in a cellophane bag and add a gift tag (you can use Free Printable Christmas Gift Tags).
• Kids toothbrush and toothpaste.
• Cute bandages for kids. Pick their favorite character (my son currently loves Paw Patrol) and get bandages just for them.
Stocking Stuffers for Babies & Toddlers
• 💰 Coloring supplies. My favorite stocking stuffers for little hands: Jumbo Crayons, Palm Grip Crayons, or Honeysticks Beeswax Crayons. I got the Honeysticks for my son’s first crayons because- like many babies- he wanted to put everything in his mouth. They’re made of beeswax and food-grade pigments for color so I felt a little less worried about his taste-testing the art supplies.
• Reusable sticker books. These are great for the car.
• Stuffed Animals for younger kids. My favorites are the Mini Flopsie Jaguar (great for take-along wherever the kid goes) and the musical caterpillar.
• 💰 Sidewalk Chalk. My favorite is the Melissa & Doug My First Sidewalk Chalk (it comes with holders).
• 💰 Books for Babies and Books for Toddlers. My favorite to read to my son when he was little was The Very Hungry Caterpillar. HIS favorite was First 100 Trucks, which annoyed me because I felt the urge every time I read it to point out that a rocket ship was NOT a truck and they needed to re-name the book.
• 💰 Bath Toys. Hint: don’t break the bank on bath toys. Their favorite will probably end up being some plastic cups from the kitchen. And the empty plastic spice jar he inexplicably confiscated for tubby time. 3 years later and still playing with it in the tub. Sigh.
• Color Bath Dropz for bath time.
• Rattles. I got my son the iPlay Ilearn 10 piece set. A couple of them survived until he was 4. In fact, when I asked him what he wanted to get his friend’s new baby brother, he went and picked out the surviving “trumpet” rattle and wanted to give that to him. I explained we should probably buy the baby new ones, not give him the old one. We bought a new set instead, and he was very excited to give them to the baby!
• Teething toys. No recommendations- the baby is going to pick their favorite and nothing you can say is going to persuade them. (Aka- I might have spent almost $30 on a fancy giraffe that he disdained to touch…haha.)
• Spin and Learn Color Flashlight.
Small Stocking Stuffers
My husband is military. 24 years and counting. And I was in the Navy before I married him. Which means I have lots of experience with shipping Christmas gifts. One solution is shipping them direct and begging the people on the other end to wrap them. Which we do (my mom has me wrap gifts for my son- her grandson). But there is something about sending a stocking full of already wrapped gifts that is nice. Hence this section on small, easy-to-ship stocking stuffers.
• Spices and flavored salts. I buy these from The Spice & Tea Exchange. My husband loves a variety of salts for grilling. My dad found my jalapeno powder when they were visiting right after my son was born and now gets his own for Christmas.
• 💰 Corkscrew and bottle opener. I have a small one in every single set of our luggage. Because I was tired of us getting to a hotel room (we travel to visit family and move a lot) and finding we needed a bottle opener so my husband could have a beer or so I could open a bottle of wine. A family member we were traveling with (joint ski trip) actually liked mine so much he KEPT it. Didn’t even ask. Just said, “oh, that’s nice” and literally put it in his pocket.
• Hit the local Christmas market for handmade items. This works year-round. Our Saturday farmer’s market has expanded to crafters too during the summer, and I often find locally made jewelry or handcrafted kitchen utensils to buy.
• Reusable shopping bags. I use these. They come in a variety of sizes, fit well in the bottom of my purse, and I’ve had multiple grocery store cashiers and baggers comment how pretty they are and ask where they can buy them.
• Small luggage scale. If someone you know flies a lot and is worried about baggage fees, this is a great stocking stuffer.
• 💰 Printed photographs. I know, I know. We all have a million digital pictures. But sometimes someone just wants an actual physical picture to put on the fridge or their desk.
• 💰 Brain teaser puzzles.
• 💰 Kids’ artwork. My 4-year-old recently discovered the joy of gluing small squares of paper onto larger pieces of paper. His preschool teacher introduced this concept. I wish I had discovered it a year ago. It can keep him busy for an hour. He’s currently in production mode making gifts for everyone he knows- his friends, his grandparents, me, his dad, his teacher. He even wants to give one to the neighbor we barely know. I think I’ve convinced him the neighbor can probably do without one. Haha.
But- as I mentioned above- my husband is military. The first time I thought to send a page my son colored to his grandma, she called about crying (happy) because she had something from him to hang on the fridge.
• 💰 Tide To Go Pen.
• Individually wrapped beef sticks. If you’re doing stockings for multiple people, you can make this a budget (💰) buy by getting a larger pack and throwing one or two individual beef sticks in each person’s stocking.
• Individually wrapped bath bombs or shower steamers. You might have better luck finding these actually in-store near the checkout stand than online.
• Dip mixes. These are another great item to find at local markets. Almost every festival or market we go to has someone selling their own special dip mix blends.
• Coasters.
Unique Stocking Stuffers
• Emotional support crochet dumpster fire. I got one of these for my sister-in-law one year before tax season (she’s an accountant). She put it on her desk for a small smile when she wanted to throw the keyboard through the window. Haha.
• Handmade soaps. The sky is the limit. They come in all colors, scents, and shapes. Find something unique that they’ll love.
• Whiskey accessories. Skip the whiskey rocks (trust me, I tried them one year for my husband; it was a bust.) Try whiskey sticks, whiskey cocktail cherries, or whiskey-infused ideas (such as coffee, popcorn, or nuts.)
• Coasters. Yes, I know it sounds generic. But there is room to go unique with this option. Beyond the “my husband likes golf; I’ll get golf coasters.” My aunts once found me coasters made out of wine corks and wrapped with twine at a crafter’s market. And you can have photo coasters made.
• Nostalgic candy. No, I’m not talking 2005. I’m talking finding some candy cigarettes, candy buttons (you know, the ones you eat off the strip of paper), or wax bottle candy drinks. Yes, you can still buy them.
• Calendar designed with personal photos. I’m jealous my sister-in-law thought of this first but she has dibs on giving this every year to my mom. And SIL does a great job. She goes by theme and uses different photos of all the grandkids every year. Leaf pile pictures one year for September, the latest Halloween costumes for October, etc. Once for a summer month, she gathered pictures snapped of each of the grandkids in their car seats (you know those candid pictures where a parent turns around and snaps a photo of the kid in the backseat?).
• Brainteasers on Uncommon Goods. Their inventory varies and is often limited so I can’t promise how long these particular items will be available, but I like the Blacksmith’s Brainteaser and Build Your Own 3D Marble Run.
• Cocoa shots. Yes, we’ve all heard of hot cocoa. But who’s received a set of hot cocoa shots? (At least until two years from now when everyone has them.) You can also check out hot cocoa spoons.
• Christmas ornaments from Etsy or Uncommon Goods. Inventory is constantly changing, but some unique options include geode ornaments (especially in unique shapes), metal beaded ornaments, and year-in-review (you pick pictures, icons, and text to summarize the year’s adventures).
Anything to Add?
I hope you found some useful (and unique) stocking stuffers for everyone on your Christmas list. Do you have any ideas to add—especially something unique? If so, comment below and let me know. I’m always looking for new gift ideas.
If you’re looking for larger gift ideas, check out these other gift guides: Gifts for Women: Unique, Practical, & Thoughtful Ideas, The Ultimate Gift Guide for Men, or 50+ Gifts for Grandparents.
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