I think I love stuffing stockings almost more than any other gift giving at Christmas time!! My mom made our family’s stockings and they are just beautiful! But they’re a little bit small. It seemed that no matter how small I kept the stocking stuffers, half of them still wouldn’t fit through the top! I finally bought the boys new, bigger stockings. My mom’s stockings are still hanging for decoration and will always be among our favorite Christmas decor. You can read more about her hand made stockings here.

I have learned during my last 13 stocking stuffing years that filling stockings with junk is a waste of money and toy box space. There are all kinds of little things on the ends of store aisles that are touted as “Great Stocking Stuffers”, but they’re made of junk. The kids will play with them for a total of two minutes before they get lost under the couch cushions.

I now avoid junkie toys and go with items that are truly usable, educational, or consumable.

This year (don’t tell my kids), they’re getting quite a few consumable items. I got them some treats that we hardly ever buy, which means they’ll be thrilled to find them in their stockings! Here are some consumables they’re either getting this year or have been given in years past:

• Annie’s Mac and Cheese box
• Juicy Juice 100% juice
• Pack of Gum
• A Can of Black Olives
• A Favorite Candy
• Cereal Bars
• A Small Jar of their Favorite Jelly
• Sunflower Seeds
• Beef Jerky
• Fruit
• Fruit Leather

I love consumable stocking stuffers because well…they will be quickly consumed. They won’t get lost in a toy box never to be seen again. They’re treats we rarely enjoy, making them a pretty special gift!

Here is a list of items I recommend that are fun, small enough to fit into most stockings and either educational or useful!

• Veggie Tales DVDs
• Sewing Kits from The Whole KIT ‘n Kaboodle
• Card games like Blink, Old Maid, Skip-Bo…
• Regular decks of cards
• Mittens or gloves, hats, scarves, ear muffs
• Socks (okay, bordering on being in the “not fun” category, but my kids are always happy to see socks without holes)
• Fun bandaids
• CDs
• Books
• Hair clips and such for little girls (although I have no experience in this area!!)
• School supplies

What items do you put in your kids’ stockings?