How to Fill Your Child’s Christmas Stocking This Year

It’s almost Christmas, and whether your ready or not, it’s time to prepare for the festivities. If you’re hosting Christmas dinner, then pre-ordering the turkey and all the trimmings is a must; presents should also be bought and well-hidden so tiny, grabby hands cannot seek them out. The Christmas tree needs to be bought and decorated, and you may even wish to bake some Christmas-inspired cookies. Christmas is hard work, but it’s a magical time of year, especially if there are young ones in the family.

One popular Christmas tradition is the hanging of Christmas stockings, usually from a fireplace. However, with everything else needing your utmost attention, trying to figure out how to fill a collection of stockings can seem tiresome and also costly. To your young children, Santa is the one who fills their stockings, and you want them to continue believing this for as long as possible. Therefore, you want to give them the best, most magical stocking. If you’re running low on ideas, here are some ways you can fill your child’s stocking this year.

Chocolate and Sweets
Christmas is a time for indulgence, and gifting your children with their favourite chocolate and sweet treats isn’t the end of the world. Although you’ll want them to eat it in moderation, seeing their faces light up as they pull out awesome retro sweets will excite everyone in the family. To them, these retro treats may seem alien, but you can gift them with a part of your own childhood. For example, if you the era of candy whistles or rhubarb and custard sweets, then buying jars of old fashioned & retro sweets from Keep It Sweet could allow the whole family to experience a sugar rush.

Hat, Gloves and Scarf
Keep your young ones warm by stuffing their stockings with a hat, gloves and scarf. This is a present idea that works for all your children, all you have to ensure is that they reflect each child’s individualities. If your daughter loves Harry Potter, then check out Harry Potter merchandise online; if your son love anything green, then make sure you buy them the items in that colour. By making them more fun, they’re also more likely to wrap up warm.

Books and Notepads
This may be unfeasible depending on the size of the stockings, however, if you’ve got a bookworm for a child, then buy them a couple of books that’ll interest them. Buy them books you know they’ll love, but also use it as an opportunity to gift them with novels they’d never pick up themselves.

For a child who loves to write (or even draw), including a lined notepad or sketchpad and pencils will not only bring happiness, but could also keep them occupied for the rest of the day – a win-win, especially if you have a large dinner to prepare and cook!

Make Up
For older children who enjoy make up and cosmetics, you could fill their stocking with brands they enjoy, and their favourite make up items. You could even include a cute make up bag so they have a nice way to store their cosmetics. If you have young children who are interested in make up but are too young to wear it, then lip balm, nail polish and hair accessories are a great compromise.

Toys
Small and fun toys are ideal present ideas for stockings. Usually, the main event is saved for under the tree, so you don’t want to spend too much money on stocking fillers, however, smaller toys can keep them occupied for a good few hours without having to have spent too much.

Go old school and find some of your childhood favourites. Think Etch A Sketch, Yoyo, Rubik’s Cube, Kaleidoscope and a mental Slinky. If your children, though, a more creative, then buying them Story Cubes, origami paper or K’Nex are great ways to spur their creativity.

Fun Clothing
Not all presents have to be serious. Sometimes, it’s much better to give your children wacky and crazy gifts. Look for glow-in-the-dark clothing, crazy and colourful tights, fake, colourful hair extensions and 80’s inspired legwarmers. Buy your children a ridiculous onesie and they’ll wear it all day; give them fun hair accessories and your children will be out of the way, styling their hair.

For the Older Child
If you have an older child in the 15 to 18 age bracket, then you may have to think of some semi-serious stocking stuffers. Although they’d love many of the gifts previously listed, they may also wish for something of more substance.

1. If they can drive, then accessories for their car may be a fun gift for them. You could also get them car wash supplies as a joke (but also in all seriousness) if their vehicle is looking a little dirty.
2. A gift card to the cinema is ideal for the film-buffs. Include enough money for more than one ticket so they can take a friend.
3. A nice writing pen is perfect for older children who may be in their final year of high school or at college.
4. For an older child who has travel aspirations, a passport cover and luggage tags could be the push your child needs to start planning their adventure.
5. Proper art supplies for your artistic son or daughter, such as watercolours, pencils or even a high-quality sketchbook.
6. If they live away from home, toiletries such as fancy shower gel, lotion and bath bombs are both fun and essential.

Christmas can be both a stressful and expensive time. Usually, larger gifts are found under the Christmas tree, so try not to spend too much on stocking fillers. Considering you, your partner and all your children will have a stocking, the costs can influx quite quickly. Before you shop for stocking fillers, buy the big present first. Then, once this is settled, have a budget in place and stick to it – after all, Christmas is more than presents, it’s about being a family.

*Collaborative post*