Stocking Filler Ideas

Stocking fillers make great complementary gifts, allowing you to give small items that are useful despite lacking the capacity to be a main Christmas gift. People often struggle with filling a stocking, especially as the traditional filling of sweets begins to bore the recipients after several Christmas Days. Here are several ways in which you can avoid the monotony of the sweets stocking, and bring your stocking game beyond expectations.

Small jewellery

An inexpensive, small necklace or bracelet, or a pair of earrings, due to their compact nature, make an intuitively good stocking filler for anyone who likes to show off their bling. One of the best choices in this regard is the humble chain: the chain’s minimalist aesthetic, and its multiple uses, make it a welcome addition to most outfits, and its lack of flashiness suits even the most ascetic person. Avoid rings, not only because cheap rings are often looked down upon as tacky, but also because a comfortable ring requires you to know the recipient’s finger size, which, most of the time, even the person themselves does not know.

Keyring accessories

Although keyrings do not make a good impression as Christmas presents, they make an excellent impression as a stocking filler, especially if they are useful: utility keyring accessories, like corkscrews, bottle openers, compasses, or even a mini-torch are bound to make their recipients pleasantly surprised and satisfied, in spite of the fact that they are small and insignificant otherwise. However, a keyring accessory does not have to be practically useful to be well-received: novelty accessories, like number plates, fuzzy dice, or personalised tags substitute usefulness for sentimentality, making them a gift just as well-desired.

Phone cases

A good phone case can make a very good complementary gift to a main gift of an actual phone, as well as providing the recipient of the stocking with a useful choice to customise their device. Additionally, a personalised phone case, sporting a family picture, can make an inexpensive, but very sentimentally appealing present.

Books

Although some people regard books as a standalone Christmas present, books can be extremely inexpensive. One source of inexpensive books is the Wordsworth Editions catalogue of classics, which comes at extremely affordable prices. Popping a short classic or two into the stocking could make an avid reader’s Christmas evening complete.

Stationery

Notebooks, pens, pencils, and other stationery commemorating the occasion can act as a great source of memories for years to come, as well as serving a potentially useful function or those looking to plan the upcoming year.

Sweets

Sometimes, the best stocking filler is the most cliché: traditional Christmas sweets, including peppermint candy canes, melt-it-yourself hot chocolate, marshmallows, fruitcake, gingerbread, and other Christmas nibbles make for an excellent filling to anybody with a sweet tooth. If you wish, you may repackage the sweets into personalised packages, or pay one of many services that offer to do so for you. To personalise the sweets further, you can try to tailor the candy in each stocking to the respective recipient’s tastes, which makes for a very thoughtful side-gift.

Self-care products

Wax melts, small scented candles, and incense sticks make for a great relaxing gift, which fits well in a stocking. If you wish to stray from the scented path, you may wish to consider including a bath bomb or two: DIY and pre-made bath bombs have become very popular over the last several years, and provide a much needed self-spoiling session for the recipient, once they are through with an arduous night of Christmas partying.

Hand-knitted goods

With a stocking large enough, anything is possible! If you have a knack for knitting, you may wish to embody your skills in a unique present, like a winter hat, scarf, or pair of socks. This has the advantage of putting you in control of the gift’s manufacture, allowing you to embed the knitted present with your very own message or motif, adding to the Christmassy feel of unpacking a stocking.

Small clothing accessories

Pins and patches, even if they are not Christmas-related, are a great way of letting people add some flair to their clothes and bags, without overwhelming your budget, or detracting from the main gifts. Plus, since these minor gifts often go overlooked when packaged with main gifts, putting them in a stocking makes them stand out, making your recipient much more grateful for this minutiae.

Cutlery and dishes

Spoons and forks, either embedded with a message or a name, can make for a useful and compact stocking filling, and do a great job of brightening the day of the gourmand in your life. Alternatively, you may choose to pack in some decorated espresso cups or shot glasses, which make an adorable and effortless addition to any person’s cupboard.