The Best Socking Stuffers from 2014

Yes I know Christmas is over, but I wanted to share some of the fun ideas Santa had for our stockings this year.  Growing up, my mother typically filled our stockings with nothing but candy.  As a child it was great, not only was there Christmas presents waiting for us, but there was tons of candy too.  However, looking back now as an adult and a parent, I realize it's probably not the healthiest/practical approach to a child's stocking.  So I came up with a few ideas for a child's stocking and some for the mommies and daddies.

Child Stockings:

Though it seems daunting, a child's stocking can be the cheapest to fill.  All you need is a really good Dollar Tree or the equivalent of a Five Below, which I have in my area.  I try to stick to one theme.  Since I have a girl, it's easy, she got princess figurines.  Five Below had a great sale on miniature Frozen figurines (Elsa, Anna, Christophe, and Olaf, poor Sven was left out), Doc McStuffins Duo Figurines (which three packages and she had the whole cast) and a couple of ring pops for good measure.  The Frozen figurines were a whooping 3 for $5 so all four was a total of $6.50, the DocMcStuffins were a total of $6.00 and her Ring Pops were $0.50 each.  An entire stocking, that wasn't stuffed with cavities, for $13.  Not too shabby for toys.

Daddy's Stocking:

So my husband is the hardest person to buy for in general.  Not just his stocking but birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries, all of them.  So this year I had to think outside of the box.  He had this old loofah in the shower that I literally could not look at any longer.  So that was an instant must on the shopping list.  Second, I noticed that he always has travel tissues in his truck, for runny noses, spills, etc.  And since he's currently reliving his child hood and is back into the Ninja Turtles,  I snagged a six pack of ninja turtle tissues from Dollar Tree for his stocking.  Lastly, he tends to chew only Dentyne gum, but occasionally he will revert back to his childhood favorite, Big League Chew in the grape flavor, which is apparently extremely hard to find.  Once again Five Below saved the day! I was able to get five packs for a whooping $5.  So Santa was able to drop less than $10 on his stocking this year.

Mommy's Stocking:

I am also hard to shop for in the stocking category.  I did not need a new loofah or tissues this year and I don't have a childhood favorite gum to turn to.  I decided to let E.L.F. fill my stocking instead.  If you haven't heard of it yet, check out their section in the Target makeup aisle.  I've worn this brand since high school (my 10 year reunion is 2015, you do the math) and I've always loved it.  They have expanded the company quite a bit since then, but their products just keep coming out more amazing than before.  Santa loaded me up on the following:

e.l.f. Studio Mineral Face Primer
e.l.f. Essential Cover Everything Concealer
e.l.f. Essential Lip Stain in Pink Petal and Cherry Bomb
e.l.f. Studio High Definition Blush in Headliner
Pond's Exfoliating Make up Wipes in Citrus and Cucumber

I can tell you personally, it is really easy to get caught up in stocking stuffers.  There are so many things you can fill a Christmas stocking with from candy to toys, to accessories, to car accessories, gift cards, etc.  To prevent a sensory overload, try to pick a theme and stick with it.  Make the stuffers practical so they are used and not thrown somewhere to collect just, and lastly, don't spend a fortune on them! 

Happy stuffing everyone!