My Gift Giving Guide: Part 1: Stocking Stuffers

I know; it seems that anyone and everyone who has a blog out there is sharing their gift ideas with you. But, still it seemed like fun, and maybe just maybe I'll have something new you haven't seen before!

I'm planning on sharing with you everything I do...yep, everything. Haha! As we are on a tight budget, I make a lot of Christmas gifts for giving. Personally, these are my favorite kind of gifts; they're personal and so full of love. Whether I'm giving them or receiving them, homemade gifts just make my heart happy.

So, I'm going ton share some of my absolute favorite homemade gifts! Some are my own tried and true that I make each year, some that I've made once and have loved the result and even some that I've seen out there (Pinterest!) that look really nifty.

But, first I'm going to kick off my gift giving guide with my personal stocking stuffer favorites!
And, here is my aside about stocking stuffers... I love stocking stuffers!

So, do my kiddos, apparently!


Personally, it's my favorite part of the gift giving Christmas Day scene. We wrap all of our stocking stuffers, which I think really makes it so much more fun (they don't get wrapped all fancy, and it's a great way to use up those scraps of paper from other gifts) and gives you a reason to not have to buy a lot more (and expensive) Christmas gifts. I also don't believe in the traditional loading up the stockings with toys and candy. In fact, if we give any candy at all, it's usually just a piece or two (and often from the kids' Halloween buckets, haha). I do, however, load up on fruit. See, my kiddos love fruit and my six year old loves 'different' types of fruit. So, I try to get fruit that we don't have everyday (ie: Apples, bananas, oranges) to stuff in their stockings; last year it was kiwis and mangoes. The kids love it and I'm happy that they're snacking on fruit Christmas morning instead of Tootsie Rolls.

So, without further ado, here is my list of stocking stuffer ideas for the family...

Kids:
Packets of seeds
Small flashlights or glowsticks
Packets of Koolaid (a real treat for my kiddos-although we only make sugar-free- plus it can be used in crafts!)
Cupcake wrappers, sprinkles, colored sugars (make your own!)
Hair pretties, costume jewelry, nail polish for girls
Neck or bow ties for boys (my six year old loves dressing nice)
Gloves, hats, scarves
Fun socks or leggings
Small photo albums with family photos
Fancy scissors, paper punches, stamps...
Ribbon/yarn,
Googly eyes
Pipecleaners, pompoms
Glue or tape (double stick is great for kids-find it at the Dollar Tree!)
Beads
Die Cut shapes (if you have a Cricut, make your own!)
Chapstick (my kids always steal mine!), lotion
Bubble bath, bath paint, crayons...
$5 gift cards to their favorite places to eat or even stores to shop
Silly putty or playdough (and cookie cutters to go with these!)
Cookie cutters
Stickers
Cheap movies (Target has $5 section with lots of different kids movies)
Small books, puzzles, activity pads
Tickets to fun outings like the zoo, a play, the aquarium (you can even make your own 'coupons' to avoid buying these all at once & remember to check out Groupon!)
Movie tickets
Tokens-we have a carousel in out town so I toss a couple of those in there, but you could also do Chuck E Cheese
Rolls of coins for their piggybanks
Chalk or crayons (you can even make your own in fun shapes!)
Coloring books or small rolls of craft paper (Micheal's has rolls of color paper in the dollar section)
Sticky notes (kids love these!)
Silly Bandz
Rocks-agates, geodes, crystals (my son loves rocks and even makes up his own observations)
Hot cocoa
Homemade marshmallows
Small recipe books or recipe cards
Christmas ornaments
Super balls or small playground balls
Matchbox/Hotwheels cars
Playing cards
Card games
Travel board games (you can often find these in the travel section)
CDs or gift cards for MP3 downloads
Magazines (you can even attach a note saying they're getting a subscription)
Sand toys
Play kitchen things (utensils, play food, etc)
Small water bottles
Fun pencils
Bubbles (you can get party favor packs at most stores)
Small toy figures (there are little Disney princess ones for girls and little superhero for the boys)

*As you could have guessed by my list, my kiddos are really into arts and crafts! However, most of the craft things can be enjoyed by all kiddos!

Adults
Gals
Fuzzy socks
Gloves/mittens
Scarves
Lotion
Lip gloss
Small picture frames (magnetic that can go on the fridge are always good)
Jewelry
Hair ties, barrettes
Favorite magazine (again, include a note giving a subscription)
Puzzle books
Nail polish
Gift cards for manicure/pedicure, hair salon, etc
Gift card to her favorite restaurant
Small bottles of her favorite liquor or mixers
Measuring spoons or cups
Recipe cards or small recipe book
Stationery set
Gardening gloves
Loopha
Seed packets or bulbs
Cookie cutters
Travel coffee mus or personalized coffee mug (pictures of the kids, wedding pictures, etc)
Flavored teas/coffees
Perfume
Headphones/earbuds
CD or giftcard for MP3s
DVD
Small jewelry box
Giftcards for family photos (or even photo sharing sites where she can make albums or print out photos, like Shutterfly)
Family Christmas ornament
Scrapbooking supplies
Coupons for date night (have a babysitter already lined up and movie/restaurant gift card purchased)
Gift card to Groupon, Restaurant.com, Living Social (moms love to save money!)
Small purse, wristlet, coin wallet
Attachments to Kitchen Aid mixer
Cricut (if she has one) accessories (cutting mat, extra blades, spatula, etc)
Small flashlight (purse size)
Manicure set
Pedometer
Bubble bath, salts, fizzies
Lingerie (make sure the kids are distracted though, hehe!)
Cell phone cover
Small camera (purse size)
Hand sanitizer
Gift card to Bath & Body Works (I tell my hubby every year; I love what he gets me from there, but a gift card goes a lot further with those after-Christmas sales!)
Sunglasses
Small desk calendar
Candles
Bud vases


Guys
Flashlight or headlamp (guys think these are so cool, haha)
Small desk calendar
Tools (screwdriver, wrench, pliers, etc)
Universal remote
Drill bits
Sunglasses
Level
Warm gloves, scarves
Work gloves
Picture frames for his desk
Flavored coffee
Travel mug or personalized coffee mug
USB drive
CD
DVD
Favorite magazine (with subscription)
Books
Bartending supplies
Cologne
Hand cream
Tool belt
Money clip
Wallet
Water bottle
Video game strategy guides
Jerkey
Coupons for you to take over his 'man-jobs' (mow lawn, take out garbage, etc) sometimes
Boxers
Coupons for date night (same as for the gals)
Headphones/earbuds
Cell phone case/clip
Bottle of nice beer (World Market has the single bottles) or get a six-pack, put one in the stocking and hide the rest
Hot sauce (go ahead and laugh, but is my hubby runs out of his Cholula...hehe)
Coupon for paintballing, fight night, golf course (coordinate with the wives of his friends so they can get the same thing)
Wii points card
Gear for their favorite hobby or sport (for my hubby that's cycling gear and video game accessories)
Beer cozy
Nice bottle opener
Swiss Army knife
Gift card to get his car detailed
Cigars
Cufflinks
Massage oil with coupons for massages from you (maybe make this a date night...hehe)
Gift cards to favorite lunch spots (my hubby usually takes leftovers for lunch, so really appreciates gift cards to go out to eat a few times)
Tire gauge
Air compressor to plug in car adapter
Replacement needles for airing up balls
Sweatbands
Favorite team pennant, car sticker, flag, etc
Spice rubs
BBQ supplies (mitts, apron, brush, tongs)
Set of nice shot glasses

*And, don't be afraid to start traditions, even with stocking stuffers. I get my hubby a Dilbert desk calendar every year (for about the last ten years). He expects it, but doesn't care!
And, also don't limit homemade things for just the 'big' gifts. Although I didn't include it, I also make homemade goodies like marshmallows, caramels, caramel corn to go in my hubby's or kiddos' stockings.