It’s not a fucking stocking filler!

[YesJs]

I’m getting sick of gift guides with ‘stocking fillers’ that are around £15-20.

‘Perfect stocking filler for a teen’ says Glamour of a £25 lip balm kit. GQ, recommends a Stockings contain at least 10 presents - more likely about 15-20. Therefore (unless you’re super rich) they need, by nature, to be much cheaper than this.

I earn good money, I wouldn’t spend upwards of £250 on a stocking BEFORE the main presents. AIBU

YANBU, OP.

I'm getting together half a dozen stocking fillers for a friend. Maximum £5 each, minimum as little as possible. Friend will get chocolate, socks, a bookmark, bath bomb and a charity shop book. Maybe one or two other things I've made myself.

I get…
Lancôme mascara (ducks)
White company mini candle
Opi nail varnish
Couple of face masks
hair scrunchies
some sweets
a tangerine
a magazine

I think this sort of nonsense confused the poster who was getting all irate yesterday about everyone having new cars and 1k phones and days out and Experiences and can’t be satisfied with a day on the beach any more. I think that poster has become confused between the adverts telling us what to buy, how often, and how to frame it as a normal part of life; and anyone actually doing it

This makes sense.

(But then you realise there’s still too much room in the stocking and realise you need some.. stocking fillers 😬)

It's the Christmas Eve boxes that annoy me....

It is very true: stockings are some kind of tardis.

I have vigorously resisted pillowcases ...

The north pole is really struggling with inflation this year.

What would be the ideal stocking fillers for a teenage girl? I

I do chocolate eg Monty Bojangles bar
Barry M nail varnish
Make up eg blusher
socks
hair accessories
satsumas
crisps/sweets
face sheet masks
foot mask

This may change once they are 18 but not there yet.

Boys stocking is similar just a few swaps

it doesn't, if you would have bought it anyway.

Insisting that you must not spend more than a certain amount is ridiculous. I spend what needs to be spent, not to fit an arbitrary amount decided by the OP.

Who is making that up for you? See i would love a stocking like this, even though I'm sure the OP would hate it.

Blimey, was born at the wrong time. Mum's stocking fillers were a tangerine, a few walnuts, a small bar of chocolate and a 50p. Every year, for over 10 years!

The pressure to be a parent these days is insane.

As ds got older the stockings (any small sized gifts) got more expensive but there were hardly any presents outside of the stocking!

We have never bought cheap tat stocking gifts just to fill it or padded it out with crisps/socks, pants/socks etc either, anything small regardless of price goes in the stockings (we put the best ones in the toe).

So personally for me nothing wrong with the ad.

The worst thing suggested in those gift idea articles are the big fuck off matches. Enormous matches in a poncy box or jar with a £15 price. Who thinks “brilliant big fuck off matches just what I wanted!”

I’m with the OP too……..who in their right mind spends that amount on one stocking filling gift? We have a budget for each GC and we stick to , often they want money or gift card which makes life so much easier. Their parents sort the stocking fillers though and my DD’s focus on practical things.

The worst thing suggested in those gift idea articles are the big fuck off matches. Enormous matches in a poncy box or jar with a £15 price. Who thinks “brilliant big fuck off matches just what I wanted!”

I do not get the posh match thing!

I have never done them, we have a big early-evening party with friends or family around every year instead 😂

yep, very similar to my tweens. I also will add a book or two and some stationary

Absolutely none of it is tat and all of it will be used and enjoyed

I was going to mention nail polish, but I was going to say Barry M. 😅 Although if you want posher stuff, Orly is good, or ILNP. (There's a website called Rainbow Connection who sell lesser known brands.) I love Holo Taco but the shipping is so expensive.

A good quality lip balm and hand cream would be nice as well, especially in the winter. (Doesn't have to be expensive, the best hand cream I've ever used is the Working Hands stuff in the green tub.)

I will get my two teens girls this year the above

I will sometimes buy one that is different from the usual. When they are young, it's fun to find a character toothbrush. Then, when they can handle it, a character battery one. Now that all of mine are older, it might be one advertised as a charcoal toothbrush, a replacement head for an electronic one, a battery operated one or just a more expensive one. The toothpaste is just a trial size good brand that is useful for weekends, overnights or even to keep in a desk at work.

Different things work for different people. My people have always known that "you never know what you might get".

This is over my budget for a stocking stuffer, but this has tickled my fancy and if I find out my DD still drinks a bit of wine, I'm buying it!

Amazon.com: The Original Wine Condoms | Wine & Beverage Bottle Stopper | Air-Tight Grip | Prolong Beverage Freshness | FUNctional Novelty Gift | Food Grade 100% Rubber Latex | Tuxedo Black | Set of 6: Home & Kitchen

I’m 44 and don’t believe in Santa but I still have a stocking. So do my parents who are in their 70s. My teenagers haven’t believed in Santa for years but would be devastated not to have a stocking.

All families are different and have different traditions, we don’t all have to be the same! Stockings are the most important part of Christmas in our house (all the stockings weee handmade made by a much loved grandparent who died some years ago.) Why do people find it so hard to understand that everyone is different?

Stockings in our house have always been little cheapish things that will entertain the dc until we do the main presents after lunch. So chocolate buttons/malteaser reindeer, little £5 lego model/playmobil set, colouring stuff. When I was a child we always got a book at the top of our stocking. I think my mum and dad hoped we would read quietly and not disturb them for a bit longer!

@YesJs yes we do book, stationary. Popular item from last year was a clip on tiny reading light from Waterstones & Lidl socks from a few years ago are still a prized possession 😆

I quite often do a Jellycat Bashful (i think its the medium size). They are expensive but with the head sticking out the top (perhaps a candy cane wedged in its paws) I find the body is conveniently loooong and dangly and takes up most of the top half of the stocking yet the head sticking out the top creates an appearance of "overflowing."

Yes. I always got one as a kid. (One year it was a main present, wrapped up! That says a lot about my mother, but anyway ...). Yes, mine still get tissues, as well as a walnut, an orange and some chocolate, as well as normal stocking fillers. They roll their eyes but the year I didn't put box of tissues in they asked where it was!