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

Some people use stocking filler to mean anything physically small, but I do agree £25 is not a token item. On the other hand I didn't realise people gave such odd things before joining MN, no tat thanks very much.

The point in stockings in our house is to give the kids something to open when they first wake up, and keeping them occupied in their bedrooms.

Hence the lego figure to build, ,the pencil/eraser to draw with (i used to put a little puzzle book in there or a mini sketch pad too) credit for a tablet game for a in-game purchase.

They're not allowed downstairs until 8/9 am so it kept them happy for a bit until main present time.

Jeez no wonder the world is on fire. Why do they need a high end luxury brand of makeup?

Where I grew up, my parents just bought us presents, and the smaller ones went into a stocking. Presents specifically for a stocking weren’t a thing. Much easier that was.

any age to
believing Santa’s elves made the contents in their workshop so it should be little gifts and sweets

Really? What present do YOU get that is made by the elves?

All the presents come from Santa in my home anyway, so if teens want to believe the elves made their phone or gift tickets, they can 😂

😆

they don’t “need” mascara at all.

but once a year for Christmas I buy them (18 and 19) a bloody indulgent mascara and… gasp! Pop it in their stocking!

why does anyone...?

We have certain “rules” for hat must be in the stocking like something clockwork, a novelty pen, socks, an M&S bubbly Santa etc etc. Christmas would be Christmas if they weren’t in there. Nothing is more than a fiver but it all adds up.

I agree with you op. I don’t put more expensive things in the stocking. But each to their own I guess.

I'm torn on this one because I don't want to give just tat that I'll be throwing away a few days later or will sat unused, but yes i do think stocking should be smaller, token things. My DC are still tiny. DS1 will be 1 at Christmas and is getting a few nice things but then will also probably get a pack of wipes or an existing teether wrapped up too, because at that age the paper is more exciting and i don't want to fill the house with rubbish. DS1 is a bit older, but shit is expensive these days! His stocking was supposed to be 10 things but I might stop on 8 as it's already well over £50 of stuff. So I agree, a £25 gift set is not a stocking filler, but cheap useless tat is also not what i want to put in there. Consumables might be the way to go.

Could be a stocking filler for the well heeled.

Millionaire or billionaire maybe.

I just used to get oranges and walnuts.

A box of tissues?

I think there are two lines of thought about stocking fillers. The first is small, inexpensive items and the second is “if it fits, it’s a stocking filler.”

My family has always been of the second persuasion so putting AirPods or a new iPhone in is fair game. That said, I do think my parents were also motivated by not wanting to wrap small fiddly things like that. 😂

I don’t do stockings at all…I just buy gifts.

My kids are adults now and I tried to stop stockings but there was mutiny! All they get in them are socks, a tube of sweets, a chocolate orange, chocolate coins, candy canes and a satsuma. But they were really miffed when i said I thought they were too old. I didn't realise they loved them so much. It's not like they're expensive so I will carry on.

I’m still bitter about the time I saved up to buy my boyfriend a designer scarf for Xmas, and the cashier referred to it as a stocking filler as she wrapped it. YANBU

To me stocking fillers are things like-
Chocolate coins
A chocolate orange
A mini diary
Lip balms
Some scrunchies/hair ties

Perhaps a barbed gift for a teen boy!

Surely this just depends on your family? If you earn a million pounds a year then £25 on a lip gloss isn't going to concern you. Or you might be like my husband's family where the stockings are the main event and have all the expensive, luxury items in them. There's no rule on what a stocking has to be.

Yes. Not the Santa but the principle. One you’ve established when they did believe.

I wrap everything, I must like to martyr myself 😂

principle is that "if it fits, it goes in" (the stocking filler)
done.

I don't have an opinion on what other people do to be honest.

Oh 🤫

I said I pop in a Lancôme mascara

full of 😆

I set myself a target of £50 for stockings and only do for son, (27) husband and sons girlfriend ( who has a stocking and not a main present) sometimes it might only be 3 things of around£12 each and I then add a few goody food things( nachos or figs or stuff like that ) and some chocolate liqueurs - something along those lines - Sometimes it’s maybe 7 things of about £7 each

I just buy presents then I put whatever fits in the stocking, into the stocking. So i do not buy specific "stocking fillers". Apart from satsumas and chocolate coins which we always have in our stocking!
So I guess some pricy stuff ends up in the stocking sometimes if it's small enough to fit. I don't do it by cost. So yeah I might put a 25 quid set in a stocking. It comes out of the general present budget tho.

I thought the whole idea of a stocking filler is something to put by the bed that the kids can amuse themselves with until they open their main presents, which hopefully isn't at 04:00 because they are playing with the trinkets and stuff that is in the stocking rather than hassling their parents out of bed. Thus it should stop when they are about 12.

Makeup, gorging themselves on chocolate oranges and chugging liquers whicvh are basically booze filled chocolates doesn't sound in the spirit of Christmas stockings to me.