Stocking fillers

[JosMorgan]

Morning all, on christmas eve we place a stocking of small bits and bobs (plastic cars, small colouring book, lots of tat!) at the bottom or our boys beds for them to get into in the morning. Now this year I would like to leave out the tat, so I am looking for differently things to fill their christmas stocking. They are 6 & 8 Yrs old. Any ideas welcome.
THANKS

I've bought ds1 (9) a Dymo printer. Not the posho digital one but the old fashioned, embossing type.

I used to love them when I was little and he can make labels for loads of things.

just an idea. They are about £8 or so.

This year I'm taking charge of the stockings for my brothers and sisters, as my mum's bored of doing it. I love that sort of thing.

My brother who is 8 is getting: -

Spud gun - 99p Home Bargains
Gel pens - £1.50 Lidl
Kinder eggs x 3 - £1.25 Lidl
Buzz Lightyear / Woody expanding flannels - 99p Home Bargains
Circus Toys
(Diabolo, Spinning Plate, set of Juggling balls) - £4.99 for all 3 Home Bargains
Filled Toy Story pencilcase - £1.99 Home Bargains
Novelty pack of Tissues - £1.34 Ebay
Toy Story Post it Notes - 75p IIRC Home Bargains
Set of 3 A Year in the Castle books (Like Where's Wally) - £4.99 - The Book People
Sweets that look like a set of pencils - 99p The Works
Slinky - 99p The Works

I'm going to split the Year in a Castle books up, to put one each in my sisters' stockings as well.

Basically Home Bargains, The Works, Lidl and Ebay are your friends! Also it's worth looking in Wilkinsons. Last year Homebase had some great stocking fillers. I haven't been in there this year, but it might be worth checking out. Also pound shops are good for wordsearches, spot the difference and colouring books etc.

I got this great looking toy in The Works called a Puzzle Ball. It was £2.99. I bought it for my 10 year old sis, but it did say 8+.

I am going to get little packets of seeds as well as my little brother loves gardening.

Also my little brother loves Art Attack. The books are no longer published, however you can pick them up on Ebay, for just a few pound. They come up loads. If you shop carefully you can get ones that look brand new.

Can you tell I LOVE shopping for stocking stuff?!!! xx

Our stockings always have a toothbrush and toothpaste, a children's magazine, a flannel, some shampoo or deoderant for the older DCs, sweets of course, a card game like top trumps, I'll think of some other things.

As a change from sweets, what about some popcorn. You could buy a bag and split it into two smaller ones for the stockings. Or packets of mini biscuits, choc fingers, digestives, chip cookies, animals, jaffa cakes etc. They could have a couple of the individual packets of their favourites each.

Magic flannels that expand in water are good, and any practical items, although you can make them more appealing by getting novelty or character ones. I also used to get an annual for my DS, usually the Beano or Dennis the Menace!

I have a ds (6) and a dd (2) - in their stockings there will be:

Spud gun (ds)
Bubbles
Novelty spectacles
Flannel
Toothbrush and paste
Sweets
Books - not bought yet
Lego figures blind packs (ds)
Erasers
Character socks
A fancy dress hat of some kind

Marbles
A magnet

Hey, thanks so much ladies, these are brilliant ideas. :-)

This is quite a nice little website. Does some sweet little pencil sets, lunchboxes, stencils etc

www.dotcomgiftshop.com

I've overspent got some nice presents from here, including some stocking bits.

For dds I have/will get
Microwave popcorn
Jam in little pots ( dd2 lives jam)
Pens
Cereal variety pack split up ( coco pops are v exciting )
Tooth brush/paste
Shower stuff
Deodorant
Lip balm ( dd1 loves it)
Nail varnish
Knickers
Book
DVD

Oh & chocolate orange & real orange

For my DDs I tend to buy nicer versions of everyday items that will get used up during the rest of the year. Some ideas include

named drinks bottles (for clubs, trips to park)
lush bath bombs/bubble bars (boys like this stuff too!)
blotts pencil tins (great shop, loads of nice other stationery bits)
funky tights (H&M do fab quality and nice patterns)
toothbrushes
lego keyring torch
solid chocolate stick (for melting in a deluxe hot choc)
writing set
stickers
new cushions for beds
shakeaway voucher
cinema voucher

All these things are things we would possibly buy anyway here and there through the year but this way it's practical rather than the usual bouncy ball/toy car/magic trick set tat. It can get a bit pricey but you can always use a smaller stocking if you set yourself a budget for stockings (but I LOVE doing their stockings and usually spend about the same amount on them as all the other presents!)

does nobody else do choc coins, satsuma, nuts, copper coins?

santa also always brings pez sweets, toothbrush and a fancy pen.

not tat just tradition :)

My DCs when little loved torches, little bouncy balls, stickers, a little purse or wallet with £1 in it. Keyrings - like mini bears etc to stick on the zipper of school back pack, fancy pair of socks, a curly straw, mini radios ( used to be able to get these in places like Pound stretcher for £1-£2).

mumnosbest yes we do choc coins and satsuma too but just that majority of bits are what we would spend the money on anyway during the rest of the year but a bit more fancy so as to feel like a treat really.

Do you wrap the stuff in the stockings or just stick it all in?

Where do you put said stockings?

All gets wrapped here, everything except the orange, in different paper to everything else. Stockings go on the end of the bed, where else would you put them?

alot of what has already been said plus ...am getting a bauble with kids names on,big chocolate santa (seen good size ones in aldi),dvds,smelly pens,socks,toy make up,barbie clothes,face paints,bubbles,novelty straw,stickers,hairbush for dd,hair clips,can of coke,magnifying glass,playdoh,safety scissors,matchbox cars,torch,popping noisy sweets (the ones that crackle and pop on the tongue!)...

I've just sorted out my DDs stockings in one trip to tesco. They had lots of the back-to-school stuff on offer/reduced.

They both have
An assortment of Christmas chocs (Smarties penguin, aero tree, haribo stars, ferrero rocher 4 pack, popping candy elf bar - will add mini after 8 pack if I find them.
Funky lipsalve (cola/sprite flavour)
Christmas stickers
Mini Christmas punches
Pack of thick/thin felts.
Make your own Christmas badges
Shading pencils and a pencil case for the older dd and craft set for younger DD.

I will add a nice body wash/shower gel and body spray to finish them off I think. And we're done! Oh and there will be an orange added when the stocking is stuffed.

All bits and pieces are wrapped as they come and sit on our bed unwrapping as we slowly come properly awake! It is nice.

I wrap most of the stuff in the stocking . It's put on our fireplace.

www.lippyloo.com is a fairly new site with a good variety of items that are great quality and a little different. for my teenagers I have bought soaps, duck clackers, water pistols, marbles and keyrings from here.