Cost of filling stockings

[Artandco]

How much on average Does it cost you to fill stockings? And what's in there roughly?

Iv just added up and both childrens are at around £50, dhs £75+... I don't think there is excessive stuff in them either

As an example, ds1 ( age 4) has:

• long sleeved t-shirt -£18
• roald Dahl book -£5
• mini Lego set -£10
• choc coins -£3
• small art Stetch book -£8
• mini stadtler pens -£8
• will add satsuma and walnuts - free from fruit bowl

That's similar each year, and ds2 has one of same vibe. I don't mind spending that, but it did surprise me tbh how quickly it adds up. I like them to be useful things that they actually need also due to lack of space!

I spend around £10 for dd's I feel a right cheapskate after seeing what others spend!

I spend around £50 on each but that's all we give DC. All their other presents come from the rest of the family. Like other posters, I get good stuff like PJs, a nice mug, a book, slippers. I do spend around £10 on tat because they seem to like that too.

I tend to spend about 100 on everything so stocking and main present - tends to be about equal amounts as I try to give them something off their FC letter requests!

Mine are very similar to the OP - colouring book, pens, lego, book, card game, chocolate, satsuma, earmuffs. Not exactly sure how much it all cost - probably £30-£40.

I like to buy fewer, high quality things that I hope will last a long time - colouring book with nice thick paper and interesting illustrations, hard back book that can be treasured, really good quality pens etc.

I still have some of the things that I got in my stocking 30+ years ago (well, DC have them now, but they have lasted - books, playmobil and lego, card games. DD now has the purse I got in my stocking when I was 5 years old).

DS is two and in his stocking he has:

Four mini bars of white chocolate - 50p
Peppa pig toothbrush - 1.99
Spiderman watch - 2.99
Glider plane - 1.25
Bubbles - 1.49
Bath crayons - 1.73
Total = 9.95

I have also done a stocking for the dog. He has:
Chew toy - 4.99
Rawhide lollipop chews - 1.00
Cheese and ham biscuit treats - 1.55
Tennis ball thrower - 1.99
Total = 9.53

This site does make me laugh sometime - 'I buy good, high quality stocking fillers so that's ok'.
It's relative. I spend a lot. £100 each for stockings and it's not high end. It's mixture of tatt and smellies and they love it. They are teens.
They also have expensive electrical goods which I save all year for as that's what they like.
And I am not making excuses for it. It's our Christmas :)

I'd say between 30 and 50 each pretty much on Christmas themed tat, a bit of crafty stuff, and hopefully some Christmas magic - oh, and chocolate too, and a satsuma and possibly an apple. Nothing of any real significance so of course it seems a lot for nothing much, but we like it this way, and it gets Christmas off to a good start. So still do it all just the same really even though dc are both teenagers now (just) DH and I get a stocking too but with slightly less tat and more alcoholic chocs

I've just done the stockings to check that they look suitably bulgy. They are middling size and will contain:

Satsuma - from fruit bowl
Chocolate coins - 50p
Character bubble bath - £1
Sticker book - £3
Socks & pants (both DC need these and it will bulk it out a bit more. Santa buys character pants which Mummy doesn't) - £3 & £5
Toy car - 75p
Periscope - £1
Chocolate Santa - £1.50
Skipping rope - £1
Fruit shoot - 50p

so less than £20 and stuff that they need and will use which also fulfils the crucial criteria of giving them something to eat & drink as soon as they get up and an activity and something to play with to extend the time we'll be in bed.

Downstairs they will have their main present from Santa which will cost £80 in DC1's case and £25 in DC's case. They will each have some books from us (£6 or so per DC) plus another present costing £10.

I spend quite a lot (of my budget) on stockings but they are proper gifts and the only presents from FC rather than "fillers" - e.g. a couple of books, some lego, action figures, some dressing up stuff.

I wrap everything, and I get the wrapping paper from charity shops so it is really retro and looks like something Santa has had in his cupboard for years. It has to be different to the wrapping used on the normal presents. Of course they are waaay past know Santa isn't real, but the traditions has just continued.

Why would people feel bad that some spend lots and some don't? It's whatever tradition works in your house, and I bet the kids are just as happy. I collect for the stockings (they are sacks) all year right from the post Christmas sales in january, so that's how I afford it.

No wrapping either - that's what the stocking is for (plus never was wrapped when I was a kid) But admire those of you that do - the coloured tissue paper sounds very pretty

Well said Biffle - "It's whatever tradition works in your house, and I bet the kids are just as happy" Just don't give them a lump of coal!

Interesting to see the range of items/budgets here. I'm definitely at the upper end of budget tbh as each sack - DC have sacks rather than stockings - will be around the £50-£60 mark. They each get around 15 small gifts, ranging in cost from £1-£2 (stickers, chocolate, flashing Christmas badge with name on etc) to £5-6 (mug, book, cheap DS game/DVD/CD). They then get one other present from us under the tree.

Like some other posters I like to put things in the sack that will actually get used, there's often quite a bit of practical stuff (ie bubble bath, toothbrushes, socks, books) but I buy according to the current favourite 'theme' (ie Minecraft/Pokemon/Skylanders related for 10yo DS1, Angry Birds for DS2, who's 5, and Thomas the Tank Engine or In the Night Garden for 22mo DS3) which adds to the fun factor. I also like to source something a bit special - not necessarily expensive, but special - for each child's Christmas sack: this year for example I've bought a personalised Minecraft doorsign for my eldest. Only cost £3.50 but it's so fab!

So mine get a lot, compared to some other posters here, but then again I wouldn't spend anything like this if we couldn't afford it. Stockings/sacks like anything else are going to be income-dependent for a family - if we were struggling financially it would be a £10 Poundland-sourced stocking all the way I'm sure.

I've spent £65 for five kids/teens stockings:
puzzle, memory stick, gloves, chocolate coins, finger puppet (they have one each from a set to put on a show), pencils, notebook, purse/wallet, scarf and a few other bits.
Admittedly I picked up some lovely bits on the market in Vietnam earlier in the year but an £18 shirt or a £10 toy would be a main present in this house.

In our house all presents come from Santa- so for my teens one stocking has cost £1200 (includes new mac for new uni student) and the other about £500 (gamer and iT lover). The items in them range from a 10p car bought in Thailand to a £900 macbook. They include a selection box, orange, sugar mouse, chocolate coins but are not really fillers but presents. I expect there will be up 30 ish items each- all wrapped. As someone said surely it depends on if your stocking is the only gifts, the age of the children and how much you can afford.

My boys aged 7 and 4 have the same things in their stockings

3 pack boxers from H&M £5.99
'Comic book hero' print socks x 6 pairs £3.80
Magic Milk straws 3 packs of 5 £2.50
TMNT trapper hat £6
Minion magic facecloth £2
Candy canes x 6 each £1
Wonka nerds £1
Balloon helicopter £2
TMNT Stationary set £1.25
TMNT Pen Set £1
TMNT surprise egg 50p
TMNT wristbands £4
TMNT toothpaste and Toothbrush £6
Minion Slipper Socks £1
TMNT pez dispenser £1.50
Pez refills £1
Frozen bubbles 49p
Frozen sven or olaf plush £6
Personalised chocolate bar £2.50
Large personalised lolly £1.49
About £50 each! Oops, oh well been buying bits throughtout the year so havent really noticed

I haven't totted up costs or numbers, but our stockings are probably quite expensive. I prefer not to buy plastic tat just to pad them out, so the girls have paperchase stationery, itunes vouchers, a book each, a DVD each, some jewellery and hair accessories, socks and knickers, small lego sets, tamogotchi thing, Elsa/Anna dolls. Stockings are one of the main bits for us - they don't get more than a couple of presents under the tree, and those come from DH and me, not Santa.

I don't think the stuff in the OP's list is excessive, but I do think she's paying massively over the odds for it. £18 for a 4 year old's Tshirt? £3 for chocolate coins? £8 for fancy branded art pens and £8 for a sketch book, for a preschooler? £10 is a "mini" Lego set? I know it's expensive but there are mini sets for far less than that.

I'd pay about 1/3 of that max for those items.

I also keep an eye open for bits during the year, and try to include things I'd be buying anyway. DD has just started uni and her stocking has a strong theme of kitchen and food bits she doesn't own and probably wouldn't buy, but will like.

Sky - I'm the op. That's how much I would generally pay for those types of items so the cost per item isn't an issue, neither is the cost of the stocking filled. I was just surprised how quickly it adds up when not thinking about it.

The Tshirt is long sleeved, organic cotton from a small boutique.
The Stetch book a proper hardback art one bound with watercolour paper. My 4 year old is actually very good at detailed paintings and drawings, they aren't just scribbles. 3 year old following suit, so I see as perfectly suitable.

I think those are quite big items so prob cost more.

Intend to put in small things,sure they add up though.

Kaelylang that's how I remember figuring it out that Santas not real, he wraps the same and his writing the same as my mums, was devastated! I wrap stocking and any Santa gifts in other Xmas paper too now I know how I found it out

Everyone gets stockings here - dd1 is 21 next week. For the past couple of years dd2 (19) has done them for dh and me with the help of dd3 (nearly 11). Don't add up but always magazine, chocolate, stationery of some sort, bath thing, Christmas socks and a couple of gadgets. I don't really do adding up in December!

My policy is no crap, buy presents people love but wouldn't buy for themselves. We only have one young one and we are initiating her into this. For eg, 10yo has bought a lovely YSL lipstick for dd2 who chose it because now she'll wear something she really likes every day. They don't get lots, but everything they get is stuff they like. Money's been tighter this year but we've opted for fewer lovely things rather than just getting cheap stuff.

Everything wrapped in Santa paper that is smuggled in. It's tradition rather than to prevent them finding out as they are 10, 18, 19 and 21!! I'd never use proper handwriting for labels, but as they all have their own named stockings they made years ago, there's no need for labels anyway. I love family traditions!!

IN our house Santa doesn't wrap at all. Our house is very gold, greed and red at Christmas. Santa presents are unwrapped with a silver/white bow, quite different to family presents, and the stocking gifts are unwrapped.
I found out at aged 7 because of a wrapping paper discrepancy so I take no chances.

Yes we do the same as the poster below eg

Twin ds1 11 has

rubber band car set
invisible ink pens
hand warmers
hand shadow book
Zomlings(plastic crap exception)
Pritt Xtreme green glue
Rainbow Loom finger loom
a geode
mini stapler
coloured staples
fun snaps
Cubebot
Iwako finger eraser pencil toppers
balloon helicopter/car
sweets and choc

Twin ds2 11 has

mini stapler
coloured staples
metal puzzle
travel bookmarks
Rainbow Loom finger loom
smelly mini highlighters
mini New York notebooks
Ink joy pens
Jelly Belly jelly bean tin
fun snaps
Statue of Liberty post it notes
Iwako dog and shoe eraser
Iwako finger eraser pencil toppers
New York pencils tin set
balloon helicopter/car
sweets and choc

Actually those will add up(some are £1 type things) but even so. Interesting when it's written down.Think I'll pass on dd's .