Stocking fillers for kids that aren't plastic tat?

[Nickernut]

Aside from books, socks, gloves and sweets any ideas for gifts from Santa that won't lead to me accumulating more plastic rubbish? I'm totally stumped!

Should say mine are 3 and 5

Ive got DS some tractor shaped crayons from Etsy

I’ve been pondering this too. Here’s a few ideas

Notebook
Seeds for planting
Pens (ok plastic but they get used and used)
Card game or mini board game
Hair stuff (I have girls who are constantly needing more hairbands clips etc)
Bath bombs

Of course all this stuff or most of it will come with plastic packaging, no way round that. The only truly eco friendly thing is to ditch stockings and gifts other than home made but I’m not quite there yet…

Stickers, playdoh, fun shaped crayons, pavement chalks, wooden cars/trains, Schleich animals, small Duplo/Lego sets (plastic but absolutely not tat), small cuddly toy...

I've gone for a Jacobs ladder, lots of little books, small jigsaw puzzles, keyrings, hair clips and bands, socks.

Anything that’s actually useful and needed

Pens/ pencils/ ruler/ rubber
Little Umbrella- can get fun kids ones
Something to go with what they already have ie new brio train if they have track.
Garden bits - kids trowel, little gloves, seed bombs.
Watercolour set and brushes
Biscuit cutter shapes
Little jellycat teddy
Play wooden food

Whirligig Toys have a lovely selection of big toys and stocking fillers. Highly recommend.

Bath bombs
Lego mini kits
Stickers

This is so bloody useful! You're all way more imaginative than me!

At that age I got toys that they kept - either nice wooden toys or things they would play with.

E.g ball - you can get some lovely balls made from natural rubber - crocodile creek ball

Felt tips - art things paint etc

Little play mobile or Lego sets - whilst they are plastic my children love both and have kept them

Wooden musical instruments

Personalised bauble for the tree - can start a tradition

Little games like snap - usborurne have some big cards for children

When ours we young we used to put a carton of fruit juice in theirs.

A deck of cards
A coco pops cereal bar and carton of oj
A comic

At that age a plant pot and bag of bulbs would be a fun activity and would start to grow pretty quickly indoors.

Deck of snap cards.

Box of cereal you would normally say no to. Santa always got ds2 a box of lucky charms 🤣

Another good recent thread about this here:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/Christmas/4399853-Stocking-fillers-what-is-fun-that-isnt-chocolate-or-tat

When DD was that age some things I put in her stocking:

Wooden “insect eye”
Mini kaleidoscope - you can get small robust plastic and wood ones for age 3-5
Those popup wooden figures on strings - Tiger did some lovely ones in the shape of robots and animals
Bouncy foam ball in the design of a globe
Light up bath ducks
Juggling balls
Ty Beanie minis or keyrings
Mini soft toys (National Trust shops are good sources of these)
Mini kites
Hair things - Rockahula do lovely ones
Wooden bead necklaces and bracelets
Mini musical instruments - castanets, mini pan pipes and shakers
Yo-yo
Spinning top
Bath bomb or sachet of bath crackles for little ones
Plastic snow globes - again, try Tiger
Paper craft kits
Playmobil mini sets
Sticky notes (DD loved these!) and stickers
A CBeebies magazine or similar with a bunch of free stuff on it
Light up bouncy balls

Shops - try museum shops, National Trust shops, Rex London, John Lewis pocket money toy section etc.

Also the small Duplo poly bags of individual animals are good if they like Duplo.

Wooden spinning top
Jellybaff
Magic face cloth
Wooden train for brio track
Fun jenga
3d colouring (not so much a stocking gift, but Hobbycraft playhouses are great)
Wooden toy food
Milkshake cup with reusable straw
Baking kits...DS is getting several of the Dr Oetker spectacular science ones.

Books!
Sticker Books
Colouring Books
Story books
Magic painting Books
Lift the flap information Books - the "look inside" ones are great for that age

Non- book suggestions:
Colouring pens/ pencils/ chalks
Socks, pants, PJs
Cute toiletries like matey bubble bath or unicorn foam shower gel
Lanka kade wooden animals for 3yo or schleich for 5yo
Chocolate!

Lidl have mini orchard toy games from Thursday. Mini penguin lotto, build a snowman, santa snap etc for £3

Oh this is so useful! Mine will get a lush bath bomb each, sweets/chocolate, arty stuff, a soft toy and a token tangerine that I will end up eating

Thank you for the suggestion of the Spectacular Science baking kits, my kids will LOVE those and I had never heard of them :)

Mine have always loved Crystal growing trees (cheap off Amazon), fun snaps, magnets / iron filings, little animal life cycle kits etc

Bought for DD5 and DS3:

DD:
My Little Pony Top Trumps
Ear muffs
Bath bomb
Hair clips
Hair band
Nail varnish and nail stickers
Funky notepad, pens and stickers
Small Lanka Kade soft doll
Lego cube
Unicorn cutlery set
Slap band watch from Smiggle
Fidget toy
Unicorn bath duck
Mini novelty hole punches from Hobbycraft

DS3:
Orchard Toys mini game
Bath bomb
Schleich horses
Schleich baby chimp
Schleich baby giraffe
Horse projector torch
Four Lanka Kade wooden dinosaurs
Fidget toy
Slap band
Animal cutlery set
Mini novelty hole punches from Hobbycraft

Oh and a mini Hama beads set for DD and a kinetic sand ice cream cone for DS 🙈