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While most of us hang our stockings by the fire with care, it’s just as important to choose the gifts we’ll place inside them for others with love and attentiveness. Though we’ve got some time yet before the holidays arrive, it’s never too early to start brainstorming. From quirky little gifts that will put a smile on your loved ones’ faces to big-ticket items that come in small packages, we’ve rounded up the best stocking stuffer ideas for men, women, kids, and more.
Why do we hang stockings at Christmas?
The tale of the Christmas stocking, which dates back nearly 200 years, can be traced back to a pretty heart-warming myth that goes a little something like this: There once was a poor widower with three daughters. The widower was worried that due to his family’s poverty, his beautiful daughters would never be able to marry, leaving them penniless. St Nicholas, a former monk who was wandering their village, heard of the family’s plight and decided to help.
Knowing the widower was prideful and would refuse any form of charity, St. Nicholas began to drop gold coins down the family’s chimney shoot. The girls’ stockings had been hanging by the fireplace to dry, so when he dropped the coins, they landed inside. With their newfound bounty, the man’s daughters were no longer poor, living happily ever after.
While the validity of the story is hotly debated, its giving sentiment has endured.
For many, stocking stuffers conjure up quick-hitting ideas such as lotto tickets and candy. But just because a gift is small doesn’t mean it can’t be great! For mom, that might mean a gorgeous scarf she’ll wear all season long or a relaxing mask she can indulge in when life gets crazed. For dad, it might be a new wallet that will keep him safe from identity theft or a new shaving kit.
Shopping for a teen? Try a fun instant camera, like the Fujifilm’s Instax Mini 9 ($52, Amazon), which will introduce your teen to the fun of photography. Looking for something for the tiny tot in your life? Why not pick up some natural modeling clay from Eco-Dough ($16, Uncommon Goods), which has all the fun of sculpting without any of the questionable ingredients? Gone are the days when stocking stuffers were boring. Today, the possibilities are endless, so feel free to get a little creative!
We searched high and low to find the best stocking stuffers of 2019, and we’re confident they’re bound to be hits with every member of your family. Keep scrolling for FIRST’s picks for the best stocking stuffers the whole family will love!
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Gift a lovely lady in your life with the ultimate Christmas stocking stuffer — a winter scarf. This boucle fringe version from Carraway is modeled after the iconic Chanel boucle tweed jacket and is made with a similar pattern for a timeless look. Perfect for frigid winter mornings, this scarf comes in five fashionable colors and has a soft, looped texture that your favorite woman will love to be wrapped up in.
Every mom deserves time to herself for a little TLC and there's no better way to do that than with some good, old-fashioned self-care in the form of a head to toe body treatment. Kocostar's Body Therapy Kit includes four essential-oil masks that are designed to rescue dry skin, strengthen nails, condition split ends, and brighten the complexion. With delicious scents like lemon, peppermint, jasmine, and lavender, your mom will be reveling in bliss.
Kids, look away — this stocking stuffer is only for the 21 and over crowd. For the ladies out there who fancy themselves a nice cocktail every now and then, we give you this Moscow mule cocktail kit from The Cocktail Box Co. This set comes with everything your BFF will need to mix up three premium Moscow mule cocktails, including the brand's specially-blended ginger syrup, lime juice, and delicious bitters. Hey, it's five o'clock somewhere, right?
In recent years, we've seen a big boom in the use of essential oils, and for good reason — they benefit everything from sleep to sunburns. This Christmas, fill your spouse's stocking with nine of the most popular scents out there, all of which can be found in this Natrogix Bliss essential oil set. Coming with tea tree, lemongrass, lavender, frankincense, peppermint, sweet orange, eucalyptus, rosemary, and lemon oils, your wife can also mix and match the scents to whip up a personal blend that will fill your home while a delectable fragrance.
Gift grandma with the best beauty sleep of her life with the Slip Silk sleep mask. Crafted from long strands of mulberry silk, this luxurious, hypoallergenic mask not only helps you fall asleep, it also protects the delicate skin around the eyes from creases and pulling that can be caused by standard-issue cotton masks — something that's especially important for mature women. Coming in 11 fun colors and prints, you're sure to find one that fits Gam Gam's personality!
In today's day and age, identity theft is something everyone should guard against. Give the men in your life a sense of security with this Derrick leather ID Wallet from Fossil. Made from 100 percent leather in six neutral shades, this back pocket basic comes equipped with blockers against radio frequency identification (RFID) technology — the scanners scammers use to steal your credit card information. This wallet also has a convenient flip ID window, plus plenty of compartments to house cards and cash, meaning with your loved one's valuables will be safely stored away in every sense.
Your dad's the guy that can tackle anything you throw at him and with this clever utility bracelet on hand, he always will be. With one click, it transforms into a multi-functional knife and flat head screwdriver, enabling your dad to open packages, slice an apple, or fix a bike on the fly. Made with precision-crafted and rust-resistant stainless steel, this bracelet will last for many years to come and adds a cool, rugged touch to any look.
For the man who likes hot sauce on everything, there's one stocking stuffer that should be on your radar: this fun hot sauce set from Thoughtfully. Held together in fun dynamite-inspired packaging, it comes with seven different sauces inspired by exotic flavors and peppers from around the world. The perfect pairing for any meal, he's bound to get a real kick out of this Oprah-approved stocking stuffer.
The holidays are a great time to show your hunny just how much you care, and there's no better way to do that than with a collection of sweet nothings, like the ones found in this How Do I Love Thee From A-Z book. It comes with 26 prompts for you to fill out, so you can reminisce about your most romantic moments and inside jokes together, making it a special stocking stuffer for you both.
Perfect for the Pop-Pop who doesn't like to splurge but deserves it all, Way of Will's shave gift kit is a great gift set for your favorite dapper fella. Coming with a pre-shave oil, after-shave splash, and beard oil, these essential-oil based products will help to soothe skin for a super smooth shave grandpa's sure to enjoy.
Eco-Dough is the all-natural sculpting clay parents and kids can't get enough of. Handmade in the great state of Maine, this all-natural dough is colored with dyes from beets, spinach, paprika, carrots, purple sweet potatoes, red cabbage, blueberries, and tomatoes. They come in six fun colors for hours of sculpting fun, and, with all the fun they're having, who knows? Your little one just might start to look at those "icky" vegetables in a new light.
Help your little one express their inner artiste with this magical Scratch and Sketch furry friends activity book. Kids will be delighted to see furry friends come alive in swirls of color and glittery foil as they trace along with the book's fun designs. Complete with a wooden stylus for tracing, it features 20 scratch-off, 20 illustrated, and 20 sketch pages for a total of 60 blank canvases for your animal-loving child.
Shopping for teenagers can be challenging, to say the least, but if there's one thing that you can count on, it's their love for documenting their lives via photograph. Help them put the cell phone down and pick up a new hobby with Fujifilm's Instax Mini 9 instant camera. Much like the Polaroids of yesteryear, these film-based cameras allow your teen to live in the moment and instantly print photos. Complete with a brightness dial, adjustable close-up lens, and a selfie mirror (to make sure the shot is always right), this model is a fun way for your favorite teen to make life-long memories in a flash and hold those moments close forever.
When it comes to stocking stuffers for college students, many tend to stick with practical-yet-not-so-exciting gifts, such as sheets, towels, and gift cards. If you're looking to really wow them, however, a pair of Beats Powerbeats Pro is practically guaranteed to put a smile on their face this Christmas. Featuring a secure earhook design, Bluetooth connectivity, and a convenient charging case, these headphones offer up top-notch audio thanks to Beats' powerfully balanced speakers for rich bass and noise isolation. These versatile headphones will definitely be put to good use, whether they're being used to drown out the sounds in the library as they study for finals or for working out at the campus gym.
For a Christmas morning stocking stuff the whole family will love, it's hard to beat Mad Libs. After all, what could be better than crafting wild stories with your nearest and dearest? This deluxe edition of the classic game features a festive, full-color interior and a bright and shiny foil of red and green on the cover for 48 pages of holiday fun!
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