Your best stocking stuffers

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where do you all shop online for those awesome tiny things? They are all good ideas, but I only need 1 item in quantity each? Do they sell fill up stocking goodie( with no repeat) for 1 kid by age group online?

mcphee.com Someone upthread mentioned this and I went and got a bunch of weird funny stuff. More for older kids, though.

[Anonymous]

Squishy, slime, fun pen, kids chopsticks, fake snowballs, Christmas card game, Kanoodle game

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:World Of Mirth in Richmond has online shopping available. So fun. Also limited in person shopping if you feel like a quick day trip. We used to live nearby and it was such a treat to go in. Website is a bit clunky but worth poking around even if not ordering. Quirkygoodness.

Such a great store!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:World Of Mirth in Richmond has online shopping available. So fun. Also limited in person shopping if you feel like a quick day trip. We used to live nearby and it was such a treat to go in. Website is a bit clunky but worth poking around even if not ordering. Quirkygoodness.

Such a great store!!

Also, Franklin's in Hyattsville!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Elsewhere on the Internet, someone turned me on to putting breakfast in the stocking. A individual box of sugary cereal, an orange in the toe, a granola bar, and maybe one toy. Let’s the parents sleep. It’s absolutely my new tradition this year.

Your kids get up alone? On Christmas?

Not yet, but I imagine it would set the stage. I’m thinking that this would buy us 20-30 minutes, about three years from now.

As kids, we were always allowed to get up as early as we wanted and bring our stockings back to bed with us. Parents would get up at a more reasonable time, make a special breakfast (prep work done the night before), then presents for all under the tree. DH’s family did similar, so we do the same with our kids now.

This is us too. Except I tell them they can’t get up before 6. I had one child up at 2am one that then woke up the other kids. They get up at 6 and can open their stockings and DH and I get up at 6:30-7 and come down to start a special breakfast and present opening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bean Boozles! Or whatever those nasty nasty tasting jelly beans are called. Where you don't know if you're going to eat chocolate pudding or dog poop.

I accidentally got my kids those last year. They HATED it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:My mom always gave us chocolate gelt. In our Christmas stocking… We didn’t understand that it was a bit off. But they were so yummy and pretty. Also tangerines.

Haha... I put them in stockings too. I guess I never really thought about it. I grew up in Nj with lots of Jewish kids at school. And lots of mixed families. I also associate blue with Christmas... but I just found out this year that blue is considered the holiday color for Jewish families, and I should stick to red and green.

I grew up in a part of the world with very few Jewish families, and we always had chocolate coins (wrapped in gold or silver foil paper) in Christmas stockings. I have no idea why or how the tradition came about, but it wasn't until I moved to this area and started buying them for my own child that I realized the connection.

St. Nicholas gave gold coins to a father that could not afford a dowry for his three daughters. Without a dowry these women would have fallen into a life of prostitution. St. Nick left the gold coins at night as to not insult the man. This is how the legend of Santa Claus began so chocolate coins is entirely appropriate for Christmas stockings.

I was about to say this too (though we do our gold coins on St. Nicholas day because it was the tradition in my very German family).

[Anonymous]

card game, nail polish, flashlight, maker tube, snowballs, chopsticks, 3D glasses, ball squishy, silly string, sticker box

[Anonymous]

Stuff that Trader Joe’s puts near checkout.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stuff that Trader Joe’s puts near checkout.

Yes! They usually sell the gold coins this time of year, individually wrapped chocolate peanut butter candy, candy bars, small gummy bear packs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reese’s chocolate peanut butter tress of course

And/or Terry's chocolate orange

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for this thread! I completely forgot about stocking stuffers and bought some for DH today - mostly candy, gum.

For those of you with kids, when do the stockings get filled? And is it parents who fill them, or "Santa?"

Santa gave all of our gifts until we didn't the youngest didn't believe any more. We didn't even have gifts from parents when I grew up. We do the same with our kids.

[Anonymous]

The Hollin Hall Variety Store in the Fort Hunt neighborhood in Alexandria is perfect for stocking stuffers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's also a Lil Thimajig in Annandale too, for the VA contingent. The only thing that kills me is that you can clearly see the mark up because a lot of times, the prices in Korean won are listed on the package and then you see the American price tag. But I get that it costs to import.

Wow - you made my day! I'm totally going over there.

[Anonymous]

I hate stocking stuffers. There. That feels better now that it is out. I’m sure they are fun to receive. But I feel like I’m shopping for crap my kids don’t really want for more than 5 min and then end up under the couch, under their beds, getting stepped on in the hall.

I’m convinced the only good stockIng stuffers are things they can eat or things that naturally will find their way to garbage within a few days.