As children, my sister and I would always wake up in the middle of the night and open our stockings. We would then carefully pack everything back in, go back to sleep and then in the morning proceed to take it all back out and show our mum. Obviously at that age we had no idea it was her who had actually chosen it all! It was one of my favourite Christmas traditions.

There is something so magical about hanging up your stocking by the fire or on your bed ready for Santa to come and fill with lovely goodies. It is one of things I am looking forward to most this year as Molly has really grasped the concept of Santa. I can’t wait to find all those sweet little things that they will love unpacking come Christmas morning.

When it comes to finding the perfect stocking fillers you can go one of two ways. You could put small larger value items in or just keep it to just little token gifts. I tend to do a mixture so there will be things that cost a pound or a couple of toys that I can manage to squeeze in that are part of their main list too. Based on this I’ve put together some of my favourite things for boys and girls of all ages.

  • Cuddly Toy – Let me start this list with my favourite item. Every year we always pop a cuddly toy in the top of their stocking as it is the first thing they see when they come downstairs. Lolly pointed out this rather lovely festive Jelly Cat reindeer. I normally opt for a Jelly Cat toy so would have purchased this myself except Edd has gone slightly off brief and bought a Fraggle instead!!
  • Wooden Vehicles – All little boys (and girls) would love to find a few little brum brums or aeroplanes nestling in the stocking. I’m a big fan of the wooden varieties and so rather like this Bus or Aeroplane from John Lewis. I have always loved the Kukkia wooden cars from This Modern Life. Yes they are a bit more spendy but how cute would they look lined up on a bedroom shelf?
  • Beaker – My girls always love getting a new beaker or flask and now they are a bit older I will be popping one of these cute tumblers in from Buddy and Bear.
  • Crayons – A stocking staple. You can jazz it up a bit with these animal crayons or cute pirate pencils from The White Company.
  • Stickers and craft kits – Molly is obsessed with stickers. Luckily only for in her colouring books. I always put a few sheets of stickers in and a couple of craft items such as pipe cleaners or feathers to add to her ever growing collection. You can get these for pennies or could even collect bits like pine cones, feathers and buttons yourself to make a little homemade craft bag.
  • Card Games – Card games are a great stocking fillers. Everything from Peppa Pig snap for Alice to Alphabet Flash cards for Molly. Top Trumps or Uno are always a winner with the older ones too.
  • Tights or Socks – You can’t go wrong with a new pair of socks. You can pick them up at the supermarket when you are buying the Turkey. These Christmas Pudding tights from Sainsburys may have been purchased by Fern, Lorna and Charlotte for their little girls! I’ve chosen these cute Joules ones for the girls.
  • Torch – Lorna’s boys will be getting a mini torch each perfect for midnight snacks or middle of the night toilet stops.
  • Toy Food – Little pieces of wooden food are great and these cupcakes from ELC are the perfect size for dropping in the stocking.
  • Money Box – A money box is great for any age group plus you can pop a few pennies in to get them started.
  • Bubble Bath – My mum always used to include some bubble bath or soap in our stockings so I am continuing that theme with the girls. They also love those little magic flannels too.
  • Books – A small book is loved by everyone. This sweet set from The White Company could also be split across siblings stockings.
  • Baking Set – Molly has inherited my love of baking so I often pop in some cookie cutters or a mini rolling pin in her stocking. This year I am going to include one of these fabulous baking sets from BKD which contain everything you need for some seriously fun baking.
  • Snack Pots – Ideal for weaning or for older ones to take to school. I have got these cute little Animal pots for the girls.
  • Chocolates – Ok, I know not everyone likes their kids to have chocolate but there will always be a few chocolate santas hidden in the girls stockings. There may be a satsuma too and when they were smaller I used to include some Organix snacks or similar to balance it out!
  • Nesting Dolls – I always had a fascination with Russian dolls. These modern animal versions from This Modern Life are great.
  • Animals – We have started a collection of Schleich animals and so every year we pop a few more in the stockings for the girls. They are the best.
  • Mittens – New mittens or gloves are ideal for frosty mornings. These badger mittens from Marks and Spencer are AMAZING.
  • Rattle – For the littles a sweet new rattle is a great stocking filler. I rather like these little wooden bunny ones from Little Maldod.

 
That is my favourite choices for happy faces come Christmas morning but please do share your suggestions below.