Look for Less – Last Minute Stocking Stuffers

Christmas is just around the corner and stockings are one of the main attractions in our family.  Unwrapping a present is always exciting to find out what gift you are about to receive but there is just something extra special about a Christmas stocking.  Knowing the whole stocking is filled with little goodies is like opening multiple presents as you keep pulling each item out.

I find it almost thrilling to search for individual items that will not only fit inside each child’s Christmas stocking but will also represent their different styles.  The kids always write out their wish lists and letters to Santa early in the season, however they rarely add small stocking stuffer items to their lists.  After rushing around to secure the big items they ask for as their presents I tend to save the stocking stuffers for last.

When conducting last minute shopping I make sure I have a list and head straight to the department within the store to grab those items instead of browsing around.  To try and avoid the lines I checkout within that department of the store instead of going to the front or main entrance.

Some common items to get the look for less at Sears that also make great stocking stuffers are:

• lip gloss
• eyeshadow
• earrings
• hair accessories
• scarves
• gift cards

Finding small toys for little kids is easier than finding quality items for teens.  Since my teenage daughter loves music, this year I went with some of her favorite Christian bands on CD for her stocking.

Of course her stocking could not be complete without a few jewelry items and makeup.  Another one of my favorite items for a teen are the touch gloves.  What teen does not use a touch screen electronic device nowadays? I made sure to match the gloves with a new infinity scarf.  With 2013 Fall Fashion I see a lot of the scarves that are closed circle and my teen has one in almost every color.  The scarves also provide some cushion in the bottom of her stocking, an easy way to stuff the toe!

My 11 year old daughter loves books and One Direction so I kept those two things into consideration when purchasing her stocking stuffer items.  A book light is small and inexpensive but very important for a book lover that reads at bedtime.  Another small yet fun item for kids that carry backpacks to school is keychains.  Since Gabby loves One Direction I thought her favorite singer hanging from her One Direction backpack would be a gift she would jump up and down over.

Gabby loves to clip back her hair after I curl or braid it.  So buying hair accessories for her stocking was a simple task.  To prevent the flower clip from getting smashed in her stocking I decided to clip it on the outside to cause excitement the moment her eyes see it Christmas morning.  A few other items I was able to grab for her stocking included a necklace that was One Direction, bubble bath and lotion.  Since Gabby looks up to her big sister and wants to be more fashionable I added a nice bangle bracelet to her list of stocking stuffers.

My son is only 7 and buying for him is usually pretty easy.  He loves to play games and Christmas is his absolute favorite time of the year.  Each year I purchase him a new ornament to hang on the tree that represents him for that year.  Since we loved Disney’s Monsters University this year I knew I had to get a Monster ornament for the tree.

This is another item that I usually hang with the stocking on the mantel instead of inside the stocking to prevent it from being broken.  Cute boyish gloves and hat work well as stocking stuffers along with Burt’s Bees chapstick instead of the girlie lip gloss his sisters are getting.

Noah loves Angry Birds and Minecraft so I found some of those rubber bracelets for boys with the various gamer characters on them. With how popular these games are their whole product line has become part of the 2013 Fashion Trends for little boys.

I think I will be just as excited about stuffing the stockings on Christmas Eve night after the kids fall asleep as they will be to dig into them Christmas morning.

I created a full catalog on Shop Your Way to showcase my stocking stuffer choices.  This really helped assist with my shopping since I was able to browse by departments and categories.  I was able to easily find ideas that I would not have thought of on my own.  Then once I create my catalog I was able to add each product as an online shopping list or buy directly online through the site.  Signing up is easy and you can even use your Facebook for login access instead of remembering extra passwords.