100+ Useful (& Healthy!) Christmas Stocking Stuffer Ideas

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Wellness Mama » Blog » Motherhood » 100+ Useful (& Healthy!) Christmas Stocking Stuffer Ideas

What is it about a Christmas stocking? Old or young, waking up on Christmas morning to a stocking lumpy with little surprises has its own special joy. These healthy stocking stuffer ideas have the perfect gift for everyone on your list!

It’s always fun pulling the hidden items out to reveal the unique gifts inside. Even if it’s something as small as a pack of gum or as practical as a pair of fuzzy new socks! Having all of these ideas in one big list makes your holiday season shopping even easier (even if you did miss the Cyber Monday deals).

The Tradition of Christmas Stockings

Thanks to the famous poem “The Night Before Christmas” we know Christmas stockings have been “hung by the chimney with care” for over 200 years. But exactly how long ago the tradition began and why it became so popular are more unknown.

Most agree the Christmas stocking tradition pays tribute to St. Nicholas. He’s the Christian saint of ancient times known for his generosity and gift-giving to those in need. He’s the real man behind today’s Santa traditions.

The legend goes that St. Nicholas heard of a widowed man who couldn’t pay a dowry for his three daughters. This was a desperate situation in those times. St. Nicholas dropped gold coins down the widower’s chimney by night. One of the coins fell into one of the stockings hung by the fire to dry. The widower and his daughters were overjoyed to find the coins the next morning, their worries over.

The example of St. Nicholas continues to shape our idea of the true spirit of Christmas today! My kids also participate in the St. Nicholas Day tradition of leaving a boot out for “St. Nick” to fill with treats every December 6th.

Best Stocking Stuffer Ideas for the Whole Family

Here are some stocking stuffer ideas on the healthier side. I’ve come up with these over the years or heard others recommend them. And don’t forget to check out my 2023 Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide. It has plenty of last-minute ideas for your whole Christmas list!

I have several individual gift guides, one for kids, one for her, and another gift guide for men. Those include some great stocking stuffer ideas separated by gender and age. The lists below are divided by category and include perfect stocking stuffer ideas for various ages and people.

You can pick up some of these gifts at Amazon, and I’ve included plenty of other high-quality brands I love. The best gifts are the ones that are heartfelt.

On to the list…

Edible Stocking Stuffer Gift Ideas

Something for the foodie on your list.

Health and Beauty Christmas Gift Ideas

DIY skincare makes great gifts for everyone who loves a little self-care. Or if DIY isn’t your thing, there are plenty of natural versions to get your loved ones. Many of the skincare gift sets at stores like Walmart have some ingredients I’m not a fan of. You can easily create your own healthy beauty stocking stuffers with the ideas below!

Experiences / Sentimental

Give your loved ones the precious gift of your time and attention. These are great to give to the kids, a spouse, or even grandparents.

  • Coupon for “date” with Mom or Dad
  • Carousel or gaming tokens
  • Movie night with favorite dessert coupon
  • A coupon to stay up an hour late (special Mom and Dad time!)
  • A coupon to pick the meals for a day
  • Mini photo book with family memories and inspirational quotes
  • A bookmark for your reading enthusiast (and a book to go with it!)
  • A keepsake letter or love note
  • Movie tickets or gift certificates
  • A flip photo book with pictures from the year

Perfectly Practical Stocking Stuffers

Who says socks can’t make a good Christmas gift? Even if they’re not a socks person, here are some fun, yet practical gifts they’ll love.

Games & Fun

I love giving games as gifts in the kid’s stockings. It encourages learning, brain development, and creativity, and they have tons of fun with them. They’re also great for family game nights. And fun-loving adults appreciate them too!

Crafty Stocking Stuffer Ideas

Have a crafter on your list? Here are some arts and crafts gifts that are perfect for their stockings. I love sitting down at the table and doing art with the kids. And this gives them more supplies for our family art sessions.

Themed Stocking Stuffer Ideas

Instead of a bunch of random gifts, you can do a stocking stuffer theme! These are great for kids and adults alike.

Just Because Stocking Stuffer Gifts

Here are some other fun ideas that didn’t really fit into the categories above.

One fun twist on the stocking stuffer tradition. Instead of gifting everything in one day, slip one new gift into the stockings on each of the twelve days of the Christmas season. This traditionally runs from Dec. 25 to the feast of the Epiphany on Jan. 6. Your kids will love looking forward to a new surprise. And it will help keep their focus on the whole Christmas season!

What are some of your favorite healthy stocking stuffer ideas? Let me know in the comments!

Katie Wells Avatar

About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder of Wellness Mama and Co-founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

Comments

21 responses to “100+ Useful (& Healthy!) Christmas Stocking Stuffer Ideas”

  1. Martina Avatar

    I was always looking forward every Weekend to reading your homemade recipes but now most of the time you are just advertising other products. I do not enjoy this.

    1. Jamie Larrison Avatar

      There’s a new DIY recipe on most Wednesdays and a new food recipe published every Tuesday. Many blog readers are busy and are looking for healthy options that they can buy so Wellness Mama tries to provide both. Thanks for your comment!

  2. Amy McCready Avatar
    Amy McCready

    Great post, Katie! I was searching for stocking stuffer ideas this morning and your email popped up in my inbox!

    I purchased several items from this list! I appreciate you always!

    xo

    Amy

  3. Ann Avatar

    Do you have any suggestions for safe jewelry, especially earrings? With concerns regarding metal toxicity and energy flow for piercings, just trying to find healthy alternative materials (wood maybe?) and ways to wear them (clip on, I guess?)
    Thank you for any suggestions you may have or sending me in the right direction of someone else who may have figured some of this out!

    1. Yvonne Avatar

      Ann,

      I always buy Sterling Silver jewelry with no Rhodium coating. You may have to polish it once in a while but the silver which may leach into your skin has health benefits. Gold is good too, but gets expensive for a high gold content.

  4. Kathy Avatar

    I used to like your website and use it all of the time, however the last almost year there are SO many ads on it and in between paragraphs and so many pop ups that I can’t seem to remove no matter what settings I have. I don’t get these on other pages b/c I have tight privacy settings, but wanted to share that it is so annoying and distracting, so unfortunately I am not using your site at all anymore. I just saw something and happened to pop back on it to read something and the same things happens—ads all over the place I assume you are getting paid to have all these ads pop up all over, but it is a big disservice to your site. I loved learning and getting some health info from your site, but it’s just one big commercial now and that’s really sad. Just wanted to share. I know you can’t read tone, but I am not mad, just very disappointed.

    1. Katie - Wellness Mama Avatar

      Thanks so much for your feedback, Kathy. It’s a really tough balance between creating great content all the time for free and allowing advertising that pays for my time, web hosting, email service, etc. We’re always trying to find the correct balance so thanks again for your constructive feedback!

    2. Catherine Avatar
      Catherine

      Hi Kathy
      If you click the horizontal lines in the left side of the url window it makes transforms it into reader view.

  5. Denise Soulliere Avatar
    Denise Soulliere

    Merry Christmas Denise & Marc
    Check out the wine bottle wrapping with scarves, table cloths, etc
    Love Mom

  6. P.J. Whitehouse Avatar
    P.J. Whitehouse

    Just finished making a couple batches of bath soap for the neighbors and… for stockings! So many friends are “expecting” their cubes of soap this year. It’s crazy how much people love (and benefit from) these DIYs! Your recipes have inspired me so much. I’ve tweaked a few here and there but you have really changed my household. Thanks, as always!

  7. Joanne Avatar

    Awesome list! It is good to give something healthy while we all eat unhealthy food during Christmas.

  8. Christine Avatar
    Christine

    My husband and I are really passionate about saving & investing money. A piggy bank, roll of change, and silver coins or bullion are my favorites. Silver coins are printed in so many designs these days, we love to collect any with animals on them and so do the kids!

    1. Sandi Avatar

      Agree on the silver coins. We have been doing this for years and continue to even in our adult children’s stockings. I also love giving them for birthday gifts, to our grown nephews. Merry Christmas everyone!!

  9. Carol L Avatar

    The “We Love this Brand” of Beef Jerky isn’t there.
    Wonderful list!!!!!

  10. Cristen Avatar

    Hi Katie… Speaking of gifts, my daughter has been wanting to get her ears pierced for years( she is nine) and I had a whole theme for Christmas (music box jewelry box with gift certificate for music lessons and was thinking about allowing her to get her ears pierced so a small pair of nice earrings) Well, I recently heard a friend into health too act like she wouldn’t get it done… I have put it off all this time because of age and another thing to take care of ( her ears,lol) , and also have been unsure of the best place to go! Do you recommend it? Is there something I have missed health wise across the board for doing it? Any advice would be greatly appreciated… Truly value your opinion and am so grateful for all you do! Thank you Katie!

    1. Wellness Mama Avatar

      We got our girls ears pierced at Claires. I researched and to my surprise, I felt it was the best option. Some doctors offices do it, but they typically have less practice and it seems there are more cases of holes being in the wrong place, etc. Tattoo parlors are another option and using a needle is supposed to be the safest and gentlest way, but I didn’t want to bring them to our local tattoo place and the one earring I have that was pierced by a needle is the only one I’ve ever had trouble with. There can be some small concerns with risk of infection, etc, but no long term health ramifications I’m aware of. For what it is worth, both my mom and mother in law acted like they wouldn’t get it done when they found out we were letting our daughters, but it was just that they disagreed with girls getting their ears pierced until 13 or 16 years old. I do typically clean the earrings with colloidal silver instead of the ear care solution.

  11. Kris Avatar

    Hi Katie, this is a great list! Can you please tell me what beef jerky brand you like? It is not a hotlink. thanks! Kris

  12. Charmaine Avatar
    Charmaine

    Awesome suggestions! I’m going to make a healthy food based stocking this year. 🙂

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