Devin Dornbrock Stocking stuffers are a fun and easy way to spread some extra Christmas cheer this year. They don’t have to be expensive, and you’re allowed to be a little more general with them than you are with someone’s main Christmas present. To help get the ideas flowing, I’ve come up with a list of the best Christmas stocking stuffers under $10 that pretty much anyone will love.
1. Candy and small treats
Small things like treats and candy make great Christmas stocking stuffers under $10. Be careful about what you put into your stockings if they hang over a fireplace. I don’t think anyone wants to pull melted chocolate out of their stocking this year.
In general, it’s easy to stock up on holiday candy at discount prices, and who wouldn’t love getting a little stash of sweet treats on Christmas morning?
If you really want to get creative, you can also expand past the Hershey kisses into things like hot cocoa bombs and peppermint bark. Heck, you can even make your own little holiday treats if you want. Those might cost more than $10, but it’s also optional.
The treats don’t even have to be sweet. If someone has a certain tea they like or even hot sauce, try finding small samples of whatever they’re into. The possibilities are endless.
Normally I only suggest getting someone a gift card for Christmas if you really don’t know what to get them. I do make an exception for stocking stuffers, though.
Gift cards make great stocking stuffers, and they can literally be any price you want them to be. (Unless you get them from somewhere with a minimum gift card balance. I’m looking at you, Chipotle).
For stocking stuffers, somewhere between $5 and $10 is good, which is luckily right in our budget for this list. It may not be a lot, but it will get someone a nice cup of coffee or at least offer a discount if they want something a little more pricey.
3. Knick knacks and fidget toys
The fidget spinner craze may be over, but the fidget toy industry is still very much alive and well. They also make some good Christmas stocking stuffers for under $10.
Fidget toys may not be the best gift for everyone. You can get small paperweights or desk decorations for the people they might not be a hit with. Just little things that remind you of that person or you find funny.
There are many little things you can get someone here that won’t be very expensive. You could find a special Christmas ornament or a little porcelain turtle (if that’s their thing). Whatever you end up picking, it’s something that is bound to make them think of you when they look at it.
4. Cozy socks
Kids don’t want or appreciate new socks, so don’t bother with anyone under the age of 18. It sounds a little silly, but I swear the older you get, the more you appreciate gifts like socks and underwear. The amount of joy I feel opening up socks on Christmas should honestly be embarrassing, but I have no shame.
I am so incredibly serious. Getting someone a pair of nice socks for Christmas is a criminally underrated gift.
If I get a pair of socks in my Christmas stocking, you can bet your bottom dollar I’m putting them on right then and there. So if you’ve got any cousins or adults in your home for Christmas, consider grabbing a pair of socks for their stockings. Bonus points for socks related to their interests.
5. Card games
Especially for the travelers in your life, card games can be a great way to pass the time and be a fun little gift to share. Unless it’s one they’ve played before, though, I suggest sticking to simple ones.
If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to find some fun and easy-to-learn card games for under $10. A lot will probably run you around $15 to $20, though. To keep them within your budget, you may want to think about gifting them to multiple people at once. Siblings or roommates who live together will probably be the easiest recipients to give them to.
If you have time after opening all the presents, you can get everyone to join in for a round of their new game.
6. Hair accessories
I promise you that anyone with long hair will always need new hair ties. Gifting a new pack of elastics isn’t going to be the most exciting gift in the world, but it is certainly one they’re guaranteed to use.
Other hair accessories can include small bottles of product, headbands, beard oil, and maybe even a new electric hair trimmer. The trimmer will be a little more expensive than other hair accessories, but you can always wrap that up and put it under the tree if it doesn’t fit your stocking stuffer budget.
7. Toiletries
New lip balms or lotions can be something new and fun to try. I don’t suggest getting too many of these unless you know your person will use them.
I recommend sticking to smaller bottles if you decide to gift lotion. If they like it, they can get more themselves, and if they don’t, you haven’t wasted a large bottle that will just sit in their bathroom until they bother to either re-gift it or throw it away.
Other toiletries to gift can be bath bombs (or shower steamers for those who don’t have a bathtub at home). Skin care products can also be good go-to Christmas stocking stuffers under $10. Moisturizers, face masks, foot masks, new soaps, etc. While it may seem like a feminine gift, I promise that men can- and should- use them too!
8. Gadgets and tools
New tools and gadgets come out every year, and some of them are pretty gimmick-y, but some of them are actually really useful.
On the tool side of things, I’m going to go out on a hunch and assume most young adults probably won’t have their own set of tools lying around in their dorm room. That doesn’t mean they never need a screwdriver; it just means they improvise when they do.
Also falling into this category are fun little gadgets that may or may not serve a practical purpose – things like garlic peelers, portable water purifiers, and silly voice changers. Hopefully, it will be useful, but it’s also a good gift if they find it amusing too.
9. Books
Cheap books can be hard to find, but that doesn’t mean they’re impossible. There are a few ways you can still give someone books as great Christmas stocking stuffers under $10.
There are a few ways you can do this. The first and easiest is to hit up a discount bookstore or any bookstore with a discount shelf. Obviously, these won’t be new books, but being old doesn’t make them bad. Feel free to peruse until you find something you think your person will enjoy.
Another way to cut costs on book gifts is to grab ebooks. The exact method of transfer may be tricky depending on how people read ebooks. Most large online booksellers should have some way to transfer or send someone an ebook, so all you need to do is slip a piece of paper with some gift receipt it into their stocking.
One last way to give someone a book without breaking your Christmas bank is to gift them a journal.
If you avoid the luxurious leather-bound options, you can usually find some very affordable journals. You can even choose a totally blank one to let your person do what they want with it, or you can find one with writing prompts, gratitude prompts, etc.
10. Phone Accessories
Now you won’t be able to get anything fancy for under $10, but it’s a stocking stuffer, and it’s not supposed to be fancy. You can get a few things that are more useful than you might think.
Cable protectors are cute and helpful little things that will stop charging cords from getting bent, frayed, or chewed on. (Okay, so they might still get chewed on, but you can at least protect the part that gets plugged into the actual phone).
Wireless earbud cases are another cute option that won’t take up much space in someone’s stocking. If you aren’t sure they have wireless earbuds, you can also find some nice silicone spools that will stop the darn things from getting tangled up in your pocket.
Other options include pop sockets and phone stands/ holders. They may seem a little bulky at first, but once you get used to them, they are surprisingly helpful.
To wrap things up
I think literally everyone and their mom has a smartphone nowadays, so phone accessories can be a gift to anyone… And their moms.
To wrap things up
At the end of (Christmas) day, the stockings are a pretty small part of the holiday. Don’t worry too much about every little thing being a huge hit. Just try to get a few things you think your family will love, and I’m sure they will be over the moon.
For the discerning shoppers out there who are unsatisfied with the list, you can always check out Amazon’s list of the best Christmas stocking stuffers under $10 here. There really isn’t much more of a variety though; weirdly enough, it feels like half the list is made of dog treats.
Anyway, if you’re looking for more gift ideas over $10, check out our guide on the top 5 gifts to get people who are impossible to shop for.
What has been your most memorable Christmas gift?
