Christmas time is close. You've picked out the gifts for everybody and even found ways to reduce waste while doing it! Now it's time to make some decisions on what will be going in the family stockings this year. Ours are rarely hung (let alone, by the chimney with care) but it IS a thoughtful process of what goes inside them! Some times I find myself overwhelmed trying to fill them up with enough "goodies." Then it occurred to me one day, the stockings don't HAVE to be full. But if I am really determined to load them up, there are many, many options besides candy to fill them up and will leave the kids (and significant others) happy!
Food
I always put some type of food in the stockings but it doesn't have to all be candy. In fact, I would highly recommend keeping it to the fewest amount of "treats" possible. Here are some ideas to consider..
- Nuts - My kids love cashews. Try to get the nuts raw to roast yourself or at least without salt.
- Jerky - Try to find some without sugar, gluten, and soy... or make your own!
- Dark Chocolate - The darker the chocolate, the better! My go-to is dark chocolate covered almonds from Thrive Market. They are really yummy & are much lower in sugar.
- Whole fruit - Anything could go here, from oranges to apples to kiwis, to bananas!
- Dried Fruit - Try to find dried fruit that doesn't have additional sugar added. Many fruits when dried are plenty sweet, like mangos, apples, peaches, & pineapple. I get most of mine at Trader Joe's.
- Coconut Oil Chips - Jackson's Honest Chips make some cute little bags of chips that I've seen at Whole Foods.
- Protein Bars - The brands I like best are Lara Bars, Exo Bars, Primal Kitchen Grass-fed Collagen Bars, or Epic Bars (most of these can be found at a lower cost on Thrive).
- Olives - Most people I knew growing up, got an orange in the bottom of their stocking. We got a can of olives and were super excited to have one all to ourselves!
What kid, or even big kid/adult, doesn't want more toys? They will have to be small, of course, to fit in a stocking but here are some ideas:
- Small books
- Stickers
- Cars
- Dolls
- Non-toxic Toenail Polish
- Play-Doh
- Stuffed Animals
- Flashlights
- Glow Sticks
- Magnets
For those old enough...
- Cards Games
- Travel games
- Gift cards
- Fun socks
- Watches
- Electronics
- Jewelry
- Puzzles/Brain teasers
- Notebooks
- Pens
- Money
- A fun note to start a Christmas Scavenger Hunt!
