80 // My 30 Favorite Gift Ideas & Stocking Stuffers for Kids
My 30 Favorite Gift Ideas & Stocking Stuffers for Kids
Tried and true options for all ages
Looking for gift ideas that combine fun with function? You are in the right place! I am a very practical mom, at times to a fault. But when it comes to Christmas time, I leverage this to come up with gift ideas that are fun fillers for stockings and functional items around our home and in our lives that the kids also light up to unwrap and get to enjoy. Use the upcoming holiday sales to shop some of my favorites and my kid's top picks from over the years.
In this episode, we chat about:
10 of my favorite food-related stocking stuffer ideas
10 of my favorite food- or cooking-related gift ideas
10 of my kids' favorite general gifts from over the years (that I would recommend to any mom wanting a guaranteed good gift idea at varying price points!)
For each of the items listed (or to search ones similar), be sure to check out the links below.
SHOWNOTES:
Please note: I am an Amazon affiliate. While it doesn't cost you any extra to use these links, I may receive a small commission from items purchased with these links. Thank you for supporting the work of Veggies & Virtue through using affiliate links!
Food-related Stocking Stuffer Ideas for Kids
Food picks (Use code “veggiesandvirtue” for 15% off nutridashe)
Fun cookie cutters (can also use these with playdough)
Constructive Eating Cutlery or these from Dabbldoo
Gift card or gift certificate
Orange in the toe
Food-related Christmas Gift Ideas for Kids
Cookbooks + cooking class gift certificate
Cookie decorating class tied onto cookbook, apron, or with a fun whisk
Fun Books with Food + a cute accessory like a muffin pan, rolling pin, spatula
Bible study books (morning basket on the table)
Learning to cook subscription kit (maybe pair a digital subscription with a tangible gift like personalized dishes from Dylbug!)
The Best Christmas Gifts for Kids (ages 2-10)
Zoo pass
Toniebox with audio books for princesses, paw patrol, national geographic, Disney, and more!
Bandaids
Art supplies like coloring books, watercolor paints, gel pens and notebooks, smelly markers, construction paper, a caddy
Listen to this episode of The Veggies & Virtue Podcast now!
Full Episode Transcription
Please note this a raw transcription. If something doesn’t read correctly, toggle to that timestamp in the show so that you can listen in on what was actually being said!
[00:00:00] For Mother's Day. A couple years ago, Sam and the kids gave me this personalized book called Our Mommy the Superhero, and I'll have to link it in the show notes in case it's something that you want to ask for or give someone. But I have to say it was really cute. They got to kind of customize different aspects of the storyline and each of my kids were the main characters in the book.
[00:00:20] And it was just cute because it, the, the superpowers that they picked for me kind of helped determine the course of the story. Anyways, the reason I bring this up is because one of the superpowers that they chose for me was that I am super practical. And you can imagine, I usually say that like in a superhero voice as I read the book to the kids, but they love the book.
[00:00:41] We read it all the. And going into the se, the holiday season, even though that book in and of itself may be a cute gift idea, I want you to know that as we cover a couple episodes on Gift Giving, just know that all the things I mention are going to fall into the category of super practical. I'm all about combining function with fun, and thankfully my kids haven't really caught on to the fact that they usually get things like water bottles in their Easter baskets or new name labels in their stocking.
[00:01:14] All these ideas are things that you may have to buy your kids anyways over the course of a year, but they're kind of fun, they're novel, and they're perfect gifts, especially when our kids are young and they don't always need more toys. But we know that some of these things are things that they could use but also enjoy.
[00:01:31] So I'm going to give you, in this episode, 10 ideas that are kind of food and feeding. For stockings, 10 gift ideas that are food related, and then just 10 non-food related things that have been huge hits with my three kids over the last, now going on nine years. Some of the things that I would say looking back are the things I've helped them clean up or replenish the most because they're the most go-to gifts in our house.
[00:02:00] Hey Mama. I'm Ashley and welcome to the Veggies and Virtue Podcast. In this podcast, you'll find simple menu ideas, kitchen organizational systems spelled out for mom life, and feeding tips and tricks that are both evidence based in grace Lace. I believe that you can find flexibility when it comes to feeding your family so that you can feel calm, capable, and connected in the kitchen.
[00:02:19] As a registered dietician and Christian mom of three myself, I want you to break free from the mealtime battles and to feel equipped while feeding your kids all day long. Pull up a stool at my kitchen counter and let me pour you a cup of coffee and say a quick prayer for you. It's time to chat about the meal times, messes moments, and ministry of motherhood.
[00:02:40] Knowing that I wanna share 30 of my favorite stocking stuffer and gift ideas with y'all. 10 stocking stuffers that are kind of food related, 10 gifts that are food related, and then 10 that have just been family favorites. And I feel like every mom would want to know about, rather than taking a chance on a random toy that may or may not be a hit.
[00:02:59] So I'm gonna share those 30, so I'm not gonna be able to get into too much of the nitty gritty on. Like on each individual one, but I am gonna link to them in the show notes so that you can see them on my Amazon shop. For those that apply or go directly to the link for some of like the smaller businesses that may not be on Amazon but are products I love and people that I would love for each of us to get to support.
[00:03:22] So know that you can go to the show notes, to check out the links for all the things that I'm mentioning, especially. You hear me say like a specific brand that I really like that maybe you didn't quite catch the name of or dunno how to spell. Just check the show notes of this episode and you can get it all there.
[00:03:38] Also, while this episode is airing right before Black Friday and Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday, and giving Tuesday and all the days that we have coming up in anticipation of the holidays. I know that you may or may not be listening to it, especially if you're busy with family or hosting or gathering or whatever you might be doing over the holiday weekend, and so know that I'm not gonna indicate necessarily any.
[00:04:01] Sale that's going on at any given one of these items, if it's on sale on Amazon, you'll see that when you click the link in the show notes. If it's on sale independently by the brand itself, just make sure to be watching for some of those. So when I do mention in the brand, a lot of these will be running Black Friday sales, Cyber Monday sales, things like that.
[00:04:18] So if you hear an item that you may be interested in, just check it out and then you know, do your due. To see if it's over, especially like this upcoming weekend of Black Friday and Cyber Monday and things like that. Do your due diligence to just check around a few places to make sure that you can get the best deal on it as possible.
[00:04:36] So without any further ado, I'm gonna dive into 10 of my favorite stock stuffers. Full disclosure, I probably can't give too many of these to my kids this year because they're pretty well stocked on all of these, but you better believe that these are 10 of the things that I have given my kids. Over the years consistently to make sure that we are well stocked.
[00:04:55] So obviously we have. More feeding supplies in my home than the average home needs or may want. But these are just some of the things that I have found really fun to engage my kids in the kitchen and help prevent some picky eating with just really fun tools to help support their interaction with new foods.
[00:05:13] The first of which would be kids safe knives. I'll link a few different ones on my Amazon shop. Fst, F O O S T is a brand out of Australia that I love. They're kind of a smaller. Knife than someone, one of the larger ones. And they have a starter size and a bigger size. I know that they're gonna run some specials, so definitely check them out.
[00:05:31] But they are also on Amazon now, which helps with international shipping and things like that. But there's also some bigger ones that are, can be really fun. And that segues into one of the second things I was gonna say. Crinkle cutters. These seem kind of bizarre if you've never seen one or heard of it, but it can just make cutting things like banana, apple, fries, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, really anything, just a little bit more novel and inviting.
[00:05:56] If you've been around a while, you know that I love novelty with food. I think it can be really effective. It's not necessary in mandatory, but if you have these tools in your home, you and your kids will be more. To want to use them. And so the crinkle cutter can be a really fun, small tool as well that you could tuck in the stocking.
[00:06:13] Another cutter type option would just be fun little cookie cutters, if you've kind of seen some since the school year has started of. Cookie cutters that you might wanna use in your kids' lunch boxes or to make kind of like homemade uncrustables or cut out their sandwiches, cut out their vegetables.
[00:06:30] There's so many different options and I'll link a whole bunch of those. And just as a side note, also, they can work really well for play dough. They wash, you can use them multipurpose. So again, very practical. Another thing would be food picks. I share this, I share. More inexpensive ones that I send in the lunch boxes, but by far our most favorite are the ones by Nutra, not available on Amazon, but by far worth the extra effort to go to her site or to click her link in the show notes because she has just some really adorable handmade ones.
[00:07:02] They are a little bit more fragile, not in terms of the poker as much as just in terms of like washing instructions. And I personally don't send them in lunchboxes cuz they're just too precious and I don't want them to get thrown out with the lunchbox if possible. Those can be a really cute one. If you want just some like seasonal flare to add to dinner time or to your kids' plates.
[00:07:23] She has tons and tons and tons of different styles to really match any of your kids' interests. The fifth item would be some fun cutlery, depending on the age and stage of your child, and if they're still using. Kids forks and spoons and knives. Having a fun option like that from constructive eating can be just another fun novel item to tuck into a stocking.
[00:07:46] They have different ones like construction sets, dinosaur sets. We have both of those with the girls. We've also had the fairy sets. They're all really fun. Just novel edition. Next. I will say that if you don't yet have a kitchen timer that your child knows how to use, now can be a great time to get one kids love timers.
[00:08:03] This could be a digital timer if your child's, you know, able to kind of comprehend the concepts. But if you're working on trying to get them to stay seated for longer. Or even just to spend basic amounts on different tasks at or away from the table of we're baking and we need to put a timer on for 10 minutes, or we're going to wait 15 more minutes until snack timers can be a really fun option.
[00:08:25] You've probably heard me talk about sand timers before in terms of adding structure and routine and helping kids stay seated. Stockings are a great place to go ahead and get them stock up on 'em so you have one on hand and available for the upcoming. The next thing would be fun straws. Kids, of course, love crazy straws, but even if you just want something like silicone straws or just different fun straws that you could add to different cups that they have, that could be a fun, inexpensive little option to tuck in as well.
[00:08:55] The eighth item that I would suggest to tuck in a stocking would be labels. Labels. If you're running out of labels for labeling your. Water bottles, lunch bags, lunch boxes, lunch bags, you know, the cutlery that you send to school, any of that kinda stuff. Mabel's labels have been our go-to label since my oldest was an infant, and so we still very much stand behind their quality.
[00:09:15] They have really cute designs and options and I think they're just a great thing to stock up on at really any season, but especially now, if you find. Running a little low. The last two things kind of vary on ends of the spectrum with expense, and that would be if your child might want like a cooking class gift certificate, or you might be giving them a gift certificate to go get their favorite ice cream or to go eat at their favorite restaurant or to have a coffee date with mom.
[00:09:41] Anything like that, a can be a really cute place to put a gift card or roll up a gift certificate, wrap it in. Toilet paper tube, make it look cute, but tuck it in the stocking, but still have a lot of value, but it can still fit in a stocking as a sweet little addition. And then the other end of the spectrum, I don't know if every family does this, I grew up with it.
[00:10:01] I still do it with my kids. We always put a little sat summa or clementine orange, right in the toe of the stocking. It fits all the way down there, and it's just one of those inexpensive, fun traditions that we do in our home. All right, For some fun feeding related options. That would be more of a gift and not necessarily fit in a stocking.
[00:10:20] I'm gonna try and run through these really quick, but also, again, as mentioned, I'll link them in the show notes. One of the biggest and probably most expensive options, but I'll go ahead and start there and go towards less expensive options. But one of the things that we bought early on, I think I would say probably when my oldest was 18 months, Still have and use is a kitchen helper stool if you want some sort of thing, like a learning tower or kid craft.
[00:10:44] There's a lot of different designs and price points out there, but having some sort of kid-friendly stool is a gift to your child, but also a gift to you in the upcoming year. Some of the other ideas that I would share would be kind of like gift set ideas, and that could be something like I mentioned before, if you wanted to give a gift certificate to a cooking class, you could tuck that with a cookbook or you could do, you know, I know someone local to us does like cookie decorating classes.
[00:11:12] You could put that with a cookbook as well, or a spatula. Or something kind of cute and novel that goes alongside with whatever type of cooking class or cookie decorating class you might be doing. Another project, or, excuse me, another gift idea that I think would be really cute and really functional for both parent and child is, y'all may have heard me talk about this Smoothie Project Cookbook.
[00:11:33] I think it's a phenomenal cookbook. We love the smoothies out of there. Back in 2020 we went. Majority of them in the book. It's a great smoothie cookbook. If you wanna get more well versed in a variety of different smoothie types. And then the elephant friends cups, the cups that we serve are smoothies in every single day.
[00:11:49] There's glass and there's stainless steel, and they have a little silicone holder on them. We love them. We've used them for years. Putting like a smoothie cookbook and those cups together would make a great gift, whether it be for your child or if a family member's asking your child what they need and you don't wanna ask for something.
[00:12:06] Like more toys or something like that, that could be a really great gift as well. Next, just some fun food related books. I have a whole list of these on my Amazon shop, but just giving a fun new book for your child's library can be really fun, especially if you pair it with like a little accessory, like a new muffin pan or a rolling pin, a spatula.
[00:12:25] Something like that can be a fun idea as. something that we've gotten the girls over the years and also that family has given my kids our aprons. That can always really come in handy depending on what your child's into. There's so many different styles and designs. That can be a really fun option too.
[00:12:42] And although this may not seem like the most exciting option, I almost always replenish my kids simple, modern water bottles. I've shared these again and again. I buy 'em at the beginning of the school year. Normally a child or two has lost one or so over the course of the school year, or you know, with sports and soccer practices and everything like that.
[00:13:00] So I normally get them at back to school, Christmas and Easter so we can just kind of keep them replenished. They're by far my favorite water bottle. It neutralizes what types of tops and straws and accommodations like that that we have. So finding a new design that I think my child would find fun makes.
[00:13:14] A both fun and functional gift. Next. You may have seen me over the years share the Apple spiralizer again, I'll link it in the show notes, but this is something that you just put the apple on, it spiralizes the apple. It's just a fun way to eat an apple. It makes it thin so it's not as much of like a choking hazard for small kids, and you can use it to make things like apple donuts as a really easy snack idea.
[00:13:38] The next ninth item that I would share is doing something like, Cooking subscription kit. There's a lot of different options out there, depending on the ages and stage of your child. You know, with mine being ages four to eight, there's different ones that fit them better. Some of them are online, so check out different options that may be available virtually, if that's your preference.
[00:13:59] Or some of the subscription kits will come in the mail. I know our kids have gotten the ones from like Kiwi Co. And that can be a really fun gift idea, especially for family members who may wanna give a little bit more of an experiential gift. Giving something that comes once a month can be a really great way for your child to continue to get a really special gift over the course of the year.
[00:14:19] And the 10th and final thing I would say is any bible study books, or, and again, I'll, I'll link what some of the, our favorites are, but we just keep a morning basket right near the kitchen table. Not quite as much during the school year, especially with the girls since they have to leave early. But we just keep sweet little books that we like to read as a family or go through as a little family devotional right next to the table.
[00:14:40] We do this a lot more consistently in the summer times, but even my son who's, you know, doesn't go to preschool quite as early as the girls, he and I can read through them after breakfast time or while breakfast is cooking. And those are just special additions that we can kind of add to our morning basket at the table.
[00:14:57] All right. And last but not least, some non-food related gift ideas. I'm gonna try and keep running through these fast. I feel like I'm talking really fast today cause I have 30 ideas and not 30 minutes to talk about it, so I'm gonna try and go fast. But these are just 10 things that I have had got either gotten for my kids or have been given to my kids over the years that I would recommend to any parent and say, yes, that is a good gift and.
[00:15:21] The first one is the gift that my parents have given my kids every single year, and that's a due. If you live near a local zoo, you cannot go wrong with that. Any excuse you get to go is really fun and then you're not paying like $15 per person and can easily talk yourself out of it. So I think a zoo pass is a great way, especially with a bigger price point of a budget.
[00:15:42] A great way to have an experiential gift. Another thing that we did last year, when. I regrettably didn't do the zoo passes The first year. I asked my parents not to do the Zoo Pass because I wasn't sure how much we would use it, and now this year we're going back to the Zoo Pass, but what they gave last year to my kids were Tony Boxes.
[00:16:00] If you haven't heard of these, I love them. I love them. I love them, I love them. And even more importantly, my kids love them. It's, they're called Tony's, t o n i e S. Again, LinkedIn show notes, but the Tony Box is like a little audiobook player. And then you put these little like characters on. We don't do any gaming systems here, but I would imagine it's kind of like the gaming systems where you put a character on and then you get to play that game except for audio books.
[00:16:24] And so they have everything from every Disney Princess to every Paw Patrol character, National Geographic. Tons of Disney movies, tons of just really common books like Lama Lama, Red Pajama, Like Everything Possible, but they each come with like a few little songs and then a book being read to Your Child.
[00:16:41] So it doesn't come with the physical book, but it just reads to your children. So especially when you're trying to reinforce quiet time or as your kids grow out of nap time. And they maybe just wanna listen to an audiobook as they fall asleep or as they have some downtime. My kids have taken them in the car because they don't once they're charged, they can run for quite a while.
[00:17:00] So these are definitely one of the things that we're gonna keep stocking up on Mower Tony's, because while my kids have plenty, they also love them and keep using them. And so that's something I'll probably be tucking in their stocking this year. Another non-food related gift idea is the Lake Shore Learning carry.
[00:17:18] Town or Carry around Animal Town. I copied it exactly, and I'll include the show notes. This is one that I learned from Busy Toddler probably about five years ago because I would guess I maybe give it to my daughter when she was two or three, and it is still used all the time when I tell the kids, Hey, you need to bring something to do while you wait for so-and-so at Practice or so-and-so's doctor appointment or so-and-so's.
[00:17:44] This is always the item they grab. It's this little compact carrying case, but it has these little tiny animals like about the size of like a hatchimal. And actually my kids often use Hatchimals in it, but it is a great gift. It's at like $25, so it's a great $25 gift if that's something you're looking for.
[00:18:01] I linked right to it on Lake Shore and PS for parents who don't know Lake Shore Learning. Some of the best toys ever. It's the My Kids' favorite catalog that comes, and it's my favorite place to probably buy them toys because I feel like they're really developmentally appropriate, really sturdy toys. So that carry around Animal Town is a great option, but they have tons of great options at Lake Shore.
[00:18:21] Additionally, things like magnet tiles. I linked all magnet tiles because I personally don't think you have to get magnet tile brand. It tends to be a little bit more expensive and in our home we've always bought Picasso tiles. My son is super rough on his toys. We have been using these hard since my middle was two, so.
[00:18:38] Going on five years and increasingly so since Owen was born and they're still going strong, they're great. We love them. The little magnet tiles are endless. Open ended play. Moving on to some of the other ideas. This is really silly, but also really practical Band-aids. I always put cute band-aids in the kids stalking because.
[00:18:59] They're not the most cost effective necessarily to buy, but all kids love cute bandaids. And some parents say, I've shot myself in the foot because now my kids know we have cute bandaids, but I always include them in Christmas stockings and Easter baskets as just kind of like an easy annual time to replenish it.
[00:19:14] The kids find 'em really novel and fun, a good practical option to tuck in there as well. Additionally, one of the things. My kids were really into that. We've put into stockings or things like wiki sticks or just any sort of like craft kit, rainbow loom bracelets, the wiki sticks will fit in a stocking.
[00:19:30] But you know, my girls love those little beads that you, those pearl beads that you iron, any sort of pottery that they can paint, rainbow loom bracelets, any of that stuff is super, super popular. Especially if you're looking at a child who's kind of in the five to 10 age range. All the little girls I know right now love craft things, and so those can be really fun for kind of the older age group.
[00:19:56] Additionally, something that my girls particularly are getting really into is playing games, so they've gotten really into playing chess. We play LCR and LCR Wild. That's a really easy game for Families. Core is another one that's been really fun that we started playing since last Christmas. Tens. Uno, any sort of game.
[00:20:13] If you want like a small little card deck game, great thing to put in a stocking, a bigger game would make a great gift. Additionally, art supplies a very practical, yet timely opportunity to text them art supplies in the stocking. Whether you need to stock up on markers. My kids have loved smelly markers.
[00:20:31] I often put those in their stocking or just to kind of make an art. My kids love art, and so for each of them to have like an art caddy where I just kind of replenish coloring books and construction paper and maybe put their name on the side with some markers or some watercolor paint sets, those are always a hit, a great gift to give, but also a great gift to ask for as well.
[00:20:52] Similar to the magnet tiles, something that all three of my kids love and that are endlessly being played with are Legos. I know Legos for some families are the nemesis of their exist. For our family, I've just learned to embrace them. We've learned to consolidate them to a certain area of the house, so hopefully we're not stepping on them all day.
[00:21:11] But even my son loves playing with Legos. He is a little bit on the yo younger end. Of course, you wanna be careful of them being choking hazards. If you're not sure if your kids would be into Legos, you might try just one of like their small little sets that you could just tuck in a stocking or, you know, if you know your child's into it, the bigger sets can be really fun and entertain them for hours, on hours and hours.
[00:21:32] And then, you know, they can take it down and rebuild it with something else. And so all three of my kids have loved these. My middle. She has loved the little Lego books as well. That tends to be an easier kind of like carry with you kit if you need something that you can maybe take on a trip or, you know, play with while in their room at quiet time or something like that.
[00:21:52] But Lego sets can be a really popular item as well, and they are a little bit more extensive. But for my kids, I know we've definitely got our money's worth out of them. And last but not least, I tried to run through those really fast. The 10th thing that I would say has been a big hit with my. Is a suitcase or duffle or overnight bag.
[00:22:10] This is something we invested in several years ago. We got each of the kids like a little pottery bar in duffle, and that was more than sufficient for them for years as like an overnight bag or when we'd go on a weekend trip. Their clothes are so little, I could tuck all their things in there. It was small enough that they could even help carry it.
[00:22:27] That was a great option. As of more recently with my older girls who are turning seven and nine in January, they're getting more into suitcases. So when they travel, they wanna have like their own roller. And so last year we got my. Eight year old that for Christmas and this year will be getting my now six year old, soon to be seven year old that for Christmas, so any sort of overnight bag so that they have a, you know, as they kind of transition out of being a baby or a toddler and having their things packed.
[00:22:55] Buy you and likely with your items and things like that. That has been a really great option and it's also something that often is on sale this type of, this time of year, especially like with the Pottery Bar and Black Friday sales and stuff like that. So that's another item that I have no regrets over buying the kids and we've gotten a lot of use out of and still continue to.
[00:23:15] So this episode was a little bit longer, but I realized it was, I probably overcommitted by saying I could cover 30. In one episode, but hopefully you can go back and re-listen. Click on any of the links in the show notes if you want more information on any of these ideas. But rather, or whether you are coming up with ideas to give your kids, you're thinking of ideas to give friends or family members, or you know, cousins or whomever it might be.
[00:23:42] Or if you're looking for fun items that you donate through like the Church Giving Tree or different organizations where they give you an age group and you wanna think of. My kids being eight and under. These are things that have been a hit time and time again. I feel like you really can't go wrong with them, whether it be for a birthday.
[00:23:59] Or for an upcoming holiday gift.
[00:24:05] It has been a joy having you on the podcast today, and if you've enjoyed it as well, I have a quick favor to ask. Do you mind hopping over to Apple Podcast and leaving me a written review? This will only take you a hot second. It truly blesses me every time I get to read, put one of you right over there, and it allows me to bless others through this podcast and the episodes to come.
[00:24:25] The other thing that you can do is to take a screenshot of this episode and tag me over on Instagram at Veggies and virtue. I would love to see what action steps that you're taking from this episode, and also to support your family in the journey moving. Until next time. Thanks for coming over to chat at my kitchen counter.
[00:24:41] Remember that you'll always have a seat and a snack waiting for you here.
