Cheap Christmas Stocking Stuffers for Kids

It's no secret that buying Christmas presents for kids can get expensive. It can be frustrating, or even stressful, to then realize that you still need to fill stockings. Since a Christmas stocking is truly one of the most fun elements of the holiday for kids, naturally parents want to make their child's stocking special. After nearly two decades of filling stockings for my children, I've learned that the fun of digging into a Christmas stocking for a child isn't necessarily about the actual contents of the stocking. It's about the magic of believing that Santa was actually in their home, leaving secret gifts for them that not even their own parents know about. Over the years I've come up with a recipe of sorts for really fun, yet inexpensive, Christmas stocking stuffers for kids. If you're stressing about how you're going to fill your child's Christmas stocking without shelling out a lot more money than you wanted to, consider the items on this list of cheap Christmas stocking stuffers for kids.

Flashlights are a fun, cheap Christmas stocking stuffer for kids. I've never met a kid who didn't love to play with a flashlight. Every year, each of my children finds a disposable flashlight in their Christmas stocking. These can be found very cheap at your local dollar store, or in double packs at big box stores like Wal-Mart, in the camping section.

Throw in some non-toxic light-up bracelets/necklaces. This is one of my favorite cheap Christmas stocking stuffers for kids. These can be found at your local dollar store, and the packs usually contain 5 to 10 pieces.

Rubber balls are the perfect cheap Christmas stocking stuffer to place in the stocking heel or toe. Rubber balls with a diameter of about four inches, are perfect for placing in the heel or toe of a stocking to help the stocking hold it's shape once it's filled. These can often be found at dollar-type stores, or in the toy department of any store, including places like Walgreens and Rite-Aid. Cost is usually $1-$3.

Small art supplies make useful cheap Christmas stocking stuffers for kids. Check the stationery aisle of any store and you'll find mini composition books, or small spiral tablets of lined paper with fun character covers. Additionally, items like crayons, stickers, glue sticks, Play-Doh, and glitter glue, make for cheap Christmas stocking stuffers for kids as well.

Inexpensive, high-quality toys are a great choice when shopping for cheap Christmas stocking stuffers for kids. Items like Slinky's, Hot Wheels cars, playing cards, mini-dominoes, and small Lego packs, will let you fill a stocking inexpensively, without settling for giving your child nothing but cheaply made toys that may prove to contain toxic chemicals.

Don't forget miscellaneous items that kids can use. Additional items that can help fill up space and help the stocking hold it's shape are things like fun pairs of socks, mini photo albums, and Chapstick or lip gloss. Again, these can be found at most dollar stores, and are great choices when you need cheap Christmas stocking stuffers for kids.

Filling a child's Christmas stocking is often a lot of fun. Remember that when filling Christmas stockings for multiple children, some items like mini puzzles and small notebooks are sold in multi-packs. Dividing these up can help minimize the cost of filling stockings. As you can see, when it comes to finding cheap Christmas stocking stuffers for kids, the choices are numerous and varied.