Christmas Stocking Stuffers on a Budget

In a year with such a chaotic economy, the thought of stuffing all the Christmas stockings may sound overwhelming. However there are plenty of cheap stocking stuffers that are fun and tasty. Skip the bins of dollar store candy and candles, and grab some of these Christmas stocking stuffers instead. Here are several choices, most all of them under $10.

Every good Christmas stocking has some kind of treat and nothing is as sweet as traditional maple syrup candy from MapleLand Farms. These maple leaves are inexpensive and delicious. Choose from single leaves, three piece boxes, a maple candy Santa or a moose. Another cheap stocking stuffer are maple leaf shaped bottles of golden maple syrup. Available in three sizes, these are perfect for pancakes and waffles.

Threadless has an annual holiday sale with tshirts from $5 to $15. From whimsical to weird, there is a shirt for everyone on your list. Designs range from cartoonish to realistic, humorous to serious. Hugging dinosaurs are side by side with talking muffins, anatomically correct human hearts and semi-abstract images. Made of quality American Apparel with good printing, these Christmas stocking stuffers are made to last. Another inexpensive Christmas stocking stuffer to put on your list are wrist warmers or fingerless gloves. KIMONOS produces wrist warmers in a wide range of colors and made of easily washable, comfortable fleece. These make an excellent gift for anyone working in a cold office, gamers, knitters and teenagers.

Another great source of cheap Christmas stocking stuffers is Think Geek. They offer an enormous number of gifts aimed at the computer geeks, video gamers and sci-fi fans who need their stockings filled. Skip the ordinary candy and go straight to the astronaut ice cream. It comes in Neapolitan, mint chocolate chip and chocolate chocolate chip. Everyone is going to get the #1 Dad or World's Best Daughter coffee mug. Instead, pick up the caffeine molecule mug for a Christmas stocking stuffer that is special and smart. Caffeine drinkers will love it.

Forget the cheap plastic mazes with balls in them. For a real challenge and a cheap Christmas stocking stuffer, try out these Fiendish Japanese Pocket Puzzles. They are solid metal and come in various degrees of difficulty. Anyone with a fondness for puzzles will appreciate this Christmas stocking stuffer. Another toy sure to please both children and adults are the plush microbes. Magnified 1,000 times and turned into cuddly toys, these microbes come in shapes like the common cold, mad cow disease and red blood cells. Strangely adorable, the plush microbes come with cards full of facts about the actual microbes themselves.

For a classic Christmas stocking stuffer toy, look no further than the Slinky. This cheap stocking stuffer comes in metal or plastic. If the Slinky is too noisy, pick up the Ooze Tube instead. It is strangely hypnotic and comes in multiple colors and sizes, even in star and cube shapes. The Slinky and Ooze Tube make great desk toys for students and office workers.

If you are looking for an inexpensive but lovely piece of jewelry for your Christmas stocking, The Silver Jewelry Club offers a constantly changing selection of jewelry, available only for a small shipping charge. They offer rings, earrings and pendants that are great cheap stocking stuffers. Some include small gemstones like peridot, citrine and smoky quartz. Four pieces are available at any one time, but each one is available for only fifteen minutes. The jewelry is small, but of a good quality and substantially prettier than any inexpensive jewelry from the mall. The selection changes constantly so move quickly to grab the piece you want, as it may not come back around.

Shopping for Christmas stocking stuffers doesn't have to empty your wallet. There are fun and inexpensive treats to make everyone's Christmas merry.