Stocking fillers have a bad reputation, and it's mostly deserved. The category is full of novelty socks, gadgets that do one thing badly, and small boxed items that exist purely to be roughly the right size and shape.
Small gifts can be genuinely good, though. They just need a slightly different test from big ones.
What makes a good stocking filler?
Something small that they'll actually use, in a category they already care about, that they wouldn't get round to buying themselves.
All three parts matter, and most bad stocking fillers fail on one of them:
- They'll use it. Rules out most novelty items, which get one laugh on Christmas morning and then need somewhere to live.
- It's in a category they care about. A nice pen is a great gift for someone who writes and a shrug for everyone else.
- They wouldn't buy it themselves. This is the one people forget. Nobody buys themselves a slightly nicer version of something that already works. That's exactly the gap a small gift fills.
Apply that test and the whole thing gets easier, because you stop looking for "a stocking filler" and start looking for something specific for a specific person.
For the reader
Anyone who reads is easy to buy small things for, because the accessories around reading are all inexpensive and readers rarely buy them for themselves.
- A proper bookmark. There is a large population of readers currently using a receipt, and every one of them would like this problem solved.
- A book light for reading in bed without annoying anyone.
- Book tokens, if you'd rather they picked.
- A book sleeve, if you're stretching the definition of a stocking filler a bit.
If you're buying for a reader more seriously, our gift guide for book lovers who already own every book goes into more depth.
For the one who's always at a desk
Desk people are the easiest group of all, because everything on a desk is small by definition.
- Stickers, for laptops, notebooks and water bottles.
- Washi tape, which is more useful than it looks and we've written about what it's actually for.
- A pen that's genuinely nicer than the one they've got. Low cost, used every day, never bought for oneself.
- Small stationery bits in a colour that isn't office grey.
For the person who likes their things to look good
Small accessories do a lot of work, which makes them ideal at this size.
- An enamel pin for a jacket, a bag or a lanyard.
- A keychain or bag charm. Genuinely the accessory equivalent of good earrings: cheap, small, and it changes how the whole bag reads.
- A hair clip or a set of claw clips in a colour they'd actually wear.
These are the sweet spot for stocking fillers, because they're small enough to fit and visible enough to feel like a real present.
Consumables are underrated
Anything that gets used up can't become clutter, which is a real advantage.
Nice coffee, good chocolate, a bath thing they wouldn't buy, a candle in a scent they'd choose. The reason these work is that there's no obligation attached. Nobody has to find a shelf for it or feel guilty when it goes.
For anyone who already has too much stuff, and that's most adults, a consumable is often the kindest small gift there is.
What to avoid
Said with affection, because we've all bought at least one of these:
- Novelty items with a joke on them. Funny once, then it's an object.
- Anything that needs a specific battery nobody has.
- Miniature versions of things they own a full-size one of.
- A gadget that solves a problem they've never mentioned having.
- Anything bought purely because it was the right size. This is the actual root cause of most bad stocking fillers.
How many stocking fillers do you need?
Four or five decent ones beats ten mediocre ones, every time.
The temptation is to fill the stocking, and filling it is how the novelty tat gets in. A stocking with five things in it that the person actually wanted is a much better morning than one packed with things they're too polite to mention.
A shape that works well: one thing they'll use daily, one small treat, one thing that's just nice to look at, and something edible. Add a fifth if the stocking's big.
Wrapping small gifts
Small presents benefit from good wrapping more than large ones do.
A large present arrives with its own presence. A bookmark in a scrappy bit of leftover paper looks like an afterthought, and in paper someone likes it looks considered. Same gift, different reception, and it costs almost nothing.
We've written a full guide to wrapping things so they look properly good, and the small-parcel section is the relevant bit here.
If you take one thing from this
Stop looking for stocking fillers and start looking for small things a specific person would like. It's the same amount of effort and a considerably better result.