Call me a Grinch, but I am not okay anymore with loading up my kid’s Christmas stockings with more toys and lots of candy. I don’t feel my kids really need much of either in their lives. Personally, we try to keep stocking stuffers inexpensive (like $10 or less), and cheap dollar-store toys drive me nuts a few days later when they are abandoned everywhere. I have become more and more selective about what my family consumes, both in food and purchases.

Don’t get me wrong, I used to stuff them with cheap toys, goldfish, and their favorite candy bars and put them on top of their favorite hand-picked sugar-filled cereal. But, as our family nutrition goals have shifted, it left me a little searching for what that should look like now. And, as we feel like our kid’s rooms are overflowing with toys, we’ve minimized and carefully selected any new ones we give them.

So, what does that look like? Here are some ideas for you:

Memory Makers

These will vary in price depending on what your activity is. 

• Experiences – tickets to various community, art, dance, sport events to make a new memory!
• Date gift certificate with mom and/or dad – give them a budget and let them steer the ship!

Candy-free Non-Toy Stocking Stuffer Ideas for Under $10

Disclaimer: When I added these item links, the item at the time was under $10. Please keep in mind prices fluctuate due to demand, which is out of my control but hoepfully still gives you good ideas! Also, these are affiliate links – you get the direct link of items I love, I get a small affiliate kickback for you buying it through my link. 

1. Family coupons (FREE!) – chore pass, stay up late pass (weekend nights only), choose their favorite dinner coupon, etc. Get creative! Use my Christmas Coupon FREE PDF DOWNLOAD to give you an easy printable you can fill in and gift. 
2. Fun socks – So many options here! Whether it’s
   • Fuzzy socks
   • Funny socks, or
   • Activity specific like hiking socks, there are lots of options under $10. 
3. Art supplies – hands down one of our favorites!
   • Stickers – Cute stickers, our favorite sticker books here and here, or if you have a teen, do water bottle stickers like these or these sports water bottle stickers!)
   • Fun markers (the kid in me adores these scented markers!)
   • Fun crayons like these scented twistable crayons
   • Coloring books like this animal one for kids or this one for teens
   • Watercolors or watercolor books
   • Washable paints
   • Perler bead sets – a classic one like this or a fun current squishmallow one
   • Bracelet-making kit – Made popular by Taylor Swift’s tour, bracelet-making is so fun! Get a larger bead set like this one for younger kids, or a smaller bead set for older kiddos. 
   • Small sketch book
   • Origami
   • Sidewalk chalk, etc.
4. Office supplies – Last year I got my kids their favorite animal post-its and book tabs from Amazon, so fun!
   • The cutest ballpoint pen set, Love!
5. $5-10 Gift cards – iTunes, Starbucks, movies, etc.
6. Hair accessories (for boys or girls!) – Things like:
   • These popular hair ties
   • Claw clips
   • Hair tinsel (my bible study teens loved this!) or
   • Heatless curls for your tween/teen girls or
   • Scalp and hair oil
   • For boys:
   • Styling powder – my son LOVES this! We have actual fights in our house over it. 
   • This pomade pack that helped my son find his favorite type of hair products for teen boys. 
   • My very stylish son loves this sea salt spray to get a great texturized look
7. LED Lights – My kids LOVE these and we’ve given them many times as gifts. They put them in their room, on drum sets, around desks, etc. There are lots of brands out there at varying lengths and costs. This one is nice and long for only currently $10 or HERE are some other $10 options. 
8. Hand sanitizer – We love all the fun scents and names from Bath & Body Works. Or, these hand sanitizer SPRAYS are super popular, I’ve seen them in Hollister, Abercombie, etc. If you are giving to 3+ people, this 3-pack is a good option, or this one is dye-free!
9. Facial products – 
   • Beauty masks (Target also always has a fun section of these!)
   • Tweezers for various plucking
   • My boys love these blackhead nose strips.
   • These popular gold under eye masks 
   • Or, I’m getting my teen son who TikTok convinced he needs to “ice” his face to close his pores this Ice/Hot face mask
10. Other Beauty Products – All of these were highly recommended to me by a friend who has adorable stylish girls. Cute!
    • Self tanning kit
    • Spa headband and wristband set
    • Sugar skin scrub
    • Face primer for helping makeup last longer and look smoother. This one was recommended to me by a girl mom with gorgeous girls! 
11. Make up/jewelry/nail polish/girlie accessories – I have 5 boys, you are on your own here, lol!
    • Though this is my favorite $5 mascara that works so well!
    • Or these Hard as Nails line are inexpensive nail polish that holds up well. 
12. Nail manicure/maintence set – All my boys now have one of these, as we kept having a hard time losing nail clippers. Now they manage their own nails and it’s worked great! There’s a cute girl version here as well. 
13. Sunglasses – There are plenty of under $10 sunglasses online or at stores like Walmart. My husband loved these ones from Amazon. My son who is a runner enjoyed these sports sunglasses. Or, CLICK HERE to see all of the sunglasses on Amazon for under $10!
14. Inexpensive watch – YES! There are watch options for under $10, including ALL of these on Amazon. Or, get a new watch band like this 10 pack for apple watch bands. 
15. Body spray – even my tween boys like this one! I usually take them to the mall and let them pick out something affordable that they like the smell of. Also, my boys LOVE these –> grab these travel spray bottles for them to put their favorite body spray into a small container they can stick in their backpack or gym bag! Then they can smell nice on the go,
16. Travel bottle toiletries set – Help your kiddo travel better with a nice travel bottle toiletries set. We use these a ton!
17. Toiletries Bag – This one has such CUTE patterns! I got my boys the classic black, but the tan and white checked one would be adorable for a girl!
18. Puzzles – We love a good puzzle! Everyone’s age and number of pieces are different, but HERE is a list of all the $10 puzzles on Amazon. Our favorites include:
    • Colorful Donut Puzzle – Comes in 500 or 1000 pieces. 
    • This Solar System Puzzle – Comes in 300, 500, or 1000 pieces
    • or BLANK puzzles for your kiddo to design their own!
19. Hats/gloves/scarves – again, out of my wheelhouse, as I live in CA, but an option! Though my fashionable boys love a good beanie like these ones or these beanies. And these cute touch gloves are super affordable – 2 for $7!
20. Wallet – These have been a good basic wallet for my boys. Or these are cute for teen girls. Though, my trendy son really loves these Thread wallets and I’ve seen a lot of teens wearing them – doesn’t seem like much of a “wallet” but helped my son stop losing his wallet as it attaches to his keyring!
21. Pocket knife – Like this one…just don’t cut your fingers off, ok kids? (And don’t take to school, they are considered a weapon. Great for backpacking or camping though!). 
22. Cell phone accessories
    • A new case – You can find ones for around $10 HERE. 
    • Camera lens like these ones
    • Pop socket or a Car Phone Mount for a Pop socket – I use this phone mount in both cars and love it!
    • Portable charging bank or this one
    • A selfie stick and tripod
    • Or if your teen is like mine and loses earbuds ALL THE TIME, $10 wireless earbuds might be right up their alley!
23. Books – also one of our faves!
    • My kids 12 and under are loving the Weird but True series from National Geographic.
    • And my 11 year old LOVES these Sticker by Number books – great for church, planes, or road trips!
24. Electric toothbrush
25. Rubix Cube – could be deamed a “toy” but we see it as mental stimulation ; )
26. Small games – My family has loved the card games like:
    • Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza
    • Sleeping Queens
    • Exploding Kittens 
    • or Skipbo.
    • We also love dice games like Farkle, or Qwixx.
27. Playdough
28. Not so fun, but necessary: Undies ; ), or a fun new sports bra – there are some cute inexpensive strappy sports bras HERE and HERE. 
29. Candles – Obviously, be wise in having flames in your house. But, my teens all LOVE candles. There are some like THESE that are scented more naturally with essential oils. Or, see HERE for other $10 candle ideas. 
30. Neck Ties – Sounds boring, but my kids go to church every week and love a new tie! We are getting floral ties this year. 
31. Water bottle – Like these ones, a smaller one for littles, or a collapsible one for travel!
32. Spa/bath items – Like bath bombs, shower steamers, epson salts, or bubble bath. My athletes love the power of an epson salt bath to ease their muscle soreness!
33. Lotion of various sorts – I am getting two of my boys this lotion set this year. 
34. Lip gloss or fun chapstick – This Vitamasques Korean lip gloss is big this year too
35. Shoe cleaning brushes or new laces – Two of my boys love keeping their Jordans pristine by having their own shoe brush kit. I know, never thought I’d be saying that, but they love it! If you have a teen who loves their shoes, this is a great gift. Or, help them shake it up with some fun new laces including these popular “no tie” laces. 
36. Journal or diary – We gave our boys One Line a Day journals to help journaling feel approachable. 
37. Bubbles – Like these Gazillion bubbles = get 4 for $10!
38. GUM – I teach bible study to 14 teenagers. I haven’t met one so far who isn’t excited about a pack of gum! Yes, you might call that candy, but if it’s sugar-free and ADA approved I would beg to differ ; )

Remember, every tradition can be rescripted and we love some of these, especially the kids coupon book and date night coupon, more than any of the easy junk we used to fill our stockings with. 

Have any other favorites I didn’t include? Drop them in the comments!

Happy Holidays!