Inexpensive Christmas toy and stocking stuffer ideas

[MarkGrace]

My parents put an orange in my stocking every year. Perhaps you should consider that. Cheap and nutritious.

[cougjunkie]

Are pillow pets the latest Cabbage Patch doll craze?

They are definitely everywhere, but it is the same ones that are everywhere....the bee, the ladybug, the monkey, etc.

My son wanted the frog. Found that at a mall kiosk. My daughter wanted the dolphin. Found that at wal-mart.

My other daughter seems to have chosen the hardest one to find...the triceratops. Now I understand why some parents were going bananas for those Cabbage Patch dolls. I am obsessed. I feel like I am on a quest to find this silly toy. Call me Ishmael.

ps if anyone runs across the large triceratops, I would be much obliged....

http://www.mypillowpets.com/pages/pillows/triceratops.html

[TripletDaddy]

http://www.mypillowpets.com/pages/pi...iceratops.html

If you click on "add to cart" it will say that they are out of stock. People are selling this one on amazon for 90 bucks.

[marsupial]

My parents put an orange in my stocking every year. Perhaps you should consider that. Cheap and nutritious.

Mine too. And they'd always tell me how my grandpa during the depression would get nothing but an orange for Christmas and he was thrilled because it was such a treat.

[Pheidippides]

Stockings are sacred for me and my house. They are the one thing I do without fail every year.

Each of us has a hand knit stocking made by my mother. I have had one for as long as I can remember, literally. I actually made my mom make another for me 5 years ago because the original (which I still have) had shrunk so much over 25+ years.

All the boys have a train design on theirs with buttons sewn on for the wheels. All the girls have some Christmas design. Each of us has our names knit into the design at the top. Every time somebody is married or born into the family, my mom knits another. It is a huge deal.

Anyway, without fail the stockings must have a number of things to fit with tradition:

- an orange in the toe
- peanut M&Ms in holiday colors
- a ton of other candy of all sorts
- a toothbrush
- a mini box of sugary cereal (this is an addition from my wife's family)
- a wrapped gift that has something to do with the big "Santa" gift. For example, if I were getting a hunting rifle for christmas, like I did when I was 13, the stocking might contain a box of ammunition and a rifle scope.

I'm not giving my kids rifles at this point, but if I get them a bike as the big gift, the stocking may have kneepads and a helmet hanging off the side or something.

This is great because the stocking was always free game. Wake up and it's yours (one brother was always up at 2 am).

We also have a tradition of opening one gift on Christmas eve. Always the one from the sibling who drew our name. And we meet with the extended family to have ukranian food, although I think that tradition may have just died with my grandmother.

Oh, and you can all suck it for complaining about holiday planning. I have to plan a birthday that day too, and I still haven't figured out how to pull that off.

[Parrot Head]

I hear that office supplies such as pens, paper clips and paper hole reinforcers also make for spectacular hits with the kiddies.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

Oh, and you can all suck it for complaining about holiday planning. I have to plan a birthday that day too, and I still haven't figured out how to pull that off.

Jesus' birthday is at your house this year?

[PaloAltoCougar]

I hear that office supplies such as pens, paper clips and paper hole reinforcers also make for spectacular hits with the kiddies.

Mock the cherished family traditions if you must, but I still have to unload the crateloads of hole reinforcements, brads, white out and erasers that Santa left for me as a child.

[TripletDaddy]

Mock the cherished family traditions if you must, but I still have to unload the crateloads of hole reinforcements, brads, white out and erasers that Santa left for me as a child.

This must be a generational thing. My mom still gives us office supplies. Not in our stockings, but there is always one present every year that contained strange random office supplies, as though my mom pilfered the janitor supply closet in lieu of going to the mall.

In the past, I have received a power strip with surge protector, several rolls of those thin plastic office-sized waste basket liners (these have to be stolen...where do you even buy them?), boxes of staples, rubber bands (do people use these anymore...they are are as useful as paperweights), and envelopes. All of these things are practical, I suppose. But they are odd gifts.

I think this year I might pursue the "odd but practical" route.....buy someone 2 or 3 forks, a length of rope, some swizzle sticks for mixing paint, a package of vacuum bags, a head of lettuce, maybe a towel. The sit back and watch their faces light up.

[ERCougar]

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d.html/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/179-5533764-3789518?a=B000K8WQ5Y"]Nerf N-Strike Secret Strike AS-1:Amazon:Toys & Games@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ynx53UnnL.@@AMEPARAM@@51ynx53UnnL[/ame]
Just picked this up from target for $3. Should've gotten it as a stocking stiffer because it has entertained my four yr old for a full day. And i kinda want one.

[TripletDaddy]

Persistence has paid off. I've been bugging the guy at The pillow pets website and he sent me an email tonight. Said, "go check the website now" so i head to the site and sure enough he put some up for sale at the normal price.

I bought 2 triceratops. I thought i wasnt going to find one and i certainly wasnt going to pay 90 bucks for one. This is a christmas mircale. God bless us, everyone!

If any of you are inclined, there are more for sale of many of the kinds that are normally out of stock. Www.mypillowpets.com

[RobinFinderson]

If you have a sewing machine, maybe you could make some bean bags shaped like ninja throwing stars.

Bean bags are just fun. The more you have, the more fun you have. Bean bags can transform a laundry basket in your living room into an NBA court. Bean bags can turn the dog into a dinosaur, and you into a dinosaur hunter. They also serve the dual purpose of being food storage. They are also great for juggling. A fun game might be to see who can make the tallest bean bag tower (you would need a lot of them, but they really aren't that hard to make).

Making bean bags is easy. You just need some clothing that the kids have outgrown and outworn, a sewing machine, and some beans. Squares and rounds are the easiest to make, and they are also the most versatile for games. Cut your squares and rounds quite a bit bigger than you need them to allow for .25 seam. There is a tendency of beginners to make bean bags that are too big and heavy. Getting hit in the face by a bean bag can HURT, so don't make them too big.

[RobinFinderson]

Oh, and don't forget that the great sport of Corn Hole was invented by people who found inspiration in bean bags. Bean bags are just inspiring that way. Your kids might also want to host a bean bag carnival. People would throw bean bags through the gaping mouths of clowns, and the the prizes could be bean bags. You could have a fishing pond where the fish are bean bags shaped like fishes.

Once your kids have caught the bean-bag-bug, every trip to the fabric store will be a great adventure in looking for new bean bag materials! Trust me, it won't be long before you will think twice before taking them with you to the fabric store, because it will be like, "Daddy! Can I have some of this fabric to make a bean bag! Ooooh! Look at this fabric! Can we make bean bags out of this?? Please Daddy!! DAAAADY!!!"

[Katy Lied]

Today only, buy.com has $1 off it's pillow pets. Only 5 to choose from, but they're XLarge with free shipping. $10.99 direct to your door in about a week.

[TripletDaddy]

Today only, buy.com has $1 off it's pillow pets. Only 5 to choose from, but they're XLarge with free shipping. $10.99 direct to your door in about a week.

10.99 for the large pillow pets?

That is a steal.