Looking for really inexpensive, fun stocking stuffer ideas? We LOVE going shopping for Dollar Tree Stocking Stuffers each year! In fact, it’s a family tradition!! Check out this list for a few of our favorite ideas.
(And don’t miss this Ultimate List of Cheap Stocking Stuffers Under $10!)

Why We Love Dollar Tree Stocking Stuffers
One of our favorite family traditions is going to Dollar Tree and buying stocking stuffers for each other. Everyone gets $6 to buy 5 stocking stuffers — one for each member of our family (that gives enough $$ for tax and for them to buy a stocking stuffer for themselves, too!).
We have fun sneaking around the store, trying to find great items without letting anyone else see us and seeing if we can come up with original and unique ideas that no one else will.
The evening results in all sorts of fun and laughs and memories. And it’s so much less expensive than if we were to go to a traditional store to buy stocking stuffers!
Dollar Tree Christmas Stockings Ideas
I was at Dollar Tree last week and decided to go through the aisles to take pictures of some of the best Dollar Tree stocking stuffers to share with you all. Here are 23 unique ideas…
Cheap Stocking Stuffer Ideas for Kids

1. Silly Putty
2. Glow Sticks

3. Fun Straws

4. Night Lights

5. Small Games/Travel Games

6. Bubbles


7. Pens & Pencils

8. Modeling Dough
Cheap Stocking Stuffers for Tween and Tweens

9. Nail Polish

10. Lip Balm

11. Bath Bombs


12. Hair Accessories

13. Socks

14. Gloves
Cheap Stocking Stuffer Ideas for Adults

15. Candles
16. Fun Toothbrush & Toothpaste
17. Car Ice Scraper
18. Lint Roller

19. Back Scratcher

20. LED Candles

21. Bath Salts

22. Oven Mitts

23. Tumblers
Other Stocking Stuffer Ideas:
- Budget- Friendly Stocking Stuffer Ideas for Toddlers
- Affordable Stocking Stuffer Ideas for Women
- Ultimate List of Cheap Stocking Stuffers Under $10
- 7 Ways to Save on Stocking Stuffers
- Homemade Stocking Stuffer Ideas





I love this list, I’m doing a white elephant game for my dinner party soon and I needed more practical ideas that weren’t candy or extremely expensive.
I got some flash cards for my grandkids and some cute little make a windchime kits. Also for my older kids and husband car air fresheners. Snacks and candy are also great. And one of my grandkids favorite is the “magic” washcloth. They always have Disney or other cartoon characters they like.
Those are great ideas! Thanks for sharing! -Olivia, MSM Team
The chocolate coal is fun 🤩. Drinks and snack items are good ones too.
Might want to I update for folks who might not know. Everything is now 1.25$ at most stores . Still a great deal but budget accordingly.
Thank you for sharing your stocking stuffer tradition! I chose to stay home this year to avoid risking illness for vulnerable family members, but that meant I was all alone. Before my son left to spend the week with his dad, he and I went to the dollar store together with $6 each, and we each bought four things for each other and one for ourselves. It was so much fun! I loved thinking about him and finding four things he would love without the added stress and money of shopping in multiple places. I also loved having surprises in my stocking on Christmas morning! Adding in one thing for yourself is a genius addition! This idea is so awesome and adaptable!
At what age did you start this? Because Santa fills stockings sooooo although it sounds fun not sure how it work.
I think her family does Christmas a little different. You could switch it so the gifts are just gifts for each other rather than stocking stuffers.
I so wish we had Dollar Tree in Australia!!! We have Dollar King…… there is nothing there for only a dollar though!
I work at Dollar Tree and people are amazed that everything is just $1. They have a wide variety of journals, notepads and calendars. There are pens that have lights and a variety of flashlights. They also sell the name brand Play Doh now, too. There are hard cover books, Bibles, activity and puzzle books that would make great stocking stuffers, too!
Craft supplies and fun bandaids!
Did you notice you used Oven Mitts twice? Maybe you were trying to hint that you’d like them in your stocking? 😉
Whoops — that’s what happens when you do half the post and then take a break and then come back and finish the post a few hours later! I can’t believe I didn’t see that!
Every year, I take my 6 yr old son to the dollar tree to pick out gifts for all his cousins and his sister. He loves it because he spends his own money on people he loves and he can afford to get a gift for everyone. **He is particularly good at knowing what to get everyone and always keeps it a secret until after they open his gift….then he explains why he chose it in great detail:)
I love this! Thank you for sharing!
One of my daughter’s favorites when she was into all the cartoon/movie/superhero characters are the washcloths that expand once you put them in the tub. They also have scented hand sanitizer, fun kitchen utensils, packages of nuts and sunflower seeds, flickering battery operated candles, and collectible card packets (my daughter loved the Frozen themed ones for a couple of years). They have bath poofs and sponges, small flashlights, punch balloons, lots of crafty items, and small ceramic figurines (usually lots of angels and birds). So fun and affordable!
Great ideas! Thank you so much for sharing!
I’m going to bring each of mine in to pick out a couple things for each other….you’ve inspired me to make it a family event! (for various reasons, including another intl move this year, we are going very very minimal/consumable this year for gifts!!). My kids love the glitter glue sticks, glow sticks, the grow capsules (little sponge animals crammed into a capsule that dissolves in water), among other things mentioned!
Love the idea of doing it together as a family outing! Perfect!
These are some items from Dollar Tree that I have put into my daughter’s stocking over the years: bags of chocolate covered gold coins (if you celebrate the St. Nicholas tradition), candy canes, lollipops, stickers, coloring books, those giant pens that Dollar Tree sometimes sells, bracelets, rings, key chains, barrettes, lip balm, bouncy balls, play dough, small toys, a diary with a lock and key, pocket-sized notebooks, twistable crayons, flashlights, candy cane shaped pens, glitter pens, Christmas pencils and erasers, raisins or other dried fruit, jump ropes, press on nails, make-up compacts and pocket sized tissue packs.
It sounds like your daughter hit the jackpot!
How about stickers, books, color books?
My dear sister specifically requested a long handled fireplace lighter from the dollar store!
My kids always get silly string in their stockings.
Oh! We LOVE Silly String!!
We did Dollar Tree stocking stuffers, too! (Even got the stockings there!)
My oldest got a match card game and something else (I forget), and the youngest got a 3 pack of Bubbles and a foam puzzle. Both boys got race cars, bouncy balls, and a bag of candy each.