Looking for fun, unique, toddler stocking stuffers that will really excite your child this Christmas? I have some amazing ideas for you below!
We all know that toddlers can certainly be hard to please, whether it’s with dinner options, pajamas, or their fourth bedtime story. They always have to have the last say and yet, at times it seems like they’re still not satisfied!
Holidays are no different from the everyday run around.
I’m sure you’ve been racking your brain for months to try and come up with some exciting new toys, games, and gifts for your toddler this Christmas.
Making the season extra special for them is a top priority because this is one of the first times that you can really see the joy in their eyes during Christmas time. They’re finally understanding the concepts of presents, decorations, and even Santa so you really want to take advantage of this new found curiosity.
For toddler stocking stuffers, most parents will opt for functional and useful gifts or little Dollar store trinkets. However, there are a lot of unique and creative items to stick in there as well.
Here are my top choices of toddler stocking stuffers for 2020 that will surely put a smile on your little ones face and some extra sparkle in their hearts. I’ll be loading my children’s stockings up with some of these items shortly!
What Do You Put in a Toddler’s Stocking?
It all depends on your child. Some kids prefer candy, but I know I don’t want to give my kids TONS of candy. I prefer to stick to gifts that are useful.
Of course, some candy is included!
Stockings are meant for small gifts. When I was young, my mother always included a few bath items like fun soap or lotions that I might like. As I got older, she included make-up.
She also always included some art items in my stocking and little trinkets that I would love. Looking back, my mother created stockings with the perfect mixture of fun and usefulness.
As a mom now, I try to recreate the same blend for my kids when the toddler stocking stuffers I select.
This post may contain affiliate links for which I would receive a small commission on your purchase, at no additional cost to you.
Creative Toddler Stocking Stuffers
Let your kids get their creative juices flowing and get messy and inspired with these creative toddler stocking stuffers under $20! Who know, you may have a little Picasso on your hands!
1. Play-Doh
This handy manipulative clay is just the right texture to get your toddler learning and exploring how to shape, squish, mix, and manipulate using their hands. They’ll love the new sensory experience it offers and it’s really not too messy.
Every toddler needs some Play Doh in their lives, just make sure you are supervising them when using it (especially if you have a young toddler who still tends to stick things in their mouth).
2. Puffy Stickers
Toddlers love how easy these stickers are to use. Most little ones aren’t able to peel standard stickers off of the page independently, so they’ll be so excited to use these on their own. These puffy stickers with their favorite images or characters are a great toddler stocking stuffer idea.
3. Name Crayons
These adorable name crayons will surely make your child love coloring! The Crayon House makes these custom letter, non-toxic crayons in vibrant, rainbow colors for your child.
4. Jumbo Paint Brushes
If you have a little artist on your hands, they’ll love using these paintbrushes with jumbo tips and easy-to-grip handles. Also, if you’re nervous about the mess of painting, you don’t even have to use paint!
Simply having your toddler paint with water on colored construction paper is a way to get excited about making art and the younger ones won’t even realize that they’re not using paint!
5. Finger Crayons
These finger crayons are perfect for little hands, allowing them to have better control and a better grasp as they’re drawing.
6. Water Wow Mess-Free Coloring Pads
Since toddlers have no regard for your new suede couch or matte finish walls, it’s not always ideal to have markers and crayons laying around. These Water Wow pads use a water brush or clear markers to bring colors to life on paper. So if your child ends up coloring on your walls or furniture, it’s no problem at all!
7. Washable Finger Paint
Toddlers love to get a little messy. Finger paint is such a great way to engage their senses and have fun too. This washable paint can be used with a jumbo brush or just digging in with their hands.
8. Dot Markers
These markers are in an easy-to-grip bottle that your toddler doesn’t need much motor control to use. With a large, sponge tip, these markers are engineered to be mess free, never dry out, and make a perfect dot every time.
Kids will love mixing, blending and layering colors to create masterpieces or even just improve their visual perceptual skills of making dots on the paper!
9. Kwik Stix Paint Pens
If your toddler loves to paint but you hate the mess, you need to grab some Kwik Stix Paint Pens.
Kwik Stix are solid, tempera paint in a tube form that you twist up and down. These paint pens are the perfect way for toddlers to enjoy making art with less mess.
10. Crayola Color Bath Dropz
My toddlers love these color bath dropz. Each container has 60 tablets, and you drop them in the water to change the color.
The tablets are fragrance free unlike bath bombs. You don’t need to worry about reactions.
11. Decorate-Your-Own Wooden Craft Kits
My toddlers love these Melissa & Doug decorate-your-own wooden craft kits. This kit includes a wooden train and monster truck.
Your toddler has to paint and create the car and truck, but they also have other kits available. A little girl might like these wooden magnet craft kits!
Educational Toddler Stocking Stuffers
Children start learning from a very young age, so why not get them started early? Take a look at these educational toddler stocking stuffers to et your child recognizing shapes, letters, and increasing their vocabulary.
1. Alphabet Activity Cards
With these small cards, your child will match the alphabet letters with the picture base on the shape on the flash cards. Each alphabet flash card has different patterns. While playing, your toddler will learn how to read letters, hold cards properly, develop hand eye coordination and visual perception, letter/object association, and simple words.
2. Educational Flashcards
Give your toddlers and preschoolers some fun and learning with these flash cards. They consist of letters, picture words, colors, shapes, numbers 0-25; plus two sets of game cards: Go Fish Alphabet and Old Maid Numbers. Flash cards introduce essential skills for learning and development.
3. Small Interlock Puzzles
These small interlocking puzzles take visual perception to the next level for toddlers. The simple inset puzzles that they can easily do should be replaced with more advanced interlocking, jigsaw puzzles. These small puzzles are a great start to transition to more difficult ones (ideal for 2.5+ years old).
4. First Years Stack Up Cups
These cups are great for little hands to grab and one of those simple, perfect toys that will encourage imaginative play and will get use out of these for years! They will nest them, stack them into a tower, knock them down, bang them, hide things in them, roll them, rattle them, float them in the tub, and pour water in and out. Seriously, the options are endless!
5. Learning Magnets
Help develop your toddler’s vocabulary and learning new words with magnets. Your child will love these animal magnets and there are plenty more options to choose from. From shapes, characters, letters, and more, toddlers love sticking magnets to all the different surfaces and you’ll love that they’re learning!
6. Board Books
Board books are a great way to expose your child to new concepts and vocabulary, so they’re really perfect toddler stocking stuffers. There are so many benefits of reading to your little one, and before you know it, they will be taking their books off to go read on their own.
The board books from Little Bit Book Club teach how babies and toddlers learn about the world around them. Using universal stories to which all families can relate, these books showcase the beauty of a main character of color, the uniqueness of interracial families, and the adventure in ordinary, everyday activities.
7. ABC Puzzle Cards
Get your little ones learning and playing at the same time with these ABC Puzzle Cards. They help kids master early alphabet and language skills through brain-teasing puzzle play. Each matching puzzle features one letter of the alphabet (in uppercase and lowercase form) and a vocabulary word on one side and a full-color illustration of the word on the other. Each puzzle is self-correcting, which makes it easier for kids to figure out the one right answer.
8. Wooden Tangram Jigsaw Puzzle
Meant for kids 3 years old and up, this is a wooden version of Tetris. It’s such a cool toddler stocking stuffer idea.
This wooden jigsaw puzzle is fun to use while engaging critical thinking. It’s made of wood, so it’s quite durable.
9. Foam Bath Letters and Numbers
Here’s another awesome option for toddler stocking stuffers – foam bath letters and numbers.
This is a budget-friendly stocking stuffer, costing only $5! Each set includes all 26 letters and 10 numbers. Toddlers play with them in the bath, and you can use them to help your toddler learn their letters.
10. Apple Lacing Learning Game
This Apple Lacing Game is fun, but it also helps your toddler practice their fine motor skills. It works your toddler’s pincer grasp, hand-eye coordination, and prepares toddlers to learn how to tie their shoes.
Wearable and Functional Toddler Stocking Stuffers
The standard, useful stocking stuffers can be a lot more exciting for toddlers as they learn new ways to dress, feed, and take care of themselves. They’ll get plenty of use out of these items and you’ll optimize your purchases by giving them as a gift!
1. Fun Socks
Socks can be kind a boring gift to some adults, but for kids, they’re basically a new toy! Young toddlers love taking their socks on and off while they learn how to dress themself. So give them some fun socks with their favorite colors, characters, or objects that they’ll be more than happy to wear.
2. Personalized Straw Cup or Tumbler
Have them drinking in style with a cup personalized with their name and their favorite image. They’ll love having a new cup added to their repertoire especially as they learn to recognize their name.
3. Face Masks
Given the state of the world we are living in, I’m sure your toddler could use some new face masks. Try to find fun designs and characters that they’ll be proud to show off.
4. New Underpants
This isn’t going to be the #1 thing that thrills a teenager when they find it in their stocking, but toddlers are much easier to please! They will definitely be excited for new underpants, especially if you can find ones with their favorite characters, like Sesame Street or Frozen. If you’re just getting started on potty training, this is a great way to get your toddler more motivated.
5. A Fun New Toothbrush
Does your child give you a hard time about brushing their teeth? Try gifting them a new toothbrush this year. An electric brush reaches, surrounds, and cleans multiple surfaces for a more thorough clean which is perfect for those stubborn toddlers who barely let you brush them. Plus they come with their favorite characters on them!
Also, Grabease’s double sided toothbrush is a great way to give your toddler the independence they desire. The double sided brush offers maximum contact for both surfaces- top and bottom- quickly and easily.
6. Beaded Name Bracelet
These beaded, stretch bracelets from BeadedbyKaitlin on Etsy are a trendy, fun accessory for your little ones. They’re made with natural stone and can be worn alone or stacked with other bracelets. Your toddler will love seeing their name on their bracelet! Best of all, get a matching “mommy” bracelet to give yourself a gift too!
7. Signature Cursive Beanie Hat
These adorable personalized beanie hats have a little patch with their name on it. The font has a brushed effect to look like true handwriting, accordingly, you may see color variation/shading in the engraving** Our super soft and stretchy 100% acrylic beanies are customized to order with high quality vegan leather patches secured with stylish solid brass black rivets.
8. Sunglasses
Your little ones will look stylish and shaded with these adorable “Weefarars” sunglasses. They’re made to look just like the wayfarers, so you can even be twinning with your toddler after the season.
9. Mini Foldable Comb and Mirror
Your little girl will love looking at herself in this small foldable mirror and even learning how to brush her hair with the comb. It’s easily foldable and collapsible, perfect for little toddler hands.
Toys for Toddler Stocking Stuffers
We all know that the ultimate Christmas gifts for kids are toys (in their mind). So here are a few ideas that make perfect toddler stocking stuffers that they will definitely enjoy.
1. Pretend Smart Phone
This pretend smart phone keeps my kids busy for awhile! They love being just like mom and dad other phones, but this one plays the songs and music that love and lights up just like a real phone.
2. Princess Wand
Any little girl will love to frolic around the house with a princess wand. Make them feel like the princess that they think they are 🙂
3. Personalized Puzzle
These cute puzzles will last a long while and your child will love that it has their name on it. The ones with least amount of pieces will be best for your younger toddlers.
4. Fidget Pop Toobz
Pop toobz are so awesome and will keep your child busy for awhile! You stretch out these plastic tubes and then push them in to make funny, popping noises. They can also bend every which way and are great for working on upper body strengthening. They’re bendable, snappable, and poppable and enhance your toddler’s fine motor skills and stimulate the tactile senses and will lead to hours of fun and enjoyment.
5. Munchkin Gone Fishing Bath Toy
These magnetic fishing rods have underwater bobbing characters that float in your tub with magnets on top for easy fishing. Magnetic bobbers help develop hand eye coordination, plus provide endless fun for your little ones in the tub.
6. Bath Pipe Toys
These bath toys are made of small pipes that can be used individually or create a chain to pour water through. The pipes suction to the wall for ultimate toddler bath playtime.
7. Friction Powered Cars
This little play cars have automatic rotating functions that can move a long distance on hardwood floor, as well as carpet. There are no batteries required and no loud noise. These cars and trucks are a big hit with little boys, making a great toddler stocking stuffer.
8. Pretend Makeup Kit
Your little girl will love to play dress up and make up with this pretend makeup kit. Although they do open and turn like real makeup, there will be no accidental messes with these items because they’re completely fake.
9. Globbles Squishy Balls
Your toddlers will love them. I buy these for my kids who are at least two years old.
Globbes are sticky, squishy balls that are super sticky and if you throw them, they stick to whatever they hit.
Run them under water to get off the hair and lint they’re bound to collect. These will be stocking stuffers your toddlers love.
10. Stretchy Noodles
Here are something toddler stocking stuffer that I KNOW your kids will love. Stretchy noodles are something my toddlers are obsessed with right now.
These soft, squishy noodles are a sensory toy used for kids with ADHD, but all kids think they’re fun. I bring them in the car sometimes for road trips.
11. Disney Princess Memory Game
Memory match games are not only fun, but it engages your toddler’s brain and memory. So, this counts as a fun educational toy.
Score!
Your little princess will love this Disney Princess memory match game. It features all your favorite princesses and designed for kids three years old and up.
I hope you got some good inspiration for toddler stocking stuffers. Enjoy the holiday season with your family!
