25 DIY Stocking Stuffers for Kids

ByRachel Updated on

Homemade stocking stuffers are so much more personalized and fun which is why we created this list of the best DIY stocking stuffers and DIY stocking stuffer ideas to make Santa’s job so much easier! These stocking fillers ideas are cheap and easy to make.

DIY stocking stuffers - homemade stocking stuffers you can make for kids stockings - 3 different ideas shown with the text, 25 diy stocking stuffers
Let’s stuff our stockings with homemade goodies!

Stocking Stuffer Ideas for Kids

Your kids will love making and getting these stocking stuffer gift ideas. Whether you have a toddler, 10 year old or a teenager, these DIY stocking stuffers will please even the pickiest gift recipient!

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Best Homemade Stocking Stuffers

1. Make a Spinning Candy Top

Make a treat kids can play with and eat!  Spinning candy!  Assemble these spinning candy tops and then wrap them in plastic wrap.  Fun!

2. DIY Confetti Shooter Fun

Celebrate!  Make a confetti shooter!  This is a great gift idea for Grandma’s house!  Use marshmallows instead of confetti to shoot “snowman poo” at each other!

3. Homemade Bookmark Gift

Got a bookworm?  Make Monster book page holders.  These are so bright and happy and are sure to brighten up any book.

stocking stuffer ideas you can make including diy puzzle and straw rockets
So many fun ways to play with DIY stocking stuffers!

DIY Kids Stocking Stuffers

4. Make a Stocking Stuffer Puzzle

What if you could keep your puzzles in your pocket?  Check out this collection of tangram, Matchbox puzzles, they are perfect for learning and exploring, on-the-go.

5. Create a Homemade Toy

Go simple with an easy flip toy – Jacob’s ladder is a fun classic!

6. DIY Straw Rockets

Blast off to an afternoon of fun with this clever stocking stuffer idea – DIY straw rocket kit!

starwars pens - homemade light saber pens make great diy stocking stuffers
Give the stocking gift of a light saber!

7. Homemade Crayon Wands

Make wands – that you can color with!!  These crayon wands are perfect stocking stuffers!

8. Craft Light Sabers that Fit in a Stocking

Your kids will have a blast with these DIY stocking stuffers – all you need are gel pens and tape to create a set of mini-lightsabers.

make your own stocking stuffers ideas for homemade stocking stuffers like bracelet kit, finger puppets, playdough toys and surprise eggs
Great DIY stocking stuffer ideas that kids actually want!

Favorite Homemade Stocking Suffer Ideas for Kids

9. Give the Gift of an Ornament Craft Kit

Give your kids a craft with a fun DIY stocking – this one is band bracelets, ready to be assembled in an ornament!

10. Homemade Playdough Toys in a Stocking

Make your own playdough toys!  All you need are outlet covers and giant googly eyes!  These are a great low-mess alternative to many of the commerical play dough toys.

11. Cute Finger Puppets to Make & Give

This Christmas put some finger puppets as a gift for the stocking.  They take seconds to make and are a springy blast!

stocking stuffer idea - homemade stars in a bottle calming jar
Let’s add a homemade calming jar to the stockings this year!

12. Unwrap an Egg for Christmas!

You would think that eggs are for Easter, but think again.  Unwrapping is half the fun of a present and unwrapping an egg that is wraped is hilarious!  Your kids will love discovering trinkets inside the egg.

13. Make a Starry Sky Calming Bottle

Make a sesnory bottle for your kids.  Many bottles are small enough for the stocking.  Our Glow-in-the-dark bottle is the most popular.

2 DIY stocking stuffer ideas - homemade road and giant marshmallow
Giving kids the gift of a homemade road is hundreds of hours of play potential!

14. Give the Gift of Homemade Roads

You can make your own kids race car track with masking tape, just use wide painters tape and a black marker for the street lines.  You can buy the tape here or road tape and accessories here.

15. DIY Giant Marshmallows

Yum!  Who else has a Christmas tradition of hot coco?  Go BIG this year and enjoy giant marshmallows along with your cup!  These fit into most stockings and are a memory-maker.

homemade stocking stuffer ideas for kids - snowman poop, money book, props for photos slime
My favorite DIY stocking stuffer is the money tablet!

Cheap Stocking Stuffers for Christmas

16. Make Snowman Poop

This is adorable!!  And kids love shaking and sharing tic-tacs!!  Transform a container of tic-tacs into Santa poo.

17. How to Make a Money Tablet

Gifting money is always a hit at Christmas time, especially with tweens!  Make a Money tablet.  They will love you for it!

18. Create Your Own Lipstick

Whip up a batch of funky colored Crayon Lipsticks.  Your kids can have any color in the box!

20. DIY Tic Tac Toe Game for the Stocking

Tic-tac-toe is a ton of fun to play.  Create a small game for your kids and put it in their stocking this Christmas.

Homemade Stocking Stuffers - Kids Activities Blog - fairy necklaces, diy lego bed unicorn slime and pdf of paper dolls
So many fun things to make and add to a stocking!

21. Make a Minifigure Bed

Make a LEGO bed for a favorite minifigure out of a matchbox and our free printable. It is so cute!

22. DIY Fortnite Medkit Toy

Speaking of LEGOs, we had fun creating this Fortnite medkit from bricks and it would fit great in a stocking.

23. Craft a Fairy Dust Necklace

Turn a fairy dust bottle into a fairy dust necklace or make a set of matching ones to give so a BFF can have one too!

24. Stuff the Stocking with Homemade Slime

Check out our bright and colorful unicorn slime recipe that makes a great gift.

25. Homemade Paper Doll Set

Download & print (you could even cut out and color) our free printable paper dolls that make for hours and hours of pretend play adventures.

How much should you spend on a stocking stuffer?

Traditionally stocking stuffers are homemade or inexpensive smaller gifts that are a little extra fun on Christmas morning. There are no hard and fast rules on spending for stocking stuffers, but it is something fun to hunt for throughout the year finding little treasures on sale to use as stocking stuffers on Christmas.

What are Some Cheap Stocking Stuffer Ideas for Older Kids?

While it might seem hard to find stocking stuffers for older kids that are inexpensive, think beyond traditional gifts and look for unique items that are little games, fidgets, art supplies, small collectibles or accessories.

Have any parents actually given their kids coal for Christmas?

Oh my, I hope no children get real coal for Christmas in their stockings! A lump of coal is a legendary sign of bad behavior during the year that began back in Holland when coal was a common household item. In modern times, coal is a little harder to find and it is my hope that getting coal for Christmas is a threat that is never carried out!

What is a Stocking Stuffer Idea for the Entire Family?

There are so many ideas when it comes to stocking stuffers the entire family might enjoy. I would start with something that the family could play together like a card game or dominos. Or think about something that a family could make together like food or craft. Speaking of food, things that families can eat together work great too!

More DIY Fun & Stocking Stuffer Ideas

What is your favorite DIY stocking stuffer this year? What Santa be filling the stockings up with Christmas eve?

Rachel is the founder of the blog, One Crazy House.  She is the co-author of 101 Kids Activities that are the Bestest, Funnest Ever! and The 101 Coolest Simple Science Experiments.  She lives in Fort Worth, Texas with her husband and six children.