A stocking is all about the small things, and a good one feels like a handful of tiny surprises. Mix something sweet, something useful and one little thing to play with.
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Games and puzzlesOur proven pick for this list
Belgian brand
SmartGames IQ Puzzler Pro is a logic puzzle for any puzzle-minded player from age six to adult.
Since it runs to adult, a parent and child can trade turns on the same challenge. Once stockings are emptied, the puzzle can pass back and forth on the couch all afternoon.
Games and puzzles
CATAN On The Road is a card game for a household that never tires of CATAN.
Regular players get a fresh way to play CATAN, with only a deck to pack. On a holiday road trip, the cards can come out on a motel table between drives.
Games and puzzles
American brand
Monopoly Deal brings the property rivalry of Monopoly to a card game, a handy stocking stuffer for game-night families.
Nobody has to set up a board, so a round can start right after Christmas dinner. Relatives keen on striking deals in the classic game get that same back-and-forth with cards in hand.
Arts and craftsAges 3+
American brand
This Melissa & Doug Sticker Wow! stamper with a unicorn theme suits a three-year-old who loves decorating pages.
The child picks a spot on the page, then presses the stamper down to add a sticker there. After breakfast on Christmas morning, the pad can come straight out at the kitchen table.
Building setsAges 4+
80 pieces · set 11216
Danish brand
This LEGO Bluey set gives a preschool fan Bingo and Bluey plus a Grannies scene to build.
Its 80 pieces make a build to finish at the kitchen table with you nearby. Then the finished scene becomes a stage for the sisters, so a favorite show turns into pretend play.
American brand
Crayola Globbles are squishy stress balls for the stocking of anyone who fidgets through homework or phone calls.
Restless fingers get something soft to knead, so the pen stays quiet on the desk.
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The Holiday Family Edition of What Do You Meme? suits a household that swaps funny memes all year.
Here that meme humor becomes a game, with kids and grown-ups taking turns in the same round. Once the stockings are emptied, the pack can come out on the coffee table before Christmas dinner.
PlayMonster Spoons is a stocking stuffer card game for a household that already plays cards after dinner.
Grandparents and younger cousins can pick up the pass-and-grab play by watching a deal, so nobody sits out for long.
American brand
The Kanoodle SudoQube from Educational Insights gives the family's keenest brain-teaser fan a logic puzzle of their own.
Their daily sudoku habit carries right over, so cracking this puzzle is a natural next step. It can come out on the couch on Christmas afternoon, once the wrapping paper is cleared away.
Bicycle's Cats in the Corner gives a cat-loving family a card game built around their favorite animal.
Kids can take over the shuffling and dealing, while parents and grandparents join in. The deck can come out on Christmas morning, right after the stockings are emptied.
This Star Wars edition of Five Crowns hands a family of movie fans a proper rummy game.
Anyone who already knows rummy can sit right down, while the Star Wars theme gives younger fans a reason to join. The deck can come out on Christmas afternoon, once the wrapping paper is cleared away.
Ages 7+
Phase 10 fans who know the card version will recognize the goal here, clearing one phase after another, only with tiles in place of cards.
Up to four can play, which leaves room at the table for a seven-year-old and three adults to chase the last phase together.
Ages 2+
American brand
Melissa & Doug's construction truck puzzle gives a digger-mad two-year-old a stocking stuffer built around big machines.
Every piece is a truck to lift out, name and slot back into its own spot. On Christmas morning, you can sit together on the rug and take turns with each one.
This Chuckle & Roar memory game hands a young animal lover baby animal pairs to hunt down.
A grown-up can take turns, or the child can play alone until every pair is found. The day after Christmas, the game can come out on the living room rug.
This magnetic Rubik's Cube makes a stocking stuffer for a cube fan chasing faster solve times.
It is built for speed solving, so practice can center on beating a personal record. Over winter break, the cube can sit on the desk for a quick scramble between other plans.
Hasbro Gaming's Sorry! puts a board game in the stocking of a household with none on the shelf.
Parents and children share the board, each moving their own pieces in turn. On New Year's Day, the box can come out on the living room floor.
Belgian brand
Cats & Boxes is a stocking-sized logic puzzle for a cat lover who enjoys thinking a few moves ahead.
Covering one cat often means moving a box later, so the order of moves matters. It comes with a free companion app with hints for stuck moments.
British brand
Herd Mentality in its travel tin is a stocking stuffer for anyone who hosts game night.
Everyone answers a prompt, and the goal is to match the group. The tin makes it easy to bring along to the next gathering.
This guessing card game makes a stocking stuffer for a talkative family that likes knowing each other well.
Players guess how someone at the table would act, so knowing the people matters more than trivia. After Christmas dinner, the cards can come out while everyone lingers over dessert.
Belgian brand
Asteroid Escape is a sliding-tile spaceship puzzle that suits a stocking for someone who enjoys thinking a few moves ahead.
They slide asteroid tiles around until the ship has a clear path off the board. The compact case closes up, so it can ride along in a bag.
American brand
Funko's Cranium detective game makes a stocking gift for a puzzle-minded family that enjoys a good whodunit.
Everyone at the table sorts through clues to work out the mystery, so a fan of detective stories gets to play sleuth. Over winter break, it can come out on the coffee table for a quiet evening round.
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American brand
Crayola Super Tips markers make a stocking stuffer for a steady doodler with a sketchbook always open.
Their drawing habit gets a set of markers kept just for their own pages and projects. After dinner, the pack can sit open beside the sketchbook for an hour of comics or lettering.
American brand
This Crayola Color Wonder Spider-Man kit makes a stocking stuffer for a young Spider-Man fan.
Rather than another figure, the fan gets hero pictures to fill in with colors of their choosing. On Christmas morning, the kit can come out at the kitchen table while breakfast cooks.
Cra-Z-Art markers make a simple stocking stuffer for a keen doodler always reaching for more colors.
A fresh pack lets them keep drawing comics without hunting for a marker that still works. On Christmas morning, the pack can open straight onto the kitchen table.
American brand
Crayola Silly Scents Twistables crayons give a devoted coloring fan a scented set for the stocking.
They keep filling coloring book pages as usual, now with crayons to sniff between pictures. On Christmas morning, the set can come out at the kitchen table beside a fresh coloring book.
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Loop Quiet 2 Ear Plugs make a small stocking stuffer for a light sleeper or a frequent flyer.
Rather than another gadget for the nightstand, they go wherever their owner spends the night. In a hotel room, they can go in just before the lights go off.
Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer is a set of tinted lip balms for a stocking, a good match for anyone who likes a little shine.
Each tube goes on alone or over a favorite lipstick. One can slip into a coat pocket for the walk out the door.
Rifle Paper Co.'s Gemma notebook set hands a habitual list-maker fresh pages for the stocking.
Because it comes as a set, they can keep errand lists apart from journal entries or sketches. On the commute, a notebook rides along in a bag, ready for ideas before they slip away.
Home
Wine bottle stoppers are a handy stocking stuffer for someone who pours a glass with dinner.
The open bottle gets closed and slides into the fridge door, so nobody has to finish it that night.
Home
This jar candle makes a simple stocking stuffer for a friend still settling into a new apartment.
They can light it on the windowsill after work, long before every box is unpacked. Unlike wall art, it needs no nail or hook, just a clear spot on a shelf.
Building setsAges 4+
66 pieces · set 42665
Danish brand
A dog-crazy kid still waiting on a real puppy can build and run this LEGO Friends Puppy Playground.
With 66 pieces, the build stays small enough to finish in a single sitting. From there, the young owner decides what every pup does at the park each time it comes out.
Vehicles
These dinosaur pull-back cars turn a dino fan's favorite creatures into racers for the stocking.
Their dinosaur play gets wheels, since each car rolls off once it is pulled back and released. On Christmas morning, the cars can line up along the hallway for a race toward the kitchen.
Vehicles
This Porsche model car makes a stocking stuffer for a sports car fan loyal to one make.
Rather than a generic toy car, it gives them a Porsche to roll across the desk. Afterward, it can line up beside the other sports cars already in their collection.
Science and discovery
American brand
Learning Resources Jumbo Tweezers hand a sorting-mad child aged five and up a tool for pompoms and beads.
They drop each bead into a muffin tin cup by color, running the game themselves. Then the pompoms can move between bowls in a quick race against you.
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Yes. For a household that never tires of CATAN, the CATAN card game gives regular players a fresh way to play with nothing but a deck to pack, and on a road trip the cards can come out on a motel table between drives.
A steady doodler with a sketchbook always open draws with the Crayola Super Tips markers, a pack kept for their own pages that stays open beside the sketchbook for an evening of comics or lettering, while a doodler forever reaching for more colors keeps the comics going with the Cra-Z-Art marker pack, with no hunting for a marker that still works.
A daily sudoku habit carries straight over to the Kanoodle SudoQube puzzle, a logic puzzle of their own that is worked out step by step by reasoning and spotting patterns. A parent and child who want to trade turns on the same challenge can share the IQ Puzzler Pro puzzle, since it runs from child to adult and can pass back and forth on the couch.
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Chosen by our team from store data and what readers pick, not hands-on tests. Nothing is paid to be on this list. Recall notices checked . How we pick
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