Dirty Dish Club Stocking Stuffer Guide for Kids

We talked about stocking stuffers for grown-ups last time, but the same disclaimer goes for this guide. I always hate those guides that leave you thinking “Yikes! How much money do other people spend on XYZ holiday?!?” We here at the Dirty Dish Club are moderately frugal and are in no way suggesting you buy everything on the guide, but hope you’ll find the ideas to be helpful.

Water bottle ($16.20) – Having water bottles at our house serves two purposes: hydration and dirty dish reduction. The kids are practically inseparable from their water bottles and take them everywhere.
Granola Bars or Trail Mix – Our kids are crazy about granola bars and since we don’t buy them very often they think they’re a special treat. They’re also very possessive, so having their own stash of trail mix makes their day.
Reusable Straws ($10.95) – Our kids are pretty young, so they think they’re pretty hot stuff when they get to drink from a regular cup with a straw.
Baking Coupon Book – Our kids love helping in the kitchen, but more often than not we try to keep them occupied while we’re cooking and baking just so we can get things done. By giving them a coupon book for things like “make a batch of cookies,” “help make pancakes,” or “chicken fingers for dinner” kids can be periodically be more involved as well as have occasional input into what meals they’ll be eating.
Flatware ($4.99+) – In case you haven’t caught the theme about our children’s possessiveness, they are exceptionally possessive. They love having special forks and spoons that belong solely to them.
Clementines – Clementines are a wonderful thing this time of year. Deliciously sweet, but completely natural. Once again, our kids love having their own personal stash.
Toothbrush and Toothpaste – As we mentioned in the adult guide, dental hygiene is especially important this time of year. As a bonus, our kids are at an age were toothbrushes and toothpaste are really cool.
Homemade Treats – Cookies, candies, whatever it is the kids will love it. Chances are you’ve already made a whole bunch and all you need to do is package some up for everyone.
Silicone Popsicle Molds ($9.95) – I see these all the time on other blogs of people with school-age children. I think they’d also be great for popsicles straight out of the freezer or smoothies and homemade go-gurts for picnics. I’m thinking we need some of these for next summer.
Character Bandaids ($2.37+) – This isn’t necessarily food or kitchen related (although a fair amount of accidents do happen in our kitchen), but it’s another winner with our kids and a fairly inexpensive way to make kids happy.