It’s baby’s first Christmas and you’re at a loss for appropriate stocking stuffer ideas. Babies and toddlers are hard to stuff stockings for, because stocking stuffers are small and you don’t want their stockings to be choking hazards! Besides, babies really don’t need or want anything. Here are 27 of the most versatile stocking stuffers for babies. Almost all options are under $10, with many under $5. In a few cases you might need to split with a friend to get the better price.
(This list is written with newborns and crawlers in mind, who aren’t eating solids yet. If your baby is a bit older, you might want to have a look at the toddler idea list, too.)
Stocking Stuffer Ideas for Babies: Comfort & Feeding
1. Pacifier
Not all babies take pacifiers, but if yours does, this is an easy starting point for the stocking. It’s small and designed for babies — and something the baby can directly appreciate. This can be an opportunity to replace a favorite “standard” pacifier, to buy a fun novelty one, or to buy something functional like the Doddle Pop that pops back inside itself when baby drops it. (‘Cause a pacifier that gets dropped on the floor while shopping is gross.)
2. Pacifier Accessories
Pacifier accessories can also make good stocking stuffers. In particular, pacifier clips intended to keep the paci from falling on the floor. Pacifier cases are also an option, though.
3. Teether
If baby isn’t teething, he will be before the year is out. Teethers come in a variety of sizes and shapes, including those that are attached to the corner of a mini-blanket, and “pacifier-shaped” options that are easier to keep in the mouth. I especially like styles that will stay on the baby or in the baby’s mouth, because I found that my little ones started teething before they were coordinated enough to hold a teether — leading them to chew on their arms.
Of course, if your baby is older and able to hold a teether well, you can get more creative.
4. Doll or Lovey
Young babies aren’t ready for “regular” baby dolls yet, but they can appreciate something snuggly. That might be a soft doll made especially for babies (this does come with darker skin, but is for some reason a separate listing), a stuffed animal, or a “lovey” that’s essentially a mini-blanket (with or without a stuffed-animal head).
5. Water Bottle Adapter
It’s usually pretty easy to find a bottle of water nearly anywhere you might find yourself out and about — but baby can’t drink from it. With the Aquasip adapter you can add a bottle nipple, or with the Green Sprouts spout adapter you can add a soft silicone sippy top. Toss it in the stocking — and then into your diaper bag after Christmas.
Stocking Stuffers for Babies: Hygiene & Safety
6. Baby Lotion or Massage Oil
Massage is soothing and comforting for (most) babies. A small tube of baby lotion or bottle of massage oil can make a good stocking filler.
7. Night Light
A night light can be simple and functional, or a bit fun and playful.
8. Outlet Covers or Door Stoppers
I know; these don’t seem very exciting. The baby doesn’t care about “exciting,” though. Help prevent a new crawler from pinching his fingers in the door or shocking himself by using safety items as fillers for his stocking. Outlet covers come in the traditional pop-in style, or as whole outlet plates that let you slide the cover sideways to plug something in. (These are nice because if someone unplugs something, the outlet covers itself automatically.)
Over-the-door stoppers can prevent pinched fingers. Or consider corner cushions for the coffee table, etc. (I would stick with the “rectangular” type, not the round ones, which look like a choking hazard to me.)
9. Hairbrush or Comb
Younger babies can enjoy the feel of having their hair combed or brushed (or cradle cap scrubbed off). As they get older, they can enjoy mimicking the grownups by brushing their own hair.
10. Toothbrush
Older babies might be ready for a “real” toothbrush. With younger babies, you can still use gum cleaners — or even teethers made to resemble toothbrushes.
Stocking Stuffer Ideas for Babies: Toys & Learning
11. Sensory Ball
These balls have a variety of textures, enabling children to explore ideas like smooth and rough, bumpy, etc. The texture can also make the balls easier for small hands to grasp.
12. Rattle
Did you know that rattles help little ones learn cause-and-effect? You can go really basic with this if you want. Personally, I prefer soft-exterior rattles because uncoordinated infants have a tendency to whack themselves in the head with the rattle. If baby is very young, consider wrist or foot rattles that the baby doesn’t have to hold.
13. Clutching Toys
These are small toys that don’t really fit into any other category of their own. They’re made to be “clutched” or “grasped” and manipulated by tiny hands, but they aren’t specifically rattles, etc. HABA makes some amazing, high-quality clutching toys, although most of them are over $10.
14. Spinner Wand
Spinner wands are not safety-friendly toys to hand to a baby, but we’ve found them to be excellent toys to show a baby to keep him entertained. The smaller ones fit well in a diaper bag — and a stocking. (You want the type with an enclosed clear globe, not the kind with exposed “strings.”
15. Books
Most board books — particularly the chunky ones meant especially for the youngest babies — are typically small enough for stockings. Cloth books are also a good choice for baby stockings.
16. Mirror
Babies like to look at babies — including themselves! A child-safe mirror can be a good stocking stuffer.
17. Crinkly Things
At some point, you’ll probably find yourself joking that you should have skipped the gifts and just given the baby wrapping paper! Babies love the crinkle that paper makes, and you can buy products that duplicate that sound (well, a similar one, anyway) without the mess or the risk of choking on a soggy piece of paper.
18. Toy Clips
Babies spend a good bit of time being carried — in a baby carrier, carseat, stroller, etc. That makes for plenty of opportunity to drop toys on the floor. Toy straps/clips or interlocking rings fit nicely in a stocking and later help keep the toys off the floor and close at hand.
19. Pictures
Similar to flash cards, that isn’t a very accurate way to describe them in the context of babies. But cards with high-contrast black-and-white images or photographs of facial expressions, animals, etc. can be engaging for little ones. Consider getting a small “brag book”-style photo album to put them in. Better still, have photographs printed of the important people in your baby’s life and put those in the book.
Check online for printable cards, and at the dollar store for small photo albums.
(If you want to spend a little more, you can even buy a little photo album specifically for babies. Or this one is under $10, if you only need a few photos)
20. Rolling Toy
Rolling toys encourage babies to crawl. When a baby grasps at a rolling toy, it rolls just out of reach, encouraging him to move forward to where it’s once again in reach. Most of these are a bit bigger/more expensive, but there are a few that are suitable for stuffing stockings.
Stocking Stuffers for Babies: Clothing
21. Bib
Teething babies drool. A lot. Fortunately there are numerous styles and colors of drool bibs to choose from. If your little one is approaching table food age, I highly recommend Bumkins’ SuperBibs for that purpose. (They even make an extra-small version, the “Starter Bib,” shown below.)
22. Socks
Tiny toes need warmth in the winter! Choices are numerous, ranging from thin cotton socks, to thick squishy socks, to knee socks. There are even little booties that are basically tiny baby slippers.
23. SockOns
Maybe your baby has plenty of socks, but you just can’t seem to keep them on his feet! In that case, you might want to throw a pair of SockOns into the stocking!
24. Leg Warmers
Leg warmers are another fabulous stocking stuffer option, and especially useful for babies. They let you keep legs covered up, without blocking access to the diaper for changing. Very handy — especially when you’re out and about and don’t want to have to take the child’s pants off while you’re juggling all your gear in a public restroom.
At BabyLeggings.com, you can get 5 pairs “free” with the coupon code PJBABY, which really means for the cost of shipping and handling (about $15, last I checked) If you need all 5 and plan ahead, that’s a pretty good price, and the leggings are pretty good; we have some. (Shipping is almost that high if you get just 1 pair, so if you don’t need 4 or 5, don’t bother.)
If you’d rather not bother, you can find baby leg warmers on Amazon, too.
25. One-Piece Bodysuit
The baby equivalent of a t-shirt, you can go super-basic here, or look for fun graphic designs. I especially love Wish.com for finding really unique or funny baby bodysuits, but they take a long time to ship, so that’s only an option if you’re planning ahead.
26. Bows or Bow Ties
Strangers have a tendency to fail to identify babies properly as girls or boys. Sometimes, they just aren’t paying attention and there’s nothing you can do about it. But if you want to play up your little girl’s girliness or your little guy’s masculinity, consider tucking a bow into the stocking — for her head or his neck.
27. Knee Pads
Crawling can take a toll on little knees — either the skin or the pants! Protect both with kneepads. They come in a variety of styles, depending on whether you want to emphasize the “protective” element or prefer to leave baby more flexibility.
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