The other stocking threads inspired me to ask you ladies. I'm rather stumped on how to do this inexpensively. I've adopted several families this year for Christmas and need some suggestions on what to put in a 1 yr old girl, 2 yr old boy and 3 yr old boy's stockings.

I'd also like to include a little something for the parents. Lotion, lip balm are good ideas for the moms. What about dad?

Thanks ladies!

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SuperSavinMommy
SAHM of DS #1 (born 8/06) and DS #2 (born 6/08)

Perhaps some gum for the parents? For the father you could always put in some small shave creams, razors, toothpastes, and other things that they need.

When you say that you have adopted families, are these typically families that can't afford to celebrate christmas on their own?

Thanks for the great ideas!

Yes it's for families that have fallen on hard times and you can adopt them either through local programs or word of mouth. You do what you can (money-wise) to bring them Christmas. Of course I want to give them the best bang for my buck so it stretches further, so I thought the ladies on this forum would be able to come up with some awesome ideas for me. I've looked around but most of the stocking threads seem to apply mostly to older children.

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SuperSavinMommy
SAHM of DS #1 (born 8/06) and DS #2 (born 6/08)

I have an 18 month old boy and here is what he is getting plus the price.... some things are a little expensive like this Tag Books-5.00 a piece with coupon but you can pick and choose what you think is good

3- Tag Jr. Books (Dr. Brown Can Moo, Panda Bear Panda Bear, and Christmas in the manger) 5.00 per/@ Walmart this week with coupon

3 baskets of plastic play food from Target they had a meat container a fruit container and a veggie container *very cute for 1.00 per*

4 smaller tubs of playdough- this has 4 small tubs and came together I think I paid 1.78 or something ..... Walmart and Target have the big canisters for .68 a piece

2 sets of stickers
fat crayons
fat markers
a paint with water book
drawing pad
2 small books from the Target dollar spot- I think one is colors the other animals
a wheel pals truck (those soft ones) normally found on the end cap at walmart
and 2 DVDs- Yo Gabba Gabba and A 4.75 Thomas the Train DVD.... my Target has two end caps devoted to 4.75 and 5 dollar kids movies. They had Clifford, Disney Princess, Barney, Thomas, Backyardagins, and many more!!

I hope this helps

Also things my son is not getting but could help these familes are:
Band-aids
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
hair brush and comb (kids kind)
Barrettes or hair bows
socks
onesizes
washclothes
baby wash
q-tips!

I always like to give my little ones (2, 3, and 4 this year) CUTE hats and mittens or gloves, maybe scarves. At wal-mart in the toddlers section you can buy two pairs of knit gloves for a buck right now. They have great colors and designs.
You can look for coupons on kids toothpaste/toothbrushes and follow sales! My son LOVES his "choo choo train" (thomas) tooth paste.
Oh you can always find cute little snack containers at the dollar store, which are great for the diaper bag. HEY ! Maybe a cute diaper bag would be a good gift for mom/dad.
You can make play dough really cheaply. I think family fun has a recipe in there this month, they put glitter in it :D.
OH! You can make a cape pretty easily, and there is a cute lil Tulle tutu (no sew) (also in family fun). Cute cookie cutters and cookie dough mixes would be great for the entire family.
If you could find coupons for god razors I bet mom and dad would appreciate that TONS. I have stubborn body hair and when I don't have the extra money for good razors, I either don't shave or have to deal with awful razor burn. (DON'T GO CHEAP ON THESE).
Big Idea has the free veggie tales dvd thing where you just pay 2.99 shipping, but I think it is one per household.
Check out the Target dollar spot. HAVE FUN AND BLESS YOU!

I would definitely check out Target's dollar spot. They have a ton of cute things for stockings....including some practical things like socks, lip balms, bath stuff, etc.

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Don't forget about:

hot wheels cars for little boys, those are $1 each, and always a favorite.
Crayons, since all three will love to color
Stickers
Lollipops
Balls (you can get small ones to fit into a stocking that are safe for that age for about $1 in Target's area where they keep the sports and play balls

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Alice came to a fork in the road. "Which road do I take?" she asked.
"Where do you want to go?" responded the Cheshire cat.
"I don't know," Alice answered.
"Then," said the cat, "it doesn't matter."
~Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Target dollar spot for certain! Cute socks! always good

I also would get nice condition board books from the thrift store for little bitty ones. They wipe up, look brand new, and are CHEAP CHEAP and oh so good for kiddos

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Think big! Change the world! One A.R.K at a time.

I think that if you shop supermarkets or Target with the coupons, you can get "fun" things, but useful, like kids toothpaste (there's toddler toothpaste and brushes also), bubble bath, kids bandaidss (Barbie, spiderman...)

I just went to Waldbaums today TRIPLE coupons (for coupons up to $1) and stocked up on things I'm using for stocking stuffers for my husband too like:

gilette shaving cream..was on sale for $1.99 and I have $1 coupons..can't beat .99! I got a few.
Mentos gum was 99 cents..I had 55 cent coupons..so tripled..they were FREE!

I find for little kids bath toys are the way to go and you can always find them at dollar stores. The dollar tree had cute disney bath board books!

For the Dad, maybe a gift certificate for a local coffee place (ex Tim Horton's, best coffee in North America in my opinion!). Even if it's just enough for a coffee and donut, this might be something that they have cut out due to expense.

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