Stuffing Christmas Stockings

Wrapping and Packing

Most years, I wrap my stocking stuffers. This is a great place to use all that paper you saved from last Christmas(or evan birthdays or other holidays) but aren't really ever going to use. There have been years when I didn't wrap my stocking stuffers because I ran out of time, but I think its more fun when they're wrapped.

When to Wrap

I don't usually wrap stocking stuffers until I'm ready to fill the stockings. I tried it one year, but then I had to keep unwrapping stuff so I could remember what it was.

Dividing up the stuff

Christmas Gift

I start with plastic grocery bags. I make name tags on my printer and staple it to the outside of the bag. For socks that will be shipped, these tags will be my gift tags, so I usually decorate them with a Christmas picutre. Then I lay the bags out, males on one side, females on the other, lined up from youngest to oldest. Then I go through all my goodies and divvy them up between the bags. Dividing them up this way makes it easier to distribute the more generic stuff. Its ok to put too much stuff in the bags at this point; anything you decide not to put use can be saved for next year. There should be one fairly large item, several small items, and one long skinny item, like an ice scraper or pencil that can stick out of the top of the sock. You might want to skip the last one if you are shipping the socks.

After the bags are filled, I rearrange them by destination. I ship 4 boxes of stockings, have 5 for my local family gathering, and deliver the rest. If I'm running down to the wire, its a good thing to be able to easily figure out which ones have to ship first in order to arrive on time. I can wrap the ones for my family gathering at the last minute if I need to.

First I put my "return this sock" plea in the toe of the sock, then any candy. Then small items like rubber balls, party pack playdough, baterries. The largish item usually rests in the heel, then a couple more small items. Finally I wrap the long item and push it down the side of the sock next to the larger item.

Any unused items are returned to stock for next year. If the sock is being shipped, I put it back in the bag with the name tag on it. I usually ship UPS because they have a daily pickup where I work (and also because I'm usually shipping pretty close to Christmas).