All About Christmas Stocking Stuffers

Your Ideas for Great Stocking Stuffers!

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My husband surprised me with a very special anniversary gift that I think would be a great stocking stuffer as well. It was a bag of personlized M&M's that he ordered from mymms.com. Put your own holiday greeting on them. Who doesn't love M&M's?! - Terri in Texas from Fort Worth, TX

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Last year we filled Wellies, the green rubber boots for our stockings. Giant candy canes poked out of the top of each boot and big bows were tied around the top of each boot . One of the men's was tied with black and red check flannel bows. Every one had a theme, our daughter loves France so her boot was filled with French spices, soaps, condiments, French Onion soup, an I love Paris t-shirt for her dog, Paris to the moon paper back book, and a potato with a grate for French fries. Our daughter-in-law loves to go to a spa so we filled her boot with body and bath products. She had a back scrubber sticking out of her boot. My son likes to paint so we filled his boot with tubes of paint, brushes sticking out the top and sketchbooks and art materials. The boots are a great idea because you can fill them easily and everyone got a laugh out of them. This year we will have a new grand daughter and she already has a litte bright yellow boot ready to fill with infant gifts. I got a lot of from Logan, Utah

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always an ornament, candy cane, orange, chocolate coins, new dollar bill, shiny coins, undies & socks. Santa's too busy to wrap - he uses colored tissue. The kids could open their stockings before we were up, but not before 5AM. "Is it 5 oclock yet?" "No - go back to sleep!" - Martha from Milwaukee WI

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For adults: pain medicine, window crystal, fridge magnets, heat wraps, toothbrush, breathe right nose strips, socks, gloves, ear warmers, lighters, glade candles, lotion, facial cleanser, make up, batteries, desk top picture of family. - Anna Ayles

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Every year my brother and I would wake up way earlier then my parents would like, but we woke them up anyway. While my Father drank his coffee and started breakfast my My mom , my brother and I woukd open our stockings. Every year we go the same things, but they were always much needed because we eith ran out or lost them. Usually inside was nail clippers, chapstick, deodorant, and lotion. Since i was a female my parents would also as, hair ties, bracelets, nail polish or any form of make up. My brother would usually get cologne and a gas card along with his little items. we both also ofcourse got the rest of stocking filled with candy. Til this day we still get the same things, a new item added recently is beef jerky! - Kelsey (16) from Eldersburg, Maryland

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My husband and I will be celebrating our second Christmas as a couple this year. Our stocking tradition is to choose 5 letters of the alphabet (cut up and folded) each. We give which letters we chose (without looking) to the other. The stuffings in our stockings MUST start with one of those 5 letters...and that's all that is in our stockings. We won't find out what letters we picked until Christmas morning. Shopping for these stuffings is like a scavenger hunt and is fun. It is the "child-like" part of our Christmas. Jesus is the reason for our season! - Jennifer Cole from GA

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I have a sister that is a kid at heart. She is older than I am, and lives with the youngest sister.All of the other sisters take turns filling her stocking each Christmas. One time, I took a lot of change - mostly pennies - and wrapped each coin separately. I made sure to wrap a $1 coin and mix it in on the bottom with all the pennies. Not only did she have a blast unwrapping them all - my kids had fun helping to wrap them. We did not fill the stocking with coins, this was just to fill the bottom portion. I think we used about $10-$12 worth of coins. - VJ from Fredericksburg, VA

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I follow my moms tradition and always put an orange in the toe of my kids stocking :). Other traditional items include: bubbles, silly putty, paddleball and lots of hersheys kisses...oh, and a giant candy cane! - melanie from chicago, il

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I have 5 kids ranging from 4yrs old to 12 yrs old. I always like to put new battery operated toothbrushes and toothpaste in each of their stockings. Another favorite that the kids like to get every year is their very own bubble bath. Even though they get some of the same things every year, they still are really excited when they open their stocking. - Sonja M. Stanley from Bennington, Kansas

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Every year I fill everyones stockings with all the toiletries and personal care products that they use and every year they look forward to them - Peggy

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One of the stand-by stocking stuffers my kids "demand" each year is the gift card. They are avid readers (15 yrs. on up), and love gift cards to the local Barnes & Noble. If you spend $25 online, shipping is free, so I give $30 cards (otherwise, I'd be making up the difference anyway). Another card they love is to the local movie theater. They're mostly mobile these days, so movies for free are great! - Elaine from Shreveport, LA

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My family has always enjoyed Christmas Stockings. This year, with none of the children or grandchildren coming home for Christmas, my husband and I decided to take each other on a vacation trip, so no packages under the tree. But we DID NOT promise no stockings.....[teehee!] I'm going to stuff a stocking for each of us, hide them in the luggage, and surprise him. Part of our tradition has been that there are certain things in the stockings each year....an orange, some candy, something soft like socks or gloves, at least one small wrapped gift, and a small toy car. We used to always 'find' them on our beds on Chritsmas morning, then the kids would all pile in on Mom & Dad's bed to take turns opening them. (Of course, no one ever peeked into them before waking mom and dad, right!?? (wink, giggle) Stockings lend themselves to so many fun and memorable traditions! Merry Christmas! - Janet Lee from Cortland, NY

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A friend told the story that one year when she was a child, her family opened all the gifts and were playing with their new treasures. The lone stockings were still left untouched, hanging on the mantle. Her dad kept saying "Don't you want to check your stockings?" Well, she knew that most of the stocking was filled with nuts and that seemed kind of boring with all the new toys to look at. Finally, after he said it about three times, she relented and pulled out her stocking. Sure enough, there were those famous walnuts. As she turned to put them down he pleaded "don't you want to have a NUT?" She cracked open a walnut and there inside was a dollar bill. She screamed to her brothers and sisters "There is money in the nuts!" and they all scrambled to grab their stockings and cracked those nuts in record time. Great memory! - Joy

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Ever since I can remember, Santa Claus has left a rolled up piece of wrapping paper in each family member's stocking--Mom and Dad included. Once unrolled, we see that it is a special note detailing how proud he is of the "good girl" or "good boy" that person has been this year. (Things like, "Congratulations on learning to drive!" Or "I'm so excited for the new little bundle who will be joining you this spring" or "I sure am proud of the way you help take care of your little brother.") When the candy is eaten and the presents outgrown, we keep these notes as treasured memories of years past. The handwriting always looked awfully similar to my father's....what a wonderful thing to have when he passed away in my 20's. Now my husband and I love seeing each other and our children read about good deeds we've noticed. This is a great way to reinforce the love we have for each other as a family, and the important values our Savior would like us to live. - A. Carmack from SF Bay Area, CA

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Trial sizes of many items are available in stores such as Target, Walmart, K-Mart, and many drugstores. You can get shampoo, deodorant, static guard, soap, toothbrushes, q-tips, pill holders, etc.They usually cost around one dollar. They are a great size for traveling. My friend and I like to look for them for stockings for our parents who are intheir 60's and 70's. Also good for college kids or anyone who travels. - Charlotte from Mars, PA

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One idea I had for homemade stocking stuffers is Pom Pom pets. Make little animals from homemade pom poms. When I was nine years old my older sister got me this Pom Pom pet maker. It had two different size round plastic makers and one oval....the small was about 3/4 of an inch, the large round was about 2 inches and the oval was about 21/2 inches. I used googly eyes , felt and pipecleaners and white glue...man things would have been much easier if they had glue guns then.... Anyhow I had so much fun making these critters that the following November I started my very own business selling these pets (mice, rabbits, chicks, ducks, birds, people, santas , snowmen etc) at school and around the neighbourhood. With my parents on social assistance christmas was sparse. That Christmas we couldn't afford a Christmas tree so mom said a tree or the turkey....we chose the turkey. There were only a few presents for my 2 brothers and sister and myself. Us older kids recycled older toys - SweetEmerald from Sudbury Ontario Canada

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We do the Xmas stocking every year. When the children were younger and they would be up before us, they could get into their stocking only. Each gift was wrapped to add to the fun. On some gifts I would use tissue paper b/c it's easier to unwrap the tiny gifts. This has always been a great compromise to waiting to open the gifts. I usually added something personal, something to eat and a toy, like a yo-yo or balsa wood airplane or little dolly. A good place to check for small toys is the party favor section, like at Walmart. They have all kinds of things, like party blowers, mini kalidiscopes, parachute men, mini play dough, etc. Oh, and packs of gum are fun to add, too ... don't forget to wrap even the gum. My children are adults now and we still do the stockings for them; personally I like the challenge of finding what to stuff in the stockings. This year, I think I'm going to play "secret Santa" and make up some stockings for my girlfriends b/c they're always busy moms and th - Linda from Lompoc, CA

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Every Christmas our stockings have: A new toothbrush, a "Christmas Orange", a small candy cane, a puzzle (could be a sterling silver puzzle ring for an Adult or a simple cardboard picture for a child), a special note from "Santa" about how proud he was about one of that (each in their own stocking) person's accomplishments during the year (getting an "A" on a spelling test OR getting a job raise OR remembering to thank someone without being reminded by a parent etc.) and how he knows that they will be trying hard to do good things during the coming year, and that he (Santa) is so glad that they are always doing at least one thing every week for someone else, without them knowing, (Paying it Forward) because then that person might do something for someone else! It is contagious!And a lot of fun trying NOT to get CAUGHT!!! - Nikiski AK Flutter Fly from Nikiski, Alaska

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We Stuff our stockings by following the guidelines in this poem: Something to eat Something to read Something to play with Something you need! (this was an old Victorian poem- I added the following two verses) A pen and some "thank you's" Stockings to wear Brushes to use on your teeth & your hair And last, but not least a collectible thing to each of our family will Santa Claus bring! Now that our children have grown, we can each take a portion of the poem to use as a guideline for filling each others stockings for Christmas! - Bonnie Jean from Brentwood, California

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My Grandparents had 12 children and always filled stockings for thier children and adult children. They used the real "ladies hose or stockings" . They were great fun to see. They always put and orange in first and then pot holdedrs or nick nacks, candy, nuts, bows and an apple. or a lemon..It is fun to watch the stockings sag when hung. MERRY CHRISTMAS! - A.Baldwin from Vernon,Texas

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We always received socks in our stockings as children, but being a greedy little girl, I always felt that the socks took up valuable candy room. So now I stuff the socks and then slip them into the stockings! They stretch out a bit, take up less room and actually save me from wrapping some of the treats. My kids don't know this story but I think I'll share it with them this Christmas morning. - Jan Mason from Ontario, Canada

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My stocking tradition is one my parents started.when I was a child. They would include breakfast food and drink in our stocking. It would be something like honey buns, pecan twirls and a boxed drink. They would also make sure to put a book, small game, puzzle toy (like Rubiks cube), note pad and something to write with. The rule was we could not go out to the tree or wake them up. We could eat our food and play our games quietly. The three of us would all gather in one bedroom and compare stuffers and share. I added to it by putting fruit like apples and oranges to my childrens stokings. We all still talk about stocking memories. - T.L.Brown from Hebron MD

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For a few years, when my sister and I were married w/o kids and my mother was tired of doing all the stocking stuffers herself, we did acrostic stockings. That is, the gifts in each stocking spelled out the letters in each person's name. We added initials so that everyone had 7 letters, and split up the assignments between mom, sis, and me. So I (Sharon M) might get a Soundtrack (cd), Hat, Angel ornament, Razors (for some reason always a traditional stocking stuffer), the also traditional Orange, holiday Napkins, and a Magazine (subscription). My husband's family adopted the idea, too. It was fun to see how creative people could be, especially with letters like F, W, and Q in the names. The year my husband and I had just found out we were pregnant with #1, we announced it to our family with the stockings. My mother (Nancy) got an "N" alphabet block with "News from New england for Nana," and my MIL (Barbara) got an "A" alphabet block with "Announcement: Addition to the - Sharon from MA

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One of the great holiday traditions is Christmas stockings. I seem to spend more time looking for inexpesive, uniqe little gifts that my family will actually use. This year I found a product called Lace Stick, that is a type of resin in a "Chap Stick like" container. I used this product on my running shoe laces and it works great in stopping laces coming untied. It's only $3.99 a tube and lasts forever. That's my idea for a great little, useful stocking stuffer! - Rob T. from Marina Del Rey, CA

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I always look for a joke pertaing to the person, something they have done or are planning to do. ex: my son is interested in taking a forklift training course so I found him a dinky toy fork lift for his stocking, we used to joke that my husband was a TV aholic so one year he found a Barbie TV in his stocking, also my mom had always dreamed of owning a Volkswagon Beetle so for years she has found a different color or style one in her stocking. - diane from Canada

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when i got married, we started a new stocking stuffing tradition, scratch of lottery tickets! we loved just scratching them off, even if we didnt win anything. but if you do win, its even better - caitlin from st.marys GA

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My boyfriend loves the Bob & Tom show in the mornings so I bought him 2 tickets to go see them when they come to town in March! I'm excited! - Vera from Shreveport, La

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I suggest tide pens, static guard sprays the mini's, mini hairsprays,lint brushes and etc. For the young woman on the run...I get this every year and it is so neat and really comes in handy. - Crystal Bates from Gulf Shores, Al

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I make a stocking for my husband every year. He always tells me it is his favortie part of Christmas. I fill his stocking with CD's, movies, gift cards (these are good because they are small and will not take up that much room), small bottles of liquor he likes, scratch tickets, particular candy he enjoys, razors, cologne, his favorite gum, tic tacs, t-shirts, ect...I tend to go overboard, but that is what is great about a stocking. - Stocking Stuffer Master from Spokane, Washington

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For the past twenty years I have had a large hand decorated sugar cookie that looks like Santa from Cookies by Design in my stocking-- Santa really knows what tastes the best!!

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Stockings are still a favorite with my kids, even now as grown ups. Over the years I've stuffed with candy, lip gloss or chap stick, personalized pens, hair ties or clips, travel size lotion, cologne, or bath gel, small flashlights, batteries, stamps, lottery tickets, travel manicure kit, key chain, jewelry, small magnetic picture and frame, bottle opener, cigarette holder, car fragrance, small puzzle books, etc. Also, the dollar store is a good place to shop! - Denise from California

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Christmas was always busy for us. I was one of four and Mom and Dad each had 6 brothers and sisters. With plans to run to family gatherings all day, there was never much time for breakfast. We always got miniature cereal boxes in our stockings. They're even made to cut down the center of the front of the box and bag, so that you can pour your milk right into the bag and then trash the whole thing when your done. I'm keeping up the same traditin with my children. - Misty from New Mexico

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Manicure Socks
"This year I'm stuffing a stocking for my mother. I knit her manicure socks (socks with the toes left exposed) and I'm including a pretty sparkling nail polish along with a tag that says: 'Enjoy this special little treat of pretty toes and toasty feet!'" - Cheryl

Mom's Stocking Stuffer Store
"Something new for me this year: I will get extra stockings/stuffers so that the older kids in my life can 'shop' at my house to fill a stocking for their younger siblings...and/or their parents. Kids love giving gifts too and many families around me can't afford it." - Annie

Practical Stuffers
"...Some years we have a theme for our gifts... like emergency preparedness. We get each other things that we can stick in our 72 hour kits (windup flashlights, batteries, cell phone charger--adapted, etc.) for both our big gift and our stuffers. It's really great!" - Linsey

"Scary" Family Photo
"My family has a tradition with stocking stuffers. Every year when we are looking through our stockings there is one item that we hope that we do not find. It is a picture of a distant cousin - he is pretty scary looking in the picture with his hair standing on end and his eyes are great big. If it is in your stocking, then you put it in someone elses the next year. The fun part is figuring out how it will be presented. That horrific picture has been on the inside of books, put into a plate, on candy and many other ways. Every year we have so much fun just seeing who will get it next!" - Julie

Making a Game of Buying Stuffers
"Creative Way to Purchase Stocking Stuffers: Each person in the family is given a price range. For example: You may spend $10 on each person. Gather the family together and head off to a local value store such as Big Lots, K-Mart, Wal-Mart, Dollar Tree, Pharmacy etc. Once in the store everyone must split up and run their separates ways. Parents may want to team up with the little ones. The goal is to hunt and buy the gifts you would like to give to each person without the others seeing. Everyone is limited to an amount and location but the thrill is running past one another trying to keep your items hidden. Individually each person pays and meets the others in the "finished location". Together you go home and stuff away. Then when it's time to open you share the thoughts and laughs of when you bought the items." - Kelly

Who's Got the Other Ticket?
"Every christmas I put in a hockey ticket in my son's stocking (since he just loves the AHL team, the Hershey Bears). When he looks in his stocking and only finds one ticket, I always say, 'only one ticket? How you going to get there?' Then I look in my stocking and lo and behold there is the second ticket...I usually say, 'what if I don't feel like going with ya?' or 'I guess Santa has thought about how you are going to the game.' He gets a kick out of it." - Holly

Everything but the Kitchen Sink
"Some of my favorite stocking stuffer ideas: baseball cards, earmuffs/earbands, wine bottle stopper, cuff links, holiday themed note pads, shoelaces, Barbie clothes, flower seed packets, disposable camera, nail polish, guitar picks, lip balm and hand lotion, earrings, socks, sachet or potpourri, tickets for movie, sports, shows, etc., Matchbox or Hotweel mini cars, golf balls and tees, colored chalk, Yo yo, Superballs or Jacks, bookmarks, scratch off lotto tickets, gift card for gas station or grocery store." - Natalie

Store Away Those Samples!
"I like to collect samples of things I think people would enjoy trying, something new, maybe something old that has been made better. We remind each other that change is good and renewing is also good." - Brenda

Collecting Trinkets for the Main Event
"I always like to put pretty things for the girls hair, And any little trinkets I could find, I look all year long for little things I know they will like. Some people think of the stocking as after thought, but we always make the stocking the main thing." - Debbie

Must Have Pecans!
"You absolutely must have fresh pecans in your stocking for Christmas! Any child from 'home' will tell ya that. :)" - Marie

Winter Comfort
"My idea of great stuffers are those little pocket sized games. (kids) - gift cards, candy, lip balm, moisturizer, those little things that make the Winter months more comfortable. Who doesn't like to get those cool pocket puzzles for Christmas?" - Bflyonwall

Holidays in Review
"What a treat on Christmas morning to have individually wrapped treats from all the holidays during the year.... marshmallow bunnies, candy corn, heart shaped red hots, etc. It was always nice to relive the past year and give thanks for it." - PJ

A Chance to Win
"i usually put lottery tickets in my christmas stockings." - Pam

Homemade Stuffers with a Personal Touch
"I started this when my kids were little and we still do it today for all the kids and grandkids. We make something personal for each person. Like the girls I made little dolls, the boys I made stuffed little soldiers. As the kids got older they got in on it too and made us home made pic frames with their pic in it. Its just been a personal touch on Christmas and they seen to be the gifts that get used the most." -Michele

Personalized Photo Stuffers
"i like to make photo t shirts pillows etc for my family." - Laurie

Stop Smoking!
"One year I gave my son all kinds of things to help stop smoking, like lollipops, certs, play cigarettes, ect. It helped and it was a cute gag." - Toni

The Most Important Meal of the Day
"We still have a little girl who believes in Santa. For our stockings we pack breakfast! We know kids want to run out and get to their special present so we pack fruit such as oranges, apples, bananas and various nuts. We place the stockings by the special present so that they get into them right away. We also pack little special things like chocolate coins, small toys, toothbrushes, pencils and activity pads. It is a hodge podge of things that my kids really enjoy exploring." - solarcap

Homemade cocktail or appetizer picks
"I take ordinary, round, wooden toothpicks and glue (with a hot glue gun) the tip of one end. Before it dries, I attach a green, red or clear colored, crystal type bead. Just place them in a small, decorative jar or container. The size of a short baby food jar is perfect. I use these for h\'ordeuves. My guests around the holidays are impressed. Inexpensive to make also." - Barbara

Silly Action Figures
"I am the stocking stuffer at our house. It's just my hubby and son so I try to make it something of a funny thing...transcendent of age. For hubby- i get him an unusual doll...in 'male-speak' that would be an action figure. One year I got him a KISS doll, another Ty Cobb, Mohammad Ali, and a XUXU doll (she was a latina children's show host that he was in love with!!) for my son...something very silly and unexpected--one year, a cow that 'pooped' jelly beans. He was 6 and thought that was funny!! It makes them both happy and we laugh...and that laughter is my stocking stuffer gift to me!" - Deb

Gift Cards are Popular
"I usually give gift cards as stocking stuffers. Everyone seems to love them." - Valdajean

Homemade Spice Mix
"This year I will begin a new tradition at work. I am planning on buying cute little jelly jars and filling them with my homemade chili and taco seasoning. At Christmastime, I am always at a loss as to what to give dear friends at work and not go over my budget, which is VERY tight. This year I think I have found a way." - Mary

Hot Drink Mixes
"For stocking Stuffer We usually add a couple packets of Hot Cocoa Mix tied with a candy cane ad ribbon for a minty cocoa. Also put in a couple packets of hot cider mix., A few varitey of different types of microwave popcorn. Also add a orange, apple and fruit to children stocking." - Nancy

Book of the Year
"One of our very favorite things to do was trading books we had read during the year - and each one of us would give someone else our very favorite book of the year. It always worked out even if we had to trade with someone else. It got us all to keep reading." - Sierra

Those Sunny Oranges...
"As a child "santa" always put an orange in the bottom of our stockings and they always had a bagful of chocolate coins and a lifesaver storybook. As an adult I carry on the tradition with my own family and my oldest brother, who I do a stocking for every year." - Deb from Maine

Santa Gets Resourceful
"When my sister & I were growing up, we would find odd gifts in our stockings. Apparently our Mom would often forget about stocking stuffers until late Christmas Eve. She would improvise with whatever she could find. The next morning we would find oranges, potatoes even carrots in our stockings!" - Kelli

Memorable Maple Candy
"My mother is from up north, and when I was growing up, it just was not Christmas unless we had maple sugar candy in our stocking on Christmas morning. Many years ago, when my parents retired and moved out of the city, they were unable to find any maple sugar candy locally... so we searched online and were able to find some to ship to them. The tradition continues today; we always send maple sugar candy to my parents at Christmas." - Jill from Texas

Everlasting Candy Canes
"Memories come flooding back when I see the large candy canes sticking out of the top of a christmas stocking. My grandparents use to give each of us kids one every year and we never got tired of them. Most of the time it took a month or more to eat them. I finally found them at WalGreens last year after several years of not seeing them. My Grandparents passed away many years ago and I am now renewing the large candy cane in the stocking for my own kids." – Lacinda

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