27 Eco-Friendly Kid's Stocking Filler Ideas On A Budget
Looking for eco-friendly stocking stuffers for your children? You’re in luck - here are 27 ideas for Christmas stocking fillers in the UK and USA.
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A stocking stuffed full of small surprises was my favourite part of Christmas morning.
As a child, I didn’t need big fancy gifts to feel magical.
Waking up and seeing a big (eco-friendly) sock meant Christmas was here and that was the best feeling.
So how do you give your kid that rush of excitement, without wasting money on plastic tat that they don’t really want or need?
I’m going to tell you how I do it for my own kids and then list 27 sustainable stocking filler ideas for 2023.
What should you put in a child’s stocking?
If you need sustainable ideas for a younger or older child’s stocking this year, this seven-gift rule is an expansion on the usual four-gift rule you see floating around each year.
If you’re on a budget, you can choose the first four (well, any four) jto save money.
Something they want
Something they need
Something to wear
Something to read
Something to do
Something for me
Something for the family
Something they want:
An eco-friendly Christmas can still be fun. Focus on your child’s main interest or favourite thing to play, for example, if it’s vehicles then you could get them a toy truck for their stocking. If they love role play then how about something for their play kitchen? If you don’t want to get a toy, then Etsy has lots of ideas for specific handmade gifts.
Something they need:
The most sustainable gifts at Christmas are the items that people actually need. Consumables, like toiletries, are great for older children who know what they like. A younger child might need new art supplies, winter gear (like gloves or slippers), or utensils.
Something to wear:
I don’t think I’ve ever got a Christmas stocking without a pair of socks inside! What items of clothing do your children need? You could also include ethical jewellery, like a cute bracelet or necklace (if age-appropriate). Check out this post for organic clothing brand recommendations.
Something to read:
Books are one of the best tools to aid a child’s development and imagination. Get yourself down the charity shop, or browse used books on eBay because there are so many loveable books already in existence. If your child isn’t a huge fan of books then magazines work great too.
Something to do:
Christmas day can be long, so it helps if children have something they can do if they need time to relax. I prefer activities they can do on their own or with a sibling, so they don’t start begging you to do it with them while they’re cooking. Some examples are small colouring books, puzzles, or mini Lego sets.
Something to eat:
Would it be Christmas without your favourite snack? An organic chocolate Santa or vegan bunny is sure to delight your little ones.
Something for the family:
This is optional, but if you’re the sort of family that likes doing activities together then a family gift can be a great way to make memories on the day. Travel-sized board games, jigsaws, or card games are easy to find second-hand.
Should you wrap stocking fillers?
While it isn’t essential, you might want to wrap the presents in your children’s stockings to make them last longer and to make the experience more exciting.
Unfortunately, 227,000 miles of wrapping paper is wasted each year. Whilst many people are trying hard to reduce their plastic waste, they often forget that paper is a precious resource, too.
To avoid causing more deforestation this Christmas, there are some simple steps you can take:
Use up all the wrapping paper you already have
Look for gift wrap made from recycled paper (there are some lovely options available, you’ll find some examples in my guide to sustainable wrapping paper)
Use fabric to make some reusable gift wrap that you can use every year
How do you fill a stocking on a budget?
Eco-friendly stocking fillers (or stuffers if you’re in the USA) can be more expensive than mass-produced products because they are plastic-free and made in fair working conditions. With the cost of living crisis in the UK, you might be one of many families that isn’t able to spend the extra money.
If you are on a budget, the best way to fill a stocking is by choosing second-hand gifts or plastic-free consumable items that are cheap. Some low-cost ideas for stocking fillers are art and craft supplies, DIY play dough or slime, homemade biscuits, used books, stamps or reusable stickers.
Eco-Friendly Kid’s stocking fillers Ideas on a budget
The following sustainable Christmas stocking stuffers are mostly under £10 (or $15 USD).
1. Natural play dough
As well as keeping children of various ages occupied, it is really good for child development, sensory play, and strengthening muscles in their hands.
To be more eco-friendly, you can make it yourself or buy it plastic-free from a small business. I like the ones from Mum’s Memory Box as she is super helpful if you have specific requirements (though I’d avoid any with glitter!). She also has fun play dough kits for bigger presents.
If you live in the USA, I’ve included some non-toxic options for you, too.
Buy from Mum's Memory Box (UK)
Buy from Yaya Eco Design (USA)
2. stamps
Wooden stamps are an eco-friendly alternative to plastic stamps; they can be used for play-dough or painting.
These are also ideal if you have more than one child to make stockings for.
Buy from Willow And Wild Organic (UK)
Buy from Tampa Bay Play (USA)
3. Fairtrade Wooden toys
Lanka Kade is a Fairtrade brand that makes chunky wooden toys for young children. They are handmade by workers in Nepal who are being paid fair wages for their skills.
You can get puzzles, vehicles, and animals, many of which will fit inside a stocking
4. Plan Toys
Plan Toys makes great stocking stuffers because they are one of the most eco-conscious and non-toxic toy brands out there.
They make puzzles, travel-size games, toadstool kaleidoscopes, and small instruments for various ages.
Usually, puzzles are made from MFD wood which contains formaldehyde but Plan Toys are one of the only brands to use glue that is free from this carcinogenic substance.
If you’re in the USA, you can check stock levels in several places.
Buy at Honeybug (USA)
Buy at EarthHero (USA)
Check Kidizen - preloved (USA)
5. Winter activity book
Don’t you love a practical gift? This pocket-sized book is in the style of a journal and is full of mindful activities for kids to try during the Christmas holidays and beyond.
*10% DISCOUNT CODE: SUSTAINABLYLAZY
6. Seed kits
If you have a nature-loving kid or are hoping to get your child interested in gardening, a seedbomb or seed kit is the perfect gift.
They are nice and easy for beginners too (well, I managed to do it with a feral two-year-old and I’m pretty useless in the garden).
Buy from Kidly (UK)
Buy from This Paper Garden (UK)
Buy reindeer poo seed tin (UK)
Buy Cosmic seed kit (USA) - 10% off with sustainablylazy
Buy seed bombs from Etsy (USA)
7. Plastic-Free Bath bombs
Fun for kids and adults, bath bombs make perfect plastic-free fillers for eco stockings.
I’ve removed the shop that is shown in the image because they were messing around their customers and have replaced it with the Kid Collective which sells lots of eco-friendly products for kids.
If you’re in the USA, Honeysticks is a natural arts and crafts company that sells fragrance-free bath bombs.
Buy Nailmatic from Kid Collective (UK) - some contain almond oil
Buy from Green Tulip (UK)
Buy Honeysticks from EarthHero* (USA)
*Discount: SUSTAINABLYLAZY
8. Shampoo bar (that works)
Lots of shampoo bars on the market just aren’t that good. The ones I’ve listed below make great stocking fillers because they will leave your kid’s hair feeling clean and soft (they’re tried and tested, don’t worry!)
You can combine them with a conditioner bar, but if you’re still using liquid, make sure its silicone-free.
Buy from Hairy Jayne (UK) - 15% off with SOPHIE15
9. Vegan crayons
Conventional crayons are pretty bad for the environment because they are made from fossil fuel derivatives and tallow (animal fat). Crayola is pretty secretive about its ingredients, only revealing that they are not vegan.
Luckily there are vegan alternatives made from vegetable oils like soya.
Buy vegan rock crayons at Kid Collective (UK)
10. Recycled pencil case
A pencil case makes a useful gift for school-age kids or stationary and art lovers. Pencil cases are typically made from synthetic materials derived from fossil fuels, or untraceable cotton that could potentially have come from modern slave labour.
Choosing stationery made from recycled materials, like plastic bottles, will make your Christmas more sustainable.
Buy from Frugi (UK)
Buy from AndKeep (UK)
Buy from Etsy (USA)
Buy from Terra Thread (USA)
11. Plantable colouring pages
When trying to be eco-friendly, people often focus on plastic. However, deforestation is a contributor to climate change so we really need to stop cutting down trees.
Plantable paper is made from waste materials with added seeds. When put in soil, the paper will germinate and create seedlings. This means no trees are sacrificed to make it, it doesn't create any waste and it creates new life. Here are some colouring options that you can plant.
12. Family games
Haba is a German toy manufacturer that has created a variety of toys and board games. They made wooden toys for babies, family games, and board games that can be played as young as 2.
Buy from Haba (USA)
13. Plastic-free craft kits
Cotton Twist is a small UK business that sells craft kits that are completely plastic-free. Starting as little as £2.95, they are ideal eco-friendly stocking stuffers.
Buy from Andkeep (UK)
14. Wooden animals
Not only are they great eco-friendly stocking fillers, but wooden animals are ideal for children of various ages who enjoy imaginative play and construction (who doesn’t love building a zoo?).
There are some beautiful handmade brands, like Holtztiger, but if you’re on a budget then these wooden animals are adorable for less than half of the price.
Buy at Toby Tiger (UK)
15. Fairtrade finger puppets
These plastic-free stocking stuffers are expertly crafted by artisans in the Himilayas who receive Fairtrade wages. Aren’t they adorable?
16. Toy Food
Role-playing kitchens and shops is a popular game with both my children, so adding wooden food to their stockings is always a hit (especially sweet treats like cakes and ice cream!)
17. Fairtrade skipping rope
Skipping ropes are a lot of fun, but did you know they’re beneficial for your child’s brain too? Since kids have to pick up both their feet simultaneously while jumping over the rope, it builds bilateral motor coordination (which is the ability to use both sides of the body together in a coordinated way).
This skipping rope was made ethically under Fairtrade conditions.
18. Spinning top
Spinning tops make great fidget toys for anxious or neurodivergent children. They are also great for developing fine motor skills in younger children.
Mader Harlekin Spinning Top is handmade from a single piece of wood and painted in a beautiful design of various colour combinations using natural wood stain.
Buy from Yesbebe* - 10% off with sustainablylazy
19. Wool gloves
Growing up I always wondered why my gloves were useless at keeping my fingers warm. Turns out synthetic polyester sucks.
Wool gloves make much better stocking fillers because its eco-friendly and temperature-regulating - a win-win.
Buy at Polarn O Pyret (UK + USA)
20. Recycled cotton socks
Cotton plants have more pesticides sprayed on them than most other crops, they also need 2700 litres to grow a t-shirt. If you’re looking to use socks as stocking fillers, then recycled or organic cotton is the best way to be more eco-friendly.
Buy recycled socks at Kidly (UK)
Buy organic/recycled blend socks (UK)
24. Eco-friendly candle
Did you know that mainstream candles are made from paraffin, a fossil fuel derivative? They may also contain animal ingredients and toxic fragrances that contain phthalates.
Eco-friendly candles are made from plant-based vegetable wax instead and contain naturally derived fragrances.
Buy from Veo.World (UK)
Buy from EarthHero (US) - 10% off with sustainablylazy
21. Fairtrade chocolate coins
If you enjoy Christmas traditions but don’t want to support the cruel cocoa industry that uses child labour to make chocolate, check out Divine. Their Fairtrade cocoa farms are partly owned by the cocoa farmers which not only gives them a say in their business but boosts the livelihoods of the community.
Buy Divine milk chocolate coins at Ethical Superstore (UK)
22. Organic Chocolate bar
Who can resist a delicious bar of sustainable chocolate? Mainstream brands have been ignoring the topic of child labour in their supply chain for decades. Thankfully there are plenty of organic options that are grown without toxic pesticides and have much better working conditions for cocoa farmers.
Buy Enjoy chocolate (UK)
Buy Alter Ego chocolate (USA)
23. Play In Choc
A “free-from” alternative to a well-known brand of chocolate with a surprise plastic toy inside.
PLAYin ToyChoc Box contains two individually wrapped, organic dairy-free chocolates and a 3D cardboard toy of an endangered animal to assemble.
Buy at AndKeep (UK) - 5% off with ANDKEEP5
25. Organic Milk chocolate Santas
Cocoa Loco milk chocolate is more than just Fairtrade, it is certified organic by the Soil Association. Organic chocolate is different because it uses no toxic pesticides, no artificial additives, preservatives or GMO ingredients and has the highest standards of animal welfare.
26. Vegan chocolate bears
Moo Free makes tasty vegan chocolate that is well-known for its dairy-free advent calendars.
Not only do Moo-Free offer festive bear-shaped treats, but it makes white chocolate too.
Note - This product usually comes back in stock during the winter
27. Vegan fudge
Why should vegans miss out on delicious chocolate fudge? Luckily they don’t have to because the Cotswold Fudge Co makes this highly-rated Fairtrade fudge.
I hope you managed to get some inspiration for your eco-friendly Christmas stocking. Let me know your favourite idea in the comments below and don’t forget to check out the Christmas section on my blog.
You can help spread the word by sharing it on social media where you’ll find me on Facebook and Instagram - don’t forget to say hi!
Have a great Christmas.
Sophie xx