Stocking stuffers for toddlers that are safe and not junk

The best stocking stuffers for toddlers are a few sturdy, useful things rather than a stocking full of small plastic: a board book, chunky crayons and a pad of paper, a bath toy, bubbles, warm mittens, a toothbrush in a fun color, and a soft toy without small parts. Most of the junk that fills stockings is also exactly what does not belong near a 1 or 2 year old, so leaving out the filler solves two problems at once.

Below is a list of toddler stocking stuffers by type, the specific items to keep out and why, and a few free or homemade ideas.

Toddler stocking stuffers that get used

Stuffer	Ages	Why it works
Board book	1 and up	Survives chewing and page-yanking. A short holiday book or a lift-the-flap
Chunky crayons and a pad	About 15 months and up	Thick crayons are easy to grip; see our crayons vs markers guide
Bubbles (for a grown-up to blow)	Any	A whole afternoon of chasing for very little money
Bath toys	1 and up	Cups, a watering can, a boat; bath time is a daily event
Mittens, hat or fun socks	Any	Useful in December, and toddlers love their own things
Toddler toothbrush	1 and up	A practical item disguised as a present
Their own cup or plate	1 and up	Pick one with a character or a color they love
Soft toy or finger puppet	Check the label	Well-made seams and no button eyes for young toddlers
Stickers	2 and up, with an adult nearby	Big, easy-peel stickers on a roll keep a 2 year old busy
Play dough (homemade or store)	About 2 and up, supervised	Squashing is the whole point
Coloring page with them in it	2 and up	Rolled up with a ribbon and three crayons

You will notice what is missing: tiny figures, mini balls, candy and noisy gadgets. That is on purpose.

What to keep out of a toddler's stocking

Stockings are where small things go, and small things are what toddlers choke on. The AAP's choking prevention guidance says balloons, balls, marbles, pieces of toys and foods cause the most choking deaths, and that babies and toddlers are at the highest risk because they explore by putting things in their mouths. Here is what that means for a stocking:

• Small parts and small balls. The CPSC fact sheet on the Child Safety Protection Act explains that any ball 1.75 inches across or smaller that is meant for children under 3 is banned, and that toys with small parts for ages 3 to 6 must carry the warning "Small parts. Not for children under 3 yrs." If you see that label, save it for an older sibling.
• Latex balloons. The AAP page notes that balloons pose a choking risk to children up to 8 years old.
• Candy and choking foods. The same AAP list includes hard, gooey or sticky candy, chewing gum, nuts, popcorn and marshmallows, and suggests keeping high-risk foods from children until 4 or older depending on the child. Chocolate coins and candy canes can wait.
• Button batteries. Flashing toys, musical cards and light-up gadgets often run on coin cells. The AAP warns that a swallowed button or coin battery can cause serious injury or death and that these batteries show up in toys, games and flashing clothing. If a toy has one, check that the battery door is held shut with a screw.
• High-powered magnets. The AAP's safe toy buying guide says to be careful with toys that have small batteries or high-powered magnets, because loose ones can end up in mouths, noses or ears.
• Water beads. These sell as sensory toys and stocking fillers. The AAP says water beads look like candy, can keep growing inside the body and are a choking hazard especially under 3, and that the safest choice with young children is not to have them at home.

One more rule from the AAP's toy guide that is easy to apply on the spot: make sure all toys and parts are larger than your child's mouth. And remember that older siblings' stockings hang right next to the toddler's. The AAP choking page points out that many choking incidents happen when older brothers or sisters hand a younger child a dangerous food or toy, so keep the big kids' small stuff up high on the day.

Stocking stuffers for toddler girls and boys

Search results split these by gender, but toddlers mostly do not. A 2 year old girl and a 2 year old boy want the same things: something to bang, something to read, something to color and something that is theirs. Go by what your child is into right now. Trucks, animals, babies, dinosaurs and moons are all fair game for anyone.

If you want a theme, pick one and run with it: a "bath night" stocking (bath toy, washcloth puppet, bubbles), an "art" stocking (chunky crayons, a pad, big stickers, a coloring page), or a "cozy" stocking (socks, mittens, a short bedtime board book).

Free and homemade toddler stocking stuffers

• Homemade play dough in a small jar, made the night before from flour, salt, water and a drop of food coloring.
• A photo book of the family. Print eight photos of grandparents, cousins and pets, and slip them into a small brag-book album. Toddlers love naming faces.
• A coloring page of them. Take a photo of your toddler in pajamas by the tree and turn it into a line drawing. Our guide to turning a photo into a coloring page for free shows how with free tools, and our guide to printing coloring pages gets the lines dark.
• A recorded story. Record a grandparent reading a favorite book on your phone to play at bedtime.

My kids keep coming back to pages that show them, which is why a coloring page of the toddler themselves is my favorite cheap stuffer. If you would rather not make one, a personalized coloring storybook is another option: Colorkin makes one from your family photos, drafted with AI illustration tools and checked and finished by a person. It is more of a main gift than a stuffer, so the free page above is the better fit for the stocking itself.

More ideas by age and budget are in our gift ideas hub, and our guide to birthday party favors that aren't junk uses the same one-good-thing rule.

Questions parents ask