Who exactly decided on the stocking stuffer concept? I presume it was the same evil triumvirate who established the "Treat Bag" phenomenon at kid parties. (Click here to read my Treat Bag Mom entry) If my historical knowledge serves me, SANTA CLAUS brought your presents and put them in your stocking, right? That means a dolly, a toy car, and maybe an orange in the toe (always in my family) and a candy cane out the top. And that was enough. From Santa. He brought that stuff. Elves made it. Not Dollar Tree.
Why was that not enough? When did entire aisles at Target be swamped with little boxes of poorly made crap, designed to delight for six seconds at 5:00 am before your kids leap into your bed and insist on opening their "big present"!! And for adults, too? (I ironically buy socks for my Hubby -- stockings in the stocking, you see...)
If the products are consumable, I can wrap my head around it. Candy gets wolfed down; Star Wars bubble bath gets bubbled. A little fun on your Christmas morning and something that your kid would be disappointed to open as his "big present". But when we start buying a marble game for someone's desk at work, or another coffee mug for grown-ups? It just seems a little excessive and a waste of your funds.
I realize this year, I may be too late for you to adjust your traditional Christmas morning stocking-palooza, nor should you change your plan if the stocking reveal truly adds value to your family's 5 am fun. But, if the stuffers-search is a painful chore, if the items in the stocking find themselves in the trash or bottom of the toy box by December 27, and you find yourself $50-$100 poorer for filling said stockings, then maybe it's time for a new plan.
Christmastime is so very hard to be minimal. But I think that if you seek out some ways to cut the crap, you will indeed add value to your and your family's holiday. It's like pruning the hedges. You can finally appreciate the architecture you've been obscuring.
Merry Christmas, Minimalists. There's joy in every day.
