Tech / Technology

57+ best stocking stuffers for 2023: Small gift ideas

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Stocking stuffers might be small in size but they don’t have to be cheap or bad. Here are 57+ of our best stocking stuffer ideas.
a collage of stocking stuffers, including a mini le creuset cocotte, a cricut easypress mini, a wordle ornament, a microsd card, and a shrimp puzzle

Christmas stocking stuffers have long been the afterthoughts of gift-giving, mere “Lets just get this out of the way” or “Oh no, I forgot again” presents like oven mitts, bulk chocolate candy, and anything bacon-scented. (Do not get us started on wh*skey st*nes.) Most of these last-minute gift ideas are just begging to be tossed in a junk drawer or the donation pile, never to see the light of day again. It’s a fate they probably deserve.

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Best gifts under $50: 50+ ideas for absolutely everyone

But let’s be clear on something: You don’t have to buy stuff that’s bad, boring, or cheaply made just because it’s small in size. Picking out the best stocking stuffers is a cinch so long as you know who you’re shopping for — and where to look.

You’ve already got enough on your plate this holiday season, so we’ve done the searching for you. Below, we’ve rounded up an extensive list of tiny-but-impressive presents at a range of price points that can work for everyone on your list. So, whether you’re searching for stocking stuffer ideas under $25 or something fancier that will catch them by surprise on Christmas morning, we have more than 50 unique gifts to inspire you.

Tech / Technology

Best Advent calendars of 2023: Bonne Maman, LEGO, Barbie, Lovehoney, and more

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Many Advent calendars have sold out already at this point in the season, but if you hurry, you can still order one.
a collage of advent calendars available for 2023

Anyone who grew up in a Christian household knows two truths: One, you can learn a lot about biblical themes from a talking cucumber. And two, no holiday season is complete without an Advent calendar.

A religious custom that stems from 19th-century Lutherans in Germany, Advent calendars traditionally mark each day of (you guessed it) Advent — the hopeful season that spans four Sundays leading up to the birth of Jesus Christ, celebrated on Dec. 25. They typically contain compartments or pockets that can be filled with tiny trinkets for kids, which are designed to be opened one at a time as a fun way of counting down the days until Christmas.

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57 of the absolute best stocking stuffers for 2023

In a moderately blasphemous twist, recent adaptations by big-name brands have given Advent calendars secular appeal as a seasonal holiday indulgence for people (and even pets) of all ages. After hitting a mainstream stride in the mid-2010s, Google search interest for the phrase “advent calendar” reached an all-time high in late 2022. It’s on a similar upward swing as we head into the 2023 holiday season.

Much of Advent calendars’ modern popularity can be credited to TikTok, where they’ve starred in myriad unboxing videos that are suspenseful and addictive to watch (in a similar vein as fashion hauls). But it’s also because they’re easy ways for retailers to tempt cagey, inflation-weary consumers into sampling products they may not have purchased otherwise: everything from fancy French jams to LEGO sets. Advent calendars are a prime example of “needing a little treat” culture (treatcore? being treat-pilled?) at work.

Some Advent calendars have sold out already at this point in the season. (The brand-new Squishmallow calendar appears to be the most popular option so far.) But if you hurry, you can still order one before carolers start lining up on your doorstep. Keep reading for our curated list of the best Advent calendars for 2023.