After the big decisions have been made — who gets what on the a-list — it’s time to tackle the little things. By now, we all know better than to sweat the small stuff, right? So enjoy! Here are ten stuffer suggestions for $25 or less to get you in the spirit. Remember stuffers sans the stockings make great Chanukah and Kwanza gifts, too.
Slang flashcards Bad is good and hot is cool. But what are mad cheddar and a plate of sick hors d’oeuvres? It’s hard to keep up with the lingo these days, no? Well, have no fear. You — and your friends and family — can talk like you’re super hip with the aid of slang flashcards from contemporary stationers Knock Knock. Each brightly colored 5-by-7-inch laminated card features a hip word, its definition and the term used in a sentence with an illustration.
“The idea is to sparingly spice your language, not adopt all the terms wholesale, otherwise you’ll sound a little silly,” says Jen Bilik, founder of Knock Knock, who field tested the cards in malls, 7-11 parking lots and street corners across the country.
The deck of 60 cards sell for $9.95 at zgallerie.com and $10 at uncommongoods.com.
BTW, mad cheddar means “a lot of dough” as in “the nose job cost mad cheddar,” and sick is a synonym for rad, ill, sweet, dope, tight, hot gravy, fly and fresh.
Buck knife
Swiss Army pocket knives still make good stuffers but how many can one person own? This year, why not consider something a little different that serves a similar purpose. Enter Buck Knives’ circular pocket knife. Yep, it’s shaped like stone, a stepping stone if you like, and has a little blade — 1 1/8 inch in fact — tucked away along one of its edges. It’s just enough blade to slash open a stubborn FedEx box but not too much metal to attract attention. There’s also a bottle opener for a cool one after opening that feisty package.
Named after world re-known mountaineer Peter Whittaker — his uncle was the first American to climb Everest — the Metro or Whittaker knife retails for $21. Purchase it at buckknives.com or use the online store locator to find a dealer near you.
Brunton utensil set
Another cool new tool is the lightweight utensil set, made of titanium, courtesy of Riverton, Wyo.-based Brunton. Suited for campers and commuters alike, at 1.7 ounces, you’ll hardly notice it in your backpack and it makes a great set to have on hand in the office. Just think about how many plastic utensils you’ll prevent from piling up in our nation’s landfills.
The knife, fork and spoon set sells for $20 at the company’s Web site and at outdoor shops, such as Back Country and L.L. Bean. Bon appetite.
Claus Porto soaps
Soaps are just natural stuffers. And if big is better in the bathtub, head over to the counter where Claus Porto soaps are sold. Imported from Portugal, the mammoth bars of soap are about the same size as two Ivory 4.5 ounce bath bars, but weigh 12.34 ounces. One bar of the dense soap may even last up to six months, says a company representative for lafcony.com, an online shop that sells the shops.
New scents this season include grapefruit fig, pear sandalwood, lime basil, orange amber and acacia-tuberose.
Mini chopper from Oxo
By now, most serious home chefs have some sort of device to chop veggies, whether it’s a high-end Mandoline or a cylindrical chopper. But some frequently chopped foods — like garlic and nuts — can still fall through the cracks or get lost in the blades. No more. Now that Oxo added a mini chopper to its collection of more than 500 kitchen tools. The 4.5-by-2.5-inch chopper, which holds up 5 tablespoons in a clear plastic measuring cup, sells for $11.99 at oxo.com.
Sampsons nuts
Speaking of nuts…every stocking has to have something to nibble on. Sampsons nuts, handmade in small batches, may just be the solution. There’s a nut for every personality on your list — sweet and spicy pecans, citrus curried cashes, hot and sassy almonds, wild and smoky pistachios, and dark and decadent pecans. Now you just have to decide who’s been sassy and who’s been nice. A 4.5-ounce bag sells for $4.50; a 16-ounce bag costs $13.50.
Campbell’s soup containers
Hmm Hmm good…anything at the Campbell’s soup store online will charm the kitsch fan on your list. My favs are the soup container with lid for $5.99 — it’s the lid that gets me every time — and the plastic thermos or can-tainer for $5.99. The can-tainer holds up to 11 ounces.
Gift sacks
There has to be at least one stuffer on the stuffer list that is a stuffer itself. This year, the honor goes to Duluth Trading for creating durable gift sacks, made of “Fire Hose canvas.” These ditty bags, which used to called stuff sacks, can be used to stash a lot of stuff including presents, socks, laundry.
The dark green sacks come in three sizes. The small sack measures 14½-by-10¼ inches and costs $4, the 19-by-14½-inch sack sells for $5 and the large, 27-by-17-inch sack, costs $6.
iPod cases
Cell phone cases and laptop sleeves are so last year. What’s fresh, dope (see slang flashcards above) this season are cases for iPod and iPod-like devices. No matter model you’re looking to cover, Case Closed has a vinyl sleeve that will fit it snuggly. The foam-padded cases retail for $24.95 and come in many styles, from pale pink to a 1960s daisies pattern.
CDs from Putumayo
Not everyone on your list has an iPod yet. But we all live on the same planet. So how about stuffing some world music into those sacks? What is world music? It’s just a term used to by music industry to categorize international music into a bin, says Dan Storper, chief executive officer of Putumayo, a record company that has produced 110 CDs with music from more than 100 countries since he co-founded the company in 1993.
Sample the tracks at the Web site.New releases include “Sing Along with Putumayo,” a wonderful collection of folk and classic songs for kids (and adults) and “Music from the Chocolate Lands,” a mix of music from cultures where chocolate is cultivated including India, Brazil, Belize, Hawaii, Cuba and the Congo.
CDs retail for $15.98 at Putumayo’s Web site. Other sites that sell the CDs at a discount include Tower Records, barnesandnoble.com and amazon.com.
The CDs are “guaranteed to make you feel good,” says Storper. Now that’s a guarantee. Happy stuffing!