When your older kid lumbers into the family room on Christmas morning, takes their stocking down from the mantle, and looks inside, you might catch a glimpse of their little kid self. Here are favorite stocking stuffers for teens, college kids, and young adults.
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Stocking stuffers for teens and college kids (2022)
1. Earbuds
These earbuds are top-rated for under $100 and would be a perfect gift for your teen’s stocking. They are waterproof, block out 80% of outside noise, and keep their charge for 30 hours.
2. Left Center Right
A game is a stocking stuffer idea that your teen will love to open and play with throughout the holidays. Left, Center, Right is a wildly popular game appropriate for all age groups.
3. Notecards
Personalized notecards may be the inspiration our teens need to write thank-you notes. We love this modern look, but there are dozens to choose from.
4. Hair Clip
Hair clips are very popular among teens and college girls for an easy and comfortable way to hold hair up. The long shape of these clips makes them great stocking stuffers.
5. Hydro Flask Water Bottle
Hydro Flask water bottles are useful for long school days because they keep cold drinks cold for 24 hours and hot drinks for 12 hours. Both teens and parents love this brand.
6. Portable Battery Charger
A portable charger is always useful for being on the go. This is one of the slimmest and lightest portable chargers and works with almost all phones and tablets.
7. Curling Wand
Curling wands make curling hair easy and efficient. This curling wand creates beautiful beach waves and offers ten heat settings.
8. Phone Pocket
This lycra pocket adheres to phones and is a perfect way to store cards or a few bills, eliminating the need for a bulky wallet. Comes in a pack of 2.
9. Phone Holder for Bike
The Roam phone mount is an incredibly popular small gift or stocking stuffer that any of your bike-riding teens would appreciate.
10. Engraved Letter Necklace
We think this delicate and well-priced necklace with a single engraved letter is lovely and something your daughter would be excited to discover in her Christmas stocking. Made of gold-plated brass, it’s also available with pave cubic zirconia. This is a lovely Christmas gift.
11. OOMBRA Bra
This comfortable bra for your daughter was developed by a pediatrician when she realized what her young patients needed. Available in multiple colors and prints with two strap styles, the OOMBRA comes in six sizes. Underwear, socks, t-shirts, and bras are all practical stocking stuffers.
12. Lokai Bracelets
We think these simple bead bracelets are so lovely. Still, when we read about the founder’s story and saw how many bracelets he created to honor and contribute to worthy charities, we were even more excited to feature them on this stocking stuffer list.
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13. Touchscreen Glider Gloves
It’s difficult to find the cold-weather gear our teens will wear, even if they’re freezing! These gloves are touch-screen sensitive for your entire hand, so they can be worn while texting. They are well-priced and are pretty perfect for stocking stuffers.
14. Do Your Laundry, or You’ll Die Alone
We love this slender book of wit and wisdom, written and illustrated by our amazingly-talented friend, Becky Blades before her eldest daughter left for college. It includes everything you’ll want your own teen daughter to know about living her best life away from home and for her mom to coach her along the way.
15. Scuncis
Scuncis are a favorite way to pull hair off faces and into ponytails. Now, with teens and adult women wearing their hair in buns on the top of their heads, scuncis are also useful to scoop up hair for a quick top-of-head style.
16. Notes to Self Socks
We love Notes to Self socks for their reminders of positive words or phrases every time our teens or young adults take them out of the drawer to wear. PLUS, they are incredibly well-made and comfy.
17. Frother
When your teen finishes their coffee or hot cocoa with this handy frother, they can create a customized hot drink at home rather than heading to Starbucks for a more expensive one. This device’s utility and thin shape make it a great stocking stuffer.
18. Bath Bombs
This is an especially nice gift for college daughters who will be thrilled to have a chance to take a real bath at home if they’ve been sharing the communal showers at school. Each bath bomb is filled with a different scent.
19. Reusable Coffee Cup
Think of all the millions of Starbucks coffee cups disposed of daily, and now, think about how much better it would be for the planet to use reusable cups and mugs instead. These come in multiple colors and sizes and are dishwasher safe. These make great gifts.
20. Birdie Personal Alarm
This small alarm can be clipped onto a backpack or keychain and, when activated, has a very loud siren and strobe light. The audible alarm can be used multiple times, and the battery for the light is replaceable after 40 continuous hours of use. Available in five colors.
21. Mario Badescu Facial Mist
This is a must-have for many teen girls who prefer to mist their faces rather than use a heavier moisturizer.
22. Tile Pro
Our sons rely on Tile tracking devices to be able to find their keys as they are running out the door. They will never be late again. They operate in a 400-foot range and are waterproof. Comes with a one-year replaceable battery.
23. Apple AirPods Case Cover
Are your kids getting Apple AirPods Pros for their big holiday gift this year? Consider one of these inexpensive silicone covers that will help protect this expensive bit of tech from scratches and damage.
24. Lip “Sleeping Mask”
Rich in Vitamin C and antioxidants, this wildly popular overnight lip treatment leaves lips soft and smooth. Available in berry, grapefruit, vanilla, or apple-lime formulas.
25. Hedgehog Reusable Dryer Balls
Doing laundry is much more fun when adding these adorable hedgehogs to the dryer — it reduces static and eliminates wrinkles.
26. Jack Black Lip Balm
We are big fans of these lip balms — they have an SPF of 25 and an assortment of pleasing scents. This is a wildly popular cosmetics brand for guys (but great for everyone), and they have many other fabulous products and gift sets that are perfect for stocking stuffers.
27. Dino Cell Phone Holder
With this adorable mini dino, your teen will have a space to rest their cell phone to FaceTime with you! They can watch their phones without having to hold them upright. Phones can rest vertically or horizontally, and the dino is available in a dozen colors.
28. Sugar Lip Balm
Sugar is one of our favorite makeup brands, and this luscious lip gloss in Rose, with an SPF 15, looks irresistible. This is a top G&F pick for teenage girls.
29. Question-a-Day Journal
For your thoughtful teen, this journal will be a way for them to create a record of five years of their lives by answering one question daily.
30. Stainless Steel Straws
Plastic straws, like plastic water bottles, are sources of waste and pollution. Here is a set of 4 reusable straws that also come with a cleaning brush.
31. Field Notes Memo Books: National Park Series
If your teen prefers paper and pen as a way to stay organized when taking notes, here is a trendy brand with loads of different styles to pop in their stocking. We are in love with this National Park Series, with iconic covers representing 18 parks.
32. Journaling Pens
Discovering a new rainbow pack of pens in a stocking on Christmas morning will be a thrill for any of your artistic teens who love to journal.
33. Pura Vida Bracelets
Artisans make these trendy bracelets worldwide, and it’s easy to find designs in your daughter’s favorite colors, including her school’s colors. There are countless cute jewelry pieces on the Pura Vida site, so look around to discover just what your teenager will love.
Through sales of their charity collection, Pura Vida has donated over $3.8 million to 200+ non-profits.
34. Carhartt Watch Hat
These versatile acrylic unisex beanie hats come in dozens of colors and are perfect for keeping in a pocket of a jacket for those truly frigid days ahead.
35. Moleskin Limited Edition Harry Potter Notebook
Moleskin makes wonderful notebooks and the limited edition ones, like this Harry Potter notebook, make perfect stocking stuffers.
36. Paper Airplane Book
We all remember making paper airplanes out of lined notepaper. Here’s a slender book with 69 planes to fold and send off into the air. What a wonderful, nostalgic way to spend Christmas — folding and flying your own little planes.
37. Avocado Slicer
For your avocado-loving teens, this all-in-one tool splits, slices, and pits avocados.
38. Taco, Goat, Cheese Pizza Card Game
This super-popular card game is easy to learn and can be played in just 10-15 minutes. How can anyone pass up this game if only to find out how “taco, goat, cheese pizza” are related???
39. Mini Notepad Eye Shadows
Such a cute makeup gift that your daughter would love to take with her when she travels or to use at home. Available in eight different hues.
40. Hand Warmers
If your teen is in college in a cold country, these will be a little bit of luxury to slip into gloves or boots on days when they have to trudge through the snow to get to class.
41. 6 Ft Charging Cable
If you have a teen in college (or soon to be going), a long charger cord may be the most useful gift you can give them. They can have their phone plugged in and charging overnight while keeping it close enough to their dorm bed to use as an alarm.
42. Burt’s Bees Gift Set
Burt’s Bees are a universally-beloved brand, and we think these three products — body lotion, hand cream, and lip balm — are things that anyone would love to receive.
43. Ninja Outdoorsman 11-in-1 Stainless Steel Tool
You never really know when you’re going to need a Can or Beer Bottle Opener, Cutting Edge, Flat Screwdriver, Ruler, 4 Position Wrench, Butterfly Screw Wrench, Saw Blade, Direction Ancillary Indication (Water Compass), 2 Position Wrench, Keychain, or lanyard Hole (Amazon.) It fits inside a wallet. Your teen boys will love this!
44. Fuzzy Socks
These chenille socks by UGG are incredibly soft and come in eight colors. They would be perfect to wear with boots for a toasty warm fit or just to pad indoors to avoid that cold floor feeling.
45. Crazy Aaron’s Liquid Glass
This might remind your grown-up kid of the silly putty of their childhood. This improbable stretchy “liquid glass” will serve them well as both a toy and stress reducer.
46. Rubik’s Cube
A classic toy that is mesmerizing for tweens, teens, or young adults.
47. Crossbody Phone Bag
This slender, crossbody phone case bag is a practical and trendy solution for any teen who always has their phone in their hand. It comes with straps of two lengths, has two pockets for storing cards, cash, or keys, and the phone can be used without taking it out of the bag. Available in 37 colors.
If you want to splurge for your daughter, look at the Bandolier cross-body phone case bags. They are stylish and, like the less expensive ones above, serve a very practical purpose.
48. Nail Polish
OPI is one of our favorite brands of nail polish, and this duo set of base and topcoat Infinite Shine will extend the life of her manicure during the busy holiday season.
49. Bluetooth Speaker
This Bluetooth speaker is well-priced and gets great reviews. It runs for over 10 hours on a single charge and is waterproof. Asking your teen to share their music with you and talk about the musicians they admire would be a meaningful and fun way to spend time together this holiday season.
50. Selfie Ring Light
Being able to create better lighting for selfies or FaceTiming will be a breeze with this phone holder and ring light. It comes with three color LED lights and bendable arms with a clamp that makes it a versatile light source.
51. Wallet
We think that these slim Herschel wallets are pretty perfect for guys and if you add a few bills or a gift card to a favorite store or place to eat, this may be your son’s best Christmas gift of all! Available in several different styles and numerous colors.
52. Mane Club Hair Mask
Mane Club has many well-priced hair products, and their masks are on some “best-of lists.” This one, Cry Baby, is the most popular. Take a look at some other things while you are on the site.
53. Sunglasses
Sunglasses are always useful, and Amazon has inexpensive ones that are on-trend.
54. Bananagrams
Fun game in the best packaging ever.
55. Urban Decay Eye Shadow
Love this mini eye shadow by Urban Decay.
More stocking stuffers for teens
Travel-size toothbrush, shampoo, Kleenex, Advil, hand lotion
Measuring spoons, kitchen gadgets
And finally, add some candy and an orange or apple for the toe!
You Might Also Want to Read:
2022 Holiday Gift Guide: Presents Under $25
Photo credit: Andrew Malone
