38 Best Stocking Stuffers for Kids Under $20
Just like children, lots of joy come in little packages!
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In many ways, the stocking stuffers are the best presents to shop for. When you buy a major gift for kids, there's a lot of pressure and expectation placed on that one, big-ticket item. With stocking stuffers, you just get to have fun. And there's a lot of joy that gets packed into these little, inexpensive packages.
Whether you're looking for stocking stuffers for toddlers or stocking stuffers for teens — or any age in-between — these are the best stocking stuffers for kids. All of these were available for under $20 at the time of publication, and a great deal were under $15. Many of them have been evaluated by the Good Housekeeping Institute, which tests toys year-round in the lead-up to its big Good Housekeeping Best Toy Awards every year. The Good Housekeeping Institute's Parenting and Pets Lab evaluates for safety, quality and ease of use, and then passes them on to real kids to assess the fun factor. What we added to that list are editors' faves and best-sellers, which include everything from fidget toys to family games. When all was said and done, these were our favorites.
Kanoodle is a certified TikTok sensation, but the Good Housekeeping Institute testers say the hype is warranted. This addictive brain-teasing game starts off with a 3D shape, and players have to use the remaining pieces to form a perfect pyramid. Ages 7+
For this fidget toy, beads are suspended in a gel, and kid testers loved pushing the beads around to enhance the picture behind it. (The DoodleJamz "bright board" version, which comes with its own light, won a Good Housekeeping Best Toy Award this year, but it's too expensive to be a stocking stuffer.) It comes with a double-sided background, but kids can also print and create their own. Ages 5+
LOL 101: A Kid's Guide to Writing Jokes
Get them started off on their comedy careers with this book, which gives kids a step-by-step approach to joke-writing and gag formulas. (For example: How many works can you think of that have the word "crack" in them that can be replaced by "quack?" Cheese and quackers? Nutquackers?) "I found my daughter's notebook where she was trying out new material," one parent tester said. "It was very cute." Ages 7 – 12
Educational Insights BrainBolt Genius
Give their memory and motor skills a workout with this puzzle game! The colored lights flash in a sequence, and players have to try to re-create it. Good Housekeeping testers liked that it can be played in different modes, including one-player, head-to-head, and even a silent mode. Ages 7+
Squishville Squishville by Squishmallows Mini Plush Fruit Squad
Kids love to squish the soft Squishmallows, which come in a variety of shapes and sizes. These fit perfectly in the palms of little hands, and they come in fruit shapes, so they can also be used for pretend play. Ages 0+
Spin Master Rubik’s Phantom
It's shaped like a Rubik’s cube, but where are the colors? Well, therein lies the challenge: The colors only show up when body heat is applied to the squares (an effect that really wowed Good Housekeeping Institute testers). Players have to make their moves before the colors disappear again, giving it an extra layer of challenge compared to the original Rubik’s cube. Ages 8+
'The Highlights Big Book of Activities for Little Kids'
They'll never be bored again! There are a whopping 300 pages in thi sbook filled with things like mazes, matching games, craft instructions and recipes. One Good Housekeeping Institute parent tester noted how it's a perfect party gift: “There is so much inside that you really don’t have to know what the child is super interested in,” they said. Ages 3–6
Mattel Barbie Cutie Snowflake Sparkle Surprise
This Barbie is perfect for those who love to unbox "surprises." The doll comes clothed in a costume of a wintry animal — you can choose husky, deer, owl or polar bear — and kids have to pop off the costume head to see the look of the doll underneath. Then, there are 10 surprises to unpack, including outfits, accessories and a pet. If that wasn't enough, cold water will reveal another secret: snowflake face paint! Ages 3+
Rockridge Press The Challenging Riddle Book For Kids
They'll have to work on their logic and critical thinking skills to solve these riddles for kids. Some are famous riddles from history and pop culture (do you remember your Lord of the Rings?), and there are hints to help them along the way if they get stuck. Ages 9+
WowWee Untamed Sabre Tooth Tiger by Fingerlings
This ferocious sabre-tooth cat reacts to sound, motion and touch. Kids can rile them up, and they'll hear calls, howls and hisses. Pet them and they'll calm down again, and maybe even start to snore. They even pass gas, which kids can't get enough of. Untamed interactive toys also come in the shape of other animals, like dinosaurs and dragons, but prices vary. Ages 5+
They'll be so amazed at how comfortable these slippers are, they'll never want to take them off! It's no wonder these "cloud slides" have earned such a following on TikTok. The company says the popularity is due to the massaging "acupoints," but it could be because they look cool and come in more than 15 fun colors. No age recommendation given
Mad Libs have been around for close to 70 years, and they're still as entertaining as the day they were invented — plus they get kids thinking about vocabulary and parts of speech (though the grammar lesson is secondary to the silly laughs they produce). This comes with 21 Christmas-themed Mad Libs, but you can also get them in other themes, like science, animals or sports. Ages 7+
Schleich Schleich 2022 Holiday Reindeer
This reindeer figure is not only festive, it comes with those realistic details that all Schleich figures are known for. That's more, this creature — named Stripe — also has a backstory that goes with it, and you can hear Jim Jacob of the HeyMrJimPodcast Network read a story he developed about Stripe on his podcast or on YouTube. Ages 3+
By this point in the year, kids can use a refresh in their art supplies anyway. Wow them with these markers, which come with a twist: Two makers actually erase or change the ink colors of the others, so they can add layered affects to their drawings. No age recommendation given
Each of these surprise collectible dolls come with at least three fidget features that can be popped, twisted, pulled or spun — and Good Housekeeping Institute testers loved trying them all. There are 18 dolls to collect, and they all do something a little different. Ages 5+
Minecraft fans can bring the Overworld to the real world with this collectible toy. There are 10 levels of adventure to go through — starting with digging through either Tundra Snow or Amethyst Ooze — and each level reveals a different piece of a Minecraft character that kids can build at the end. There are 12 possible figures in all. Ages 5+
When class is in session, they can use this pen to take notes. When it's not, this pen can be twisted and bent to make all sorts of fun shapes, so they can use it as a way to de-stress. No age recommendation given
Skillmatics Guess in 10 Junior Animal Kingdom
Kids can play this guessing game even if they don't know how to read. The goal is to guess the animal on the card by asking questions, but if they're stumped for what to ask, they can use illustrated tiles to guide them towards questions like, "What does it eat?" It's aimed at preschoolers, but Good Housekeeping Institute testers noted that older siblings also liked playing this with their younger sibs. In addition to animals, there are Guess in 10 junior games about food and about what you can find in a house. Ages 3+
If their LEGO towns and villages need to feel a little more populated, try one of these blind bags. Each one is filled with a different LEGO figure and their often-outrageous, sometimes-holiday-themed costume. (Love the person dressed up as a box of popcorn!) There are 12 characters to collect in all. Ages 5+
Knock Knock What I Love about Being Your Mom Journal
If you just don't know the right words to say to tell your kids about how much you love them, this journal makes it easy with fill-in-the-blank prompts. There are also Mother + Daughter or Mother + Son journals, also with prompts, that the two of you can work on together. No age recommendation given
Marisa (she/her) has covered all things parenting, from the postpartum period through the empty nest, for Good Housekeeping since 2018; previously, she wrote about parents and families at Parents and Working Mother. She lives with her toy-collecting husband and daughter in Brooklyn, where she can be found helping out her team at bar trivia or posting about movies on Twitter and Bluesky.
