Cover Story

Darn! The stockings are empty

By Jeniece Smith

ROCKFORD WOMAN

Oct 25, 2007 @ 12:03 AM

The presents are wrapped, the mistletoe is hung and the Christmas tree is trimmed.

You’re hanging the stockings when you realize you’ve forgotten something — you haven’t bought anything to put in the stockings!

No problem. Even if it’s Christmas Eve, it’s not too late to find great stocking stuffers.

You can find these items at your local grocery or drugstores, even at most gas stations.

For her
Burt’s Bees Lip Balm
$3.49
Winter weather is a killer on skin, and no girl wants chapped lips when she’s out Christmas caroling. Having some of this all-natural balm to carry in her purse will make “White Christmas” a little more tolerable.

Mints
$2.18
Many women may not want to indulge in holiday treats this year, so a nice little alternative — such as Altoids mints dipped in chocolate — may help them avoid scarfing down the chocolate-covered pretzels.

Blank note cards
$5.39
Christmas Day will see a lot of ladies scrawling out messages of cheer, and maybe a begrudged thank-you note to Aunt Maude for the oh-so-delicious fruitcake she sent — again.

For him
Beef jerky
$2.97
Candy canes from the tree won’t do much to fill up a guy’s stomach. Give him something other than sweets to snack on Christmas morning.

Yo-yo
$2.44
When your guy gives up on trying to figure out how to put together the complicated, million-piece gift he got from someone, he’ll want to enjoy something that doesn’t require any assembly.

Bargain DVD
$7.50
A lot of the quintessential “guy movies” are showing up on the discount shelves. The man in your life will welcome the idea of popping one of his favorite flicks into the DVD player instead of watching the same old holiday programming that dominates TV every Christmas.

For kids and teens
Candy
$1
They’re going to be bouncing off the walls from Grandma’s sugar cookies anyway, so a little more candy won’t hurt. After all, Christmas comes once a year, and only a grinch would deny kids a yearly sugar rush.

Crayola markers
$3.83
You know they’re going to get bored with that toy they begged you to let them ask Santa for, so you can at least keep them busy the rest of Christmas Day by letting them add their own artistic details to the Christmas cards you got in the mail this year.

iTunes card
$15
If you pick a CD that your kids “might like,” you risk hearing them complain that your taste in music sucks. On the other hand, an iTunes card opens them up to almost every music option out there, and you don’t have to worry whether you picked their favorites.

Disposable camera
$5.97
Tired of your kids swiping your digital camera but not ready to buy them their own? A disposable camera is a great temporary solution, and at least you won’t have to worry about them dropping your camera in the snow when they head out to Christmas parties.

For anyone
Mini
umbrella
$8.96
By the time winter rolls around, most people have misplaced the mini umbrella they tucked under their car seat last spring and summer. Prepare your friend for next year’s April showers.

Scratch-off lottery ticket
$1
Among the cheapest of all stocking stuffers, lottery tickets tell friends that you care and hope that they hit it big. And if they win, they can pay off the ridiculous bills they racked up buying Christmas gifts.

Win it all!
If you’d like a shot at all these stocking stuffers, visit rockfordwoman.com by Nov. 16 for your chance to enter. Just think: You’ll have a head start on shopping.