We’re just under a week away from Christmas, and the Christmas shopping pressure is becoming more apparent!

At this point every year, most of my Christmas shopping is just about done, but there are always a few stragglers, which often ends with a mad dash to the high street.

For me, this year is no different. I have the main bulk of everyone’s gifts, but there are still a few things to add to ‘complete’ them. I tend to do the same thing every year: I set a budget for each person, and while I reach it for some, there’s still a little gap to fill!

Which is why stocking fillers are so great, and if you do it right, you can still end up something worthwhile that won’t break the bank.

1. Hot chocolate

This year I had a few friends to buy for, with a few of their gifts in need of a little extra to help bulk them out. While wandering around Covent Garden looking for some things that weren’t too expensive to get, I stumbled across this hot chocolate set in Whittards. It’s a set of 6 for £22, which works out to be just under £3.70 for a fair-sized tub of chocolatey goodness (even less now, as it’s currently on sale for £17.60!).

As a lover of hot chocolate myself, I find Whittards hot chocolate so divine that I rather unashamedly kept one of the hot chocolates for myself (white hot chocolate, my absolute favourite!). My nan loves mint chocolate anything, so her gift will include the mint chocolate tub; one of my best friends adores chocolate orange, so that one will be going to her!

If Whittards is a bit of stretch, you can opt for hot chocolate sachets instead: both Options and Cadburys do a wide range of hot chocolate flavours in sachets you can buy for less than 50p each, meaning you can squeeze in a few of them and still not spend a lot. You can grab a handful from your local supermarket, and help your friends keep warm during the winter months with these tasty little treats!

2. Small beauty products

Gifts like these have always been a winner for me: last year I got a bag of 6 L’Occitane travel size products for £15, and managed to spread them around between a few friends who I know have a love of high quality beauty brands like this one. One of my friends was having issues with hand sanitisers at work drying out her hands, so I gave her the chamomile hand lotion, and another friend who adores rose scented things had the rose shower gel in her present.

Anything you can find in a set can be a winner for both you and your friends: you get to save a little by essentially buying things in bulk, and they also get a nice gift out of it.

Leading up to the holidays, almost every health and beauty shop will be selling some variation of packages where they include everything you could want, so take a look at places like the Body Shop, L’Occitane, or check out the 3 for 2 deals at places such as Superdrug or Boots. You’ll find anything from shower gels, shampoos, and perfumes to body scrubs, moisturisers, and hand lotions, which are all perfect little gifts to fill any space in your friends’ Christmas presents!

3. Cosy winter gifts

Anything from socks, hats, glove, and hot water bottles: you can never go wrong with a cosy winter warmer. Every winter, our warmer clothes go through the usual wear and tear, so Christmas is a great time to get something a little extra to keep your friends cosy and also looking stylish: just in time for the freeze that often comes in January!

For me, I always live in cosy socks, even using them as slippers over the summer, so by the time the next winter rolls around, I’m in need of a new pair or two!

4. Christmas themed sweet treats

If your friends have a sweet tooth, Christmas themed treats are a great stocking filler to add!

And hey don’t even need to be Christmas themed. I always try to spend the same amount on my parents, but this year I’ve spent a bit more on my mum than my dad. As my dad has a great love for sweet things, I’ve decided to fill a few old jars with a collection of his favourite sweets, something I think he’ll appreciate as he tends to stockpile his sweets in a locked cupboard (to keep my mum out)!

If you’ve been struggling with ideas for Christmas stocking gifts, I hope this has been a useful post for you!

What are your ideas for Christmas stocking fillers?

Background feature image photo by Євгенія Височина on Unsplash. All other photos in this post are respectively by Nicole Honeywill, Anna Kolosyuk, Charisse Kenion, Hoan Vo, Brooke Lark, all of which can be found on Unsplash