It’s no secret that we think caramel makes a great stocking stuffer. So convinced are we that we introduced four Stocking Stuffer Variety Packs this year. We love to gather an array of flavors (we have 11 available right now) and match up a caramel flavor to each recipient. Our foodie friends and family are gifted our Rosemary Truffle Sea Salt. Chocoholics receive our Deep Chocolate caramel. Candy purists are presented with Classic Vanilla and so on. It is great fun deciding who gets which each year.
But, alas, one cannot fill an entire stocking with our caramel (insert loud sigh here). So, we asked members of the McCrea’s team to tell us about their favorite stocking stuffers; ones they like to give or receive. Their answers are below.
What I liked most about our Christmas stockings was the magic of it. I had 8 siblings and my parents, of course, wanted the charade to be convincing to the youngest of us so they also had their own stockings. They were pretty small stockings, each depicting different Christmas scenes, but all of a group made of the same stretchy material that hung on the stairway like limp rag dolls. On Christmas morning they were stuffed to bursting with more little gifts than I could imagine fitting. As I got older, I figured these were pretty time consuming to fill, so I planted myself at the top of the stairs to try to catch Santa in the act. I failed. Don't have any recollection of falling asleep or getting to my bed. But the magic was confirmed for one last year.
~ Jim /Operations
Unusual and cool little things along with gift cards.
~Cheryl / Fulfillment
My Nana made all of the cousins matching stockings with our names on them. They were my favorite part of Christmas morning and a tradition that continued far into adulthood. Mine always had a fun assortment of small toys, lip gloss and fancy notebooks. They were usually stuffed so full the gifts overflowed and the stockings were too heavy to hang. My favorite gifts were always the thoughtful little things my Dad picked out just because he knew I would love it.
~Anna /Kitchen
Oranges and walnuts. Yum.
~ Lucy / Packing
Every year we were gifted ornaments. They were the first thing visible in each stocking. You could see them as they were hanging by the fireplace with care. Lots of variation in what we received. I remember everything from Red Sox helmets to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to a bowling Santa. Still have most of them and they go on the tree every year to this day.
~ Matt / Sales
I got actual coal one year, all us kids did. As a gift I got someone a Rubik’s cube, that I ended up playing with most of the time instead. I anticipated that they wouldn’t appreciate it like I would.
~ (Sneaky) Jason / Management
Even though we are all adults, my mom still fills stockings for me and my siblings with little everyday things. Specifically, for me, she has always put in disposable women’s razors and little pocket-sized hand sanitizers. The hand-sanitizers have come in particularly handy this year, especially when there was a shortage earlier in the year!
~ Julie Ayotte / Sale
Really good chocolate.
~ Angellize / Packing
My mom and dad put a stack of note cards in my stocking mixed in with the candy that they used to fill it with. The cards had drawings that were clues to find little glass animals hidden around the house. One of my all-time favorite Christmas memories is feeling the excitement of hunting for those little animals!
~Kate / Management
Cold hard cash!
~ Liz /Packing
One of my favorite stocking stuffers was a tiny, miniature paint set that my sister got me. I loved that it was so itty-bitty that it could fit in my pocket.
~ Cat /Kitchen
Every year my mom filled the toes of our Christmas Stockings with Hershey Kisses. Mostly because they were her favorites. But it did stoke my love of all things sweet. Is it any wonder I work for a candy company today?
~ Diane /Marketing