Updated for 2025
The tiny treasures we find in our stockings on Christmas morning are exciting and fun, no matter what age you are! Personally, I love filling stockings and searching for wonderful and fun presents for each stocking just as much as I like opening them up!
What makes it a little more special is dressing up any store-bought items with some personal touches. Wrapping, ribbons, some dried berries and greenery all add to the wonder of Christmas morning.
Here are some ideas for stocking stuffers for those nature lovers and gardeners in your life.
Seeds and seed packets
Adorable seed packets are probably the easiest of stocking stuffers for you and the most treasured for your nature-lover recipient. You don’t even need to find a crazy-hard-to-find variety. Something unique or cute will be highly valued. Gardeners love trying new varieties and put them in right next to their beloved favorites.
It is always nice to patronize small business and sustainably sources seeds. Wrap two or three seed packets with some ribbon or raffia and stick in an evergreen bough or tie in a few small ornaments.
Garden Gloves
This is one of those items that gardeners always need! Your loved ones need to protect their hands from dirt, drying, and pathogens which happen in gardens. I go through 2-3 pair of gloves every year, and always appreciate a new pair at the start of the new growing season. A good pair of sturdy leather garden gloves is best as they last longer than fabric gloves.
For an added touch you can tuck a packet of seeds or plant markers inside the gloves for an extra surprise and tie them up with with a ribbon.
Bird Seed Cakes
Gardeners love to see birds out and about when tending to their plants. Birds are not only industrious companions, but they help pollinate and will reduce pests in your garden. Little suet cakes are a fun addition to attract birds to you winter garden, giving them sustenance through the colder weather. Plus, decorating a small potted evergreen in your garden or patio adds a festive touch.
You can also make your own with a 1:2 ratio of suet to bird seed /dried fruit. Gently melt the suet. You can add sunflower seeds, peanuts, millet, cracked corn, oats, dried cranberries and apples. Or just use a commercial bird seed mix. Once cooled, roll everything together into small balls or rings.
Wooden Storage Lids for Canning Jars
These beautiful canning jar storage lids are made of acacia wood and have an airtight stopper, making them great for everything from dried peppers to pepper jelly to jelly beans. You can find them for regular or wide mouth jars. They make a nice change from the standard plastic screw-top lids.
Hand Lotion
Hand lotion is the perfect stocking stuffers for nature lovers. Gardeners’ hands get very dry when working in the soil and sun. Specially formulated hand lotions or salves for gardeners make a wonderful stocking stuffer. I especially like the format of a salve in a tin for slipping into the stocking. There are many options for gardeners hand lotion. A nice botanical blend will warm the senses as well as the skin.
Garden Journal
While there are a number of wonderful phone apps available to gardeners for logging experiments, observations and notes, there is something about a trad journal to keep those notes. If your garden lover embraces the feel of paper and pen, there are some lovely structured options available perfect for a stocking stuffer!
Bonsai snips
I know what you are going to say. They have a trusted pair of pruners already. Well, these aren’t pruners. These babies are purpose specific, and are fabulous for shaping, arranging cut stems, and trimming. Plus they just look great.
