When stuffing a Christmas stocking, get back to basics. In years gone by, Christmas stockings spilled over with gifts that appealed to the five senses of taste, touch, smell, hearing, and sight. With this tip, stuffing a stocking is a breeze.

Smell is a great place to start. For women and girls of all ages, Bath and Body Works offers a sleigh load of body washes, sprays, and lotions, many in small, travel-convenient sizes, practical and perfect for stockings. Scents range from fun and fruity to floral and sophisticated and the holidays often unveil a feature fragrance for gift giving. Get ready for cold and flu season with their scented hand sanitizers, too. ‘Tis also the season for T.J. Maxx’s displays of stocking-size soaps, lotions, sachets, and scented-pampering specialties for women and girls as well as men.

Additionally, try scented markers for the artists in the family; kids love the treat of scented bubble baths. For your athletes, big and small, “Skunkies” are great for getting the smell out of hockey and gym bags. They can also be used in lockers, shoes, and cars. Look for them and other similar items at local sporting goods stores. The direct sales company, Scentsy, is another source for scent-inspired stocking stuffers. Check out the tin fragrance compacts for cars and other small, closed-in spaces. Their line of scented stuffies also make a cute addition to the top of any child’s stocking.

For a touch of comfort, area spa salons provide a variety of relaxation therapies; gift certificates are just the right size for stockings. Microwaveable rice packs for neck and shoulders are soothing additions, too.

This time of year, every department store features a snowfall of comfort in faux-fur or fleece-lined gloves. Craft fairs often have unique and beautiful selections of mittens, scarves, and hats for winter warmth. Sporting goods stores have hand and foot warmers for mittens and boots, just right for outdoor fun and at day’s end, cozy, fleece socks are a winter’s night treat for everyone.

While modeling clay, finger paint, and smaller, tactile toys are touchable fun for children, sable make-up brushes and loofa sponges are the perfect touch for teenage girls.

Finding music for every ear is easy, whether shopping at specialty stores or the music department at stores including K-Mart, Kohl’s, Sears, or Walmart. From classical lullabies to rock, there’s something for everyone. Meditation CDs hit the right note for relaxation and white noise CDs are ideal for a long, winter’s nap. Of course, younger children may prefer making their own music with harmonicas, kazoos, and maracas.

Make a visit to Percy’s Burrow in the Auburn Mall for an assortment of toys that stimulate the senses as well as the mind. For eye-pleasing gifts, fill a small photo album with pictures of favorite family events, faces, and landscapes. For children, kaleidoscopes and magnifying glasses are great for appreciating the patterns, colors, and design of life up close. Capture the sun with crystals or dazzle the eyes with jewlery. And for the young and young at heart, there’s nothing like the rainbow of a fresh box of crayons or colored pencils to spark the imagination.

Taste is perhaps the easiest sense to appease at Christmas. The holidays are rich with gingerbread men, homemade fudge, and candy canes. For more mature tastes, try flavored coffees, wine, or ingredients for making specialty drinks. Gum, flavored-lip balm, favorite movie candy or gourmet popcorn and gift certificates to local fast-food joints are sure to please tweens and teens.

Finally, add a little jingle to the toe of each holiday stocking. According to Christmas lore, a poor man had three beautiful daughters without dowries. St. Nicholas (Santa Claus), learning of the man’s plight and knowing the man would not accept charity, came to the house on Christmas eve and, via the chimney, placed three satchels of gold in each of the girls’ stockings, left by the fire to dry for the night. In the morning, the girls discovered their stockings filled with the gold and each went on to be happily married. So goes the history of Christmas stockings. While loose change does not a dowry make in today’s economy, it’s the finishing touch for any holiday stocking and it’s a fun way to add a little holiday trivia to your Christmas festivities.

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