As a child, I was thrilled that Santa always filled our stockings with candy and treats. As a mom, I encouraged Santa to provide a mix of food and non-food items in my daughters’ stockings. The holidays should be about balancing indulgence and sensibility. In case you’re curious, we set the same parameters for the Easter Bunny and asked for non-candy gifts for the Easter Baskets. This list is the result of that same effort and the title sums it up perfectly.

As with our other guides, the  logo is an opportunity to read our experience with the item. We encourage you to check those out before making the purchase. While we tout these as stocking stuffers, they’re also great options for work, school or neighborhood gift exchanges! Scroll through the gift guide, read the descriptions and find items that will bring joy to the recipient. Need more ideas? Check out our Home & Electronics guide, Part 1 and Part 2 of our list of Family Games, Gift Ideas for Young Kids, STEM gifts, Card & Dice Games, Games for Teens and Adults as well as awesome party games!

Please Fix the Teleporter

Gravitation Games 

Captain Gerf and Emperor Korlax have been scrambled! Can you fix the teleporter faster than your friends? Find out in this fast paced, family friendly, mini-puzzle game.

Lucky Luau

CardLords

Lucky Luau is a flower matching, lei making game with simple turns but tricky decisions. Using flowers, leaves, nuts, and other items, you will compete to make the most impressive lei! Draw a card from the shared pile and choose whether to string it to your lei or toss it back. You can only string cards in one direction, so you’ll have to plan ahead! Whoever has the best scoring lei when the flowers run out is the winner.

Trashed

Winning Moves Games

Trashed was inspired by the old-time favorite card game Garbage. With custom cards and unique twists to gameplay, Trashed takes the classic game to a whole new level. Your goal is to get your cards lined up in the right order, from 1 to 10. But look out for the terrible Trashed card! Wild cards allow for excitingly big turns, while Stop cards will stop you in your tracks. Contains: Custom Deck of 56 Cards, Plastic Trash Can Card Holder and Illustrated Instructions. Ages: 8+; Players: 2 to 4; SRP: $6.95

Star Realms High Alert Booster Packs

Wise Wizard Games

This bundle includes four different Star Realms High Alert expansion packs, each with 12 cards, for a total of 48 cards.
Heroes: contains new multi-faction hero cards.
Invasion: features new ships and bases with Double Ally abilities.
Requisition: contains new ships and bases which cost less to acquire for each card of their faction you have in play.
Tech: features the new Tech card type, which grants you special abilities that you may activate on each of your turns.

Ubongo! To Go

Kosmos

Ubongo is a fast-paced, addictive, and easy-to-learn geometric puzzle game. Players race against the timer and against each other to solve a puzzle of interlocking shapes. The faster you solve the puzzle, the more gems you get. The player with the most valuable gem treasure after nine rounds of solving puzzles wins!

Enchanted Plumes

Calliope Games 

Create magical peacocks by assembling dazzling plumes in rows from top to bottom, using multiple colors of Feather cards while matching cards of the same color from row to row. Feather cards in the top row of each plume will be counted against your score, so play wisely! The player with the most valuable plumes wins & is given the luck of the Peacock.

Go Pop! Hexo Frosty

Foxmind Toys & Games

Play solo or with a friend with Go Pop! Hexo. Enjoy the tactile sense of infinite bubble popping while engaging your mind in fun logic game for two players. Discover more fun ways to play the original Go PoP! with this unique design.

The Great Barrier Reef Card Game

Travel Buddy Games

The Great Barrier Reef Card Game is a small-box card game for 1-5 players where you get to maintain a portion of The Great Barrier Reef. Pocket-sized, this game is perfect for travelers with engaging puzzly mechanisms that game players love. Match the patterns on the scoring cards to create a beautiful and healthy reef to win!

Gnoming A Round

Grandpa Beck’s Games

These curious gnomes have discovered the enchanting game of mini-golf. Form sets, seek bonuses, and avoid hazards in your 3×3 grid to achieve the lowest score. It’s a tee-rific game you’ll never fore-get! This is a completely redone version of our very first game, with new mechanics, brand new art, and more! Gnoming A Round plays well with 2 players all the way up to 7 players, making it perfect for any occasion.

Flip-Pix

AMIGO Games 

Flip-Pix is the first-ever visual categories game for kids and families. Players look at a card with pictures on it and flip through their hand in a race to play a card with a letter that one of those pictures starts with. They then flip over their hands and do the opposite, scouting for a picture that starts with one of the letters on the face-up card. It’s a game you’ll . . . flip for!

Hands

Deep Water Games

Hands up! Hands down! No hands! Point to the sky! It’s time to talk with our hands, not our words. “Hands” is a race to match symbols, but you’ll have to act them out with your own two hands, so get your fingers ready for a whirlwind of fun!

Math Rush Series

Genius Games

Think fast in Math Rush, a totally thrilling cooperative math game that will make your heart race and your head rev!

For three rounds, up to five players must balance strategy and speed, properly sequencing sums and differences before the timer runs out. Crunch the numbers in a hurry and rack up more points; make an error and miss your goal. Whether you beat your high score or not, it’s more fun than you calculated.

We hope our assortment of guides has made your holiday shopping experience a little easier. While this is the last guide we’re rolling out for 2021, we’ll still continue to post giveaways through the end of the year. Take some time to yourself and enter to win some of the awesome prizes our sponsors have provided this year. When you’re done shopping, make sure you’ve given others gift ideas for yourself!