Stocking fillers that are not just filler

Stocking fillers for her tend to go wrong the same way every year: a smaller version of something she already owns, in a colour she'd never have picked. Start from what she does with her week instead.

For the one whose idea of a good evening is a long bath and a locked door, a Rituals Gift Card from €5 covers the bit she'd never buy for herself. If she's more of a book-the-appointment person, a Treatwell Gift Card from €5 takes the edge off her next treatment. For the everyday bits she buys anyway, the pyjamas, the fluffy socks, the top for the Christmas night out, the Penneys Gift Card from €5 is hard to get wrong. The River Island Gift Card from €5 suits the one with a sharper eye for a new outfit.

Some little Christmas gift ideas land best a few weeks later. A Bloom & Wild Gift Card from €5 goes towards flowers she picks herself for January, when the decorations are down and the house looks a bit bare.

Stocking fillers for him have a low bar to clear. Plenty of small xmas gift ideas get grabbed at the petrol station on the 23rd, and it shows. The same few euro on a card goes a lot further.

For the Friday night, a Just Eat Gift Card from €5 covers the takeaway, or at least the chips he claims he doesn't want. A Nando's Gift Card from €5 is for the one who'd rather go out than wait for the doorbell. If he runs or plays five-a-side, a Foot Locker Gift Card or an Adidas Gift Card from €5 goes towards the kit, and a Halfords Gift Card from €5 covers new lights and a spare tube for the bike.

For the evenings, the Roblox Gift Card from €10 is one of the few gift cards for kids that a nine-year-old genuinely asks for, and a PlayStation Gift Card from €10 is a sensible top-up towards whatever game is next. That covers Christmas gifts for kids and the grown-up gamer in the house alike.

Stocking fillers for adults are the tricky ones, because a grown-up who says they want nothing usually means it. At a certain age an unwanted object is a small chore, not a nice surprise. So give a small amount and let them choose.

The TK Maxx Gift Card from €5 is made for the person who loves a good rummage, and the rummage is half the present. The Homesense Gift Card from €5 does the same for the house, for the one who'll happily spend twenty minutes deciding between two jugs. For the quieter reader, a National Book Tokens Gift Card from €5 buys the paperback for the long evenings after Christmas, and a Ticketmaster Gift Card from €5 is a start towards the gig they'll be talking about all spring. Penneys, River Island, Nando's, Foot Locker, TK Maxx, Homesense and National Book Tokens are all in-store only, which is part of why they work so well as a small card in an envelope.

Cheap Christmas gifts get a worse name than they deserve. A small amount in a card with a proper line written in it beats three things nobody asked for, and it costs less too. The same goes for cheap Christmas gift ideas for friends. The Christmas stocking gift ideas people remember are the ones where you clearly thought about them rather than about filling a sock.

If it's Christmas Eve and there's a gap at the toe of one stocking, don't panic. A digital card arrives by email within minutes and prints at home on ordinary paper, which is plenty to fold into an envelope. Our last minute Christmas gift page is built for exactly this moment.

When you don't know someone well enough to pick a shop, the All-in-1 Choice Gift Card lets them choose, anywhere from €10 to €500. It also comes as a physical card in packaging with your own message, though that version goes by post, so order it in good time. For something festive, the Merry Christmas Gift Card from €10 is with the rest of our Christmas gift cards.

Most stocking filler ideas sit at the small end, and the same thinking holds for Christmas gifts under €50 once you move up to a main present. Small has never had to mean forgettable.