There’s a way to gift a brag-worthy stocking stuffer on the cheap, and it’s by filling your basket at Trader Joe’s. TJ’s is packed with fun little extras, seasonal one-offs, and oddly bougie things that cost less than a latte. This list was supposed to stop at 10 to 15 items, and now it’s sitting at 32, which pretty much proves our point. Read on for our favorite Trader Joe’s stocking stuffers that are all under $5.
Dark Chocolate Covered Pretzels
If you’ve got a sweet-tooth snacker in the family, their stocking deserves a bag of Joe’s Dark Chocolate Covered Pretzels. The $1.29 pack comes with 10 bite-size pretzels coated in dark chocolate, which fans say “perfectly strike the balance between salty, sweet, and crunchy.”
Lavender Hand Sanitizer Spray
For the mild germaphobe who washes their hands religiously, this TJ Lavender Hand Sanitizer is a sight to behold in their stocking. It costs $1.99, it’s easy to use, and it comes with a calming lavender scent that works as a little Zen on the go.
Olive Wood Spatula
If you want to slip something meaningful into a stocking without getting sappy, the Olive Wood Spatula does the job. It’s a nifty little kitchen upgrade for anyone who likes to cook, and the olive-branch symbolism gives it a little extra meaning. It’s sturdy and definitely feels more expensive than its $3.49 price tag.
Freeze Dried Strawberry Pieces
Here is a great stocking stuffer for someone who loves fruity snacks. Trader Joe’s describes its Freeze Dried Strawberry Pieces as “Strawberry co-starring with itself.” The $4.99 bag comes with crispy freeze-dried berry bits coated in a creamy strawberry yogurt candy shell.
Antipasto Stick Prosciutto Wrapped Mozzarella Cheese
For the deliberate snacker in your life, the Antipasto Prosciutto & Mozzarella Stick is a great stocking stuffer. It’s 1.5 ounces of full-fat mozzarella wrapped in prosciutto, made with all-natural ingredients and no added nitrates beyond sea salt. It’s a protein-heavy (10g!) little roll-up, and at $1.99 you can easily toss in two. If you want variety, Trader Joe’s also sells a Salami & Pepper Jack version for the more modest palate that prefers traditional flavors.
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Matcha Green Tea Latte Mix
Any matcha fan will get a kick out of this one. At $4.99, Trader Joe’s Matcha Green Tea Latte Mix uses actual milled matcha leaves and blends them with milk and cane sugar to mellow out the natural bitterness.
Hydrating Biocellulose Face Mask
Skincare and treat-yourself stocking stuffers can be hit or miss, but Trader Joe’s Hydrating Biocellulose Face Mask is one of the safer choices. It uses a biocellulose sheet that actually stays put, and the formula is built to hydrate and refresh without overwhelming the skin.
Bourbon Vanilla Bean Syrup
Trader Joe’s Bourbon Vanilla Bean Syrup is $4.49, has real Bourbon vanilla from the Indian Ocean, but contains zero actual bourbon (boo). It’s on the sweetener side, and it comes rich with visible bean seeds. It’s a great idea for someone who takes their coffee extra sweet.
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Bamba With Hazelnut Creme Filling
Bamba is Israel’s iconic peanut-puff snack, and Trader Joe’s wouldn’t be your favorite cultured supplier if it didn’t put a twist on it. Their version stuffs that same crunchy puff with hazelnut crème. The trippy 3-ounce bag goes for $1.99; TJ’s sells the regular peanut butter puff as well, for the same price.
Cedar Balsam Candle
This limited-time $3.99 candle is part of Trader Joe’s seasonal lineup, made with a soy-wax blend and a cotton wick in a small travel tin. The scent leans woodsy and clean, meant to mimic cedar and balsam without being overly strong. It has a solid throw for the size and fits well as a simple holiday stocking gift.
Mini Mochi Rice Nuggets
Trader Joe’s has a knack for turning snacks into oddly addictive staples, and Mini Mochi Rice Nuggets fall right into that category. At $1.99, they’re gluten-free and made from salted, crispy mochi rice and work as a snack or as a crunchy topper for soups, salads, eggs, or noodles.
Honey Hydration Bath Fizzer
This limited-time $4.99 bath fizzer is shaped like a honeycomb and made with honey, grapeseed oil, kaolin clay, and cocoa butter. It dissolves into a light honey scent, adds a soft saffron tint to the bath, and gives the water a fizzy feel. It’s a great and easy stocking stuffer for low-effort self-care.
Dark Chocolate Orange
There isn’t much to add here that you don’t already know about this cult-favorite, dark-chocolate orange that makes winter bearable, if not pleasant — and that’s not an exaggeration. Trader Joe’s version is the classic break-apart chocolate orange, made with cleaner ingredients than Terry’s, including natural orange oil. It’s $3.99 and works for anyone with a sweet tooth.
Peppermint Foaming Hand Soap
Here is a festive stuffer that every jolly Christmas fan will appreciate. TJ’s peppermint foaming soap is $2.99 and has a peppermint-and-eucalyptus scent that smells like Santa’s workshop (at least, that’s how I imagine Santa’s workshop smells). The formula includes aloe, agave, and vegetable-based surfactants, and it’s made without parabens, sulfates, or phthalates. If someone likes seasonal scents but doesn’t want anything too strong, this one fits.
Hot Chocolate Stirring Spoon
This is an easy $1.29 stocking stocking filler for anyone who likes hot chocolate without the effort. It’s a wooden spoon coated in semi-sweet chocolate and a few vegan mini marshmallows on top. You stir it into hot milk, it melts, and that’s the whole job.
Handmade Candy Cane With Cocoa Center
This is a $1.49 limited-time stocking stuffer that looks like a classic candy cane but has a soft cocoa crème center. Trader Joe’s makes it with peppermint oil, tapioca syrup, and vegetable-derived coloring instead of artificial dyes. It’s hand-pulled, larger than a standard candy cane, and breaks the usual pattern with that chocolate filling.
Gold Aceto Balsamico Di Modena
This would be a great stocking stuffer for any foodie or true gourmand who likes experimenting with refined flavors. This is a $4.99 IGP-certified balsamic from Modena, made only from Trebbiano and Lambrusco grapes and aged in oak barrels.
Almond Ginger Scent Oatmeal Exfoliant Bar
Another low-key self-care stuffer comes in the form of this $3.99 French-milled exfoliant bar. It’s scented with almond and ginger, contains colloidal oatmeal for gentle exfoliation, and creates a smooth, long-lasting lather. The formula is the same one TJ’s has sold for years, but the grocer changed the packaging from plastic to more sustainable one.
Candy Cane Baton Wafer Cookies
These $1.99 limited-time batons are rolled wafer cookies filled with peppermint crème and speckled with beet powder for the candy-cane look. They come in a small giftable tin and have a light, cooling crunch that works on their own or with a cup of hot cocoa.
Jingly Jangly
This $1.99 limited-time mix is the travel-size version of TJ’s Jingle Jangle, but instead of a festive tin it comes in a small bag filled with milk and dark chocolate–covered pretzels, caramel popcorn, Joe-Joe’s cookie pieces, chocolate gems, and mini peanut butter cups.
Chai Tea Mints
These TJ’s mints are an easy stocking filler for anyone who likes chai. They’re $1.99, vegan, and made with black tea and classic chai spices with a little peppermint oil.
Lemongrass Coconut Body Oil
Here’s a nice “treat yourself” idea for someone you think deserves a spa at home day. Trader Joe’s Lemongrass Coconut Body Oil is a $3.99 blend of virgin coconut, lemongrass, sweet almond, jojoba, and olive oils, with a light lemony scent and a non-greasy feel.
Crunchy Chili Onion Sprinkle Seasoning Blend
For the person who brings hot sauce everywhere and adds spice to everything they eat, this TJ’s Crunchy Chili Onion Sprinkle Seasoning Blend is a win. At $1.99, it’s the dry version of their popular chili onion spread (another great stocking stuffer idea), and is made with fried onions, garlic, chili flakes, red bell pepper, brown sugar, and Szechuan pepper.
Gingerbread Dude Cookie
This gingerbread dude cookie will really tie the stocking together, and if you don’t think it will, “that’s just, like, your opinion, man.” It’s a $2.99 seasonal gingerbread cookie — iced and shaped like the Dude — built on a classic brown sugar, cinnamon, and ginger flavor. It would be perfect if it included a White Russian flavor as well, but even as is, this Dude abides.
Dark Chocolate Dipped French Butter Cookies
These $2.99 cookies are made in France with cultured French butter, baked into thin crisp rounds, and then dipped in dark chocolate. It’s a great stocking stuffer for anyone who likes chocolate.
Winter Wake Up Tea
For the morning person, this $2.79 Winter Wake Up tea is an easy stocking pick. It’s a black-tea blend with cinnamon, orange peel, ginger, cloves, and a little licorice for sweetness. It’s seasonal, which makes grabbing a box now worth it.
Rose Water Facial Toner
This is an easy $3.99 stocking add-on for anyone who likes simple skincare. It’s made with real Damask rose water and rose oil for hydration, plus witch hazel to tone and balance the skin. The scent is a fresh-rose smell, and the formula is mild enough to use throughout the day.
Portuguese Flor de Sal
Trader Joe’s comes in handy when you want to give a more bougie, cultured item. This Portuguese Flor de Sal is $4.99 and hand-harvested from the thin layer of salt crystals that forms on the surface of the sea. It comes in a ceramic crock with a cork lid, which makes it look far more expensive than it is. It’s a finishing salt great for steaks. But if you ask me — I do live in Portugal, after all — you should sprinkle it on a slice of sourdough with a hunk of butter.
Sleigh Ride Cookies
When you’re out of ideas for a stocking stuffer, go with cookies — you can never go wrong with cookies. And TJ’s festive Sleigh Ride Cookies do the job: They’re $3.99 and made from a buttery sugar-cookie base mixed with crushed candy cane pieces and broken Candy Cane Joe-Joe’s.
Eight Candles
This pack costs about $4.49 and includes eight dripless and self-extinguishing taper candles, each about 9″ tall. They’re unscented and designed to burn clean without messy drips.
Moisturizing Cream Shave
Here’s an easy stocking stuffer on the line between utility and leisure. The $4.49 tube is a non-foaming shave cream made for sensitive skin, with aloe, vitamin E, and plant extracts like chamomile, green tea, and lavender to help reduce irritation. It has a light honey mango scent.
Canned Corn Dog Toy With Squeaker
This cutesy squeaky toy will work great for your furry friend’s stocking. You’ll hate it, of course — because who enjoys that annoying squeak for more than a nanosecond — but Fido will absolutely love it. It’s $3.99, limited-time, and shaped like TJ’s famous can of corn, which your pup will not care about that much, but at least he’ll be chewing in style.
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