Image: Molesko Studio (Shutterstock)
As I’ve mentioned previously, my family takes stockings very seriously. A good stocking is all about balance. Some candy here, a clementine there, some cute beauty products to round it all out—you want to create a varied collection of tokens and trinkets to keep the stocking from being one-note.
In this regard, stamps—the kind you get from the post office—make an excellent stocking stuffer.
Stamps are a non-traditional, unexpected and, yes, arguably mundane stocking stuffer choice, but they’re also incredibly practical and considerate—two things I like to be thought of as. One never plans on needing a stamp, but it happens, and it usually happens in moments of high stress (like when you discover you have to mail a check to the IRS). By giving the gift of stamps, you are saving someone a trip to the post office (or wherever else one buys stamps, I’m not Google), and not having to go to the post office is the greatest gift of all. And if you choose to give Forever stamps, you are giving a gift that will be useful forever! Or at least until the Postal Service and/or the United States collapses. (So probably not forever.)
If this sounds too practical, too boring, and not personal enough, please understand that you can get real cute with it, and tailor your stamp purchasing to the personality of the stocking owner. There’s no reason to give ugly or boring stamps. Just look how many there are to choose from. There truly is a stamp for everyone. You got stamps for the golf enthusiast, stamps for the Star Wars nerd, stamps for the socialist sci-fi reader, and stamps for those who just really love the holidays. (I’m really into these little two-cent Meyer lemon stamps, though they are admittedly less practical than Forever Stamps.)
Plus, buying stamps means you’re supporting the United States Postal Service, and you can feel good about that. And if you order them online, you don’t even have to go to the post office. (But order them now, rather than later. The Postal Service has a lot to do this time of year.)
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