Husbands are being called out on TikTok for not filling their partner’s stocking for Christmas, sometimes even leaving the task up to their daughters. One man on TikTok shared how these men can avoid making the same mistake this year and even offered tips for buying thoughtful stocking stuffers.
In the video, which has over 850,000 views, Howie (@howies_everythingclub) explained that he found out last year that many men aren’t filling their partner’s stockings and “it shook me to my very core.”
“Not all men,” Howie felt the need to clarify since people will often point out that it’s not “all” men who do certain things. “Of course, I didn’t say all men, but it is enough that every time I talk about this the comment section is filled with mostly women who complain that even though they’ve been married for decades, they’ve never once had a filled stocking on Christmas morning,” Howie said.
As an act of public service, Howie dedicated his video to the people who’ve never stuffed stockings before and offered his 101 lesson on how to approach stocking stuffer gift giving. He starts off by explaining that gender doesn’t even come into play when gift-giving with thought and intention.
“The secret to true gift giving isn’t, ‘I got you a gift it’s the thought that counts.’ It isn’t even how much I spent on you,” Howie said. “The secret to true gift giving is ‘I see you. I see you as a fully formed complicated person and I celebrate all those nuances about you,’” Howie said.
@howies_everythingclub Alright here’s stocking stuffing 201. The intro is here @howies_everythingclub ♬ original sound – howies_everythingclub
With that mindset in place, he offers some more practical advice. One suggestion, which he got push back on in an earlier video, is to refill household items your person is short on.
But he says there’s a clear distinction between what he views as necessities and luxuries. For example, he won’t gift his partner a bar of deodorant or a chunk of ivory soap. Instead, he’d get them refillables that he knows they view as a special treat, like certain makeup items.
“If it’s something that someone gets for themselves as a treat that’s a great stocking stuffer. If it’s something they have to have, then do something else,” Howie expanded.
Howie then offers a list of items to inspire viewers, using himself as an example since he has a lot of niche hobbies and interests. Since he likes yoyos, records, watches, and boots, his stocking stuffer might include yoyo bearings and strings, record player accessories, watch bands, and items for keeping his boots clean and shiny.
The video has well over 4,500 comments.
One person, whose comment Howie wanted to pin, offered a creative approach to stocking stuffers that can relieve some of the pressure of what to get.
“My partner and I used to struggle with what to put in our stockings so we started doing a theme each year, 2 years ago was ‘favorites’ such as snacks, drinks, something in our favorite color, etc. last year was broad and just ‘Japan’ and we got fun snacks to try, stickers, recipes to make, etc,” a top comment read.
Others shared their own stocking stuffer tales.
“we found out my dad wasn’t doing this for my mom and we LOST IT. 30+ YEARS. we were floored. and we’ll never let him live it down. EVER,” a person shared.
“I feel like that SNL bit where the kids & dad are having a great xmas but the mom is just sad glosses over this real fast but it’s a whole phenomenon,” one user wrote.
“I always have to do my own :(,” another viewer shared.
The Daily Dot reached out to Howie for comment via TikTok direct message.
