Appropriate age group(s):
Preschool and Younger
Elementary School
Middle School
High School & Beyond

Description of stocking-stuffer idea:
An IOU that promises a certain amount of your time to be spent exclusively with the child, at the child's request. It can be a promise of anything, such as: reading a story; one day's cleaning of their room; taking over one day's worth of the child's chores; an out to lunch trip, etc. You can make the promised event anything you would like, appropriate to the child's age and interests.

Other comments or suggestions:
My parents did this for us when we were growing up in financially hard times. We three children loved it. It meant we got exclusive access to that parent for a stated period of time with no interruptions.