Product links go to the shop that sells each piece. Some earn us a small commission, at no cost to you.
A stocking or a shoe?
In America, stockings hang from the mantel. In France, children put a shoe, le petit soulier, by the fireplace or under the tree on Christmas Eve, and Père Noël fills it overnight. Older traditions put a carrot or some hay next to it for the donkey. In Alsace and Lorraine, Saint Nicolas comes earlier, on the night of 5 to 6 December, with gingerbread and clementines.
Either way, the gift has to be small. That is where France is very good.
The pharmacy shelf
The French pharmacy is where small gifts live. Cicaplast B5 from La Roche-Posay is the repair balm French families use for everything from chapped hands to dry lips. Mustela’s Multi-Purpose Balm does the same job for children. More on the shelf in what to buy in a French pharmacy.
Lips and hands
December in New England is hard on lips. A Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask or a Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm costs little and gets used every night. Neither is French, both are the kind of small luxury a stocking is for.
For the little ones
For a baby, Sophie la girafe, the French rubber giraffe’s teething ring. For a toddler, a Tonies figurine: a small figure that plays a story when it is set on the speaker, and fits in any shoe.
How to fill it the French way
One useful thing, one sweet thing, one small surprise. A clementine at the toe, as French children still find in some families. And nothing that needs batteries before lunch.
Questions, answered
Do French people have Christmas stockings?
Traditionally no. French children leave a shoe, le petit soulier, by the fireplace or under the tree, and Père Noël fills it on Christmas Eve.
When does Saint Nicolas come in France?
On the night of 5 to 6 December, mainly in Alsace, Lorraine and the north, with gingerbread and clementines.
What are good French stocking stuffers?
Pharmacy staples under $25: La Roche-Posay Cicaplast B5, Mustela’s multi-purpose balm, a good lip balm, and small toys for children.
What goes in a French Christmas shoe?
Small things: a toy, chocolates, a clementine. Traditionally children also left a carrot for Père Noël’s donkey.
Still wondering?
Ask my French husband.
A short ruling in a few seconds. Written by AI from our Journal, in his voice.
He judges America weekly on Instagram, and Le Bulletin collects the best of it.
Before you go
How French Is Your Husband?
Or your boyfriend. Eight questions to find out how French he really is.
