Stocking fillers that aren't plastic tat

Every year the stockings fill up with the same stuff: a tangerine, a chocolate coin, a tiny bottle of something, and a plastic gadget that breaks before Boxing Day. Lovely tradition. Terrible landfill.

I'm Luis. I paint funny, bold slogans on antique book pages in Covent Garden, and some of the best things I sell happen to be stocking-sized. Here's how to fill a stocking with things people actually keep.

What makes a good stocking filler?

• It fits. Small or flat, light, nothing that needs a box.
• It's a surprise. The point of a stocking is the rummage.
• It lasts past January. If it's in the bin by Twelfth Night, it wasn't a good one.
• It makes them smile. Stockings are the fun part of Christmas. Keep it light.

Notebooks: the perfect stocking filler

My notebooks are £12, with my artwork on the cover. Spiral bound, easy to wrap, and actually useful for lists, doodles and New Year's resolutions you won't keep.

• Random Crap Notebook: for everything that doesn't fit anywhere else. Basically a teenager's brain in stationery form.
• Don't Rush Me Notebook: for the slowest person in the family, said with love.
• There Is No Plan Notebook: for the one who plans Christmas dinner at 2pm on Christmas Day.

Rolled prints: art in a stocking

An A4 print rolls neatly into a stocking with a ribbon round it. It's the stocking filler that turns into wall art. My prints are £20.

Roll it loosely with the picture facing out, tie it with ribbon (not an elastic band, which marks the paper) and tuck a note in. For a teenager's bedroom, a student flat or a first home, it's the gift that keeps giving. If you'd rather it stays flat, put it under the tree instead.

Tiny originals: the stocking upgrade

For a grown-up stocking, slip in something one of a kind. My antique images are portraits from antique art books that I've hand-painted over with colour and a cheeky new line. They're £25 and no two are the same.

I Just Farted is a solemn old gentleman finally confessing, and it gets the biggest laugh of any Christmas morning gift I sell. Queen for a Day gives Queen Anne the colour scheme she always deserved.

Why paper gifts work so well in stockings

Paper is light, flat and easy to post, and it doesn't need batteries, charging cables or a box the size of a shoe. A print or a notebook also says you chose something rather than grabbed it at the till. And because these come from an independent artist, the money goes to a real person in Covent Garden, not a warehouse. That's a nice thing to know on Christmas morning, even if the recipient is too busy laughing at I Just Farted to care.

For grown-ups who are hard to buy for, a small piece of art is a stocking surprise they won't have seen coming.

Stocking fillers by person

Stocking tips from a man who wraps a lot of art

1. Keep prints flat until Christmas Eve, then roll them. They uncurl quicker that way.
2. Put the biggest laugh at the bottom. Make them work for it.
3. Mix one useful thing with one silly thing. Notebook plus a ridiculous print is the perfect pairing.
4. Ask me to wrap it. I wrap by hand on request. Message me after you order.

Christmas timing

Prints and antique images are in stock. Notebooks are made to order and ship in 7 to 10 days, so order them early in December. UK delivery is £1.75 a print, and free when your basket passes £80, which is easy if you're filling several stockings. In London? Come to the stall at Jubilee Market Hall, Covent Garden, on a Saturday or Sunday, or order online and collect.

More Christmas ideas: Secret Santa gifts under £20, Christmas gifts for him and her and the whole Christmas gifts collection.

Stocking filler questions