I personally would do the fleece. I have five 2 girls and three boys ranging 12-21. I'm going to do the fleece tie blankets and probably headphones with them. My kids love headphone or ear buds they lose them often so they come in handy. Thanks for the idea, I was wondering what I was going to do this year... It's kinda tight!

Anything that will hold cash or a gift card. Works every time!

how about pajama pants, all the kids wear them and love them, fleece is cheap and easy to sew and they don't necessarily need to be fitted, oversized is more comfortable.

I made fabric covered notebooks for our "grands" and they really liked them. Easy to find fabrics that are gender friendly. Lots of free patterns on the internet.

I have made pillowcases for the guys and bags for all the girls. The love them all.

messenger bags are good for everyone. For kids I will use a basic fabric for the outside (denim is always good). I line it with something that works for that particular kid. If he likes the outdoors, I would use fishing fabric or camo fabric. If they are video kids, I would use a star wars or marvel fabric, etc. This way they are unique (but easy on you!). With older kids I have often added a bit of mesh on the side to hold a water bottle.

for guys I've done pj bottoms and buy a t shirt to match and sew on a coordinating pocket.
all this matches the pillowcase of course. good for girls too.